When giving gifts or expressing gratitude, you often need to say things like "for me," "to you," or "about it." In Persian, instead of always using separate full pronouns, we frequently attach short pronoun endings (enclitics) directly to prepositions.
The most common singular endings are:
- ـَم (me)
- ـَت (you)
- ـَش (him / her / it)
When a preposition ends in a consonant, like پیش (near / to) or کنار (next to), simply attach the ending directly.
| You came to me today; I must make up for this favor. | تو امروز پیشم آمدی؛ باید این لطف را جبران کنم.to emrooz pisham âmadi; bâyad in lotf râ jobrân konam. |
| This is a special celebration; I want to sit next to her. | این یک جشن مخصوص است؛ میخواهم کنارش بنشینم.in yek jashn-e makhsus ast; mikhâham kenârash beneshinam. |
When a preposition ends in a vowel, a "y" sound connects the word and the ending. For برای (for), which already ends in this "y" sound (ی), the endings attach seamlessly: برایم (for me), برایت (for you), and برایش (for him/her/it).
| I am very grateful for your kindness; you always bring a souvenir for me. | من خیلی قدردان لطف شما هستم؛ همیشه برایم سوغاتی میآورید.man xeyli qadrdân lotf shomâ hastam; hamishe barâyam soghâti mi-âvarid. |
| I prepared this souvenir for you without him; I know your taste. | من این سوغاتی را بدون او برایت تهیه کردم؛ سلیقهی تو را میشناسم.man in soghâti râ bedun u barâyat tahiye kardam; salighe-ye to râ mishenâsam. |
| This is a special laptop; I got a new bag for it. | این یک لپتاپ مخصوص است؛ یک کیف جدید برایش تهیه کردم.in yek lap-tâp makhsus ast; yek kif jadid barâyash tahiye kardam. |
If the preposition ends in a silent ه (sounding like "e"), such as درباره (about), you still pronounce the connecting "y" sound, but the ending is written with an alef (اش). For example, "about him" or "about it" becomes دربارهاش.
| We must talk about it without him to surprise him at the celebration. | ما باید بدون او دربارهاش صحبت کنیم تا او را در جشن غافلگیر کنیم.mâ bâyad bedun u darbâre-ash sohbat konim tâ u râ dar jashn ghâfelgir konim. |