Old Persian had three grammatical numbers: singular, dual and plural. Since Middle Persian, there is no dual form. The plural form includes dual and indicates “more than one”. The formation of plural can be divided into three cases:
- Using the plural suffix “ها” (-hâ)
- Using the plural suffix “ان” (-ân)
- Arabic plural forms
Plural Suffix -hâ
Nouns are normally pluralized with the suffix “-hâ”:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| پسر ⟨pesar⟩ boy; son |
پسرها ⟨pesarhâ⟩ boys; sons |
| دختر ⟨doxtar⟩ girl; daughter |
دخترها ⟨doxtarhâ⟩ girls; daughters |
| درخت ⟨deraxt⟩ tree |
درختها ⟨deraxthâ⟩ trees |
| کتاب ⟨ketâb⟩ book |
کتابها ⟨ketâbhâ⟩ books |
| سیب ⟨sib⟩ apple |
سیبها ⟨sibhâ⟩ apples |
Plural Suffix -ân
Historically, “-ân” was the primary suffix for giving a plural form to words. In Modern Persian, this suffix is typically used to pluralize animate nouns.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| مرد ⟨mard⟩ man |
مردان ⟨mardân⟩ men |
| زن ⟨zan⟩ woman |
زنان ⟨zanân⟩ women |
| پسر ⟨pesar⟩ boy; son |
پسران ⟨pesarân⟩ boys; sons |
| دختر ⟨doxtar⟩ girl; daughter |
دختران ⟨doxtarân⟩ girls; daughters |
| درخت ⟨deraxt⟩ tree |
درختان ⟨deraxtân⟩ trees |
The plural Suffix “-ân” is also seen in certain inanimate plurals. This reflects the historical role of “-ân” as a general plural suffix:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| سخن ⟨soxan⟩ speech, remark |
سخنان ⟨soxanân⟩ speeches, remarks |
Epenthesis in Plural Suffix -ân
Since the plural suffix “-ân” begins with a vowel, there are cases of vowel hiatus and epenthesis when it is added to nouns ending in a vowel.
Nouns Ending in -â, -i, -u
When a singular noun ends in the vowels “â, i, u”, the epenthetic consonant “-y” is added between the singular noun and the plural suffix “-ân”:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| دانا ⟨dânâ⟩ wise |
دانایان ⟨dânâyân⟩ the wise |
| ایرانی ⟨Irâni⟩ Iranian |
ایرانیان ⟨Irâniyân⟩ Iranians |
| دانشجو ⟨dânešju⟩ student |
دانشجویان ⟨dânešjuyân⟩ students |
In a few nouns that end in “u”, the epenthetic consonant is “-v”. Additionally, “u” changes to “o”, which reflects the older form of the noun:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| بازو ⟨bâzu⟩ arm |
بازوان ⟨bâzovân⟩ arms |
| گیسو ⟨gisu⟩ plait, braid |
گیسوان ⟨gisovân⟩ plaits, braids |
In a few nouns that end in “â”, the consonant “k” appears between “â” and the plural suffix. This consonant is not an epenthetic consonant. It belongs to the older form of the noun. In the following example, “niyâk” is the older form of “niyâ”, which has been preserved in the plural form “niyâkân”.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| نیا ⟨niyâ⟩ ancestor |
نیاکان ⟨niyâkân⟩ ancestors |
Nouns Ending in -ow
When a singular noun ends in the diphthong “ow”, it changes to “av” in the plural form. This is related to the older form of the noun preserved in the plural form. The cluster /av/ occurring at word final became /aw/ in early New Persian. The diphthong /aw/ has further transformed into /ow/ in Modern Persian.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| خسرو ⟨xosrow⟩ king |
خسروان ⟨xosravân⟩ kings |
There is a tendency to pronounce such plurals as “-ovân” instead of “-avân”. However, strictly speaking, it is mispronunciation.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| پیرو ⟨peyrow⟩ disciple, follower |
پیروان ⟨peyravân⟩ / (peyrovân) disciples, followers |
Nouns Ending in -e
When a singular noun ends in “e”, the consonant “g” appears before the plural suffix. In many grammar references, this “g” is considered to be an epenthetic consonant but this is not the case. The consonant “g” belongs to the older form of the word. The cluster /ag/ occurring at word final became /a/ in early New Persian. It has further transformed into /e/ in modern pronunciation of Persian. In the following example, “setârag” is the older form of “setâre”, which can be deduced from the plural form “setâregân”.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| ستاره ⟨setâre⟩ star |
ستارگان ⟨setâregân⟩ stars |
| پرنده ⟨parande⟩ bird |
پرندگان ⟨parandegân⟩ birds |
| خواننده ⟨xwânande⟩ singer |
خوانندگان ⟨xwânandegân⟩ singers |
Arabic Plurals
Many Arabic loanwords have brought their plural form into written Persian as well. Nevertheless, the suffix “-hâ” can be used to pluralize every noun. For example, کتاب (“ketâb”, book) is an Arabic loanword. Its plural form is کتب (“kotob”) in Arabic, which is sometimes used in written Persian too. However, کتاب is normally pluralized as کتابها (“ketâbhâ”). Arabic plurals are not used in spoken Persian and can be entirely avoided in written Persian as well. In fact, their use has greatly decreased. This is somewhat comparable to Latin plurals found in English. The plural form of “forum” is “fora” but it can be avoided in favor of “forums”.
