Adjectives and Agreement in Persian

In Brief

In Persian, a descriptive adjective normally comes after its noun and is linked to it by ezafe, an unstressed -e or -ye sound: مردِ بزرگ mard-e bozorg, “big man.” The adjective does not change for gender or number: دخترِ خوب dokhtar-e khub and دخترهای خوب dokhtarhā-ye khub both use the same form خوب.

Overview

An adjective is a word that describes a person, thing, or idea: “big,” “red,” “good,” or “interesting.” Persian adjectives are refreshingly regular. Unlike adjectives in many languages, they do not have masculine and feminine forms, and they do not acquire a plural ending to match a plural noun.

The main adjustment for an English-speaking learner is not agreement but word order. English puts an adjective before its noun: “a red car.” Persian normally puts the noun first: ماشینِ قرمز māshin-e ghermez. A short linking sound called ezafe connects the noun to the adjective. Ezafe is part of the pronunciation even though it is often invisible in ordinary Persian writing.

This is an A1 pattern and one of the basic building blocks of Persian noun phrases (groups of words built around a noun). Once you can hear and produce noun + ezafe + adjective, you can describe everyday objects and people with very little memorisation.

How It Works

The basic pattern

The usual pattern is:

noun + ezafe + adjective

Persian	Romanization	English	Structure
مردِ بزرگ	mard-e bozorg	big man	noun + -e + adjective
دخترِ زیبا	dokhtar-e zibā	beautiful girl	noun + -e + adjective
ماشینِ قرمز	māshin-e ghermez	red car	noun + -e + adjective
غذای خوب	ghazā-ye khub	good food	noun + -ye + adjective

The ezafe vowel belongs to the link between the words. Do not treat it as part of the adjective: the adjective is بزرگ bozorg, not e-bozorg.

Choosing -e or -ye

After most consonants, ezafe is pronounced -e:

• کتابِ جدید ketāb-e jadid — new book
• هوای سرد is not this pattern’s spelling after a consonant; compare روزِ سرد ruz-e sard — cold day

After a word ending in a vowel sound, a y glide usually makes the transition easier, giving -ye:

• خانهٔ بزرگ or خانه‌ی بزرگ khāne-ye bozorg — big house
• غذای خوب ghazā-ye khub — good food
• دانشجوی جوان dāneshju-ye javān — young student

Spellings vary according to the final letter. With ه after a vowel, both خانهٔ and خانه‌ی are encountered. With words ending in ا or و, the linking ی is commonly visible, as in غذای. The important beginner skill is to pronounce the link reliably.

Ezafe is often not shown

In fully marked teaching text, the short vowel may appear as the small sign in مردِ بزرگ. In ordinary books, messages, and websites, that mark is commonly omitted: مرد بزرگ. Readers recover mard-e bozorg from the structure.

This creates an important difference between reading and speaking. A written space does not mean that the two words are pronounced with no connection. When learning a new noun phrase, say it aloud with ezafe even if the page does not display the vowel.

No gender agreement

Persian does not require an adjective to reflect whether the noun refers to a man, a woman, or something inanimate. One adjective form works throughout.

Persian	Romanization	English	Adjective
مردِ مهربان	mard-e mehrabān	kind man	مهربان
زنِ مهربان	zan-e mehrabān	kind woman	مهربان
کودکِ مهربان	kudak-e mehrabān	kind child	مهربان

English adjectives also generally remain unchanged for gender, so this part should feel familiar. Persian pronouns can leave gender unspecified too, but that is a separate feature: the key point here is simply that the adjective never needs a masculine or feminine ending.

No plural agreement

Plural information is carried by the noun, not repeated on an attributive adjective (an adjective placed inside the noun phrase).

Number	Persian	Romanization	English
Singular	کتابِ خوب	ketāb-e khub	good book
Plural	کتاب‌های خوب	ketābhā-ye khub	good books
Singular	ماشینِ قرمز	māshin-e ghermez	red car
Plural	ماشین‌های قرمز	māshinhā-ye ghermez	red cars

Notice that plural -ها -hā attaches to the noun. Ezafe then follows the plural noun as -ye: کتاب‌ها + ی + خوب. The adjective خوب or قرمز remains exactly the same.

