A2.4 – Descriptions and Comparisons

Overview of Descriptions and Comparisons at A2

In this chapter you learn how to talk about people, things, and places in more detail in Persian, and how to compare them. You already know basic adjectives and simple sentences, so here you will focus on using them more flexibly, using comparative and superlative forms, and starting to express preferences and opinions in a clearer way. This chapter prepares you for the more specific topics that follow, such as describing people and places, colors and sizes, and expressing likes and dislikes.

Adjectives in Descriptions

Persian adjectives usually come after the noun they describe. You connect the noun and the adjective with the linking sound “ـِ” that is written as the short vowel “e” and often shown as the ezāfe sign in Persian script.

For example:
ketâb-e bozorg
کتابِ بزرگ
“the big book”

Here, “ketâb” means “book” and “bozorg” means “big”. The sound “e” connects the two.

Adjectives do not change for gender or number in Persian. The same form is used for masculine and feminine, and also for singular and plural.

For example:
mard-e ghad-bolând
مردِ قدبلند
“the tall man”

zan-e ghad-bolând
زنِ قدبلند
“the tall woman”

mardhâ-ye ghad-bolând
مردها‌یِ قدبلند
“the tall men”

You already know simple sentences like:

in ketâb bozorg ast.
این کتاب بزرگ است.
“This book is big.”

To make descriptions more natural in everyday speech, the verb “ast” is often shortened or dropped in the present tense, especially in informal Persian.

In informal Persian:
in ketâb bozorgeh.
این کتاب بزرگه.
“This book is big.”

You will see both styles in this course. At this level, it is useful to recognize both and begin to use the informal form when you feel ready.

Describing Degree: “Very”, “Quite”, “Too”

In descriptions you often want to show how strong a quality is. Persian uses several common adverbs for this, especially “kheyli”, “kâmelan”, and “too”.

“kheyli” خیلی is very frequent and means “very” or “a lot”:

u kheyli khoshgel ast.
او خیلی خوشگل است.
“She is very pretty.”

in film kheyli jaleb bud.
این فیلم خیلی جالب بود.
“This movie was very interesting.”

“kâmelan” کاملاً means “completely” or “totally”:

otâgh kâmelan tamiz ast.
اتاق کاملاً تمیز است.
“The room is completely clean.”

“too” تو is used in informal speech to mean “too” in the sense of “too much, excessively”:

ghazâ too shur-e.
غذا تو شورِه.
“The food is too salty.”

u too sar-e.
او تو سرِه.
“He is too strict.”

Learning these small words makes your descriptions richer. You can move from “good” to “very good”, “too expensive”, or “completely finished”.

Combining Several Adjectives

Sometimes you want to use more than one adjective. In Persian, adjectives usually come after each other, connected by the ezâfe “e”. You can also use “va” “and” between the last two if you want to emphasize both, but it is not always necessary.

A normal chain looks like this:

noun + e + adjective 1 + e + adjective 2

For example:
mashin-e bozorg-e gery
ماشینِ بزرگِ گری
“the big gray car”

ketâb-e ghadimi-e gerûn
کتابِ قدیمیِ گرون
“the old expensive book”

If you want to emphasize both adjectives clearly, you can add “va” و between them, especially in more careful speech:

ketâb-e ghadimi va gerûn
کتابِ قدیمی و گرون
“the old and expensive book”

Be careful that the noun stays at the front of the chain. Do not separate the noun from the first adjective.

Correct:
mard-e javân-e boland
مردِ جوانِ بلند
“the tall young man”

Incorrect:
*mard-e javân mard-e boland

Comparing Two Things

Comparative forms are used to say that one thing has “more” of a quality than another, like “bigger”, “more beautiful”, or “cheaper”. In Persian this is usually done with a special ending on the adjective or with the words “bishtar” or “kam-tar”.

The main approach is to add the ending “-tar” تر to the adjective. There are also some common adjectives that form comparatives with separate words.

The basic structure is:

X + az + Y + adjective-tar

Here, “az” از means “than”.

