Learn Farsi: این کافه هم صمیمی است و هم جایی است که دوست قدیمی خود را دیدم. - This cafe is both cozy and the place where I saw my old friend.

To say 'the place where' in Farsi, we use jâyi followed by the connecting word ke (that). The -i at the end of jâ (place) is a suffix that links the noun to the descriptive clause that follows. It literally translates to 'a place that,' which perfectly captures the English meaning of 'the place where.'

How does the structure for 'both... and...' work here?

Farsi uses the pattern ham ... va ham ... to express 'both ... and ...'. Here, it connects two facts about the cafe: it is ham samimi ast (both cozy) va ham jâyi ast ke... (and the place where...). Note that in everyday spoken Farsi, people often drop the va and just say ham ... ham ....

Why is the word khod used here for 'my' instead of attaching the suffix -am to 'friend'?

While you could absolutely say dust-e qadimi-am (my old friend), using khod (self) is a very common way to show possession when the owner is also the subject of the sentence. Since 'I' am the one doing the seeing, khod naturally refers back to 'I.' It sounds very natural and translates smoothly as 'my' or 'my own.'

Why is the object marker râ placed after khod?

The word râ marks the specific direct object of the sentence. The entire phrase dust-e qadimi-ye khod (my old friend) acts as a single block receiving the action of the verb (I saw). In Farsi, the marker must always sit at the very end of the complete object phrase, never inside it.