Withholding Details: فلان
Whether you are dealing in hypothetical scenarios or high-society gossip, you will often need to talk about someone or something without giving specifics. In Farsi, you use placeholder words.
When you want to say "such-and-such" or "a certain" before a noun, use فلان. It acts as a determiner, meaning it comes right before the noun. Just like pointing words, it does not use an Ezafe to connect to the noun.
| At a certain party, the nobles had gathered in the mansion. | در فلان مهمانی، اشراف در عمارت جمع شده بودند.dar folân mehmâni, ashrâf dar emârat jam' shode budand. |
| At a luxurious party, there was a whisper about such-and-such a mansion. | در یک مهمانی تجملاتی، پچپچی دربارهی فلان عمارت بود.dar yek mehmâni tajammolâti, pech-pechi darbâre-ye folân emârat bud. |
Naming "So-and-So": فلانی
If you want to replace a person's name entirely, you don't use a noun at all. Instead, add the suffix ی to make فلانی. This turns the word into an independent pronoun meaning "so-and-so". It stands completely on its own as the subject or object of a sentence.
| They gossip that so-and-so is an aristocrat. | آنها غیبت میکنند که فلانی نجیبزاده است.ânhâ gheybat mikonand ke folâni najibzâde ast. |
| I heard a whisper that so-and-so has spoken ill of you. | پچپچی شنیدم که فلانی دربارهی تو بدگویی کرده است.pech-pechi shenidam ke folâni darbâre-ye to bad-guyi karde ast. |
Listing Unknowns: بهمان
Sometimes one placeholder isn't enough. When rumors or hypothetical stories involve multiple unnamed things or people, Farsi speakers avoid repeating فلان by pairing it with a matching companion word: بهمان.
It is used exactly the same way as فلان, but usually follows it as the second item in a list, giving you the equivalent of "such-and-such and such-and-such".
| It is the aristocracy who always talk about such-and-such clothes and such-and-such a car. | این اشراف هستند که همیشه راجع به فلان لباس و بهمان ماشین صحبت میکنند.in ashrâf hastand ke hamishe râje' be folân lebâs o bahmân mâshin sohbat mikonand. |
| They say such-and-such an aristocrat and such-and-such a politician have become involved in a scandal. | میگویند فلان نجیبزاده و بهمان سیاستمدار درگیر یک رسوایی شدهاند.miguyand folân najib-zâde o bahmân siyâsatmadâr dargir yek rosvâyi shode-and. |