For example:
Ali az Sara boland-tar ast.
علی از سارا بلندتر است.
“Ali is taller than Sara.”

in ketâb az ân ketâb gerûn-tar ast.
این کتاب از آن کتاب گرون‌تر است.
“This book is more expensive than that book.”

shahr-e mâ az shahr-e shomâ bozorg-tar ast.
شهرِ ما از شهرِ شما بزرگ‌تر است.
“Our city is bigger than your city.”

Some adjectives commonly use “bishtar” بیش‌تر “more” instead of adding “-tar”, especially when you are talking about quantity or “more” in a very general way:

pool-e bishtar
پولِ بیش‌تر
“more money”

zamân-e bishtar
زمانِ بیش‌تر
“more time”

u az man bishtar kâr mikonad.
او از من بیش‌تر کار می‌کند.
“He works more than me.”

Here you are comparing amounts rather than a simple quality like big or small.

You can also talk about “less” or “fewer” with “kam-tar” کمتر:

man az to kam-tar khâb mikonam.
من از تو کم‌تر خواب می‌کنم.
“I sleep less than you.”

in mashin az ân yeki kam-tar sor’at dârad.
این ماشین از آن یکی کم‌تر سرعت دارد.
“This car has less speed than that one.”
(“is slower than that one”)

Superlatives: “The most …” and “The least …”

Superlatives talk about the highest or lowest degree of a quality, like “the biggest city”, “the most interesting book”, or “the least expensive ticket”.

In Persian, the normal way is to add “-tarin” ترین to the adjective. The structure is usually:

“az hame” + adjective-tarin
یا
noun + adjective-tarin

“az hame” از همه literally means “from all” and helps to show that you are talking about “the most” among a group.

For example:
Tehrân bozorg-tarin shahr-e Irân ast.
تهران بزرگ‌ترین شهرِ ایران است.
“Tehran is the biggest city in Iran.”

in sakht-tarin emtehân bud.
این سخت‌ترین امتحان بود.
“This was the hardest exam.”

u az hame kheyli-tar mehrabân-tarin ostâd ast.
او از همه مهربان‌ترین استاد است.
“She is the kindest teacher of all.”

Often, especially when the group is clear, the noun plus superlative adjective is enough:

kishvar-e bozorg-tarin
کشورِ بزرگ‌ترین
“the biggest country”

When you use “az hame”, you usually put it before the noun or at the beginning:

u az hame javân-tarin ast.
او از همه جوان‌ترین است.
“He is the youngest of all.”

This “-tarin” form is very common in written and spoken Persian. It is one of the easiest ways to express what English calls the “most” of something.

For “the most” in the sense of quantity, “bishtarin” بیش‌ترین is often used:

bishtarin vaqt
بیش‌ترین وقت
“the most time”

bishtarin moshkeli ke dâram…
بیش‌ترین مشکلی که دارم…
“the biggest problem that I have is…”

For the lowest degree, “kam-tarin” کم‌ترین is used:

kam-tarin gheymat
کم‌ترین قیمت
“the lowest price”

Comparisons Without Repeating Words

Once you know how to form comparatives and superlatives, everyday speech often removes repeated nouns to sound more natural. Persian does this too. After the first full phrase, you may only keep the adjective and comparative ending.

For example, instead of:

in ketâb az ân ketâb gerûn-tar ast.
این کتاب از آن کتاب گرون‌تر است.
“This book is more expensive than that book.”

You can say more naturally:

in ketâb az ân yeki gerûn-tar ast.
این کتاب از آن یکی گرون‌تر است.
“This book is more expensive than that one.”

Here, “ân yeki” آن یکی means “that one”.

Or:
pesar-e bozorg az dokhtar-e bozorg bozorg-tar ast.
پسرِ بزرگ از دخترِ بزرگ بزرگ‌تر است.

is very heavy to say. Instead, you would simplify:

pesar az dokhtar bozorg-tar ast.
پسر از دختر بزرگ‌تر است.
“The son is older than the daughter.”

The adjectives stay with the comparative ending, and the structure X + az + Y remains, but you avoid repeating the noun.

