خود as Reflexive Pronoun | Farsi Grammar

Persian builds its ordinary reflexive pronouns from خود khod “self” plus a possessive clitic that identifies the relevant person: خودم “myself,” خودت “yourself,” خودش “himself/herself/itself,” and their plural counterparts. The same forms can mean “my/your/his own” inside a noun phrase, and خودش may sometimes refer beyond its own clause. Context and sentence structure therefore matter as much as the form itself.

English has separate forms such as myself, herself, and themselves. Persian instead keeps the person-neutral stem خود and changes only the attached ending. That compact system is regular, but deciding which possible antecedent خودش refers to can be genuinely difficult.

The six indexed forms

Person	Reflexive form	Romanization	Typical English equivalent
first singular	خودم	khod-am	myself; my own
second singular	خودت	khod-at	yourself; your own
third singular	خودش	khod-ash	himself, herself, itself; his/her/its own
first plural	خودمان	khod-emân	ourselves; our own
second plural/polite	خودتان	khod-etân	yourselves, yourself; your own
third plural/honorific	خودشان	khod-eshân	themselves, themself; their own

The endings are the same set introduced with possessive enclitics. In careful standard Persian, the plural forms are خودمان، خودتان، خودشان. Everyday Tehran speech often pronounces them closer to خودمون، خودتون، خودشون (informal, regional: Tehran); those conversational forms should not silently replace the standard spellings in formal prose.

من خودم را در آینه دیدم.

man khod-am râ dar âyene didam.

I saw myself in the mirror. (neutral standard)

سارا خودش را برای مصاحبه آماده کرد.

sârâ khod-ash râ barâ-ye mosâhebe âmâde kard.

Sara prepared herself for the interview. (neutral standard)

بچه‌ها خودشان را پشت پرده پنهان کردند.

bachche-hâ khod-eshân râ posht-e parde penhân kardand.

The children hid themselves behind the curtain. (neutral standard)

In each sentence, the subject and the ending on خود identify the same participant. Persian does not mark grammatical gender, so خودش covers himself, herself, and itself.

Reflexive objects and را

When an indexed خود is a specific direct object, it behaves like another specific direct object and normally takes را in standard Persian: خودم را دیدم. In colloquial Tehran Persian, را is commonly pronounced رو or ـو (informal, regional: Tehran).

چرا خودت را سرزنش می‌کنی؟

cherâ khod-at râ sarzanesh mi-koni?

Why are you blaming yourself? (neutral standard)

خودتو برای چیزی که تقصیر تو نبود سرزنش نکن.

khod-eto barâ-ye chizi ke taqsir-e to nabud sarzanesh nakon.

Don't blame yourself for something that wasn't your fault. (informal, regional: Tehran)

The second example writes the conventional colloquial unit خودتو, representing خودت + رو. In edited standard writing, use خودت را. The clitic on خودت identifies the reflexive's person; را/رو separately marks its direct-object role.

After a preposition, no را is added because the preposition already assigns the phrase its role.

به خودم قول دادم که این بار عجله نکنم.

be khod-am qowl dâdam ke in bâr ajale nakonam.

I promised myself not to rush this time. (neutral standard)

او بعد از عمل نمی‌توانست از خودش مراقبت کند.

u ba'd az amal nemi-tavânest az khod-ash morâqebat konad.

After the operation, he or she could not look after himself or herself. (neutral standard)

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First choose the reflexive ending from the antecedent: من → خودم، تو → خودت، او → خودش. Then mark the reflexive phrase's role: add را for a specific direct object, but keep a governing preposition such as به or از without را.

“One's own” inside a noun phrase

The indexed forms also modify a noun phrase with the meaning “one's own.” Here خودش is not itself the object: the larger phrase may be کتاب خودش “his/her own book,” and را follows that whole phrase if it is a specific direct object.

علی کتاب خودش را آورد.

ali ketâb-e khod-ash râ âvard.

Ali brought his own book. (normally Ali's book)

علی کتاب او را آورد.

ali ketâb-e u râ âvard.

Ali brought his or her book. (normally another person's book)

This contrast has no exact mechanical English equivalent. English his can refer back to Ali or to another man, while Persian خودش strongly invites a reflexive relation to a salient antecedent and او ordinarily points elsewhere.

ما نظر خودمان را صریح بیان کردیم.

mâ nazar-e khod-emân râ sarih bayân kardim.

We stated our own opinion plainly. (neutral standard)

لطفا کارت خودتان را همراه داشته باشید.

lotfâ kârt-e khod-etân râ hamrâh dâshte bâshid.

Please have your own card with you. (formal/polite instruction)

The ezâfe after the noun links it to the reflexive possessor: نظرِ خودمان، کارتِ خودتان. خود does not replace ezâfe; it fills the possessor position that ezâfe introduces.

Reflexive versus emphatic خود

An indexed خود can also mean “personally” or “X himself/herself,” without being an object. Compare the two patterns:

علی خودش آمد و در را باز کرد.

ali khod-ash âmad va dar râ bâz kard.

