Persian asks about an owner with مال کی “belonging to whom?” and about identity with کیست / کیه “who is it?” The related forms چه کسی “which person/who?” and کدام “which?” identify a participant or select one member from a known set.
Unlike English, Persian does not add do or invert a copula and subject. The question word normally occupies the same structural position as the missing answer: این کلید مال کی است؟ has کی exactly where من appears in the answer این کلید مال من است.
A construction map
| Information sought | Neutral or formal form | Everyday form | Typical answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| owner | مال چه کسی است؟ / مال کیست؟ | مال کیه؟ | مال من است. |
| identity | چه کسی است؟ / کیست؟ | کیه؟ | دوست من است. |
| human participant | چه کسی ...؟ | کی ...؟ | a person or name |
| one member of a set | کدام ...؟ | کدوم ...؟ | one named alternative |
The everyday forms in the third column are (informal, regional: Tehran). کیه، کدوم are entirely normal in conversation but should not replace کیست، کدام in edited formal prose.
Asking مال کی “whose?”
In a possessive predicate, مال presents something as belonging to an owner. Replace that owner with کی and keep the copula: مال کی است؟ In careful writing the copula may be separate after کی or appear in the conventional contraction کیست; colloquial speech normally uses کیه.
این چتر مال کی است؟
in chatr mâl-e ki ast?
Whose umbrella is this? (careful standard)
این گوشی مال کیه؟
in gushi mâl-e ki-ye?
Whose phone is this? (informal, regional: Tehran)
این صندلی کنار پنجره مال شماست؟
in sandali-ye kenâr-e panjere mâl-e shomâ-st?
Is this chair by the window yours? (polite neutral speech; yes-no possession question)
The third question asks whether a proposed owner is correct, so it does not use کی. Compare the answer patterns:
- مال کی است؟ — مال ناهید است. asks for an unknown owner.
- مال ناهید است؟ — بله. checks a proposed owner.
This predicate is explained more fully on Predicate Possession with مال. It is not a general replacement for داشتن “to have”: Persian asks چه کسی ماشین دارد؟ “Who has a car?”, not ماشین مال کی است؟, when the intended issue is possession as a property of a person rather than ownership of a particular car.
Identity with کیست and کیه
When a person’s identity is unknown, کی serves as the predicate of the copula. کیست؟ is compact written or careful Persian (formal-neutral). کیه؟ is the dominant colloquial form (informal, regional: Tehran). The subject can precede it or be understood from the situation.
خانمی که کنار مدیر ایستاده کیست؟
khânomi ke kenâr-e modir istâde kist?
Who is the woman standing beside the manager? (careful standard)
اون آقا که برات دست تکون داد کیه؟
un âghâ ke barâ-t dast tekun dâd ki-ye?
Who is that man who waved at you? (informal, regional: Tehran)
پشت در کیست؟
posht-e dar kist?
Who is at the door? (careful standard; identity inferred from the situation)
Although English places who first in Who is that man?, Persian naturally leaves کیست / کیه in predicate position after the expression being identified. کی آن آقاست؟ is not the neutral translation. Fronting is possible for special focus in Persian, but it should not be applied mechanically to every wh-word; see Basic SOV Word Order for the information-structure principle.
چه کسی for a human participant
چه کسی is the careful or formal counterpart of interrogative کی when asking which human participant performed or received an action. Its position follows its grammatical role.
چه کسی این فرم را امضا کرده است؟
che kasi in form râ emzâ karde ast?
Who has signed this form? (formal-neutral; subject question)
برای جلسه با چه کسی صحبت کردید؟
barâ-ye jalase bâ che kasi sohbat kardid?
Whom did you speak with about the meeting? (polite formal-neutral; complement of با)
دعوتنامه را برای کی فرستادی؟
da'vat-nâme râ barâ-ye ki ferestâdi?
Who did you send the invitation to? (neutral conversation)
Subject چه کسی often appears early because subjects commonly do. After a preposition, it remains inside the prepositional phrase: با چه کسی، برای چه کسی. The predictive rule is “replace the unknown constituent,” not “move every question word to the beginning.”
