Emphasizing with "آنچه"
When sharing life lessons or passing down wisdom, you often want to place special focus on the core message. In English, we frequently do this by starting a sentence with "What..." (e.g., "What he gave me was good advice"). In grammar, this is known as a pseudo-cleft sentence.
In Farsi, you can create this thematic focus using آنچه (sometimes written as آنچه که).
| that which / what (relative) | آنچهânche |
The structure begins with آنچه, followed by the descriptive clause, a comma, the emphasized item, and finally the "to be" verb. Let's look at how this applies when talking about receiving precious advice (پند گرانبها) or insight (بینش).
| What he gave me was a precious piece of advice. | آنچه او به من داد، پند گرانبهایی بود.ânche u be man dâd, pand gerânbahâyi bud. |
| What grandfather gave me was insight. | آنچه پدربزرگ به من داد، بینش بود.ânche pedarbozorg be man dâd, binesh bud. |
The Value of Mentorship
You can use this exact same structure to discuss the spiritual wisdom (حکمت) passed down by a mentor (مرشد) to an apprentice (شاگرد), or the legacy (میراث) they leave behind.
Notice how آنچه acts as the subject, neatly wrapping up the first half of the thought before the "big reveal" at the end of the sentence.
| I am happy that what the mentor passes down is wisdom. | من خوشحالم از اینکه آنچه مرشد انتقال میدهد، حکمت است.man khoshhâlam az inke ânche morshed enteghâl midahad, hekmat ast. |
| What the master passes down to the apprentice is a very important insight. | آنچه استاد به شاگرد انتقال میدهد، بینش بسیار مهمی است.ânche ostâd be shâgerd enteqâl midahad, binesh besyâr mohemmi ast. |
| What stays in the mind is the legacy of a teacher. | آنچه در ذهن میماند، میراث یک معلم است.ânche dar zehn mimânad, mirâs yek mo'allem ast. |
Focusing on Actions
The focused part of your sentence does not have to be a noun. You can also use this structure to emphasize an action that someone should take, such as acting on or practicing (عمل کردن) the advice they have been given.
In these cases, the focused action is typically expressed as an infinitive phrase just before the final verb.
| What a wise apprentice wants to do is to act on the master's advice. | آنچه یک شاگرد خردمند میخواهد انجام دهد، عمل کردن به پند استاد است.ânche yek shâgerd kheradmand mikhâhad anjâm dahad, amal kardan be pand-e ostâd ast. |
| What you must do is act on a useful piece of advice. | آنچه باید انجام دهی، عمل کردن به پند مفیدی است.ânche bâyad anjâm dahi, amal kardan be pand mofidi ast. |