Breakdown of آیا کسی دنبال این جعبهی عجیب میگردد؟
این
this
آیاâyâ
whether (question particle)
کسیkasi
someone, anyone
جعبهja'be
box
گشتنgashtan
to search
عجیبajib
strange
دنبالdonbâl
after / looking for
Questions & Answers about آیا کسی دنبال این جعبهی عجیب میگردد؟
Does کسی (kasi) mean 'someone' or 'anyone' here?
It can mean both! کسی is the indefinite pronoun for people, made by combining کس (kas, meaning 'person') with the indefinite suffix -i. In questions, depending on the context, it translates perfectly to either 'someone' or 'anyone'.
How do you say 'looking for'? I see دنبال (donbâl) and میگردد (mi-gardad) separated from each other.
In Farsi, 'to look for' is often expressed with the compound verb دنبالِ ... گشتن (donbâl-e ... gashtan). دنبال acts as a preposition meaning 'following' or 'after', and connects to the object you are searching for with an ezafe (the short 'e' sound). The main verb میگردد goes at the very end of the sentence.
Why is there a ی (ye) attached to the end of جعبه (ja'be)?
That is the ezafe linking the noun جعبه (box) to its describing adjective عجیب (strange). Because جعبه ends in a silent 'h' (the letter ه), you cannot simply add the standard short 'e' sound. Instead, an extra ی is written and pronounced as '-ye', resulting in ja'be-ye 'ajib.
Do I always have to use آیا (âyâ) to ask a yes or no question?
No, it is completely optional. آیا acts as a spoken question mark at the start of a sentence, but it makes the sentence sound a bit formal or written. In everyday conversation, you can just drop it and raise the pitch of your voice at the end of the sentence to show you are asking a question.
Learn آیا کسی دنبال این جعبهی عجیب میگردد؟ and more in Farsi
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free