Demonstrative Pronouns in Persian

Overview

Demonstrative pronouns point to specific things: "this," "that," "these," "those." In Persian, the system is simple with just two basic forms: این (in, this/these) and آن (ān, that/those). At the A1 level, these are among the first words you need for identifying and describing things around you.

Persian demonstratives work as both pronouns (standing alone: "this is good") and determiners (modifying nouns: "this book"). They do not change for number — این means both "this" and "these," آن means both "that" and "those." Plural is shown by the noun, not the demonstrative.

In colloquial speech, آن becomes اون (un), and the plurals این‌ها/آن‌ها contract to اینا (inā) and اونا (unā). These colloquial forms are universal in spoken Persian.

How It Works

Formal	Colloquial	Meaning
این in	این in	this/these
آن ān	اون un	that/those
این‌ها inhā	اینا inā	these (plural pronoun)
آن‌ها ānhā	اونا unā	those (plural pronoun)

As pronouns:

• این خوب است (this is good)
• آن مال من است (that is mine)

As determiners:

• این کتاب (this book) — no ezafe between demonstrative and noun
• آن خانه (that house)

Examples in Context

Persian	English	Note
این کتابِ من است.	This is my book.	Pronoun
آن خانه بزرگ است.	That house is big.	Determiner
اینها دوستان من هستند.	These are my friends.	Plural pronoun
اون چیه؟	What's that?	Colloquial
این خوبه، اون بد.	This one is good, that one is bad.	Colloquial comparison
از این بهتره.	It's better than this one.	Comparison
اینا مال کین؟	Whose are these?	Colloquial plural
همین!	This very one! / Exactly!	Emphatic
همون!	That very one!	Emphatic colloquial
این‌طوری	like this / this way	Adverbial use

Common Mistakes

Using ezafe between demonstrative and noun

• Wrong: این‌ِ کتاب (this-ezafe book)
• Right: این کتاب (this book, no ezafe)
• Why: Demonstratives connect directly to nouns without ezafe. This is different from adjectives, which require ezafe.

Forgetting the colloquial forms

• Wrong: Always saying آن in conversation
• Right: Use اون in speech; آن is for writing
• Why: آن sounds overly formal in casual conversation. The colloquial اون is standard spoken Persian.

Confusing این/آن (demonstratives) with personal pronouns

• Wrong: Using این for "he/she" (this person)
• Right: Use او/اون for "he/she," این for "this"
• Why: While آن‌ها means "they," این and آن are primarily demonstratives, not personal pronouns.

Practice Tips

1. Point at things and practice: این چیه؟ (what's this?), اون چیه؟ (what's that?). This basic pattern is incredibly useful.
2. Practice comparison: این بزرگ‌تره، اون کوچک‌تره (this one is bigger, that one is smaller).
3. Learn the emphatic forms: همین (this very one), همان/همون (that very one). They add emphasis and precision.

Related Concepts

This concept has no listed parent or children in the grammar tree.