کدام for selecting from a set
کدام asks the listener to select one item or person from a contextually available set. Before a noun it normally has no ezafe: کدام اتاق، کدام نسخه، کدام دانشجو. When the noun is already obvious, کدام can stand alone.
کدام نسخهی قرارداد را برای مشتری فرستادید؟
kodâm noskhe-ye qarârdâd râ barâ-ye moshtari ferestâdid?
Which version of the contract did you send to the client? (formal-neutral)
از این دو کلید کدام مال نیماست؟
az in do kelid kodâm mâl-e Nimâ-st?
Which of these two keys belongs to Nima? (neutral standard)
کدومش رو میخوای؟
kodum-esh ro mi-khây?
Which one do you want? (informal, regional: Tehran)
The minimal contrast is semantic: این کیف مال کیست؟ seeks an owner; کدام کیف مال نیماست؟ seeks the correct bag. چه کسی selects a person who fills a clause role, while کدام شخص explicitly selects from a restricted set of people.
آیا does not introduce a wh-question
Formal آیا introduces a yes-no question whose answer is “yes” or “no.” A question containing کی، چه کسی, or کدام already specifies the missing information and does not normally take آیا. In casual speech, even yes-no questions generally rely on ordinary word order and intonation rather than repeated آیا.
A short dialogue
— این کارت ورود مال کیه؟ — مال همکار تازهمونه. — همکار تازهتون کیه؟ — خانم مرادی.
— in kârt-e vorud mâl-e ki-ye? — mâl-e hamkâr-e tâze-mun-e. — hamkâr-e tâze-tun ki-ye? — khânom-e Morâdi.
— Whose entry card is this? — It belongs to our new colleague. — Who is your new colleague? — Ms. Moradi. (informal, regional: Tehran)
The dialogue shows that ownership and identity are separate questions even when they occur in the same situation.
Common Mistakes
1. Adding an English-style auxiliary
❌ چه کسی میکند این کارت را دارد؟
Incorrect — Persian does not insert a form of کردن corresponding to English ‘does.’
✅ چه کسی کارت ورود اضافه دارد؟
che kasi kârt-e vorud-e ezâfe dârad?
Who has an extra entry card?
2. Moving the owner question to English initial position
❌ کی این دفتر مال است؟
Incorrect neutral word order — کی replaces the possessor after مال.
✅ این دفتر روی میز مال کی است؟
in daftar-e ru-ye miz mâl-e ki ast?
Whose is this notebook on the table?
3. Using آیا with an information question
❌ آیا کدام اتوبوس به مرکز شهر میرود؟
Incorrect construction — آیا asks for yes/no, while کدام requests a selected alternative.
✅ کدام اتوبوس به میدان اصلی میرود؟
kodâm otobus be meydân-e asli mi-ravad?
Which bus goes to the main square?
4. Using مال کی to ask who possesses any item of a type
❌ ماشین مال کی است؟
Incorrect for the intended general question ‘Who has a car?’ — this asks who owns a particular contextually identified car.
✅ در گروه ما چه کسی ماشین دارد؟
dar goruh-e mâ che kasi mâshin dârad?
Who in our group has a car?
Key Takeaways
- Replace the unknown answer in place: مال من است → مال کی است؟
- کیست is careful or written; کیه is everyday Tehran Persian.
- چه کسی asks for a human clause participant; کدام selects from a restricted set.
- Persian information questions do not require auxiliary inversion or introductory آیا.
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
- 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.
- The Enclitic Present CopulaA1 — Attach the six present copula forms to noun and adjective predicates with correct agreement, spacing, and standard or colloquial pronunciation.
- Demonstratives این and آنA1 — Use invariant این and آن before singular and plural nouns, and distinguish their determiner and standalone pronoun functions.
- Basic SOV Word OrderA1 — Build neutral Persian clauses in subject–object–verb order while placing time, place, prepositional phrases, and compound predicates naturally.