Adjectives after “to be”

An adjective can also be the predicate—the description stated about the subject after “to be.” In that case there is no attributive ezafe between the noun and adjective:

• خانه بزرگ است. Khāne bozorg ast. — The house is big.
• خانهٔ بزرگ khāne-ye bozorg — the big house

The first is a complete statement. The second is only a noun phrase. This contrast matters because English uses the same adjective form but signals the difference mainly with “is”; Persian also changes whether ezafe is present.

Persian	Romanization	English	Function
چایِ داغ	chāy-e dāgh	hot tea	adjective modifies the noun
چای داغ است.	Chāy dāgh ast.	The tea is hot.	adjective is the predicate
خیابان‌های شلوغ	khiyābānhā-ye sholugh	crowded streets	adjective modifies a plural noun
خیابان‌ها شلوغ هستند.	Khiyābānhā sholugh hastand.	The streets are crowded.	complete statement

More than one adjective

Two descriptions can be coordinated with و va (“and”; often pronounced o after a consonant in speech):

• خانهٔ بزرگ و زیبا khāne-ye bozorg o zibā — a big and beautiful house
• کتابِ کوتاه و ساده ketāb-e kutāh o sāde — a short and simple book

A chain can also continue through more than one modifier. In کتابِ خوبِ جدید ketāb-e khub-e jadid (“the good new book”), the first adjective carries another ezafe because a following adjective further continues the phrase. Longer chains are grammatical, but coordinated wording is often easier to understand.

Examples in Context

The following examples show adjectives in useful noun phrases and complete sentences. Romanization represents standard pronunciation; everyday spoken forms may be shorter.

Persian	Romanization	English	Note
خانهٔ بزرگ نزدیکِ پارک است.	Khāne-ye bozorg nazdik-e pārk ast.	The big house is near the park.	-ye after خانه
دخترِ زیبا لبخند زد.	Dokhtar-e zibā labkhand zad.	The beautiful girl smiled.	No gender change
غذای خوب آماده است.	Ghazā-ye khub āmāde ast.	The good food is ready.	Core example with -ye
ماشینِ قرمز مالِ علی است.	Māshin-e ghermez māl-e Ali ast.	The red car belongs to Ali.	Colour after the noun
من یک اتاقِ کوچک می‌خواهم.	Man yek otāgh-e kuchak mikhāham.	I want a small room.	Adjective follows اتاق
این کتابِ جدید خیلی جالب است.	In ketāb-e jadid kheili jāleb ast.	This new book is very interesting.	Demonstrative comes before the noun
آن کفش‌های سیاه گران هستند.	Ān kafshhā-ye siyāh gerān hastand.	Those black shoes are expensive.	Adjective unchanged in plural
امروز هوا سرد است.	Emruz havā sard ast.	The weather is cold today.	Predicate: no ezafe
قهوهٔ داغ روی میز است.	Ghahve-ye dāgh ru-ye miz ast.	The hot coffee is on the table.	Attributive adjective
این سؤال ساده است.	In so'āl sāde ast.	This question is easy.	Complete statement
دوستانِ خوب مهم هستند.	Dustān-e khub mohem hastand.	Good friends are important.	Same adjective with a plural noun
او یک پیراهنِ آبی و سفید خرید.	U yek pirāhan-e ābi o sefid kharid.	He or she bought a blue-and-white shirt.	Coordinated colours

Common Mistakes

Putting the adjective before the noun

• Wrong: بزرگ خانه bozorg khāne
• Right: خانهٔ بزرگ khāne-ye bozorg
• Why: The normal descriptive pattern is noun first, then ezafe, then adjective. English word order encourages the opposite mistake.

Leaving out ezafe when speaking

• Wrong: māshin ghermez for “red car”
• Right: ماشینِ قرمز māshin-e ghermez
• Why: Ordinary spelling may hide the short vowel, but standard pronunciation still requires the link.

Adding a plural ending to the adjective

• Wrong: کتاب‌های خوب‌ها for “good books”
• Right: کتاب‌های خوب ketābhā-ye khub
• Why: In this ordinary noun phrase, -ها marks the noun as plural. The attributive adjective does not copy the plural marking.

