Cardinal numbers count—سه کتاب “three books”—while ordinal numbers identify rank or position—کتاب سوم “the third book.” Persian has two closely related ordinal patterns. A form ending in ـم normally follows a noun through ezâfe or stands as a predicate: طبقهی چهارم، چهارم شدم. A form ending in ـمین normally precedes its noun: چهارمین طبقه.
English uses the same position before the noun for third book and three books. Persian makes the contrast visible through both morphology and word order. The forms for “first,” “second,” and “third” also require special attention: اول/اولین، دوم/دومین، سوم/سومین.
The basic ordinal forms
For most cardinals, add the suffix pronounced -om. The longer prenominal form adds -in, yielding -omin. Persian spelling represents these endings as ـم and ـمین after most number words.
| Rank | Postnominal/predicative | Prenominal | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | اول / یکم | اولین | avval / yekom; avvalin |
| second | دوم | دومین | dovvom; dovvomin |
| third | سوم | سومین | sevvom; sevvomin |
| fourth | چهارم | چهارمین | chahârom; chahâromin |
| fifth | پنجم | پنجمین | panjom; panjomin |
| sixth | ششم | ششمین | sheshom; sheshomin |
| seventh | هفتم | هفتمین | haftom; haftomin |
| eighth | هشتم | هشتمین | hashtom; hashtomin |
| ninth | نهم | نهمین | nohom; nohomin |
| tenth | دهم | دهمین | dahom; dahomin |
دوم and سوم are written without any doubled letter, but their careful Iranian pronunciations are dovvom and sevvom. Everyday speakers may produce a lighter consonant, yet the standard spelling remains unchanged.
آپارتمان ما در طبقهی چهارم است.
âpârtemân-e mâ dar tabaqe-ye chahârom ast.
Our apartment is on the fourth floor. (neutral standard; postnominal ordinal)
چهارمین صندلی کنار پنجره را برای شما نگه داشتهام.
chahâromin sandali-ye kenâr-e panjare râ barâ-ye shomâ negah dâshte-am.
I have saved the fourth seat by the window for you. (neutral standard; prenominal ordinal)
These phrases point to the same rank, but organize the noun phrase differently. طبقهی چهارم begins with the category and then identifies its rank; چهارمین طبقه makes the rank the entry point.
ـم after the noun and as a predicate
An ـم ordinal behaves like a Persian adjective after the noun. The noun carries ezâfe: فصلِ پنجم، مرحلهی دوم، نفرِ سوم. Ezâfe is audible even when it is not written after a consonant-final noun.
پاسخ این پرسش در فصل پنجم آمده است.
pâsokh-e in porsesh dar fasl-e panjom âmade ast.
The answer to this question appears in chapter five. (formal-neutral; فصل پنجم is literally ‘the fifth chapter’)
نام من مورد دوم فهرست است.
nâm-e man mowred-e dovvom-e fehrest ast.
My name is the second entry on the list. (neutral standard)
An ordinal can stand without an overt noun when the ranking category is understood. With شدن, it expresses the result of a competition or ordering: دوم شد “came second.” This is predicative, so no following noun needs to be linked.
تیم مدرسه در مسابقات منطقهای دوم شد.
tim-e madrese dar mosâbeqât-e mantaqe-i dovvom shod.
The school team came second in the regional competition. (neutral standard)
این سومین بار است که رمز را عوض میکنم.
in sevvomin bâr ast ke ramz râ avaz mi-konam.
This is the third time I have changed the password. (neutral conversation)
The last example uses prenominal سومین, because the ordinal comes before بار. Postnominal بار سوم is also possible: برای بار سوم تماس گرفتم “I called for the third time.”
ـمین before the noun
The ـمین form directly precedes the noun and needs no ezâfe between the ordinal and that noun: دومین فرصت، ششمین جلسه. Any modifier after the noun follows the ordinary ezâfe chain.
دومین قطار مستقیم ساعت هشت حرکت میکند.
dovvomin qetâr-e mostaqim sâ'at hasht harekat mi-konad.
The second direct train leaves at eight. (neutral schedule)
امروز ششمین جلسهی کارگاه را برگزار کردیم.
emruz sheshomin jalase-ye kârgâh râ bargozâr kardim.
Today we held the workshop’s sixth session. (neutral standard)
Persian ordinals do not agree for gender or number. اولین نفر can refer to a woman or man, and سه نفر اول “the first three people” keeps اول unchanged. This differs from languages whose ordinal adjectives inflect to match their nouns.
First: اول, یکم, نخست
The ordinary modern pair is postnominal/predicative اول and prenominal اولین: روز اول، اولین روز. یکم is also standard, particularly in numbered sections, dates, and systematic lists. Prenominal یکمین is structurally possible but markedly less usual than اولین; learners should not mechanically manufacture it in ordinary speech.
نخست and نخستین mean “first” in (formal) and (literary) styles. They are alive in journalism and elevated prose, not archaic, but sound more deliberate than everyday اول/اولین.
در اولین روز کارم هنوز همهی همکاران را نمیشناختم.
dar avvalin ruz-e kâr-am hanuz hame-ye hamkârân râ nemi-shenâkhtam.
On my first day at work, I did not know all my colleagues yet. (neutral conversation)
بخش یکم تعریفهای اصلی را معرفی میکند.
bakhsh-e yekom ta'rif-hâ-ye asli râ mo'arrefi mi-konad.
