Multipliers and Ratios | Farsi Grammar

Persian uses برابر to compare multiples, نسبتِ A به B to name a directed ratio, and در to express rates such as “per thousand.” These patterns all compare quantities, but they answer different questions. دو برابر says one amount is twice another; نسبت دو به سه gives two terms in order; چهار مورد در هزار gives a frequency against a fixed base.

English expressions such as two times more are notoriously ambiguous. Persian can inherit the same ambiguity if بیشتر is carelessly stacked with برابر. Precise prose states either the final multiplier or the percentage change, not both vaguely.

برابر as a multiplier

The core pattern is number + برابر: دو برابر، سه برابر، ده برابر. As a predicate, it can compare one value directly with another. Before an expressed comparison value, برابر normally carries ezâfe: دو برابرِ مقدار اولیه.

Construction	Persian	Meaning
become + multiplier	دو برابر شد	became twice as large
cause + multiplier	آن را دو برابر کرد	doubled it
multiplier + ezâfe + baseline	دو برابر مقدار قبلی	twice the previous amount
derived attributive form	ظرفیت دوبرابری	double capacity

هزینه‌ی تعمیر امسال دو برابر شد.

hazine-ye ta'mir emsâl do barâbar shod.

The repair cost doubled this year. (neutral standard; change to twice the earlier value)

شرکت ظرفیت انبار را سه برابر کرد.

sherkat zarfiyyat-e anbâr râ se barâbar kard.

The company tripled the warehouse capacity. (formal-neutral; caused multiplier)

مصرف این دستگاه نصف مصرف مدل قبلی و عمر باتری‌اش دو برابر آن است.

masraf-e in dastgâh nesf-e masraf-e model-e qabli va omr-e bâtri-ash do barâbar-e ân ast.

This device uses half as much power, and its battery life is twice that of the previous model. (technical comparison)

The comparison baseline can be omitted when discourse supplies it: قیمت دو برابر شد means “the price became twice what it was.” When two simultaneous values are compared rather than a change over time, name the baseline: دو برابر مدل قبلی.

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دو برابر شد gives a new value equal to 2 times the baseline. It does not mean “increased by two baseline amounts,” which would produce 3 times the baseline.

Spacing and derived دوبرابری

Write the free multiplier phrase with a space: دو برابر. The derived adjective دوبرابری is one lexical word before or after a noun through ezâfe: ظرفیت دوبرابری، افزایش دوبرابری. The two structures should not be interchanged mechanically.

سالن جدید ظرفیت دوبرابری دارد، اما هزینه‌ی نگهداری‌اش فقط سی درصد بیشتر است.

sâlon-e jadid zarfiyyat-e dobarâbari dârad, ammâ hazine-ye negahdâri-ash faqat si darsad bish-tar ast.

The new hall has double the capacity, but its maintenance cost is only thirty percent higher. (formal-neutral)

In less edited writing, spacing varies, but the structural contrast remains useful: a numeral independently quantifying برابر versus an adjective derived from the whole multiplier expression.

Directed ratios: نسبت A به B

The standard ratio frame is نسبتِ A به B “the ratio of A to B.” The first term names the first population or dimension; به introduces the comparison term. Reversing the nouns reverses the ratio.

نسبت دانشجو به استاد در این دانشکده دوازده به یک است.

nesbat-e dâneshju be ostâd dar in dâneshkade davâzdah be yek ast.

The student-to-faculty ratio at this college is twelve to one. (academic/administrative)

برای ملات، نسبت ماسه به سیمان سه به یک است.

barâ-ye malât, nesbat-e mâse be simân se be yek ast.

For the mortar, the sand-to-cement ratio is three to one. (technical instruction)

The lexical labels and number terms must align in the same order. If sand is named first, the first number measures sand. A written form such as ۳:۱ is read سه به یک in a ratio context; the colon is notation, not a spoken word.

در جدول، نسبت ۲:۳ را «دو به سه» بخوانید.

dar jadval, nesbat-e do be se râ ‘do be se’ be-khânid.

In the table, read the ratio 2:3 as ‘two to three.’ (formal instruction)

Do not replace ratio به with numeric و. دو و سه coordinates two values or forms part of a larger cardinal in a suitable context; it does not encode the directed relation 2:3.

Fractions are not merely ratios

دو سوم is a fraction selecting two of three equal parts. نسبت دو به سه compares two quantities. Although both correspond to related mathematical notation, their Persian syntax and discourse jobs differ.

دو سوم کارکنان دورکارند؛ بنابراین، نسبت کارکنان دورکار به حضوری دو به یک است.

do sevvom-e kârkonân durkâr-and; banâbar-in, nesbat-e kârkonân-e durkâr be hozuri do be yek ast.

Two thirds of the employees work remotely; therefore, the ratio of remote to on-site staff is two to one. (analytical contrast)

If exactly two thirds are remote and the rest are on-site, the ratio is 2:1, not 2:3. A fraction compares a part with the whole; that employee ratio compares one part with the other part. See Fractions and Percentages for denominator structure.

Rates with در and هر

Statistical در gives a base: چهار مورد در هزار “four cases per thousand.” With ordinary distributive rates, هر makes the repeating unit explicit: سه نفر در هر اتاق “three people per room,” دو بار در هر هفته “twice per week.”

