Asking "How Many"
To ask about the quantity or exact number of something, use the question word چند (how many).
There is one very important rule when counting or asking about quantities in Persian: the noun is always singular. While in English we say "how many books" or "four cars", in Persian you literally say "how many book" and "four car".
Notice how the noun stays singular both in the question with چند and in the answer with a number.
| How many passengers does that car have? | آن ماشین چند مسافر دارد؟ân mâshin chand mosâfer dârad? |
| This car has four passengers. | این ماشین چهار مسافر دارد.in mâshin chahâr mosâfer dârad. |
| How many pages does this book have? | این کتاب چند صفحه دارد؟in ketâb chand safhe dârad? |
| This book has a hundred pages. | این کتاب صد صفحه دارد.in ketâb sad safhe dârad. |
Word Order with Numbers
Just like other question words you've learned, چند stays in the exact same place where the number goes in the answer. It sits directly before the noun it describes.
| How many children does your sister have? | خواهر شما چند بچه دارد؟khâhar-e shomâ chand bacheh dârad? |
| My brother has two children. | برادر من دو بچه دارد.barâdar-e man do bache dârad. |
| How many colleagues do you have in the office? | در دفتر چند همکار دارید؟dar daftar chand hamkâr dârid? |
| I have three colleagues in this project. | در این پروژه سه همکار دارم.dar in porozhe se hamkâr dâram. |
Counting People
When asking about a number of people in general, you will often use the word نفر (person). Because it follows a number or quantity word, it also remains singular.
| How many people live here? | چند نفر اینجا زندگی میکنند؟chand nafar injâ zendegi mikonand? |
| Ten people live here. | ده نفر اینجا زندگی میکنند.dah nafar injâ zendegi mikonand. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io