Describing People and Things | Farsi Grammar

Persian descriptions use two closely related sentence patterns. Inside a noun phrase, the adjective follows the noun through ezâfe: یک کافه‌ی دنج “a cozy café.” As the main information of a sentence, the adjective follows the subject and takes a copula: کافه دنج است “the café is cozy.”

English places the adjective before the noun but after be. Persian keeps the adjective after the noun in both patterns; the real contrast is the audible ezâfe inside the phrase versus the copula at the end of a complete statement.

The two central patterns

Job	Persian pattern	Example	Meaning
identify a described person or thing	noun + ezâfe + adjective	همکار جدید	the new colleague
make a statement about a subject	subject + adjective + copula	همکار جدید است	the colleague is new
add degree	subject + degree + adjective + copula	اتاق خیلی روشن است	the room is very bright
compare two things	X + از + Y + adjective-تر + copula	این اتاق از آن یکی روشن‌تر است	this room is brighter than the other one

نزدیک میدان یک کافه‌ی دنج پیدا کردیم.

nazdik-e meydân yek kâfe-ye danj peydâ kardim.

We found a cozy café near the square. (neutral standard; attributive adjective)

آن کافه کوچک ولی روشن است.

ân kâfe kuchak vali rowshan ast.

That café is small but bright. (neutral standard; two predicative adjectives)

In the first example, دنج helps identify a café and belongs to the noun phrase. In the second, کوچک and روشن are what the speaker asserts about an already identified café.

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Listen for the boundary. کافه‌ی دنج is one descriptive noun phrase; کافه دنج است is a complete proposition with no ezâfe after کافه.

Attributive descriptions: noun first

The neutral order is noun + ezâfe + adjective: کتاب جالب، آدم آرام، خانه‌ی قدیمی. Ezâfe is heard as -e after a consonant and -ye after final ه, even when it is not fully visible in writing.

همکار جدیدمان امروز اولین جلسه‌اش را برگزار می‌کند.

hamkâr-e jadid-emân emruz avvalin jalase-ash râ bargozâr mi-konad.

Our new colleague is holding their first meeting today. (neutral standard; adjective and possessor in one ezâfe chain)

برای سفر یک چمدان سبک می‌خواهم.

barâ-ye safar yek chamedân-e sabok mi-khâham.

I want a lightweight suitcase for the trip. (neutral conversation; attributive adjective after the noun)

خانه‌ی قدیمی سر کوچه حیاط بزرگی دارد.

khâne-ye qadimi sar-e kuche hayât-e bozorgi dârad.

The old house at the entrance to the alley has a large courtyard. (neutral standard; visible ه‌ی linker)

A demonstrative or numeral comes before the noun, but the adjective remains after it: این کیف سنگین، دو پنجره‌ی بزرگ. Persian therefore is not a simple mirror image of English. The complete noun-phrase pattern is taught on Adjectives after Nouns with Ezâfe.

Predicative descriptions: finish with the copula

When the description is the news of the sentence, use subject + adjective + copula. Standard است is appropriate in writing and careful speech. Everyday Tehran Persian commonly attaches ـه: اتاق روشنه (informal, regional: Tehran).

این چمدان برای سفر کوتاه خیلی بزرگ است.

in chamedân barâ-ye safar-e kutâh kheyli bozorg ast.

This suitcase is very large for a short trip. (neutral standard; predicative adjective with degree)

اتاق مهمان روشنه، ولی یک‌کم سرده.

otâq-e mehmân rowshan-e, vali yek-kam sard-e.

The guest room is bright, but it's a little cold. (informal, regional: Tehran; enclitic copula)

The colloquial ـه belongs to the predicate, not to the adjective as an agreement ending. Formal prose uses روشن است، سرد است. For the full copular contrast, see Predicative Adjectives and the Copula.

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If the adjective answers “what kind of noun?”, use ezâfe. If it answers “what is the subject like?”, complete the statement with a copula.

Persian adjectives do not agree

One adjective form describes men, women, singular nouns, and plural nouns. آرام stays unchanged in مرد آرام، زن آرام، بچه‌های آرام. Number appears on the noun when needed, not on the adjective.

این کفش‌ها سبک‌اند و برای پیاده‌روی مناسب‌اند.

in kafsh-hâ sabok-and va barâ-ye piyâde-ravi monâseb-and.

These shoes are light and suitable for walking. (neutral standard; plural copula, unchanged adjectives)

مینا و برادرش هر دو صبور و خوش‌برخورد هستند.

