Word
این شهر پرجمعیت به مراتب وسیعتر از پایتخت است.
Meaning
This populous city is by far vaster than the capital.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of این شهر پرجمعیت به مراتب وسیعتر از پایتخت است.
این
this
بودنbudan
to be
شهرshahr
city
ازaz
from
Questions & Answers about این شهر پرجمعیت به مراتب وسیعتر از پایتخت است.
How exactly does be marâteb intensify the comparison in this sentence?
The phrase be marâteb means 'by degrees' or 'by far'. By placing it immediately before the comparative adjective vasi'-tar (vaster or more vast), you emphasize the difference, making it 'by far vaster'. You can use this structure (be marâteb plus a comparative adjective) to intensify any comparison.
How is the word por-jam'iyat (populous) formed?
It is a very common type of compound adjective in Farsi. It combines por (full) and jam'iyat (population) to mean 'full of population' or populous. Remember that it connects to the noun it describes using the invisible 'e' sound known as the ezafe: shahr-e por-jam'iyat.
Is az always used for 'than' in comparative sentences?
Yes! While you might already know az as 'from', it is the standard word for 'than' when comparing two things. The structure is always [adjective + -tar] + az + [the thing being compared to]. Here, that gives us vasi'-tar az pâyetakht (vaster than the capital).
Does the word for capital, pâyetakht, have a literal meaning?
Yes, it is a great compound word to memorize! It is made of pâye (base or foot) and takht (throne). So the capital city was historically known as the 'foot of the throne'.