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Subjective pronouns

The subjective pronouns must match the verb conjugation and are therefore not absolutely

(Man) irâni hastam.	I am an Iranian.	(Mâ) irâni hastim.	We are Iranians.
(To) irâni hasti.	You are an Iranian.	(Ŝomâ) irâni hastid.	You are Iranians.
(U) irâni ast.	He/she is an Iranian.	(Ânhâ) irâni hastand.	They are Iranians.

A subjective pronoun is often used to emphasize the subject:

Man in xâne râ xaridam.

I bought this house.

Ân is used for objects, and usually animals, instead of u:

Kif ru ye miz ast. Ân râ lotfan biâvar.

The bag is on the table. Bring it please.

While ŝomâ is used as the polite form of to, iŝân is used as the polite form of u and ânhâ:

Ŝomâ kojâ budid?	Where were you?
Man dar sinamâ budam.	I was in the cinema.
Nasrin ce goft?	What did Nasrin say?
Iŝân ciz i nagoftand.	She said nothing.

Objective pronouns

Objective pronouns follow a preposition (to whom object) or precede râ (direct object marker). In these cases, they are identical with the subjective pronouns. However, they can also occur as bound pronouns after a conjugated verb:

Navid be man goft.	Navid told me.
Navid be to goft.	Navid told you.
Navid be u goft.	Navid told him/her.
Navid be mâ goft.	Navid told us.
Navid be ŝomâ goft.	Navid told you.
Navid be ânhâ goft.	Navid told them.

 

Navid ma’ (man) râ did.	=	Navid did am.	Navid saw me.
Navid to râ did.	=	Navid did at.	Navid saw you.
Navid u râ did.	=	Navid did aŝ.	Navid saw him/her.
Navid mâ râ did.	=	Navid did emân.	Navid saw us.
Navid ŝomâ râ did.	=	Navid did etân.	Navid saw you.
Navid ânhâ râ did.	=	Navid did eŝân.	Navid saw them.

Note: The plural forms are mân, tân, and ŝân. If they follow a word ending with a consonant, they are preceded by “e”.

In case of a compound verb, the pronoun follows the non-verbal part:

Navid dust aŝ dârad.

Navid loves her.

Possessive pronouns

Possessive pronouns are identical to the objective pronouns. In contrast to the objective pronouns they follow nouns:

Nâhid kif e ma’ râ bord.	=	Nâhid kif am râ bord.	Nahid took my bag.
Nâhid kif e to râ bord.	=	Nâhid kif at râ bord.	Nahid took your bag.
Nâhid kif e u râ bord.	=	Nâhid kif aŝ râ bord.	Nahid took her bag.
Nâhid kif e mâ râ bord.	=	Nâhid kif emân râ bord.	Nahid took our bag.
Nâhid kif e ŝomâ râ bord.	=	Nâhid kif etân râ bord.	Nahid took your bag.
Nâhid kif e ânhâ râ bord.	=	Nâhid kif eŝân râ bord.	Nahid took their bag.

If a word ends with â or u, then the singular pronouns are preceded by ”y” and the plural pronouns are preceded by “ye”. If a word ends with a different vowel, then the original forms are used:

sedâ yam	my voice	sedâ yemân	our voice
jâru yaŝ	her broom	jâru yetân	your broom
xâne am	my house	xâne mân	our house
bâzi at	your game	bâzi ŝân	their game
râdio aŝ	his radio	râdio mân	our radio

The possession can also be expressed using mâl (possession) together with the bound conjunction “e“:

mâl e man, mâl e to, …

mine, yours, …

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns precede the noun. While in and inhâ point to near nouns, ân and ânhâ point to distant nouns:

In pesar e man ast.	This is my son.
Inhâ pesarhâ ye man hastand.	These are my sons.
Ân doxtar e man ast.	That is my daughter.
Ânhâ doxtarhâ ye man hastand.	Those are my daughters.

Reflexive and emphatic pronouns

Reflexive and emphatic pronouns are both formed using xod (self, own). The endings are identical to the objective or possessive pronoun endings and can be dropped.

Reflexive pronouns refer to the same entity as the subject:

Navid xodaŝ râ âzâd kard.	Navid has liberated himself.
(Ânhâ) bâ mâŝin e xodeŝân âmadand.	They came with their own car.

Emphatic pronouns occur immediately after the subject and are used to emphasize the subject:

To xodat rafti

You went yourself.

Reciprocal pronouns

The most widely used reciprocal pronouns in Persian are yekdigar (each other) and hamdigar (each other):

(Ânhâ) hamdigar râ sedâ zadanad.	They have called each other.
(Ânhâ) yekdigar râ dust dârand.	They love each other.

Distributive pronouns

The distributive pronouns are often compounds in which the words har, hic and hame occur, whereby the compounds with hic (literally “nothing”) are associated with negative verbs:

Harkas / hamekas miguyad.	Everyone says.
Harciz / hameciz momken ast.	Anything/everything is possible.
Hickas nayâmad.	No one / nobody came.
Hickodâm xub nist.	None is good.
Besyâr i midânand.	Many know.
Barxi / ba’zi midânand.	Some know.

Note the difference between a distributive adjective and a distributive pronoun in the following examples:

hame ye jâhâ	all places	hamejâ	everywhere
hic kas	no person	hickas	no one / nobody
har kas	any person	harkas	each
ba’zi mardom	some people	ba’zi(hâ)	some

Interrogative pronouns

With interrogative pronouns, you can ask about the subject or the object of an action:

Ce gofti?	What did you say?
Cekâr mikoni?	What do you do?
Ke / ki âmad?	Who came?
Ke râ koŝtand?	Whom did they kill?
Kodâm râ mixâhi?	Which one do you want?