Word
خانهی مادربزرگتان زیبا است.
Meaning
Your grandmother's house is beautiful.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of خانهی مادربزرگتان زیبا است.
است
is
خانه
house
زیباzibâ
beautiful
مادربزرگmâdarbozorg
grandmother
Questions & Answers about خانهی مادربزرگتان زیبا است.
What does the تان (-tan) at the end of مادربزرگتان do?
The ending تان (-tan) is a possessive pronoun meaning "your" (plural). When attached to مادربزرگ (grandmother), it makes مادربزرگتان (your grandmother). You will also hear native speakers use this plural "your" when talking respectfully to just one person, similar to a formal "you".
Why is there an extra ی attached to the word for house (خانه)?
The word for house is خانه (khaneh), which ends in a silent "h" but sounds like a vowel. When we connect it to the next word to say "house of...", we use the connecting ezāfe vowel. Because خانه ends in a vowel sound, we must insert a "y" sound to make it flow. In writing, we add the letter ی to show this, making it خانهی (khaneh-ye).
Why doesn't the "your" ending attach to the word "house"?
In English, we say "your grandmother's house," putting "your" at the beginning. Farsi links these words backwards like a chain: "house of grandmother of you." The word order is خانهی (house of) + مادربزرگ (grandmother) + تان (your). The possessive ending always attaches directly to the specific noun it modifies.
How does the word مادربزرگ translate to "grandmother"?
It is a compound word. It literally combines مادر (madar, meaning mother) and بزرگ (bozorg, meaning big or great). Put them together, and you get "grandmother".