Demonstrative Pronouns in Persian

In Brief

Persian uses این (in, “this”) and آن (ān, “that”) before a noun: این کتاب (“this book”), آن خانه (“that house”). When the word stands alone, the usual plurals are این‌ها (inhā, “these”) and آن‌ها (ānhā, “those”). In conversation, you will often hear اون (un), اینا (inā), and اونا (unā).

Overview

A demonstrative is a pointing word: it identifies something as near or farther away, much as English uses “this,” “that,” “these,” and “those.” Persian calls these words ضمایر اشاره (zamāyer-e eshāre). They can work as determiners (words placed with a noun), as in این کتاب “this book,” or as pronouns (words that replace a noun), as in این خوب است “this is good.”

This is an A1 topic because the basic system is small and immediately useful. You need it to point to food in a shop, ask about an unfamiliar object, distinguish people or places, and refer back to something already mentioned. Persian also makes one part easier than English: این and آن do not change for gender, and before a noun they normally do not change for number either.

English-speaking learners should pay special attention to that last point. English changes “this book” to “these books,” but standard Persian normally says این کتاب for “this book” and این کتاب‌ها for “these books.” The noun receives the plural ending; the demonstrative before it remains این.

How It Works

The core forms

Function	Near	Far
Before a singular noun	این in — this	آن ān — that
Before a plural noun	این in — these	آن ān — those
Standing alone, singular	این in — this/this one	آن ān — that/that one
Standing alone, plural	این‌ها inhā — these/these ones	آن‌ها ānhā — those/those ones

The near–far contrast depends on the speaker’s point of view. این normally presents something as physically or mentally close; آن presents it as farther away. Context, gesture, and contrast often make the intended distance clear.

Before a noun: no ezafe after the demonstrative

A Persian demonstrative comes directly before its noun:

• این کتاب — this book
• آن زن — that woman
• این ماشین‌ها — these cars
• آن روزها — those days

Do not put ezafe after این or آن. Ezafe is the linking sound -e or -ye used between a noun and a following adjective or possessor. The demonstrative itself does not need that link.

If the noun has an adjective or possessor after it, ezafe begins after the noun:

• این کتابِ فارسی (in ketāb-e fārsi) — this Persian book
• آن خانهٔ بزرگ (ān khāne-ye bozorg) — that big house
• این دوستِ من (in dust-e man) — this friend of mine

The basic pattern is therefore:

demonstrative + noun + ezafe + adjective/possessor

Singular and plural noun phrases

Before a noun, این and آن are normally unchanged. To make the noun phrase plural, pluralize the noun:

Singular	Plural
این کتاب — this book	این کتاب‌ها — these books
آن دانشجو — that student	آن دانشجوها — those students
این سؤال — this question	این سؤال‌ها — these questions

This differs from English, where both the demonstrative and the noun show the contrast. Avoid combining the independent plural pronoun with an overt plural noun: standard این کتاب‌ها is “these books,” not این‌ها کتاب‌ها.

Standing alone as a pronoun

When no noun follows, این and آن can stand alone:

• این چیست؟ (in chist?) — What is this?
• آن مالِ من است. (ān māl-e man ast.) — That is mine.
• این را می‌خواهم. (in rā mikhāham.) — I want this.

For more than one item, use این‌ها and آن‌ها:

• این‌ها جدید هستند. — These are new.
• آن‌ها خیلی گران‌اند. — Those are very expensive.

The suffix ها (-hā) is the common Persian plural marker. In careful modern writing, a half-space is normally used: این‌ها, آن‌ها. You may also encounter the joined spellings اینها and آنها.

With را and prepositions

A demonstrative phrase behaves like any other noun phrase. If it is a specific direct object (the person or thing directly affected by the verb), را follows the whole phrase:

• این کتاب را خریدم. — I bought this book.
• آن‌ها را دیدم. — I saw those people/things.

In formal writing, را is written separately. In everyday speech it is usually pronounced -ro after a consonant and -o after a vowel, so این کتاب را may sound like in ketāb-o.

Prepositions come before the demonstrative phrase:

• با این دوست — with this friend
• از آن فروشگاه — from that shop
• برای این‌ها — for these

The copula: “this is” and “these are”

Persian links a subject to a description with the copula, the equivalent of English “be”:

• این کتابِ من است. — This is my book. / This book is mine.
• آن خانه بزرگ است. — That house is big.
• این‌ها دوستانِ من هستند. — These are my friends.

In normal speech, the copula often has shorter forms. For example, این چیه؟ (in chiye?) is the everyday equivalent of formal این چیست؟ “What is this?” The demonstrative system is unchanged; only the surrounding sentence becomes colloquial.

Examples in Context

Persian	Romanization	English	Note
این کتابِ من است.	in ketāb-e man ast.	This is my book.	این identifies a nearby item.
آن خانه بزرگ است.	ān khāne bozorg ast.	That house is big.	آن comes directly before the noun.
این‌ها دوستانِ من هستند.	inhā dustān-e man hastand.	These are my friends.	Plural pronoun standing alone.
آن‌ها برای شما هستند.	ānhā barāye shomā hastand.	Those are for you.	A preposition precedes the pronoun.
این چیست؟	in chist?	What is this?	Formal or neutral question.
اون چیه؟	un chiye?	What’s that?	Natural colloquial speech.
این کفش‌ها راحت هستند.	in kafsh-hā rāhat hastand.	These shoes are comfortable.	The noun, not این, is pluralized.
آن روزها در شیراز بودیم.	ān ruz-hā dar Shirāz budim.	We were in Shiraz in those days.	Distance can be in time, not only space.
این فیلم را دوست دارم.	in film rā dust dāram.	I like this film.	را follows the complete object phrase.
آن‌ها را دیروز دیدم.	ānhā rā diruz didam.	I saw them/those yesterday.	Context determines whether it means “them” or “those.”
لطفاً این را به من بدهید.	lotfan in rā be man بدهid.	Please give this to me.	A useful request in a shop or at a table.
این غذای ایرانی خیلی خوشمزه است.	in ghazā-ye irāni kheyli khoshmaze ast.	This Iranian food is very tasty.	Ezafe links غذا to ایرانی.
من این یکی را می‌خواهم.	man in yeki rā mikhāham.	I want this one.	یکی makes “one” explicit.
اینا مالِ کیه؟	inā māl-e kiye?	Whose are these?	Colloquial اینا.