Expressing Equal Similarity

Sometimes you want to express equality, like “as big as”, “as tall as”, or “the same as”. The most common expression at this level is “hamanand” and structures with “mesl” or “ham-andâze”. At A2 it is enough to get familiar with the basic patterns without needing every variation.

“mesl” مثل is a very common word that means “like” or “similar to”. You can say:

Ali mesl-e pedar-esh boland ast.
علی مثلِ پدرش بلند است.
“Ali is tall like his father.”

in ketâb mesl-e ân ketâb jaleb ast.
این کتاب مثلِ آن کتاب جالب است.
“This book is interesting like that book.”

“ham-andâze” هم‌اندازه literally means “same size”:

in do sandali ham-andâze-and.
این دو صندلی هم‌اندازه‌اند.
“These two chairs are the same size.”

For “as … as …” there are more advanced patterns that you will meet later. At this stage, being able to say that something is “like” something or “the same size” is usually enough.

Softening Comparisons and Opinions

When you compare people, work, or ideas, you may want to sound polite. Persian often uses words like “ye kam” “a bit”, “kamy” “a little”, or “beyneshâni” “quite” to soften the sentence.

“ye kam” or “kami” before adjectives or comparatives makes the sentence sound kinder:

in ketâb ye kam gerûn-tar ast.
این کتاب یه کم گرون‌تر است.
“This book is a bit more expensive.”

u ye kam kam-hâl ast.
او یه کم کم‌حال است.
“He is a bit unwell / low energy.”

To show a softer opinion, you can also use “be nazar-e man” “in my opinion” at the beginning:

be nazar-e man, in film jaleb-tar ast.
به نظرِ من، این فیلم جالب‌تر است.
“In my opinion, this film is more interesting.”

Phrases like this help you share comparisons without sounding too strong or direct, which can be important in Persian culture.

Building Description Chains

You already know how to make simple sentences with “subject object verb”. With descriptions and comparisons, you begin to make longer noun phrases that carry more information before the main verb appears.

For example, compare a very simple sentence and a richer one.

Simple:
in khâne bozorg ast.
این خانه بزرگ است.
“This house is big.”

Richer:
in khâne-ye bozorg-e se-tabaqe dar markaz-e shahr ast.
این خانه‌یِ بزرگِ سه‌طبقه در مرکزِ شهر است.
“This big three-floor house is in the city center.”

Here, “in khâne-ye bozorg-e se-tabaqe” is one long noun phrase. At A2, your goal is not to memorize every possible structure, but to start noticing how several adjectives and extra pieces of information can attach to a noun.

When you add a comparison, the sentence can become a little longer:

in khâne-ye bozorg-e se-tabaqe az khâne-ye mâ bozorg-tar ast.
این خانه‌یِ بزرگِ سه‌طبقه از خانه‌یِ ما بزرگ‌تر است.
“This big three-floor house is bigger than our house.”

You still keep the core structure: one main verb, the subject, and possibly a comparison phrase with “az” and a comparative adjective.

Using Descriptions and Comparisons in Daily Contexts

Descriptions and comparisons appear in many daily situations. You can talk about people, appearance, personality, places, houses, cities, and things you want to buy. You will use them when you speak about jobs, nationalities, and preferences later.

Some simple but practical examples:

in resturân tamiz-tar ast.
این رستوران تمیزتر است.
“This restaurant is cleaner.”

u mehrabân-tarin dust-e man ast.
او مهربان‌ترین دوستِ من است.
“He / she is my kindest friend.”

in otâgh bozorg-tar, vali ân yeki ârâm-tar ast.
این اتاق بزرگ‌تر، ولی آن یکی آرام‌تر است.
“This room is bigger, but that one is quieter.”

shahr-e shomâ sard-tar ast ya mâ?
شهرِ شما سردتر است یا ما؟
“Is your city colder or ours?”

Every time you learn a new adjective, try to use it in three different kinds of sentence: a simple description, a comparative, and a superlative. This habit will make your Persian sound much more natural.

Vocabulary Table for This Chapter