Persian uses همدیگر hamdigar and یکدیگر yekdigar for English “each other” and “one another.” They describe a relation whose participants act toward one another: ما همدیگر را دیدیم “We saw each other.” The reciprocal form itself never changes for person, number, or gender.
The main difference is register. همدیگر is the ordinary choice in present-day conversation and is also acceptable in neutral writing. یکدیگر is especially common in edited, formal, and academic prose. The grammar around them is the same: direct objects take را, prepositions stand before the reciprocal, and possession uses ezâfe.
Core forms and roles
| Role | Pattern | Example phrase | Register |
|---|---|---|---|
| direct object | همدیگر را | each other as known participants | neutral/current |
| direct object | یکدیگر را | one another as known participants | formal/written |
| object of a preposition | به همدیگر، از یکدیگر | to each other, from one another | all registers |
| possessor | حرفهای همدیگر | each other's words | neutral |
| colloquial direct object | همدیگه رو | each other | informal, regional: Tehran |
Unlike English, Persian does not distinguish “each other” from “one another” by whether two or more people participate. Both Persian forms work with two participants and with larger groups.
من و سارا همدیگر را جلوی کتابخانه دیدیم.
man va sârâ hamdigar râ jelow-ye ketâbkhâne didim.
Sara and I saw each other in front of the library. (neutral standard)
اعضای گروه باید به نظر یکدیگر احترام بگذارند.
a'zâ-ye goruh bâyad be nazar-e yekdigar ehterâm begozârand.
Group members must respect one another's opinions. (formal)
Reciprocal meaning requires plural participation
The antecedent may be a plural noun, a plural pronoun, or coordinated singulars. What matters is that the event contains at least two participants connected in opposite directions. The reciprocal does not control verb agreement; the subject does.
دو همسایه سالهاست همدیگر را میشناسند.
do hamsâye sâl-hâ-st hamdigar râ mi-shenâsand.
The two neighbors have known each other for years. (neutral standard)
من و برادرم گاهی از یکدیگر انتقاد میکنیم.
man va barâdar-am gâhi az yekdigar enteqâd mi-konim.
My brother and I sometimes criticize one another. (formal-neutral)
In the first sentence, plural میشناسند agrees with دو همسایه. In the second, first-person plural میکنیم follows the coordinated subject that includes the speaker. همدیگر and یکدیگر do not carry agreement endings.
Direct objects take را
When the participants directly see, help, invite, or contact one another, the reciprocal is a definite direct object and takes را. In everyday Tehran speech, همدیگر را commonly becomes همدیگه رو; keep the standard form in edited writing.
بعد از جلسه، مدیران یکدیگر را به ناهار دعوت کردند.
ba'd az jalase, modirân yekdigar râ be nâhâr da'vat kardand.
After the meeting, the managers invited one another to lunch. (formal-neutral)
ما هر روز همدیگه رو میبینیم.
mâ har ruz hamdige ro mi-binim.
We see each other every day. (informal, regional: Tehran)
The compact object clitics in دیدمش “I saw him/her” point to one contextually identified referent; they do not encode reciprocity. To assert a mutual event, keep the reciprocal expression. See object clitics on verbs for that separate system.
With prepositions
Prepositions select the relation: به همدیگر “to/at each other,” از همدیگر “from/about each other,” با همدیگر “with each other,” برای یکدیگر “for one another.” There is no را after a prepositional reciprocal because it is not a direct object.
خواهش میکنم به همدیگر فرصت بدهید حرفتان را تمام کنید.
khâhesh mi-konam be hamdigar forsat bedahid harf-etân râ tamâm konid.
Please give each other a chance to finish speaking. (polite, careful spoken standard)
این دو بخش از یکدیگر مستقل نیستند.
in do bakhsh az yekdigar mostaqel nistand.
These two sections are not independent of one another. (academic)
با هم often means “together” and can be more natural than با همدیگر when mutuality is already obvious: با هم کار میکنیم “we work together.” But هم alone cannot replace the full reciprocal in every grammatical role; direct-object “we saw each other” remains همدیگر را دیدیم, not simply هم را دیدیم in neutral modern Persian.
Reciprocal possession
A reciprocal can possess a noun through ezâfe: شمارهی همدیگر “each other's phone number,” پیشنهادهای یکدیگر “one another's proposals.” The possessed noun occupies its ordinary position, and ezâfe links it to the reciprocal possessor.
شمارهی همدیگر را داریم، ولی کمتر تماس میگیریم.
shomâre-ye hamdigar râ dârim, vali kamtar tamâs mi-girim.
We have each other's numbers, but we call less often. (neutral standard)
پژوهشگران پیش از انتشار مقالههای یکدیگر را خواندند.
pazhuheshgarân pish az enteshâr maqâle-hâ-ye yekdigar râ khândand.
Before publication, the researchers read one another's articles. (academic)
The plural or possessive marking goes on the possessed noun if needed, not on همدیگر itself. Persian does not form a plural reciprocal analogous to English each others.
Reciprocal versus reflexive
خودشان points each participant back to that same participant; همدیگر crosses between participants. Compare “They photographed themselves” with “They photographed each other.” The difference is about direction of reference, not just plurality. The reflexive خود page develops the contrast.
آنها از خودشان عکس گرفتند.
ân-hâ az khod-eshân aks gereftand.
They took pictures of themselves. (each may photograph themself; reflexive)
آنها از همدیگر عکس گرفتند.
ân-hâ az hamdigar aks gereftand.
They took pictures of each other. (reciprocal)
A short dialogue
شما دو نفر از کجا همدیگر را میشناسید؟
shomâ do nafar az kojâ hamdigar râ mi-shenâsid?
How do you two know each other? (polite/careful spoken standard)
در دانشگاه با هم آشنا شدیم و هنوز با هم کار میکنیم.
dar dâneshgâh bâ ham âshnâ shodim va hanuz bâ ham kâr mi-konim.
We met at university and still work together. (careful spoken standard)
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting را from a direct reciprocal object
❌ ما همدیگر دیدیم.
Incorrect — the definite reciprocal direct object takes را.
✅ ما همدیگر را دیدیم.
mâ hamdigar râ didim.
We saw each other.
2. Adding را after a preposition
❌ به همدیگر را کمک کردیم.
Incorrect — a preposition already marks the reciprocal's relation.
✅ به همدیگر کمک کردیم.
be hamdigar komak kardim.
We helped each other.
3. Giving the reciprocal a singular antecedent
❌ نیما همدیگر را دید.
Incorrect without another participant — reciprocal meaning requires at least two members.
✅ نیما و لیلا همدیگر را دیدند.
nimâ va leylâ hamdigar râ didand.
Nima and Leila saw each other.
4. Making the reciprocal agree with the subject
❌ ما همدیگرمان را دیدیم.
Incorrect for simple ‘each other’ — the reciprocal itself does not take person agreement.
✅ ما یکدیگر را دیدیم.
mâ yekdigar râ didim.
We saw one another.
Key Takeaways
- همدیگر is the usual current neutral/spoken form; یکدیگر is especially common in formal writing.
- Both are invariant and work with two or more participants.
- Direct objects take را; prepositions precede the reciprocal without را.
- Possession uses ezâfe: حرفهای همدیگر.
- Verb agreement follows the plural or coordinated subject, not the reciprocal form.
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