Common Mistakes

Pluralizing the demonstrative before a noun

• Wrong: این‌ها کتاب‌ها جدید هستند.
• Right: این کتاب‌ها جدید هستند.
• Why: Before an expressed noun, standard Persian keeps این unchanged and pluralizes the noun: کتاب‌ها.

Adding ezafe after این or آن

• Wrong: اینِ کتاب
• Right: این کتاب
• Why: The demonstrative attaches directly to the noun phrase without ezafe. If an adjective follows, the noun takes ezafe: این کتابِ خوب “this good book.”

Using a singular pronoun for several things

• Wrong: این خوب هستند. (intended: “These are good.”)
• Right: این‌ها خوب هستند.
• Why: When the demonstrative replaces a plural noun, use این‌ها. Before a plural noun, however, use singular-looking این: این کتاب‌ها.

Putting را inside the noun phrase

• Wrong: این را کتاب خریدم.
• Right: این کتاب را خریدم.
• Why: را follows the entire specific object, here این کتاب.

Mixing formal writing and strongly colloquial spelling

• Awkward in formal prose: اون خانه بزرگ است.
• Formal: آن خانه بزرگ است.
• Natural in conversation: اون خونه بزرگه.
• Why: اون is normal spoken Persian, but آن is expected in formal writing. In real conversation, nearby words often become colloquial too.

Usage Notes

Formal and colloquial forms

Spoken Iranian Persian commonly changes آن (ān) to اون (un). The plural pronouns are often shortened as well:

Standard/formal	Common colloquial	Meaning
این in	این in	this
آن ān	اون un	that
این‌ها inhā	اینا inā	these
آن‌ها ānhā	اونا unā	those / they

These spoken forms are not careless mistakes. They are ordinary features of conversation and informal messages. For formal essays, news, academic prose, and official communication, prefer آن, این‌ها, and آن‌ها. Pronunciation and informal spelling vary across Persian-speaking regions, so the table mainly reflects common Iranian usage.

آن‌ها can also mean “they”

آن‌ها is both “those” and a standard third-person plural pronoun meaning “they.” Context normally resolves the meaning:

• آن‌ها دانشجو هستند. — They are students. / Those people are students.
• آن‌ها را خریدم. — I bought those.

When referring to people in speech, اونا often means simply “they.” Do not expect a rigid boundary like the English contrast between “they” and “those.”

Distance is not always physical

Like English “that,” آن can point to a distant time, idea, event, or part of a conversation:

• آن روز — that day
• آن زمان — at that time
• این موضوع — this topic
• آن حرف — that remark

Speakers can also choose این to make a topic feel current or immediately relevant, even when nothing physical is nearby.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to produce all of these patterns at A1, but they are useful to recognize.

این یکی and آن یکی

Persian can add یکی (yeki, “one”) when contrasting individual choices:

• این یکی بهتر است. — This one is better.
• آن یکی را نشان بدهید. — Show me that one.

This is especially useful when pointing at two similar items. In colloquial speech, اون یکی is extremely common.

Formal human plurals: اینان and آنان

In formal, literary, or elevated writing, you may see اینان (inān, “these people”) and آنان (ānān, “those people/they”). These forms normally refer to people and are not the everyday way to point at objects. In ordinary conversation, use اینا and اونا; in neutral modern writing, این‌ها and آن‌ها are broadly useful.

Compounds built from demonstratives

The same near–far distinction appears in common place and manner words:

• اینجا — here
• آنجا — there
• این‌طور — like this, this way
• آن‌طور — like that, that way

These are best learned as complete vocabulary items, but recognizing این and آن inside them makes them easier to remember.

Referring back in formal prose

Formal Persian often uses این or آن to refer to an idea, statement, period, or person already introduced. In such contexts, the choice is about discourse—how the writer organizes information—rather than measurable distance. Phrases such as این موضوع “this matter” and آن زمان “that time” are common examples.

Practice Tips

1. Point and name. Choose five objects near you and five farther away. Say این کتاب, این فنجان, آن در, and so on. Then pluralize the nouns: این کتاب‌ها, آن صندلی‌ها.
2. Practise both jobs. Make pairs where the demonstrative first accompanies a noun and then replaces it: این سیب خوب است “This apple is good” → این خوب است “This is good.” For plurals, compare این سیب‌ها with این‌ها.
3. Train your ear for register. When listening to Iranian conversations, note every اون, اینا, and اونا. Rewrite the sentence with آن, این‌ها, or آن‌ها so that you can move between spoken and formal Persian without treating either variety as wrong.

Related Concepts

No prerequisite or downstream concepts were specified for this grammar item. The following independent A1 topics are especially useful alongside it:

• Noun Plurals — shows how to form phrases such as این کتاب‌ها “these books.”
• Ezafe Construction — explains the link in این دوستِ من “this friend of mine.”
• Direct Object Marker را — explains why را follows این کتاب in این کتاب را خریدم.
• Personal Pronouns — helps distinguish demonstrative آن‌ها “those” from its frequent personal-pronoun use “they.”