Breakdown of انسان در جوانی به پیری فکر نمیکند.
درdar
in
بهbe
to
فکر کردنfekr kardan
to think
انسانensân
human
Questions & Answers about انسان در جوانی به پیری فکر نمیکند.
How do we get the words javâni (youth) and piri (old age) from adjectives?
Both are formed by adding the stressed suffix -i to adjectives. javân means young, so adding -i makes it the abstract concept javâni (youth). Similarly, pir (old) becomes piri (old age).
I remember that adding -i to a word can make it indefinite. Is that what is happening here?
No, though they look identical! The indefinite -i (meaning a or an) is unstressed. The abstract noun-forming -i used in this lesson is stressed. Context is your best clue: translating dar javâni as in a young would not make sense, but in youth fits perfectly.
Why does the sentence use the preposition be instead of a word for about?
In English, we say we think about something, but in Farsi, the compound verb fekr kardan (to think) pairs with the preposition be (to). You are literally directing your thoughts to old age.
Why is there no word like yek before ensân?
When speaking about general truths or an entire category, Farsi often uses a bare singular noun without any indefinite markers. So ensân stands for a human, humans, or mankind in general.