When organizing a room or sorting through everyday objects, you will naturally talk about groups of things. In written Persian, you use the suffix ها to make a noun plural. In everyday spoken Persian, this suffix is often reduced.
Plurals after Consonants
If a word ends in a consonant, colloquial Tehrani speakers drop the 'h' entirely and attach ـا directly to the end of the word.
| Written | Spoken | English |
|---|---|---|
| کتابها | کتابا | books |
| قابها | قابا | frames |
| سنجاقها | سنجاقا | pins |
| Put the frames and the pins in the box. | قابا و سنجاقا رو تو جعبه بذار.qâbâ va sanjâqâ ro tu ja'be bezâr. |
You will hear this reduction on almost every common object. For example, شمع becomes شمعا, and گردنبند becomes گردنبندا.
| I want to keep the candles, but I never use the necklaces. | میخوام شمعا رو نگه دارم، اما هیچوقت از گردنبندا استفاده نمیکنم.mikhâm sham'â ro negah dâram, ammâ hichvaght az gardanbandâ estefâde nemikonam. |
| Put all the wires and the trash inside the bag. | همهی سیما و آشغالا رو داخل کیسه بذار.hame-ye simâ o âshghâlâ ro dâkhel kise bezâr. |
Vowel Endings
If a word ends in a spoken vowel (like بچه or خونه), dropping the 'h' would cause two vowels to crash into each other. To avoid this, vowel-final words keep the standard ها in spoken Persian. So, بچهها remains بچهها.
More Practice
Most everyday objects you will sort through end in consonants, meaning you'll get plenty of practice using the reduced ـا ending.
| The pillows are softer than the cushions. | بالشا نرمتر از کوسنا هستن.bâleshâ narm-tar az kusanâ hastan. |
| Why are the rings next to the forks? | چرا انگشترا کنار چنگالا هستن؟cherâ angoshtarâ kenâr-e changâlâ hastan? |
| I want to put the cushions here, but the pillows are heavy. | میخوام کوسنا رو اینجا بذارم، اما بالشا سنگینن.mikhâm kusonâ ro injâ bezâram, ammâ bâleshâ sanginan. |