Persian pronouns made simple

Persian pronouns are few, regular, and gender-free, which makes them an easy early win.

The basic set is small: man من (I), to تو (you, informal), oo او (he/she), ma ما (we), shoma شما (you, formal or plural), and oonha اونها (they).

No he or she

Persian has no grammatical gender. Oo means he and she, and context tells you which. This removes a whole category of mistakes that trip up learners of many other languages.

You, singular and plural

To is the casual singular you, for friends and family. Shoma is both the polite singular and the plural you, much like the older English "you" versus "thou." When unsure, shoma is the safe choice.

Possessive suffixes

Instead of separate words, Persian often attaches endings: -am (my), -et (your), -esh (his/her). So ketab (book) becomes ketabam (my book) and ketabet (your book).

Learn the six pronouns and the three common possessive endings, and a surprising amount of everyday Persian opens up.