Persian separates several relations that English often compresses into have, with, or possessive 's. دفتر پیش من است means “the notebook is with me” in current custody; دفتر نزد مدیر است gives a more formal “the notebook is with the manager”; دفتر مال ناهید است identifies Nahid as owner or affiliate; ناهید دفتر دارد says that Nahid has a notebook.
The decisive question is not simply “who possesses it?” Ask whether the sentence locates something in a person's sphere, identifies who it belongs to, or asserts that a possessor has something available. Those perspectives can all be true of one object without being interchangeable.
Quick decision map
| Construction | Core perspective | Typical use | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| چیز + پیشِ شخص + است | current location/custody | with someone; at someone's place | neutral, conversational |
| چیز + نزدِ شخص + است | custody/location/standing | held by; in the view or circle of | formal, administrative, literary |
| چیز + مالِ شخص + است | ownership/affiliation | belongs to; is someone's | neutral; broad in speech |
| شخص + چیز + دارد | possession/availability | has, owns, experiences | all registers |
پیش، نزد، مال are noun-like relational elements here. Before an independent possessor, each carries audible ezâfe: پیشِ من، نزدِ وکیل، مالِ سارا. The ezâfe is not normally written after these consonant-final words, but it must be pronounced.
پیش: with a person or at that person's place
پیش locates an item, person, or event in someone's immediate sphere. With an object, that often means temporary custody. With a person as subject, it can mean company or staying at someone's place.
کارت ورود پیش من است؛ صبح به شما میدهم.
kârt-e vorud pish-e man ast; sobh be shomâ mi-daham.
The entry card is with me; I'll give it to you in the morning. (temporary custody)
امشب بچهها پیش عمهشان میمانند.
emshab bachche-hâ pish-e amme-shân mi-mânand.
The children are staying with their aunt tonight. (neutral standard; at her place/in her care)
دیروز پیش پزشک رفتم و نتیجهی آزمایش را نشانش دادم.
diruz pish-e pezeshk raftam va natije-ye âzmâyesh râ neshân-ash dâdam.
Yesterday I went to the doctor and showed them the test result. (neutral standard)
In the first sentence, پیش من does not imply that the card belongs to the speaker. In the second, the construction locates the children with their aunt rather than expressing accompaniment during movement. Compare companion با عمهشان رفتند “they went with their aunt.”
نزد: the formal counterpart and broader association
نزد overlaps with پیش but belongs mainly to formal, administrative, and literary Persian. It is useful for documents or property held by an institution or person, and it can express standing “among/in the eyes of” a group.
اصل مدارک نزد دبیرخانه باقی میماند.
asl-e madârek nazd-e dabirkhâne bâqi mi-mânad.
The original documents remain with the secretariat. (formal/administrative custody)
نسخهی قرارداد تا پایان بررسی نزد وکیل خواهد بود.
noskhe-ye qarârdâd tâ pâyân-e barrasi nazd-e vakil khâhad bud.
The copy of the contract will remain with the lawyer until the review is complete. (formal)
این نویسنده نزد خوانندگان جوان محبوب است.
in nevisande nazd-e khânandegân-e javân mahbub ast.
This writer is popular among young readers. (formal; social standing rather than physical location)
The third use is associative: the evaluation holds within a social group. Everyday speech usually rephrases it, for example خوانندههای جوان این نویسنده را دوست دارند (informal, regional: Tehran). The formal form is not archaic; it remains productive in public and institutional prose.
مال: ownership, allocation, and source
Predicate مال places the item first and its owner or affiliate after audible ezâfe: این کیف مالِ ناهید است. It answers “Whose is it?” rather than “Does Nahid have one?”
این چتر خیس مال یکی از مسافرها است.
in chatr-e khis mâl-e yeki az mosâfer-hâ ast.
This wet umbrella belongs to one of the passengers. (neutral standard)
میز کنار پنجره مال گروه طراحی است.
miz-e kenâr-e panjare mâl-e goruh-e tarrâhi ast.
The desk by the window is assigned to the design team. (institutional association/allocation)
این بوی دود مال بخاری همسایهست.
in bu-ye dud mâl-e bokhâri-ye hamsâye-st.
This smell of smoke is coming from the neighbor's heater. (informal, regional: Tehran; source association)
The last example shows how conversational مال extends beyond legal ownership. A technical report would prefer a more precise source construction such as این بو از بخاری همسایه میآید. For the complete predicate, see Predicate Possession with مال.
داشتن: the possessor as subject
With داشتن, the possessor is the grammatical subject and the possessed or available item appears before the verb: من دوربین دارم. This frame can cover ownership, temporary availability, relationships, symptoms, and resources. It does not specifically answer where a known item is now.
نادر یک چاپگر کوچک در خانه دارد.
nâder yek châpgar-e kuchek dar khâne dârad.
Nader has a small printer at home. (general possession/availability)
من امروز پول نقد همراهم ندارم.
man emruz pul-e naqd hamrâh-am nadâram.
