Question 1

How does the word order work for "my sister's suitcase"?

Accepted Answer

In English, we use an apostrophe "s" and put the owner first. Farsi builds a chain using the Ezafe particle (-e) that translates roughly to "suitcase of sister of me". You start with the object being owned (chamedān), link it to the owner (khāhar) with an -e, and link that to the final owner (man) with another -e. This makes the phrase chamedān-e khāhar-e man.

Question 2

I don't see the Ezafe particle written in the Farsi text. How do I know it's there?

Accepted Answer

The Ezafe is a short vowel sound added to the end of a word. In the standard Persian alphabet, short vowels are usually not written. Since both chamedān (suitcase) and khāhar (sister) end in consonants, the -e isn't visible in the text. You simply learn to pronounce it when linking nouns together for possession.

Question 3

Why does this sentence use man (I) instead of a specific word for "my"?

Accepted Answer

In Farsi, you don't need a separate word for "my" when using the Ezafe for possession. You simply link the noun to the normal pronoun man (I/me). Therefore, khāhar-e man literally means "sister of me", which is how Farsi expresses "my sister".

Question 4

Why isn't there an Ezafe after man to connect it to sangin (heavy)?

Accepted Answer

The Ezafe is used to link nouns to their owners or adjectives directly inside a phrase. Here, man is the end of the possession chain. The word sangin (heavy) is an adjective, but it's part of the action "is heavy" (sangin ast). If you wanted to describe the suitcase directly as "my heavy suitcase", you would use the Ezafe to chain it: chamedān-e sangin-e man.

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