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آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟

آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟
Is that house big or small?

Breakdown of آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟

بزرگ
big
بودن
to be
آن
that
کوچک
small
یا
or
خانه
house/home
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Questions & Answers about آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟

What does آن do here? Is it a pronoun or an adjective?

In آن خانه (that house), آن functions like a demonstrative determiner (similar to that in English) and comes before the noun.

  • آن
    • noun = that + noun → آن خانه = that house
  • آن can also stand alone as a pronoun meaning that (one), but here it’s directly modifying خانه.
Do I need آیا at the beginning to make it a question?

No. Persian can form yes/no questions just with intonation (and in writing, a ؟).

  • Your sentence is already a natural question: آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟
  • آیا is an optional, more formal question particle: آیا آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟
Why is there no question word like is moved to the front (like English inversion)?

Persian doesn’t use English-style subject–auxiliary inversion. The word order stays basically the same, and the sentence becomes a question through: 1) intonation in speech, and
2) the question mark ؟ in writing (and/or آیا in formal style).

What is the role of است here? Do I always need it?

است is the 3rd-person singular form of بودن (to be) and works like is.

  • آن خانه بزرگ است = That house is big. In everyday spoken Persian, است is often dropped or replaced by a colloquial ending:
  • Colloquial: اون خونه بزرگه (instead of آن خانه بزرگ است)
Why does است appear only once, not after both adjectives?

It’s common to say it only once:

  • آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟ Repeating it is also correct but can sound more formal or emphatic:
  • آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک است؟
How does یا work here?

یا means or and links two alternatives:

  • بزرگ است یا کوچک؟ = (Is it) big or small? It’s the normal way to offer choices in a question. You can also add نه (or not) in other types of yes/no questions, but with two explicit options, یا is enough.
Why is کوچک not followed by است but still understood as “is small”?

Because Persian allows the copula (است) to be understood for the second option when two predicates are coordinated with یا (or). So کوچک؟ is understood as کوچک است؟ from context:

  • بزرگ است یا کوچک (است)?
Is آن خانه different from خانهٔ آن? Do I need ezāfe here?

Yes, they’re different structures:

  • آن خانه = that house (demonstrative + noun; no ezāfe)
  • خانهٔ آن = the house of that (person/thing) (a possession/association structure; uses ezāfe ـِ / ـٔ) So in your sentence, ezāfe is not needed because you’re not expressing of-type meaning.
What are the common spoken (colloquial) versions of this sentence?

A very common conversational form is:

  • اون خونه بزرگه یا کوچیکه؟ Changes:
  • آن → اون (colloquial that)
  • خانه → خونه (colloquial house)
  • بزرگ است → بزرگه
  • کوچک → کوچیک (colloquial pronunciation/spelling)
How do I pronounce the key words?

Approximate pronunciations (Tehrani/standard-ish):

  • آن: ân
  • خانه: xâne (the خ is like the ch in Scottish loch)
  • بزرگ: bozorg
  • است: ast (often reduced in fast speech)
  • کوچک: kučak (the چ is like ch in chair)
Can I swap the adjectives: کوچک است یا بزرگ?

Yes. Both are grammatically fine; the difference is just which option you mention first:

  • آن خانه بزرگ است یا کوچک؟
  • آن خانه کوچک است یا بزرگ؟ Sometimes the first option sounds like the one you’re leaning toward or expecting, but it’s not a strict rule.