I don't have any cash with me today. (temporary availability)
The difference is perspectival. من دوربین دارم introduces a camera within my sphere; دوربین پیش من است locates a known camera with me; دوربین مال من است identifies me as its owner.
One situation, three true statements
Suppose Sara owns a camera and has lent it to Omid for a weekend. Persian can describe three different facts:
سارا دوربین حرفهای دارد.
sârâ durbin-e herfe-i dârad.
Sara has a professional camera. (general possession)
آن دوربین مال سارا است.
ân durbin mâl-e sârâ ast.
That camera belongs to Sara. (ownership identification)
دوربین این آخر هفته پیش امید است.
durbin in âkhar-e hafte pish-e omid ast.
The camera is with Omid this weekend. (temporary custody)
None contradicts the others. English Omid has Sara's camera leaves temporary custody to context; Persian can make that distinction overt.
Clitics: پیشم، نزدم، مالم
When the possessor is accessible and uncontrasted, a clitic can attach to the relational word: پیشم “with me,” پیشش “with him/her,” نزدم “with me/in my keeping” (formal), نزدشان “with them” (formal), مالم “mine,” مالشان “theirs.”
کلید یدکی پیشش است؛ از خودش بپرس.
kelid-e yadaki pish-ash ast; az khod-ash bepors.
The spare key is with him or her; ask them directly. (neutral standard)
مدارک شما نزدم محفوظ خواهد ماند.
madârek-e shomâ nazd-am mahfuz khâhad mând.
Your documents will remain safe in my keeping. (formal)
این بسته مالم نیست؛ فقط مسئول تحویلش هستم.
in baste mâl-am nist; faqat mas'ul-e tahvil-ash hastam.
This package isn't mine; I'm only responsible for delivering it. (neutral standard)
An independent phrase is better for contrast: پیش من است، نه پیش او. The advanced distribution of these forms appears on Clitics on Prepositions.
A short dialogue
نسخهی چاپی گزارش پیش کیه؟
noskhe-ye châpi-ye gozâresh pish-e kiye?
Who has the printed copy of the report? (informal, regional: Tehran; asking current location)
پیش منه، ولی مال بخش پژوهشه.
pish-e mane, vali mâl-e bakhsh-e pazhuhesh-e.
It's with me, but it belongs to the research department. (informal, regional: Tehran)
The dialogue deliberately contrasts temporary custody with institutional affiliation.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting the audible ezâfe after پیش
❌ پرونده پیش من است.
parvande pish man ast
Incorrect reading — پیش and من are linked by audible -e.
✅ پروندهی بیمه پیش من است.
parvande-ye bime pish-e man ast.
The insurance file is with me.
2. Using مال for an item merely on loan
کتاب تو مال من است is grammatical, but it asserts “your book belongs to me.” It is therefore the wrong meaning for an ordinary loan situation, not a malformed Persian sentence.
✅ کتاب تو تا فردا پیش من است؛ فردا پسش میدهم.
ketâb-e to tâ fardâ pish-e man ast; fardâ pas-ash mi-daham.
Your book is with me until tomorrow; I'll return it tomorrow.
3. Marking the subject with را
❌ کارت را پیش من است.
Incorrect in the intended neutral clause — کارت is the subject of است, not a direct object.
✅ کارت بانکی پیش مسئول پذیرش است.
kârt-e bânki pish-e mas'ul-e pazirosh ast.
The bank card is with the receptionist.
4. Inserting مال into a داشتن frame
❌ من مال دوچرخه دارم.
Incorrect — مال is a possessive predicate, not an article before the object of داشتن.
✅ من یک دوچرخه برای رفتوآمد دارم.
man yek docharkhe barâ-ye raft-o-âmad dâram.
I have a bicycle for getting around.
Key Takeaways
- پیشِ شخص locates something with a person or at that person's place, often temporarily.
- نزدِ شخص overlaps with پیش but is formal and also expresses standing within a social group.
- Predicate مالِ شخص است identifies ownership, allocation, origin, or association according to context.
- داشتن makes the possessor the subject and asserts possession or availability.
- With independent possessors, pronounce ezâfe; with accessible possessors, compact پیشم، نزدش، مالم forms are available.
Now practice Farsi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Spatial Nouns with EzâfeA1 — Build Persian location phrases with روی، زیر، کنار، جلوی، and پشت by linking each relational noun to its reference point with ezâfe.
- Accompaniment and Instrument with باA2 — Use با for companions, instruments, means, manner, and adversative relationships, including standard pronouns and colloquial باهاش-type forms.
- Clitics on PrepositionsB1 — Learn how Persian pronoun clitics attach to simple and complex prepositions, including formal forms such as برایش and colloquial forms such as باهات.
- Predicate Possession with مالB1 — Use مال with independent pronouns, names, clitics, and the copula to say that something is mine, yours, or associated with a source.
- Having with داشتن versus Possessive PredicatesB1 — Choose among داشتن, مال ... بودن, and پیش ... بودن for possession, ownership, availability, and temporary custody.
- Independent Pronoun versus Possessive CliticB1 — Choose between کتاب من and کتابم according to emphasis, contrast, phrase weight, and discourse rhythm.