Section one introduces the main definitions. (formal systematic numbering)
نخستین نتایج پژوهش در پاییز منتشر شد.
nakhostin natâyej-e pazhuhesh dar pâ'iz montasher shod.
The initial results of the study were published in autumn. (academic/formal)
Here نخستین نتایج can mean “the initial results,” not necessarily one item ranked first. Ordinals often extend from literal position to stages in time or discourse.
Compound ordinals
Build the cardinal first, then ordinalize its final element. Keep the cardinal’s linking و:
| Cardinal | Postnominal ordinal | Prenominal ordinal |
|---|---|---|
| بیست و یک | بیست و یکم | بیست و یکمین |
| بیست و دو | بیست و دوم | بیست و دومین |
| سی | سیام | سیامین |
| صد | صدم | صدمین |
| هزار | هزارم | هزارمین |
When the base ends in written ی, as in سی, attach ام/امین with a ZWNJ: سیام، سیامین. Iranian pronunciation inserts a glide, si-yom and si-yomin; the written alif does not introduce a glottal onset. After consonant-final bases, the suffix is written directly: هفتم، هفتمین. In a compound such as بیست و دوم, use the established irregular دوم, not an invented suffix on bare دو.
بیست و یکمین دورهی جشنواره امسال برگزار میشود.
bist-o-yekomin dowre-ye jashnvâre emsâl bargozâr mi-shavad.
The twenty-first edition of the festival will be held this year. (formal-neutral)
دفتر مدیر در اتاق ۳۰ است؛ یعنی اتاق سیام این راهرو.
daftar-e modir dar otâq-e si ast; ya'ni otâq-e si-yom-e in râhru.
The manager’s office is in room 30—that is, the thirtieth room in this corridor. (neutral; label versus ordinal rank)
The first ۳۰ is a room label and can be read cardinal سی. The spelled ordinal سیام in the explanation identifies position in a sequence. Figures alone often leave “label” versus “rank” to context.
Scope with more than one number
Compare فصل دوم “the second chapter” with دو فصل اول “the first two chapters.” In the second phrase, cardinal دو counts chapters and postnominal اول selects the initial part of the series. The phrase does not mean “two first-place chapters.”
برای فردا فقط دو فصل اول کتاب را بخوانید.
barâ-ye fardâ faqat do fasl-e avval-e ketâb râ be-khânid.
For tomorrow, read only the first two chapters of the book. (teacher’s instruction)
Calendar days frequently use ordinals, but their date-specific alternation with cardinals belongs to Dates and the Solar Hijri Calendar.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the short ordinal before the noun
❌ سوم کتاب را از قفسه برداشتم.
Incorrect neutral noun-phrase order — use postnominal کتاب سوم or prenominal سومین کتاب.
✅ سومین کتاب را برای خواهرم کنار گذاشتم.
sevvomin ketâb râ barâ-ye khâhar-am kenâr gozâshtam.
I set the third book aside for my sister.
2. Omitting written ezâfe after silent ه
❌ اتاق جلسه در طبقه سوم است.
Incorrect standard spelling — after silent ه, write ezâfe as هی: طبقهی سوم.
✅ اتاق جلسه در طبقهی سوم است.
otâq-e jalase dar tabaqe-ye sevvom ast.
The meeting room is on the third floor.
3. Forming second and third mechanically
❌ دوام و سهام را انتخاب کردم.
Incorrect ordinary ordinals — use the established forms دوم and سوم.
✅ گزینهی دوم را انتخاب کردم، نه گزینهی سوم را.
gozine-ye dovvom râ entekhâb kardam, na gozine-ye sevvom râ.
I chose the second option, not the third.
4. Dropping و inside a compound ordinal
❌ این بیست یکمین جلسهی گروه است.
Incorrect — the exact compound cardinal retains linking و when it becomes ordinal.
✅ این بیست و دومین جلسهی گروه پژوهشی است.
in bist-o-dovvomin jalase-ye goruh-e pazhuheshi ast.
This is the research group’s twenty-second meeting.
5. Making the ordinal agree with a plural noun
❌ سه نفر اولینها وارد سالن شدند.
Incorrect — Persian ordinal adjectives do not take plural agreement here.
✅ سه نفر اول وارد سالن شدند.
se nafar-e avval vâred-e sâlon shodand.
The first three people entered the hall.
Key Takeaways
- Use noun + ezâfe + ـم ordinal: مرحلهی دوم.
- Use ـمین ordinal + noun: دومین مرحله.
- Ordinals can stand predicatively in rankings: دوم شد “came second.”
- Memorize اول/اولین، دوم/دومین، سوم/سومین; do not build them mechanically.
- Preserve و in compound ordinals, and use ZWNJ in vowel-bound forms such as سیام.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Cardinals from Zero to TwentyA1 — Read, pronounce, write, and use Persian cardinal numbers from صفر to بیست with Persian digits and singular counted nouns.
- Building Tens, Hundreds, and ThousandsA1 — Build and pronounce exact Persian cardinals above twenty with linking و, irregular round numbers, and the scale words هزار and میلیون.
- Numbers with NounsA1 — Combine Persian cardinals with singular counted nouns, optional counters, measures, adjectives, and meaning-based agreement.
- Dates and the Solar Hijri CalendarA2 — Form Iranian Persian dates with day–month–year order, Persian month names, cardinal or ordinal days, and clearly labeled calendar systems.
- Noun plus Adjective with EzâfeA1 — Build Persian noun phrases with postnominal adjectives, one audible ezâfe link at each internal boundary, and no agreement endings.