Breakdown of نه تنها زن برمیخیزد، بلکه معلق هم میماند.
زنzan
woman
ماندنmândan
to stay
همham
also, too / both ... and / together / each other
تنهاtanhâ
only (alone)
بلکهbalke
but also / but rather
نهna
nor
برخاستنbarkhâstan
to rise / to stand up
معلقmo'allagh
suspended
Questions & Answers about نه تنها زن برمیخیزد، بلکه معلق هم میماند.
How does the prefix می work in the verb برمیخیزد?
The infinitive here is برخاستن (to rise or stand up), which is a separable prefix verb. It consists of the directional prefix بر (up) and the base verb خاستن. In Farsi, inflectional prefixes like the present/continuous marker می must be placed between the spatial prefix and the verb stem. Since the present stem is خیز, the correct order is بر + می + خیز + د (bar-mi-khizad), not میبرخیزد.
What is the Farsi structure for "Not only... but also..." used in this sentence?
Farsi uses the paired conjunctions نه تنها (not only) and بلکه (but/rather). To capture the "also" part of the phrase, Farsi speakers typically add هم or نیز into the second clause. You can see this happening here: نه تنها starts the first clause, and بلکه starts the second clause, which later includes هم.
Why is هم placed after معلق rather than right after بلکه?
The word هم (also/too) generally follows the specific word or concept it emphasizes. Here, it emphasizes the new state being introduced—معلق (suspended). Placing it right after بلکه would feel unnatural; instead, بلکه معلق هم میماند flows perfectly as "but suspended also she remains."
What kind of word is معلق and what exactly does it mean here?
معلق (mo'allaq) is an Arabic loanword meaning "suspended," "hanging," or "dangling." In this sentence, it functions as a subject complement paired with the verb میماند (remains/stays) to describe the physical state of the woman floating or hanging in the air.
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