Learn Farsi: عقاب بزرگ است؛ از طرف دیگر، گنجشک کوچک است. - The eagle is big; on the other hand, the sparrow is small.

عقاب بزرگ است؛ از طرف دیگر، گنجشک کوچک است.oghâb bozorg ast; az tarafe digar, gonjeshk kuchak ast.

The eagle is big; on the other hand, the sparrow is small.

Breakdown of عقاب بزرگ است؛ از طرف دیگر، گنجشک کوچک است.

Questions & Answers about عقاب بزرگ است؛ از طرف دیگر، گنجشک کوچک است.

The lesson is about coordinators like dar avaz which means on the other hand. Could we use dar avaz in this sentence instead of az taraf-e digar?

It would not sound right here. The phrase dar avaz implies a trade-off or compensation, like saying a car is slow but dar avaz it is very safe. In this sentence, we are simply contrasting two independent facts (the eagle is big, the sparrow is small) without any trade-off. For a neutral contrast, az taraf-e digar is the better choice.

What is the literal translation of az taraf-e digar?

Literally, az means from, taraf means side, and digar means other. Together, with the invisible ezafe vowel linking them, az taraf-e digar means from the other side. Farsi uses side rather than hand to build this idiom.

I see a Farsi semicolon (؛) and comma (،). Do they follow English punctuation rules here?

Yes, the semicolon connects two related independent clauses, just like in English. The Farsi comma follows the introductory phrase az taraf-e digar just as it does after on the other hand in English. The main difference is visual: the Farsi comma curves upward, and the semicolon is an inverted comma over a dot.

Why is there no word for the before oghab (eagle) and gonjeshk (sparrow)?

In Farsi, a noun without any extra markers is often used for general, categorical statements. While English usually requires the definite article (the eagle) or pluralization (eagles) when talking about a whole species, Farsi simply uses the bare noun. So perfectly captures the generic meaning that the eagle is big.