Ali came himself and opened the door. (emphatic subject)

علی خودش را در شیشه دید.

ali khod-ash râ dar shishe did.

Ali saw himself in the glass. (reflexive object)

The first خودش adds contrast—Ali came rather than sending somebody—and receives no را. The second is the specific object of دید and therefore takes را. This distinction is developed further on Emphatic خود.

💡

Do not use the mere presence of خودش to diagnose a reflexive. Ask what job the whole expression performs. خودش آمد is emphatic; خودش را دید is a reflexive direct object; کتاب خودش is a reflexive possessor.

Local and longer-distance reference

English reflexives are usually tightly local: in Sohrab said that Bahar published a picture of herself, herself must refer to Bahar, not Sohrab. Persian indexed خود is less strictly local, especially in possessor phrases and clauses reporting someone's words, thoughts, or perspective.

سهراب گفت که بهار عکس خودش را منتشر کرده است.

sohrâb goft ke bahâr aks-e khod-ash râ montasher karde ast.

Sohrab said that Bahar had published his or her own picture. (potentially Bahar's or Sohrab's picture, depending on context)

The nearest subject بهار supports a local reading: Bahar's own picture. Because سهراب is the source of the reported statement, an appropriate context can support a longer-distance reading: Sohrab's picture. Speakers weigh syntactic proximity, discourse topic, perspective, and plausibility rather than applying one exceptionless shortcut.

When the distinction matters, repeat the name or use a nonreflexive possessor.

سهراب گفت که بهار عکس سهراب را منتشر کرده است.

sohrâb goft ke bahâr aks-e sohrâb râ montasher karde ast.

Sohrab said that Bahar had published Sohrab's picture. (explicitly disambiguated)

There is no honest one-line rule that resolves every خودش in a complex sentence. The advanced patterns and the role of perspective are treated on Long-Distance Reflexive خود.

Polite and honorific reference

Polite شما selects خودتان, even when it addresses one person. Respectful singular ایشان similarly selects plural-indexed خودشان and plural verb agreement.

شما باید خودتان این فرم را امضا کنید.

shomâ bâyad khod-etân in form râ emzâ konid.

You must sign this form yourself. (polite singular or plural)

ایشان خودشان را به اعضای گروه معرفی کردند.

ishân khod-eshân râ be a'zâ-ye goruh mo'arrefi kardand.

He or she introduced himself or herself to the group. (respectful singular with plural-indexed reflexive)

The plural ending does not mean that the respectful referent is numerically plural. It is part of the same honorific agreement system as ایشان ... کردند, explained on Polite ایشان.

Common Mistakes

1. Copying the subject's person incorrectly

❌ من خودش را در آینه دیدم.

Incorrect indexation — the first-singular subject من requires خودم.

✅ من خودم را در آینه دیدم.

man khod-am râ dar âyene didam.

I saw myself in the mirror.

2. Omitting را and accidentally creating an emphatic reading

✅ من خودم دیدم.

man khod-am didam.

I myself saw it or someone; خودم is emphatic here, not a reflexive object.

✅ من خودم را روی صفحه دیدم.

man khod-am râ ru-ye safhe didam.

I saw myself on the screen.

Both sentences are grammatical. The object marker را distinguishes reflexive-object خودم را from emphatic subject-oriented خودم in this contrast.

3. Adding را after a preposition

❌ به خودم را قول دادم.

Incorrect — به already introduces the reflexive phrase, so را cannot follow it.

✅ به خودم قول دادم که آرام بمانم.

be khod-am qowl dâdam ke ârâm bemânam.

I promised myself that I would stay calm.

4. Using an ordinary pronoun for an intended reflexive

✅ سارا او را در آینه دید.

sârâ u râ dar âyene did.

Sara saw him or her in the mirror; او normally refers to someone else.

✅ سارا خودش را در آینه دید.

sârâ khod-ash râ dar âyene did.

Sara saw herself in the mirror.

Both sentences are grammatical, but they normally identify different people: او points away from Sara, while خودش identifies Sara as both perceiver and reflected person.

5. Mixing honorific ایشان with first-person خودم

❌ ایشان خودم را معرفی کردند.

Incorrect indexation — respectful ایشان requires plural-indexed خودشان.

✅ ایشان خودشان را معرفی کردند.

ishân khod-eshân râ mo'arrefi kardand.

He or she introduced himself or herself. (respectful singular)

Key Takeaways

Build the six ordinary reflexives as خود + person-indexing clitic: خودم، خودت، خودش، خودمان، خودتان، خودشان.
Add را when the reflexive is a specific direct object, but not after a preposition.
In کتاب خودش, the form means “his/her own” and follows the noun through ezâfe.
Separate reflexive خودش را دید from emphatic خودش آمد.
خودش can sometimes refer to a perspective holder beyond its own clause; repeat a name when ambiguity has real consequences.

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