Using ezafe in a predicate statement

• Wrong: خانهٔ بزرگ است if you mean “The house is big”
• Right: خانه بزرگ است. Khāne bozorg ast.
• Why: Ezafe makes خانهٔ بزرگ the single phrase “the big house.” Without ezafe, بزرگ است says what the house is like. The form with ezafe can still begin a sentence—خانهٔ بزرگ نزدیک است means “The big house is nearby”—but then بزرگ belongs inside the subject phrase.

Forgetting -ye after a vowel

• Wrong: khāne-e kuchak
• Right: خانهٔ کوچک khāne-ye kuchak
• Why: After a vowel sound, Persian normally inserts a y glide, producing -ye rather than two adjacent vowels.

Usage Notes

Writing and pronunciation do not line up perfectly

Persian writing normally omits short vowels. Consequently, learners often recognise کتاب خوب on the page but hesitate over its spoken shape. Read it as ketāb-e khub when the intended meaning is “good book.” Educational texts may add the ezafe mark, while informal messages usually do not.

Romanization practices also differ. You may see khāne-ye, khane-ye, or other spellings without long-vowel marks. Focus on the spoken pattern rather than expecting one universal Latin spelling.

Spoken Persian shortens the copula

In conversational Iranian Persian, است ast (“is”) is frequently reduced and attached in pronunciation. خانه بزرگ است may sound like خونه بزرگه khune bozorge, “The house is big.” This final -e is the colloquial copula “is,” not attributive ezafe. Compare:

• خونهٔ بزرگ khune-ye bozorg — the big house
• خونه بزرگه khune bozorge — the house is big

The similar e sounds have different jobs and different positions. Beginners can use the full standard form است while learning to recognise the conversational form.

Some words before nouns are not ordinary descriptive adjectives

Demonstratives such as این in (“this”) and آن ān (“that”) come before the noun: این ماشینِ قرمز in māshin-e ghermez, “this red car.” Numbers and some quantity words also precede nouns. This does not overturn the central rule: ordinary qualities such as “red,” “small,” and “beautiful” follow the noun with ezafe.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the details in this section at A1, but they explain forms you will meet later.

Indefinite -i follows the completed phrase

Persian can mark an indefinite item—roughly “a” or “some”—with -ی -i. When a noun has an adjective, this marker commonly comes after the adjective:

• کتابی ketāb-i — a book
• کتابِ خوبی ketāb-e khub-i — a good book
• خانهٔ بزرگی khāne-ye bozorg-i — a big house

This shows that the noun and its adjective form one larger unit. Do not confuse this final -i with ezafe -e/-ye.

Adjectives can function like nouns

Context may allow an adjective to stand for a person or thing with that quality. It can then take morphology that an ordinary noun can take. For example, بزرگ‌ترها bozorgtar-hā can mean “the older ones” or “the grown-ups,” depending on context. This does not mean adjectives normally agree in number; rather, the adjective has been used as the head of the phrase—the main word functioning like a noun.

Learned Arabic plural patterns do not create adjective agreement

Persian vocabulary includes many words of Arabic origin, and formal texts may preserve some Arabic-derived plural forms. Nevertheless, ordinary Persian adjective syntax remains Persian: the adjective after a plural noun is normally unchanged. Learners should not import Arabic gender or plural agreement into a Persian phrase.

Comparison adds suffixes, not agreement endings

Later, you will form many comparatives with -تر -tar and superlatives with -ترین -tarin: بزرگ‌تر bozorgtar (“bigger”) and بزرگ‌ترین bozorgtarin (“biggest”). These endings express degree of comparison, not agreement with the noun. Their placement patterns deserve separate study.

Practice Tips

1. Learn phrases, not isolated adjectives. Record بزرگ as part of خانهٔ بزرگ khāne-ye bozorg. This trains both Persian word order and ezafe automatically.
2. Make singular–plural pairs. Say ماشینِ قرمز / ماشین‌های قرمز and کتابِ خوب / کتاب‌های خوب. Keep the adjective unchanged while moving the plural ending onto the noun.
3. Contrast phrase and sentence. For each adjective, produce both چایِ داغ (“hot tea”) and چای داغ است (“The tea is hot”). Listening for the presence or absence of ezafe is more useful than memorising a rule silently.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Ezafe Construction — explains the linking sound used between nouns, adjectives, possessors, and other modifiers.
• Next step: Comparatives and Superlatives — builds forms such as بزرگ‌تر “bigger” and بزرگ‌ترین “biggest.”