Minâ va barâdar-ash har do sabur va khosh-barkhord hastand.

Mina and her brother are both patient and pleasant. (neutral standard; no gender distinction)

English adjectives also lack gender agreement, so this part is familiar to English speakers. The new point is that Persian also avoids plural adjective morphology: no extra ending is added to سبک or صبور.

Degree words make descriptions more precise

Place common degree words before the adjective: خیلی “very,” کمی “somewhat,” تا حدی “to some extent,” and بیش از حد “excessively.” In everyday speech, یک‌کم is a frequent informal equivalent of کمی.

این محله شب‌ها تا حدی آرام است.

in mahalle shab-hâ tâ haddi ârâm ast.

This neighborhood is quiet to some extent at night. (neutral standard; degree phrase before the adjective)

سوپ کمی شور است؛ آب بیشتری اضافه کن.

sup kami shur ast; âb-e bishtari ezâfe kon.

The soup is a little salty; add more water. (neutral conversation)

Simple comparisons with ـتر and از

Attach comparative ـتر with a ZWNJ where standard spelling requires it, and introduce the comparison point with از: این اتاق از آن یکی روشن‌تر است. The compared standard usually appears before the comparative predicate.

اتاق جنوبی از اتاق شمالی روشن‌تر است.

otâq-e jonubi az otâq-e shomâli rowshan-tar ast.

The south room is brighter than the north room. (neutral standard; comparison with از)

این مسیر کمی طولانی‌تر است، اما خیلی خلوت‌تر است.

in masir kami tulâni-tar ast, ammâ kheyli khalvat-tar ast.

This route is a little longer, but much quieter. (neutral conversation; two degrees of comparison)

Not every adjective forms the most idiomatic comparison mechanically. High-frequency خوب commonly has بهتر “better,” and زیاد has بیشتر “more.” The practical comparative system is covered on Basic Comparative with ـتر and از.

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The comparison point follows از, while the scale word carries ـتر: از اتاق شمالی روشن‌تر. Keep both if the listener needs to know exactly what is being compared.

A short exchange

— کدام میز برای آشپزخانه بهتر است؟ — میز چوبی زیباتر است، ولی میز فلزی سبک‌تر و ارزان‌تر است.

— kodâm miz barâ-ye âshpazkhâne behtar ast? — miz-e chubi zibâtar ast, vali miz-e felezi sabok-tar va arzân-tar ast.

— Which table is better for the kitchen? — The wooden table is prettier, but the metal table is lighter and cheaper. (neutral conversation; attributive and comparative descriptions)

Each answer first identifies a table with an ezâfe adjective—میز چوبی، میز فلزی—then predicates comparative qualities of it. One sentence can therefore contain both descriptive patterns.

Common Mistakes

1. Placing the adjective before its noun in an ordinary phrase

❌ برای اتاق یک پرنور چراغ خریدیم.

Incorrect — in a neutral descriptive phrase, چراغ precedes پرنور through ezâfe.

✅ برای اتاق یک چراغ پرنور و کم‌مصرف خریدیم.

barâ-ye otâq yek cherâgh-e por-nur va kam-masraf kharidim.

We bought a bright, energy-efficient lamp for the room.

2. Omitting the copula from a complete standard statement

❌ این چمدان خیلی سنگین.

Incorrect as a complete neutral-standard sentence — the predicative adjective needs a copula.

✅ این چمدان برای من خیلی سنگین است.

in chamedân barâ-ye man kheyli sangin ast.

This suitcase is very heavy for me.

3. Adding invented gender or plural agreement to an adjective

❌ آن دو خانم صبورها هستند.

Incorrect — صبور does not take plural ـها to agree with خانم‌ها.

✅ آن دو خانم بسیار صبور هستند.

ân do khânom besyâr sabur hastand.

Those two women are very patient.

4. Attaching comparative ـتر to the comparison noun

❌ این اتاق از آشپزخانه‌تر روشن است.

Incorrect — ـتر belongs on the adjective that defines the scale, not on آشپزخانه.

✅ این اتاق از آشپزخانه روشن‌تر است.

in otâq az âshpazkhâne rowshan-tar ast.

This room is brighter than the kitchen.

Key Takeaways

Inside a noun phrase, use noun + ezâfe + adjective: کافه‌ی دنج.
To assert a quality, use subject + adjective + copula: کافه دنج است.
Persian adjectives do not change for gender or number.
Degree words precede adjectives; comparative ـتر attaches to the adjective and comparison از introduces the standard.
Keep standard است/هستند separate from colloquial Tehran ـه/ـن.

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