در این بررسی، میزان خطا سه مورد در هر هزار پاسخ بود.

dar in barrasi, mizân-e khatâ se mowred dar har hezâr pâsokh bud.

In this study, the error rate was three cases per thousand responses. (academic/statistical)

طبق مقررات، در هر اتاق حداکثر چهار نفر می‌مانند.

tebq-e moqarrarât, dar har otâq hadd-e aksar chahâr nafar mi-mânand.

Under the rules, no more than four people may stay in each room. (formal regulation)

از هر صد سفارش، حدود دو سفارش مرجوع می‌شود.

az har sad sefâresh, hodud-e do sefâresh marju' mi-shavad.

Out of every hundred orders, about two are returned. (formal-neutral rate expressed with از هر)

The last pattern, از هر + base, is often clearer in prose than a compressed rate. It explicitly presents the denominator as a recurring sample.

Multipliers and percentage change

Keep three claims distinct:

Persian claim	New value relative to baseline	Change
بیست درصد بیشتر است	120%	+20%
معادل ۱۲۰ درصد مقدار قبلی است	120%	+20%
دو برابر مقدار قبلی است	200%	+100%

فروش امسال بیست درصد بیشتر از پارسال است.

forush-e emsâl bist darsad bish-tar az pârsâl ast.

This year’s sales are twenty percent higher than last year’s. (formal-neutral; new value is 120 percent of baseline)

تولید امسال دو برابر تولید پارسال است؛ یعنی صد درصد افزایش یافته است.

towlid-e emsâl do barâbar-e towlid-e pârsâl ast; ya'ni sad darsad afzâyesh yâfte ast.

This year’s production is twice last year’s—that is, it has increased by one hundred percent. (formal analytical clarification)

Phrases such as دو برابر بیشتر occur, but are mathematically unstable: some readers understand “twice as much,” while others parse “two baseline amounts more.” Edited statistical prose should replace them with دو برابر است or صد درصد بیشتر است, according to the intended value.

💡

Translate the equation, not the surface phrase. “Twice the baseline” is دو برابر and equals a 100 percent increase; “20 percent more” equals 1.2 times the baseline.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding از after bare برابر

❌ هزینه دو برابر از پارسال است.

Incorrect comparison frame — bare برابر takes the baseline directly through ezâfe, not از.

✅ هزینه‌ی امسال دو برابر هزینه‌ی پارسال است.

hazine-ye emsâl do barâbar-e hazine-ye pârsâl ast.

This year’s cost is twice last year’s cost.

2. Reversing ratio labels and values

⚠️ نسبت آب به شربت سه به یک است، وقتی یک پیمانه آب و سه پیمانه شربت داریم.

nesbat-e âb be sharbat se be yek ast, vaqti yek peymâne âb va se peymâne sharbat dârim.

Grammatical sentence with incorrect arithmetic labeling — the first number must correspond to the first named quantity.

✅ با یک پیمانه آب و سه پیمانه شربت، نسبت آب به شربت یک به سه است.

bâ yek peymâne âb va se peymâne sharbat, nesbat-e âb be sharbat yek be se ast.

With one measure of water and three of syrup, the water-to-syrup ratio is one to three.

3. Using و as the ratio connector

❌ نسبت تصویر شانزده و نه است.

Incorrect ratio syntax — directed ratio terms are connected with به.

✅ نسبت تصویر این نمایشگر شانزده به نه است.

nesbat-e tasvir-e in namâyeshgar shânzdah be noh ast.

This monitor’s aspect ratio is sixteen to nine.

4. Confusing “percent of” with “percent more”

⚠️ صد و بیست درصد بیشتر یعنی مقدار نهایی صد و بیست درصد مقدار قبلی است.

sad-o-bist darsad bish-tar ya'ni meqdâr-e nehâyi sad-o-bist darsad-e meqdâr-e qabli ast.

Grammatical sentence expressing the wrong arithmetic claim — 120 percent more yields 220 percent of the baseline.

✅ مقدار جدید بیست درصد بیشتر است؛ یعنی ۱۲۰ درصد مقدار قبلی است.

meqdâr-e jadid bist darsad bish-tar ast; ya'ni sad-o-bist darsad-e meqdâr-e qabli ast.

The new value is twenty percent higher; that is, it is 120 percent of the previous value.

5. Omitting the base of a formal rate

❌ میزان خطا سه در است.

Incorrect incomplete rate — در must introduce a denominator or recurring unit.

✅ میزان خطا سه مورد در ده هزار اندازه‌گیری است.

mizân-e khatâ se mowred dar dah hezâr andâze-giri ast.

The error rate is three cases per ten thousand measurements.

Key Takeaways

Use number + برابر for a multiplier; add audible ezâfe before an explicit baseline.
Keep ratio terms aligned in نسبتِ A به B = x به y.
Use در or از هر to introduce the base of a per-rate.
Distinguish a fraction’s part-to-whole relation from a ratio between two named quantities.
In statistical prose, replace ambiguous دو برابر بیشتر with an explicit multiplier or percentage change.

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