Persian often describes location with words that behave partly like nouns: روی “surface/top,” زیر “underpart,” کنار “side,” جلو “front,” and پشت “back.” To locate one thing relative to another, Persian places the spatial word first and links it to its reference point with ezâfe: روی میز ru-ye miz “on the table,” کنار پنجره kenâr-e panjare “beside the window.”
English learners often treat these as five ordinary prepositions and miss the linker. Their noun-like structure explains both the word order and the ezâfe: کنار پنجره is structurally close to “the side of the window.” Once you recognize that pattern, many longer Persian location phrases become predictable.
The core five patterns
| Base | Linked phrase | Reading | Core meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| رو / روی | روی میز | ru-ye miz | on the table |
| زیر | زیر میز | zir-e miz | under the table |
| کنار | کنار میز | kenâr-e miz | beside the table |
| جلو | جلوی میز | jelow-ye miz | in front of the table |
| پشت | پشت میز | posht-e miz | behind the table |
After consonants, ezâfe is normally unwritten: زیر صندلی، کنار پنجره، پشت ساختمان. It is still pronounced as -e. جلو ends in a vowel-like ow, so its linked form is written جلوی and pronounced jelow-ye. In روی, the written ی belongs to the spatial word, and the following ezâfe is pronounced -ye: ru-ye.
فنجان روی سینی است.
fenjân ru-ye sini ast.
The cup is on the tray. (neutral standard)
کیفم را زیر صندلی گذاشتم.
kif-am râ zir-e sandali gozâshtam.
I put my bag under the chair. (neutral standard)
یک نانوایی کنار داروخانه است.
yek nânvâyi kenâr-e dârukhâne ast.
There is a bakery beside the pharmacy. (neutral standard)
جلوی آسانسور منتظر هستم.
jelow-ye âsânsor montazer hastam.
I am waiting in front of the elevator. (neutral standard)
دوچرخه پشت درخت افتاده است.
docharkhe posht-e derakht oftâde ast.
The bicycle has fallen behind the tree. (neutral standard)
Ezâfe belongs inside the location phrase
The invisible linker is obligatory in speech even though ordinary spelling hides it after زیر، کنار, and پشت. It links the spatial region to the noun that defines that region. Without audible ezâfe, کنار پنجره sounds like two disconnected nouns rather than “beside the window.”
بشقابها را روی میز غذاخوری بگذار.
boshqâb-hâ râ ru-ye miz-e ghazâkhori be-gozâr.
Put the plates on the dining table. (neutral standard)
This sentence contains two links. رویِ میز makes the spatial relation, while میزِ غذاخوری identifies the kind of table. The chain is interpreted left to right: “on [the dining table].” Review the general linking system on Ezâfe: The Invisible Linker.
The complement itself can be long:
ماشین را جلوی در ورودی ساختمان پارک نکن.
mâshin râ jelow-ye dar-e vorudi-ye sâkhtemân pârk nakon.
Don't park the car in front of the building's entrance door. (neutral standard)
Ezâfe after the spatial word does not compete with later ezâfe links. Each nonfinal head connects to the next dependent.
Location versus destination
These relational phrases can answer either “where?” or “where to?” The verb supplies the difference. روی میز است describes a location; روی میز بگذار gives a destination. Persian does not need to add به merely because English distinguishes “on” from “onto.”
گوشی روی پیشخوان است.
gushi ru-ye pishkhân ast.
The phone is on the counter. (location)
گوشی را روی پیشخوان بگذار.
gushi râ ru-ye pishkhân be-gozâr.
Put the phone on the counter. (destination)
The spatial relation stays روی پیشخوان in both sentences. The stative است and caused-motion بگذار create the contrast. Movement versus Location: به and در treats the parallel contrast with simple prepositions.
When the complement is understood
The base spatial word can be used without an expressed reference point when context supplies one or when it has developed a directional meaning. With no complement, there is no ezâfe link.
کمی جلو بیا؛ صدایت را خوب نمیشنوم.
kami jelow biyâ; sedâ-yat râ khub nemi-shenavam.
Come a little forward; I can't hear you well. (neutral standard)
کمی کنار رفت تا در باز شود.
kami kenâr raft tâ dar bâz shavad.
He/She moved aside so the door could open. (neutral standard)
Here جلو means “forward” and کنار means “aside.” Compare جلوی در “in front of the door” and کنار در “beside the door,” where an expressed complement requires the linker.
In a dialogue, the complement can also be recovered from the question:
گربه کجاست؟
gorbe kojâ-st?
Where is the cat?
زیر میز خوابیده است.
zir-e miz khâbide ast.
It is sleeping under the table.
The complement میز is expressed, so زیر still carries ezâfe. True omission would be possible only if a speaker simply said زیر است, but that is less informative and strongly context-dependent.
Adding در and using clitics
در کنار is common in standard and formal prose, often with the broader sense “alongside” or “in addition to.” For simple physical location, bare کنار is usually enough: کنار پنجره نشستم. Do not assume that every relational noun requires در.
An accessible pronoun may appear as a clitic: کنارش “beside him/her/it,” پشتشان “behind them,” رویش “on it.” The clitic replaces the full ezâfe complement rather than following an extra ezâfe.
مریم تنها بود، پس کنارش نشستم.
Maryam tanhâ bud, pas kenâr-ash neshastam.
Maryam was alone, so I sat beside her. (neutral standard)
This compact pattern is developed on Clitics on Prepositions.
Common Mistakes
1. Dropping ezâfe in pronunciation
❌ کتاب زیر میز است.
ketâb zir miz ast
Incorrect reading — زیر must link to میز with -e.
✅ کتاب زیر میز است.
ketâb zir-e miz ast.
The book is under the table.
2. Omitting written ی after جلو
❌ جلو در منتظر هستم.
Incorrect — جلو is vowel-final and takes the visible linked form جلوی before a complement.
✅ جلوی در منتظر هستم.
jelow-ye dar montazer hastam.
I am waiting in front of the door.
3. Adding an English-style preposition inside the phrase
❌ پشت از ساختمان یک پارک است.
Incorrect — پشت takes its reference point directly through ezâfe.
✅ پشت ساختمان یک پارک است.
posht-e sâkhtemân yek pârk ast.
There is a park behind the building.
4. Keeping the linked form when no complement follows
❌ کمی جلوی بیا.
Incorrect — without a following reference point, use directional جلو, not linked جلوی.
✅ کمی جلو بیا.
kami jelow biyâ.
Come a little forward.
Key Takeaways
- روی، زیر، کنار، جلوی، پشت head relational phrases and precede their reference point.
- Ezâfe is required: ru-ye miz, zir-e miz, kenâr-e miz, jelow-ye miz, posht-e miz.
- جلو becomes written جلوی before a complement; unlinked directional جلو means “forward.”
- A relational phrase can describe either a location or destination; the verb and clause determine which.
- A clitic can replace the reference point: کنارش، پشتشان، رویش.
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- در، به، از، با، برایA1 — Use the five core Persian prepositions for location, destination, source, accompaniment, and beneficiary, with clear standard and colloquial contrasts.
- Movement versus Location: به and درA2 — Choose به for a destination and در for a static setting, while recognizing motion verbs that omit به and colloquial توی for location.
- 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.
- Ezâfe after Vowels: -yeA2 — Learn why vowel-final Persian words take the ezâfe form -ye, when ی is written, and when the linker remains invisible.
- 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.