The Ezafe Particle
In Farsi, adjectives come after the noun they describe. To connect a noun to its adjective, you use a special grammatical link called the Ezafe.
If the noun ends in a consonant, the Ezafe is pronounced as a short "e" sound attached to the noun. This sound is usually invisible in writing, so you simply read the noun and adjective together as a pair.
| This is a big city. | این یک شهر بزرگ است.in yek shahr bozorg ast. |
| We are inside a clean park. | ما داخل یک پارک تمیز هستیم.mâ dâkhel-e yek pârk-e tamiz hastim |
| This is a big street. | این یک خیابان بزرگ است.in yek khiyâbân bozorg ast. |
Nouns Ending in a Vowel (-ye)
If a noun ends in a vowel, such as the silent ه often found at the end of words, the connecting sound changes to a "ye". To show this pronunciation in writing, a ی is added to the end of the noun before the adjective.
| This is a new museum and a small park. | این یک موزهی جدید و یک پارک کوچک است.in yek muze-ye jadid va yek pârk kuchak ast. |
Notice how موزه (museum) becomes موزهی when described as a "new museum". The exact same rule applies to other locations ending in a vowel, like مغازه (shop) or کوچه (alley):
| Is the new shop inside this alley? | آیا مغازهی جدید داخل این کوچه است؟âyâ maghâze-ye jadid dâkhel-e in kuche ast? |
| We are outside the quiet alley and the beautiful museum. | ما بیرون کوچهی خلوت و موزهی زیبا هستیم.mâ birun-e kuche-ye khalvat o muze-ye zibâ hastim. |
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