Old Persian had three grammatical genders but Modern Persian is a gender-neutral language. It does not distinguish between masculine, feminine or neuter genders. The fact of being male or female is expressed lexically rather than grammatically. That is, gender is indicated by words rather than inflection.

Different Words for Genders

Some nouns have different words for male and female genders.

Male Female
مرد
⟨mard⟩
man
زن
⟨zan⟩
woman
برادر
⟨barâdar⟩
brother
خواهر
⟨xwâhar⟩
sister
پسر
⟨pesar⟩
boy; son
دختر
⟨doxtar⟩
girl; daughter
خروس
⟨xorus⟩
rooster
مرغ
⟨morǧ⟩
hen
اسب
⟨asb⟩
horse
مادیان
⟨mâdiyân⟩
mare

Indicating Gender in Human Beings

Regarding nouns that do not have different words for male and female human beings, the words “mard” (man), “zan” (woman), “pesar” (boy), “doxtar” (girl) can be used to indicate their gender. These words are nouns but here, they function as adjectives.

Male or Female Male Female
پلیس
⟨polis⟩
police
پلیس مرد
⟨polis-e mard⟩
policeman
پلیس زن
⟨polis-e zan⟩
policewoman
بازیگر
⟨bâzigar⟩
actor, actress
بازیگر مرد
⟨bâzigar-e mard⟩
actor
بازیگر زن
⟨bâzigar-e zan⟩
actress
پزشک
⟨pezešk⟩
doctor
پزشک مرد
⟨pezešk-e mard⟩
male doctor
پزشک زن
⟨pezešk-e zan⟩
female doctor
دانشجو
⟨dânešju⟩
student
دانشجوی پسر
⟨dânešju-ye pesar⟩
boy student
دانشجوی دختر
⟨dânešju-ye doxtar⟩
girl student

Arabic Feminine Forms

Some Arabic loanwords have brought their feminine form into Persian as well. This is comparable to English words like “fiancé” vs. “fiancée”.

Male or Female Female Meaning
شهید
⟨šahid⟩
شهیده
⟨šahide⟩
martyr
مدیر
⟨modir⟩
مدیره
⟨modire⟩
manager
شاعر
⟨šâer⟩
شاعره
⟨šâere⟩
poet

These feminine forms are only found in written language. Persian does not have grammatical gender and it is not considered natural to feminize nouns. In Persian, شاعر means “poet”, whether male or female. The natural way to specify a female poet is شاعر زن ⟨šâer-e zan⟩.

Indicating Gender in Animals

Regarding animal nouns that do not have different words for male and female, the adjectives “nar” (male) and “mâdde” (female) are used to indicate their gender:

Male or Female Male Female
شیر
⟨šir⟩
lion, lioness
شیر نر
⟨šir-e nar⟩
male lion
شیر ماده
⟨šir-e mâdde⟩
lioness
sag
⟨سگ⟩
dog
سگ نر
⟨sag-e nar⟩
male dog
سگ ماده
⟨sag-e mâdde⟩
female dog
gorbe
⟨گربه⟩
cat
گربه‌ی نر
⟨gorbe-ye nar⟩
male cat
گربه‌ی ماده
⟨gorbe-ye mâdde⟩
female cat

Practice Examples