Table of Contents
Introduction to Personal Pronouns in Persian
In this chapter you meet one of the most useful tools in Persian: personal pronouns. These are the words that mean “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “we,” and “they.” You already saw the verb “to be” in the outline, but here we focus only on the pronouns themselves, how they are written, pronounced, and used in very simple sentences.
Persian personal pronouns are quite regular. Once you learn them well, they will help you understand verb endings later.
The Persian Personal Pronoun System
Persian has six main personal pronouns. There is no grammatical gender for “he” and “she,” which makes things simpler.
The basic personal pronouns are:
من
تو
او
ما
شما
آنها
These correspond to:
I
you (singular, informal)
he / she
we
you (plural or formal)
they
Unlike English, Persian does not distinguish between “he” and “she” in the pronoun. The same word is used for both.
Important rule: In Persian there is no gender in third person singular.
«او» means he or she depending on context.
Pronunciation and Transliteration
For each pronoun we will give a simple transliteration so you can pronounce it even if you are not yet comfortable with the script. Remember that transliteration is only a guide. Actual pronunciation depends on the sound rules you will learn in other chapters.
- من
Transliteration: man
Meaning: I - تو
Transliteration: to
Meaning: you (singular, informal) - او
Transliteration: u (often written “oo”)
Meaning: he / she - ما
Transliteration: ma
Meaning: we - شما
Transliteration: shomâ
Meaning: you (plural or formal) - آنها
Transliteration: ânhâ
Meaning: they
In everyday spoken Persian, especially in Iran, you will also hear spoken variants like “oon” for او and “oonâ” for آنها. For now you should learn the standard forms, because they are used in writing and in careful speech.
Singular vs. Plural and Formal vs. Informal
Persian uses different words for “you” depending on number and politeness. This is important in everyday communication.
The singular informal “you” is:
تو (to)
You use تو with friends, family, children, and people of your own age or younger when the relationship is informal.
The plural or formal “you” is:
شما (shomâ)
You use شما:
with more than one person
with strangers
with people older than you
in polite or formal situations
Important rule: شما is both “you (plural)” and “you (formal, singular).**
Using شما for one person shows politeness and respect.
There is no special “polite I” like in some languages. The system is simple: only the “you” form changes for politeness.
Examples in English only, to show the idea of use:
Talking to your close friend: “you” = تو
Talking to your teacher: “you” = شما
Talking to three classmates together: “you” = شما
Subject Position and Word Order
In simple sentences, the personal pronoun comes at the beginning of the sentence, before the object, and the verb comes at the end. You will study this Subject–Object–Verb word order in a separate chapter, so here we only show a few basic patterns.
Basic structure:
Subject (pronoun) + object + verb
With only a subject and a verb, the pronoun still comes first:
Subject (pronoun) + verb
For example, in English:
“I am.”
“You are.”
“We are students.”
In Persian, the equivalent sentences will follow the same pattern of pronoun first, verb last. The details of the verb “to be” and how to say “I am” or “you are” will be explained in the chapter on the verb “to be.”
At this level, your main task is to recognize and remember the pronouns themselves and to feel that they belong at the beginning of simple sentences.
When the Pronoun Is Omitted
In Persian, verb endings usually show who the subject is. Because of this, native speakers often omit the pronoun. You will learn verb endings later, but it is useful now to know that pronouns are not always necessary in Persian sentences.
For example, in English you must say “I am” or “she goes.” In Persian, a full sentence can be just a verb that has the ending for “I” or “she,” without a separate word for “I” or “she.”
At the beginner level, it is fine and even helpful to use the pronouns explicitly in your own sentences. It makes your speech clearer and easier while you are still learning. As you progress, you will get used to hearing and producing sentences where the pronoun is not spoken.
Key idea: The subject pronoun can be dropped in Persian because the verb ending usually shows the person.
As a beginner, you may keep the pronoun to make your sentences easier.
Using Pronouns in Simple Identity Phrases
You will study the full form of the verb “to be” in another chapter, but here are a few simple identity patterns in English only, so you can see how pronouns are used conceptually.
من …
“I …”
تو …
“You …” (to a friend)
او …
“He/She …”
ما …
“We …”
شما …
“You …” (formal or plural)
آنها …
“They …”
You can put a noun after the pronoun to form basic identity statements once you learn the verb “to be.” For example, later you will say things like:
“I am a student.”
“You are Iranian.”
“They are friends.”
The important point in this chapter is simply that:
“I” is من
“you” (informal) is تو
“he/she” is او
“we” is ما
“you” (plural/formal) is شما
“they” is آنها
Summary of Personal Pronouns
Persian personal pronouns are regular and do not change for gender. Only the “you” pronoun changes for formality or number. They usually appear at the beginning of simple sentences, before the verb, although they can be dropped when the verb ending already makes the subject clear.
If you memorize these six words now, they will help you in every future chapter, especially when you begin to conjugate verbs.
Vocabulary List for This Section
| Persian | Transliteration | Part of Speech | English Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| من | man | personal pronoun | I | first person singular |
| تو | to | personal pronoun | you | singular, informal |
| او | u | personal pronoun | he, she | no gender distinction |
| ما | ma | personal pronoun | we | first person plural |
| شما | shomâ | personal pronoun | you | plural or formal singular |
| آنها | ânhâ | personal pronoun | they | third person plural |
| من … | man … | phrase pattern | I … | subject slot starter |
| تو … | to … | phrase pattern | You … (informal) | subject slot starter |
| او … | u … | phrase pattern | He/She … | subject slot starter |
| ما … | ma … | phrase pattern | We … | subject slot starter |
| شما … | shomâ … | phrase pattern | You … (formal/plural) | subject slot starter |
| آنها … | ânhâ … | phrase pattern | They … | subject slot starter |