Breakdown of آن تخت سفته، ولی این صندلی نرمه.
است
is
این
this
آن
that
صندلی
chair
تخت
bed
ولیvali
but
سفتseft
firm / hard (physical)
نرمnarm
soft
Questions & Answers about آن تخت سفته، ولی این صندلی نرمه.
Why do سفت (firm) and نرم (soft) have a ـه attached to the end of them here?
This is the colloquial Tehrani shortcut for است (is). Since سفت (seft) and نرم (narm) both end in a consonant, the spoken 'is' becomes a short '-e' sound attached to the end of the word. So, سفته (seft-e) means 'is firm' and نرمه (narm-e) means 'is soft'.
How would this sentence be written in formal Farsi?
In formal Farsi, the full verb است (ast) remains a separate word. The sentence would be written as آن تخت سفت است، ولی این صندلی نرم است.
Is the letter ه at the end of سفته and نرمه pronounced as an 'h'?
No, the 'h' sound is completely silent here. When the letter ـه or ه acts as the reduced verb 'is' after a consonant, it only represents the short vowel '-e'.
I have also learned سخت for 'hard'. Why is سفت used here instead?
سفت (seft) is specifically used for physical firmness, tightness, or rigidity, like a firm bed or a tight knot. سخت (sakht) is mostly used for abstract difficulty, like a hard exam or a tough situation.
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