آن خانه کوچک است.

That house is small.

Breakdown of آن خانه کوچک است.

• خانه: house
• بودن: to be
• آن: that
• کوچک: small

Questions & Answers about آن خانه کوچک است.

Why does the adjective کوچک come after خانه instead of before it?

In Persian, descriptive adjectives typically follow the noun they modify. So خانه کوچک is literally house small. (English does the opposite: small house.)
This is the normal order for most everyday adjectives.

Do Persian adjectives change for gender or plural like in some languages?

No. Persian adjectives don’t agree in gender or number. کوچک stays کوچک whether the noun is masculine/feminine (Persian doesn’t have grammatical gender) or singular/plural.
Example: خانه کوچک (small house) / خانه‌های کوچک (small houses)

What is آن exactly—does it mean that, the, or something else?

آن is a demonstrative meaning that (as opposed to this = این).
It can feel somewhat like that/the in English because Persian doesn’t have a separate word for the, but grammatically آن is specifically a demonstrative (that).

Is آن خانه the same as خانهٔ آن?

They’re different structures:

• آن خانه = that house (demonstrative + noun)
• خانهٔ آن = the house of that (person/thing) / that one’s house (a genitive/possessive relationship using ـِ / ezâfe)
  So آن خانه points to a house; خانهٔ آن says the house belongs to that.

Why is there no word for a/the in the sentence?

Persian doesn’t have a definite article like the. Definiteness is often understood from context.
Indefiniteness (a/an) can be shown with یک (one/a) or ـی:

• یک خانه کوچک است. = It’s a small house.
• خانه‌ای کوچک است. = It’s a small house (more literary/indefinite).

What is است doing here? Is it like is?

Yes. است is the present form of to be meaning is (third person singular).
Persian often uses a copula to link a subject and an adjective: X کوچک است = X is small.

Can است be omitted?

In formal writing, است is usually included. In everyday speech it’s often reduced or omitted:

• Formal: آن خانه کوچک است.
• Colloquial: اون خونه کوچیکه. (or اون خونه کوچیکه with the spoken copula ending ـه)

Why is spoken Persian so different here (اون خونه کوچیکه)?

Colloquial Persian commonly changes:

• آن → اون
• خانه → خونه
• کوچک → کوچیک
• است → a spoken ending like ـه (so کوچیکه = is small)
  The written/formal sentence is correct; the colloquial version reflects natural speech.

Is there an ezâfe in آن خانه کوچک? Should there be a ـِ sound between words?

In آن خانه کوچک است, there is typically no ezâfe between خانه and کوچک because the adjective is directly following the noun in a simple predicative-style statement.
However, when you use the phrase as a noun phrase (like that small house as a single unit inside a larger sentence), you often hear ezâfe: آن خانهٔ کوچک (that small house). In writing, ezâfe is usually not shown with diacritics, but it can be implied.

What’s the difference between آن خانه کوچک است and خانه کوچک است?

• آن خانه کوچک است. explicitly points to that house (specific, distal).
• خانه کوچک است. is more general/ambiguous: it could mean The house is small (context-dependent) or simply A house is small in a generic sense, depending on context.

How should I pronounce this sentence?

A careful/formal reading is close to:
ân xâne kûchak ast
Notes:

• خ is a throaty sound like the ch in German Bach.
• آ is a long a sound (ân).
• Short vowels are often not written, so you learn them with the word (e.g., خانه = xâne, not xâne spelled with vowels).

Is the word order flexible? Could I say کوچک است آن خانه?

Persian word order is somewhat flexible, but آن خانه کوچک است is the neutral, most common order.
You can reorder for emphasis or in poetic/literary contexts, but for learners it’s best to stick to the standard pattern: (subject) + (adjective) + است.