Word
ما باید از مظلومها دفاع کنیم.
Meaning
We must defend the oppressed.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about ما باید از مظلومها دفاع کنیم.
I see the plural ending -hâ on mazlum, which is an adjective. Is that how you say the oppressed ones?
Exactly. In Farsi, you can turn an adjective into a noun simply by adding a plural marker like -hâ. While mazlum means oppressed, adding -hâ makes it mazlum-hâ, meaning the oppressed people or the oppressed ones.
Why do we use the preposition az before mazlum-hâ?
The compound verb defâ' kardan (to defend) requires the preposition az to introduce the person or thing being defended. So while in English you directly defend someone, in Farsi you use az to show who you are defending.
Why is the verb defâ' konim instead of defâ' mikonim?
The word bâyad (must) requires the verb that follows it to be in the subjunctive mood. For the compound verb defâ' kardan, the subjunctive form for the we pronoun is defâ' konim. You drop the indicative prefix mi- that you would normally see in defâ' mikonim.
Does mazlum only mean oppressed?
It primarily means oppressed or wronged, as it is used in this sentence. However, in everyday conversation, Iranians also use mazlum to describe someone who is innocent, meek, or harmless.