Emphasizing "This" and "That"
To point out a specific object and emphasize that it is "this very" or "that same" one, Farsi combines the prefix همـ with the standard demonstratives این (this) and آن (that). This creates the emphatic adjectives همین (this very) and همان (that very).
Just like regular demonstratives, these emphatic words sit directly before the noun they describe.
| I bought this very painting from this same exhibition. | من همین نقاشی را از همین نمایشگاه خریدم.man hamin naqqâshi râ az hamin namâyeshgâh kharidam. |
| We saw that very work in the museum. | ما همان اثر را در موزه دیدیم.mâ hamân asar râ dar mooze didim. |
| This very portrait is unique. | همین پرتره بینظیر است.hamin portre bi-nazir ast. |
Using Emphatics with Plurals
Demonstrative adjectives in Farsi never take a plural suffix themselves. If you want to say "these very" or "those very", you continue to use the exact same forms همین and همان, and simply add a plural suffix to the noun that follows them.
| We are talking about these very paintings. | ما در مورد همین نقاشیها صحبت میکنیم.mâ dar morede hamin naqqâshi-hâ sohbat mikonim. |
| I think that they painted those very landscapes. | فکر میکنم که آنها همان منظرهها را نقاشی کشیدند.fekr mikonam ke ânhâ hamân manzareha râ naghghâshi keshidand |
| The guide explained about those very portraits. | راهنما درباره همان پرترهها توضیح داد.râhnamâ dar-bâre-ye hamân portre-hâ towzih dâd. |
The Spoken Form of همان
You will frequently hear native speakers change the pronunciation of همان in casual, everyday conversation. Following a common Farsi sound shift where the "â" sound before an "n" turns into a "u" sound, it becomes همون.
| I am saying that I am going to that very exhibition. | من میگم که به همون نمایشگاه میرم.man migam ke be hamun nemâyeshgâh miram. |
