Questions & Answers about این حیوان مثل خرس وحشی است.
Why is there an ezafe (the "e" sound) added to mesl?
The word mesl means "like" or "similar to." It requires the ezafe connector (the short "e" sound, making it mesl-e) to link it directly to the noun you are comparing something to. Here, it links to khers (bear).
Why is the word order mesl-e khers vahshi (like bear wild) instead of the English order "wild like a bear"?
In Farsi equative comparisons, the comparison phrase (mesl-e khers) generally comes right before the adjective (vahshi) that describes the shared quality. Literally, the sentence flows as "This animal [like a bear] wild is."
Why isn't there a word for "a" before khers (bear)?
When making a general comparison to a whole category of things—like bears in general—Farsi drops the indefinite article (yek or the suffix -i). You simply say mesl-e khers (literally "like bear") rather than "like a bear."
Could I use mânand-e instead of mesl-e in this exact sentence?
Yes! mânand-e and mesl-e are completely interchangeable for "like" in this sentence. mesl-e is very common in everyday spoken Farsi, while mânand-e sounds just a little bit more formal or written, but both are perfectly correct here.