Breakdown of مامان کتاب میخواند.
کتابketâb
book
خواندنkhândan
to read / to study (a subject)
مامانmâmân
mom
Questions & Answers about مامان کتاب میخواند.
Why is there no word for "a" before the word for book?
In Farsi, when you are talking about an object in a general sense, you don't always need to use a word for "a" or "an". Here, کتاب can mean "book" or "a book". If we wanted to emphasize she is reading one specific single book, we could say یک کتاب.
Why is the verb at the very end of the sentence?
Farsi uses a Subject-Object-Verb word order. This means the sentence is literally structured as "Mom book reads". The verb میخواند will almost always go at the very end of the sentence.
How does the verb show that she "is reading" right now instead of just "reads"?
It doesn't! Farsi uses the exact same verb form for the simple present ("Mom reads") and the present continuous ("Mom is reading"). The prefix می at the start of the verb covers both meanings, so you rely on context to know which one makes the most sense.
Why is there a letter "و" (vav) in the verb if it is pronounced "mikhanad"?
The letter و in words with the root خوان (meaning to read or sing) is a "silent vav". It is an old spelling tradition, similar to the silent "k" in the English word "know". You must write it as میخواند but you pronounce it completely without the "v" or "w" sound.
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