The neutral Persian attributive pattern places the noun before its adjective and links them with ezâfe: کتاب جدید ketâb-e jadid “new book,” خانهی بزرگ khâne-ye bozorg “big house.” English puts most adjectives before the noun; Persian normally lets the head noun open the phrase and places descriptive material to its right.
The ezâfe vowel is structurally essential even when spelling hides it. After consonant-final کتاب, pronounce -e but write no kasre in ordinary text. After silent final ه, standard spelling shows the linker as هی, as in خانهی بزرگ. This audible chain tells the listener that the following adjective belongs inside the noun phrase rather than forming a separate predicate.
The basic construction
| Noun ending | Written phrase | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| consonant | کتاب جدید | ketâb-e jadid | new book |
| silent ه | خانهی بزرگ | khâne-ye bozorg | big house |
| final ا | صدای بلند | sedâ-ye boland | loud voice |
| plural ـها | کتابهای جدید | ketâb-hâ-ye jadid | new books |
| two serial adjectives | کتاب جدید مفید | ketâb-e jadid-e mofid | new, useful book |
| coordinated adjectives | کتاب جدید و مفید | ketâb-e jadid-o mofid | new and useful book |
The adjective itself does not change for number or gender. جدید remains جدید in کتاب جدید, کتابهای جدید, and نامهی جدید. Ezâfe marks the dependency; it is not agreement.
Noun first, adjective second
The noun is the head: it names the type of entity, while the adjective narrows or describes that entity.
یک دفتر جدید برای کلاس خریدم.
yek daftar-e jadid barâ-ye kelâs kharidam.
I bought a new notebook for class. (neutral standard)
ماشین قرمز جلوی ساختمان پارک شده است.
mâshin-e qermez jelow-e sâkhtemân pârk shode ast.
The red car is parked in front of the building. (neutral standard)
چای داغ روی میز است؛ مواظب باش.
chây-e dâgh ru-ye miz ast; movâzeb bâsh.
The hot tea is on the table; be careful. (careful spoken standard)
A demonstrative or numeral precedes the noun, but the adjective still follows it: این کتاب جدید, دو صندلی خالی. Persian noun-phrase order is therefore not simply the reverse of English; left-edge determiners precede the head, while attributive adjectives follow.
این دو صندلی خالی را کنار پنجره بگذارید.
in do sandali-ye khâli râ kenâr-e panjare begozârid.
Put these two empty chairs beside the window. (polite instruction)
The invisible vowel after consonants
In کتاب جدید, the script shows two ordinary words, but pronunciation contains ketâb-e jadid. Omitting -e in speech breaks the normal attributive construction. Writing a kasre under ب in ordinary prose is equally nonstandard; vowel marks belong in teaching or pronunciation aids, not routine Persian orthography.
همکار جدید امروز کارش را شروع میکند.
hamkâr-e jadid emruz kâr-ash râ shoru' mi-konad.
The new colleague starts work today. (neutral standard)
گزارش کوتاه را قبل از جلسه خواندم.
gozâresh-e kutâh râ qabl az jalase khândam.
I read the short report before the meeting. (neutral standard)
The full noun phrase includes the adjective, so direct-object را follows گزارش کوتاه, not the noun alone.
Visible هی after silent he
When a noun ends in silent ه, standard Iranian spelling writes ezâfe as هی: خانهی قدیمی, نامهی رسمی, پنجرهی باز. The ZWNJ keeps the boundary clear.
خانهی قدیمی هنوز حیاط بزرگی دارد.
khâne-ye qadimi hanuz hayât-e bozorgi dârad.
The old house still has a large yard. (neutral standard)
نامهی رسمی را دیروز فرستادیم.
nâme-ye rasmi râ diruz ferestâdim.
We sent the formal letter yesterday. (formal-neutral)
The ی is not a separate possessive word. It records the glide y that joins final e to the ezâfe vowel. Ezâfe after Silent He covers spelling variants and the ZWNJ.
More than one adjective
Serial adjectives can continue the ezâfe chain. In اتاق بزرگ روشن otâq-e bozorg-e rowshan, both adjectives form a nested description. Equal adjectives can instead be coordinated with و: اتاق بزرگ و روشن otâq-e bozorg-o rowshan “a large and bright room.”
