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Farsi has absorbed many words from Arabic, particularly in formal, legal, and academic contexts. One of the most useful borrowings is a specific word pattern used to express inherent comparatives and superlatives.

### The Arabic Superlative Pattern

In Arabic grammar, the *af'al* (افعل) pattern creates adjectives that mean "the most" or "more" of a quality. Farsi uses many of these imported words as inherent superlatives. 

When you see words like **اهم** (most important) or **اصلح** (most qualified), the superlative meaning is built directly into the word's structure. You do not need to add the standard Farsi superlative suffix **ـ‌ترین** to them.

Let's look at a typical academic scenario involving transcripts (**کارنامه**) and an evaluator (**ارزیاب**).

{{item:815911}}

Notice how the *af'al* adjectives are used below to describe the most important criteria and the best applicants:

{{item:815916}}

### Quantities: Most and Least

This pattern frequently describes quantities, such as the majority or the bare minimum. Words like **اکثر** (most/majority) and **اقل** (least/minimum) follow this rule and are heavily used in formal Farsi.

{{item:815917}}

{{item:815919}}

### Excellence and Grandeur

When describing degrees of greatness, excellence, or rank—like evaluating a dissertation (**رساله**)—words like **اعظم** (greatest), **اعلی** (highest/supreme), and **احسن** (most excellent) elevate the register of your Farsi to a formal, academic level.

{{item:815923}}

{{item:815926}}

Arabic elative adjectives (af'al pattern)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prefix

preposition

pronoun

sentence

suffix

verb

Singular pronouns and copula (man, -am)

Plural pronouns and copula (mâ, -im)

Subject pronoun omission

Singular demonstratives (in, ân)

Plural demonstratives (inhâ, ânhâ)

Independent copula (hastam, hast)

Negative present copula (nistam, nist)

Yes/No questions (âyâ)

Regular plurals (-hâ)

Animate plurals (-ân)

Indefiniteness (yek)

Indefinite marker (-i)

Describing nouns (-e / -ye)

Possession (-e / -ye)

Singular possessives (-am, -at, -ash)

Plural possessives (-emân, -etân, -eshân)

Basic prepositions (dar, be, az, bâ)

Spatial prepositions (ru-ye, zir-e...)

Numbers 1 to 10 (yek, do, se...)

Numbers and singular nouns

Numbers 11 to 20 (yâzdah, davâzdah...)

Counting by tens to 100

Telling time (sâ'at)

The verb to have (dâram)

Negative to have (nadâram)

Basic word order (SOV)

Infinitives and present stems (-an)

Present indicative (mi-)

Negative present indicative (nemi-)

Compound verbs

Question words (che, kojâ)

How many (chand)

The definite object marker (râ)

Object pronouns (man râ, to râ)

Singular commands (be-)

Formal and plural commands (be- ... -id)

Negative commands (na-)

The present subjunctive (be-)

The negative present subjunctive (na-)

Must (bâyad)

Might (shâyad)

Wanting to do something (khâstan)

Being able to do something (tavânestan)

Forming the past stem

The simple past of to be (budan)

The simple past tense

Negative simple past (na-)

Attached object pronouns on verbs (-am, -at, -ash)

Comparative adjectives (-tar)

Basic conjunctions (va, ammâ, yâ)

Giving reasons (chon)

Adverbs of frequency and degree (hamishe, hargez, kheyli, kam)

Everyday actions (kâr kardan, bâz kardan)

Non-human plural subjects

Indefinite pronouns (kasi, chizi, jâyi)

Negative indefinite pronouns (hich-kas, hich-chiz, hich-jâ)

Reciprocal pronouns (hamdigar, yekdigar)

Reflexive pronouns (khod-)

Reflexive direct objects (khod râ)

Emphatic pronouns (khod)

The quantifier every (har)

The quantifier all (hame)

The quantifier some (ba'zi)

Another and other (-i digar)

Which (kodâm)

How much (cheghadr)

Comparisons of equality (mesl-e)

Superlative adjectives (-tarin)

Irregular comparatives and superlatives

Ordinal numbers (-om)

Pre-nominal ordinal numbers (-omin)

Fractions and percentages

Prepositions of theme (dar mored-e)

Prepositions of time (ghabl az, ba'd az)

Preposition of exclusion (bedun-e)

Resultative conjunctions (banâbarin, pas)

Hortative construction (biyâ, biyâyid)

The present progressive tense (dâram mi-)

The past continuous tense (mi-)

Negative past continuous (ne-mi-)

Past continuous of to have (dâshtam)

The past progressive tense (dâshtam mi-)

The past participle (-e)

Present perfect tense (-e-am, -e-ast)

Negative present perfect (na-)

Question	Answer
evaluator / assessor	ارزیابarzyâb
transcript / report card	کارنامهkârnâme
The evaluator reviewed the student's transcript.	ارزیاب کارنامه‌ی دانشجو را بررسی کرد.arzyâb kârnâme-ye dâneshju râ barresi kard.
grade point average (GPA)	معدلmo'addal
most important	اهمahamm
It is your grade point average that is the most important criterion for the university.	این معدل تو است که اهم معیارها برای دانشگاه است.in mo'adel to ast ke ahamm meyârhâ barâye dâneshgâh ast.
most qualified / fittest	اصلحaslah
The most important duty of the evaluator is to choose the most qualified applicant.	اهم وظیفه‌ی ارزیاب این است که متقاضی اصلح را انتخاب کند.aham vazife-ye arzyâb in ast ke motaqâzi aslah râ entekhâb konad.
Most candidates have a high grade point average.	اکثر داوطلبان معدل بالا دارند.aksar dâvtalabân mo'addel-e bâlâ dârand
least / minimum (formal)	اقلaqall
The minimum score for this master's degree program is eighteen.	اقل نمره برای این رشته‌ی مقطع ارشد، هجده است.aqall nomre barâye in reshte-ye maqta'-e arshad, hejdah ast.
The evaluator asked for the transcript, therefore I sent it.	ارزیاب کارنامه را خواست، بنابراین آن را فرستادم.arzyâb kârnâme râ khâst, banâbarin ân râ ferestâdam.
greatest / major (largest in size or importance)	اعظمa'zam
dissertation / thesis (doctoral or religious)	رسالهresâle
He wrote the greatest part of his dissertation in the library.	او بخش اعظم رساله‌ی خود را در کتابخانه نوشت.u bakhsh-e a'zam-e resâle-ye khod râ dar ketâbkhâne nevesht.
supreme / highest	اعلیa'lâ
most excellent / best (formal)	احسنahsan
She received the supreme rank, so she is the most excellent of students.	او رتبه‌ی اعلی گرفت، پس احسنِ دانشجویان است.u rotbe-ye a'lâ gereft, pas ahsan-e dâneshjuyân ast.
I intend to write the greatest part of the dissertation tomorrow.	قصد دارم که بخش اعظم رساله را فردا بنویسم.ghasd dâram ke bakhsh-e a'zam-e resâle râ fardâ benevisam.
The university accepts the most qualified candidate with the highest GPA.	دانشگاه نامزد اصلح را با معدل اعلی می‌پذیرد.dâneshgâh nâmzad aslah râ bâ mo'addal a'lâ mipazirad.
The assessor specifies the minimum grade with the best method.	ارزیاب اقل نمره را به احسن روش مشخص می‌کند.arzyâb aqall nomre râ be ahsan ravesh moshakhkhas mikonad.