There are Arabic plurals that have found an extended meaning in Persian. For example, انتخابات means “elections” whereas its singular form انتخاب means “choice”. Therefore, the plural form انتخابها means “choices” rather than “elections”. Another example is شرایط which means “conditions”; its singular form شریطه is not used in Persian and therefore, it cannot be pluralized as شریطه‌ها.
Arabic Duals
A few Arabic dual forms exist in written Persian, particularly in legal language. The dual suffix is not productive and dual forms can be alternatively expressed with the Persian number دو (“do”; two).
| Singular | Dual | Alternative Duals |
|---|---|---|
| طرف ⟨taraf⟩ side |
طرفین ⟨tarafeyn⟩ both sides |
دو طرف ⟨do taraf⟩ هر دو طرف ⟨har do taraf⟩ |
| زوج ⟨zowj⟩ husband (legal term) |
زوجین ⟨zowjeyn⟩ husband and wife |
دو زوج ⟨do zowj⟩ هر دو زوج ⟨har do zowj⟩ |
Practice Examples
Animate nouns can be pluralized in two ways, mainly human beings but also animals and plants:
- خواننده: خواننده‌ها، خوانندگان
- رئیس‌جمهور: رئیس‌جمهورها، رئیس‌جمهوران
- آشپز: آشپزها، آشپزان
- آرایشگر: آرایشگرها، آرایشگران
- گوسفند: گوسفندها، گوسفندان
- درخت: درختها، درختان
How to pluralize nouns and indicate their gender as well:
- خواننده‌ی زن: خواننده‌های زن، خوانندگان زن
- رئیس‌جمهور زن: رئیس‌جمهوران زن، رئیس‌جمهورهای زن
- آشپز مرد: آشپزهای مرد، آشپزان مرد
- آرایشگر مرد: آرایشگرهای مرد، آرایشگران مرد
- گرگ ماده: گرگهای ماده
- روباه نر: روباه‌های نر
Plural forms have been marked in the following texts:
- در ایران دیدنیهای فراوانی هست: کوه‌ها، دشتها، جنگلها، کویرها، جزیره‌ها، رودها، دریاها و آثار تاریخی از دوره‌های مختلف. ایران دارای مردمی از قومهای گوناگون است.
- نوروز آغاز فصل سرسبزی و زیباییهای طبیعت است. هزاران سال است که ایرانیان نوروز را جشن می‌گیرند. اعضای خانواده کنار سفره‌ی هفت‌سین می‌نشینند و با خدا راز و نیاز می‌کنند. بیشتر مردم در سفره‌ی هفت‌سین، شمعهای روشن و تخم‌مرغهای رنگ‌کرده هم می‌گذارند.
- صدای پرندگان از اطراف به گوش می‌رسید. بادی آرام می‌وزید و دست مهربان خود را بر سر گلها و برگها می‌کشید. چوپان هر روز شیر گوسفندان را می‌دوشید و به خانه‌ی صاحب گوسفندها می‌برد.
- من کودکی کنجکاو و کوشا بودم. کتاب می‌خواندم. شعرهای کودکانه می‌سرودم و به نقاشی عشق می‌ورزیدم. شبها وقتی همه می‌خوابیدند، بیدار می‌ماندم و در اندیشه‌های دور و درازی فرو می‌رفتم. من با افکار کودکانه‌ی خویش راه‌های تازه‌ای برای بهتر زیستن می‌جستم.
- از آنجایی که فضا بسیار بزرگ و فاصله‌ی ستاره‌ها و سیاره‌ها از یکدیگر بسیار زیاد است، فضای میان آنها تهی از هر ماده‌ای است. در نتیجه، موجهای صوتی انتقال‌پذیر نیستند و هیچ صدایی در فضا شنیده نمی‌شود.