یک اتاق بزرگ روشن در طبقهی دوم گرفتیم.
yek otâq-e bozorg-e rowshan dar tabaqe-ye dovvom gereftim.
We got a large, bright room on the second floor. (serial ezâfe chain)
به یک برنامهی ساده و عملی نیاز داریم.
be yek barnâme-ye sâde va amali niyâz dârim.
We need a simple and practical plan. (coordinated adjectives)
Longer adjective sequences are grammatical but need semantic ordering and readable rhythm. Everyday conversation often coordinates adjectives or divides the description across clauses rather than constructing a dense chain.
Attributive versus predicative
An attributive adjective is inside the noun phrase and takes ezâfe: کتاب جدید ketâb-e jadid “the new book.” A predicative adjective says something about a complete subject and takes a copula: کتاب جدید است ketâb jadid ast “The book is new.” The unvowelized words کتاب جدید look identical in both, so sentence structure and pronunciation matter.
کتاب جدید را خریدم.
ketâb-e jadid râ kharidam.
I bought the new book. (attributive: audible ezâfe)
کتاب جدید است.
ketâb jadid ast.
The book is new. (predicative: no ezâfe; است is the copula)
The next page, Predicative Adjectives and the Copula, develops the contrast.
A short dialogue
برای جلسه کدام اتاق را بگیریم؟
barâ-ye jalase kodâm otâq râ begirim?
Which room should we take for the meeting? (careful spoken standard)
اتاق بزرگ طبقهی بالا بهتر است.
otâq-e bozorg-e tabaqe-ye bâlâ behtar ast.
The large room upstairs is better. (careful standard; two ezâfe links identify the room)
همون اتاق بزرگ رو میگیریم.
hamun otâq-e bozorg ro mi-girim.
We'll take that same large room. (informal, regional: Tehran)
The colloquial verb and object marker change, but adjective placement and the audible ezâfe remain.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English adjective-before-noun order
❌ جدید کتاب را خریدم.
Incorrect in neutral modern Persian — the descriptive adjective follows its noun.
✅ کتاب جدید را خریدم.
ketâb-e jadid râ kharidam.
I bought the new book.
2. Dropping the ezâfe vowel
❌ ماشین قرمز بیرون است.
mâshin qermez birun ast
Incorrect reading for ‘the red car’—pronounce mâshin-e qermez.
✅ ماشین قرمز بیرون است.
mâshin-e qermez birun ast.
The red car is outside.
3. Omitting هی after silent he
❌ خانه بزرگ را دیدم.
Incorrect standard spelling for the attributive phrase — write خانهی بزرگ.
✅ خانهی بزرگ را دیدم.
khâne-ye bozorg râ didam.
I saw the large house.
4. Putting ezâfe before a predicative adjective
❌ کتاب جدید است.
ketâb-e jadid ast
Incorrect reading for ‘The book is new’—the predicative adjective has no ezâfe.
✅ این کتاب جدید است.
in ketâb jadid ast.
This book is new.
Key Takeaways
- Neutral attributive order is noun + ezâfe + adjective: کتابِ جدید in pronunciation, normally written کتاب جدید.
- After silent ه, standard spelling shows هی: خانهی بزرگ.
- Determiners and numerals precede the noun; adjectives follow it.
- Serial adjectives can continue an ezâfe chain, while coordinated adjectives use و.
- Predicative adjectives take a copula and no ezâfe: کتاب جدید است “The book is new.”
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Ezâfe: The Invisible LinkerA1 — Learn the normally unwritten -e or -ye sound that connects a Persian noun to its adjectives, possessors, names, and other dependents.
- Noun plus Adjective with EzâfeA1 — Build Persian noun phrases with postnominal adjectives, one audible ezâfe link at each internal boundary, and no agreement endings.
- Ezâfe after Silent He: هیA2 — Master the standard هی spelling, its -ye pronunciation, and the contrast between silent final he and consonantal h.
- Predicative Adjectives and the CopulaA1 — Say that someone or something is adjective with no ezâfe, using standard, enclitic, negative, and colloquial copula forms.
- Adjectives Do Not AgreeA2 — Use one invariant Persian adjective with masculine or feminine people, singular or plural nouns, and all pronoun referents.
- Adjective Ordering in Long Ezâfe ChainsB2 — Order classifying, descriptive, evaluative, and possessive modifiers in long Persian ezâfe chains without obscuring their attachment.