من راه را از دوستم پرسیدم و او با لبخند میدان را به من نشان داد.

را marks a specific direct object.

• راه را پرسیدم = I asked about the way / directions.
• میدان را نشان داد = he showed the square.

In this sentence, both راه and میدان are definite, identifiable things, so they take را.

A useful point: را does not mean the by itself, but objects marked with را are usually specific or known.

With پرسیدن, Persian often uses از for the person you ask:

• از کسی پرسیدن = to ask someone
• literally: to ask from someone

So:

• راه را از دوستم پرسیدم = I asked my friend for the way / directions

This is a very common Persian pattern, even though it sounds different from English.

دوستم breaks down as:

• دوست = friend
• ـم = my

So دوستم literally means my friend.

This attached ending is a possessive suffix. Other common ones are:

• دوستت = your friend
• دوستش = his/her friend
• دوستمان = our friend

پرسیدم is the simple past form meaning I asked.

Breakdown:

• پرسید- = past stem of پرسیدن (to ask)
• -م = I

So:

• پرسیدم = I asked
• پرسیدی = you asked
• پرسید = he/she asked

This is a very standard Persian past-tense pattern.

Yes, Persian could leave it out.

Because the verb already shows the person, او is often optional when the subject is clear from context.

So both are possible:

• ... و او با لبخند ... = and he/she with a smile...
• ... و با لبخند ... = and with a smile...

Including او can make the sentence clearer or slightly more explicit, especially when there are multiple people in the context.

با means with, and لبخند means smile.

So با لبخند literally means with a smile.

This is a common Persian prepositional phrase:

• با عجله = in a hurry
• با دقت = carefully / with care
• با خوشحالی = happily / with खुशी

Notice that Persian usually does not use an article like a here. English says with a smile, but Persian simply says با لبخند.

It is a compound verb.

• نشان = sign, indication, showing
• داد = gave

But together نشان دادن means to show.

So:

• نشان داد = showed
• نشان می‌دهد = shows / is showing
• نشان داده است = has shown

This is very common in Persian: a noun or other element combines with a light verb such as کردن, دادن, زدن, etc.

Because به marks the person something is shown to.

• چیزی را به کسی نشان دادن = to show something to someone

So:

• میدان را به من نشان داد = he/she showed the square to me

This is similar to English to me, although English often allows showed me the square without to.

Persian usually follows Subject – Object – Verb order, and other phrases come before the verb too.

In this sentence:

• من = subject
• راه را = object
• از دوستم = from my friend
• پرسیدم = verb

Then:

• او = subject
• با لبخند = with a smile
• میدان را = object
• به من = to me
• نشان داد = verb

So the verb tends to come at the end of each clause. That is one of the biggest structural differences from English.

Because پرسیدن is the natural verb for asking for information, including directions.

• راه را پرسیدن = to ask the way / ask for directions

By contrast, خواستن means to want or sometimes to request, but it would not be the normal choice here.

So if you want to say you asked someone for directions, پرسیدن is the right verb.

No. میدان can have several meanings depending on context, including:

• square / plaza
• field
• arena
• sometimes a figurative scene or domain

In this sentence, it means a physical place that someone can point out or show, so square/plaza is the most likely meaning.

Yes.

Persian often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear. So you could say:

• راه را از دوستم پرسیدم و او با لبخند میدان را به من نشان داد.

This still clearly means I asked my friend the way / for directions...

Including من adds emphasis or contrast, something like I asked my friend...

Because they mark two different relationships:

• از دوستم پرسیدم = I asked from my friend
• به من نشان داد = he/she showed it to me

So:

• از marks the source/person asked
• به marks the recipient/goal

This is a good example of how Persian verbs often require specific prepositions that may not match English exactly.