To express that something belongs to someone, or to say "mine," "yours," or "hers," Farsi uses the word مال (property/belonging) linked to a noun or pronoun with the ezafe vowel.
Predicate Possession with "مال"
When you want to say "The house is mine" or "This belongs to the heir," you use مال as a predicate. Literally, you are saying "This is the property of [Person]."
[Subject] + مالِ + [Owner] + [To be verb]
| This large estate is mine. | این ملک بزرگ مال من است.in melk-e bozorg mâl-e man ast. |
| In the will, this asset belongs to the heir. | در وصیتنامه، این دارایی مال وارث است.dar vasiyat-nâme, in dârâyi mâl-e vâres ast. |
| This beautiful garden belongs to the future generation. | این باغ زیبا مال نسل آینده است.in bâgh-e zibâ mâl-e nasl-e âyande ast. |
Asking "Whose?"
To ask who something belongs to, pair مال with a question word like چه کسی (who).
| Who does this estate belong to? | این ملک مال چه کسی است؟in melk mâl-e che kasi ast? |
Belonging in the Past
To talk about who something used to belong to—a common topic when dealing with inheritances (ارث) and wills (وصیتنامه)—simply change the final verb to the past tense, such as بود (was).
| This garden is my grandfather's inheritance and now it is mine. | این باغ ارث پدربزرگ من است و حالا مال من است.in bâgh erse pedarbozorge man ast va hâlâ mâle man ast. |
| Before he passed away, did this money belong to the heir? | آیا قبل از اینکه فوت کند، این پول مال وارث بود؟âyâ qabl az inke fowt konad, in pul mâle vâres bud? |
Talking About Inheritances
When discussing the passing down of an estate (ملک), you will often use related verbs like فوت کردن (to pass away) and وصیت کردن (to make a will). Note that these are compound verbs, so they follow standard conjugation rules.
| The rich man who passed away yesterday did not have a will. | مرد ثروتمندی که دیروز فوت کرد، وصیتنامه نداشت.mard sarvatmandi ke dirooz fowt kard, vasiyat-nâme nadâsht |
| When the grandfather passed away, we had to sell the estate. | وقتی پدربزرگ فوت کرد، ما باید ملک را میفروختیم.vaghti pedarbozorg fowt kard, mâ bâyad melk râ miforukhtim |
