Pronouns in Persian
26 words in Persian on the topic “pronouns”: من — I, تو — you (singular), شما — you (polite), او — he / she.
26 words on the topic
- منmanIAlmost never dropped: the verb ending already says who acts, so man stays when you press the point — I, personally
- توtâyou (singular)For close friends, family and children only. To a stranger it jumps straight to shoma, the polite you, from the first sentence
- شماshâmâyou (polite)The respectful you, and it serves one respected person too — the same move as French vous. Its verb goes plural
- اوuhe / sheOne word for he and she: no gender in the pronoun at all. Who exactly is meant, the sentence around it has to tell
- ماmâweA plain we with no room for nuance: no separate "we including you" versus "we without you"
- شماهاshâmâhâyou (all)The polite plural you: the everyday speech covers "you all" with shomâ plus -hâ. The verb agrees in second person: shomâhâ hastid
- آنانânântheyThe bookish aanan, colloquial oonâ. The verb agrees in third person: ânhâ hastand
- مال منmâle manmineThe ownership formula: mal is property, so male man is "of me". The word that answers "whose?" every time
- مال توmâle tâyoursProperty of you: mal + the pronoun. For the polite you it becomes male shoma without changing shape
- مال ماmâle mâoursThe same mal, "property", with we inside: male ma. A flat formula — the pronoun is the only thing that ever moves
- مال شماmâle shâmâyours (polite)Ownership aimed respectfully: mal-e shoma. Shopkeepers say it handing you your change
- مال اوmâle uhis / hers / theirsOne possessive covers he, she and they: mal-e u. Context, not the word, says whose it is
- خودمkhâdâmmyselfKhod is self; the endings ride on it: khodam myself, khodat yourself. Inja khodame — this one is mine, my very own
- خودkhâdselfThe intensifier that stands before a noun: khod-e man — I myself. Lives inside khodkosh, suicide, and khodro, automobile
- همهhameall / everyoneThe every-word: hame chiz — everything, hame mardom — all the people. Same root as the greeting hamegi, everybody
- هرکدامharkâdâmeach (of them)Har each + kodam which [one]: each single one of a known set. Har-kodam az ma — each of us
- هرچهharchewhateverLiterally "that which": har-che bekhahi — whatever you like. The answer that ends a tea-or-coffee standoff
- اینinthisThis — the here-word. In chiye? — what is this? The -i of inja and in-taraf came from it
- اونunthatThat — the there-word, spoken un where books write aan. Oon bazaar-e marooofe: that bazaar is famous
- مثل اینmesle inlike (such as)Mesl-e in — like this, such as this. The word that makes examples: mesl-e man, like me
- دیگرdigârother / anotherOther — ketab-e digari: another book. In speech dige also closes sentences: enough, done
- هیچhichno / noneThe empty word that reinforces negation: hich pooli nadaram — I have no money at all. With no verb, it stays nothing
- یکیyekisomeoneOne, someone — yeki dar khane ast: someone is home. Yeki digar builds "another one" from it
- چیزیchizisomethingA thing, some-thing: chizi mikhahi? — do you want something? The spoken yechizi is its cousin
- هیچکدامhichkâdâmnone of themNo one of the set: hich-kodaam. Hich-kodaam nayamadand — none of them came
- هیچیhichinothingNo-thing: hichi. Hichi nemikhaham — I want nothing — said at every shop exit
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
من (man) — I. Almost never dropped: the verb ending already says who acts, so man stays when you press the point — I, personally.
تو (tâ) — you (singular). For close friends, family and children only. To a stranger it jumps straight to shoma, the polite you, from the first sentence.
شما (shâmâ) — you (polite). The respectful you, and it serves one respected person too — the same move as French vous. Its verb goes plural.
او (u) — he / she. One word for he and she: no gender in the pronoun at all. Who exactly is meant, the sentence around it has to tell.
Test yourself
Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than recognizing a familiar word — and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I” in Persian?
Almost never dropped: the verb ending already says who acts, so man stays when you press the point — I, personally
- How do you say “mine” in Persian?
The ownership formula: mal is property, so male man is "of me". The word that answers "whose?" every time
- How do you say “all / everyone” in Persian?
The every-word: hame chiz — everything, hame mardom — all the people. Same root as the greeting hamegi, everybody
- How do you say “no / none” in Persian?
The empty word that reinforces negation: hich pooli nadaram — I have no money at all. With no verb, it stays nothing
- How do you say “you (polite)” in Persian?
The respectful you, and it serves one respected person too — the same move as French vous. Its verb goes plural
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
I, you, we, they. There is a handful of them, they turn up in every sentence, and politeness rides on them: most of these languages keep a formal “you” apart from a familiar one, and choosing the wrong one is noticed faster than a mispronounced word.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “I” in Persian?
«من», read “man”. Almost never dropped: the verb ending already says who acts, so man stays when you press the point — I, personally. It is one of 26 words in the set “pronouns” — the rest are in the table above.
How many pronouns do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 26 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.