Ordinal Numbers in Persian: First, Second, Third and Up to 100th

To make an ordinal number in Persian, add -om (ـم) to the cardinal number: پنج (panj, five) becomes پنجم (panjom, fifth). Three ordinals are special: “first” is اول (avval), “second” is دوم (dovvom) and “third” is سوم (sevvom). Add -omin (ـمین) instead and the ordinal goes before the noun: پنجمین روز (panjomin ruz, the fifth day).

Listen

That rule covers almost everything. Below you will find the irregular forms, the difference between -om and -omin (it is mostly about word order), a full table from 1st to 100th, and how Iranians use ordinals in real life: dates like پنجم آبان (panjom-e âbân), floors, school grades, rankings, fractions such as یک سوم (yek sevvom, one third), kings and centuries, and “firstly, secondly”. Spoken forms are marked as spoken. If you still need the basic counting numbers, start with Persian numbers 1 to 1,000 and come back.

The rule: number + -om

A Persian ordinal is the cardinal number plus the ending ـم (-om). It is written joined to the number word, and the stress falls on the ending: panj-OM, haft-OM.

Listen

The irregular ones

• First. The everyday word is اول (avval), borrowed from Arabic. یکم (yekom) is the regular Persian form; it is used in dates, lists and at the end of bigger numbers (see below). The formal, literary word is نخست (nakhost), with نخستین (nakhostin) before a noun, common in news: نخستین بار (nakhostin bâr, the first time).
• Second. دو (do) + -om is written دوم and pronounced dovvom. In relaxed speech you will often hear dovom with a short v.
• Third. سه (se) + -om is written سوم and pronounced sevvom (in speech often sevom). The final ه of سه disappears.
• Thirtieth. سی (si) ends in a vowel, so the ending is written as a separate ام after a half-space: سی‌ام (si-om). Older texts sometimes write سیم, but سی‌ام is the modern spelling.

Everything else is regular, including numbers that end in a silent ه: نه (noh) gives نهم (nohom), ده (dah) gives دهم (dahom), سیزده (sizdah) gives سیزدهم (sizdahom). In those words the ه is a real h sound, so it stays.

Listen

First in Persian: avval, yekom or nakhost?

For the first of a month, both اول مهر (avval-e mehr) and یکم مهر (yekom-e mehr) are correct; اول is more common in speech. Avoid یکمین (yekomin) on its own: say اولین (avvalin). But inside a bigger number, Persian always uses yekom, never avval: 21st is بیست و یکم (bist-o yekom).

Listen

-om vs -omin: what is the difference?

Every ordinal has two forms. They mean the same thing; what changes is where they go in the phrase.

With -om the ordinal behaves like a normal adjective: noun first, then the linking ezafe sound -e, then the ordinal. If the ezafe is new to you, read ezafe in Persian first. With -omin the ordinal comes first and there is no ezafe at all, exactly like the superlative بهترین روز (behtarin ruz, the best day).

Which one should you use?

• Everyday speech prefers the -om form after the noun: کلاس اول (kelâs-e avval), طبقه‌ی سوم (tabaghe-ye sevvom), بچه‌ی دوم (bachche-ye dovvom).
• Titles, news and anniversaries prefer -omin: دهمین سالگرد (dahomin sâlgard, the tenth anniversary), بیستمین جشنواره (bistomin jashnvâre, the twentieth festival).
• Fixed phrases use one or the other. Dates and names of kings always use -om; “the first time” can be بار اول or اولین بار, both very common.
• -omin can stand alone as “the … one” in a sentence: او اولین نفر بود. (u avvalin nafar bud, he was the first person.)

The spoken “the first one”: avvali, dovvomi

In conversation, add -i to the -om form to say “the first one”, “the second one”: اولی (avvali), دومی (dovvomi), سومی (sevvomi), آخری (âkhari, the last one). It works like a pronoun.

کدوم پیراهن رو می‌خوای؟ دومی. (kodum pirhan-o mikhây? dovvomi.) Which shirt do you want? The second one. (spoken)

Listen

Ordinal numbers 1st to 31st in Persian

These are the ones you will use most, because they cover every day of the month. Both forms are given. Note the spelling of 2nd, 3rd and 30th, and that 21st and 31st end in yekom.

Listen

Ordinals from 32nd to 100th and beyond

In a compound number, only the last word takes the ending. Everything before it stays a normal cardinal, joined with و (o, and): چهل و پنجم (chehel-o panjom, 45th), نود و نهم (navad-o nohom, 99th). The same goes for -omin: چهل و پنجمین (chehel-o panjomin).

Above 100 the pattern continues:

To check how any number is written in words, try the Persian number converter, then add -om.

Ordinals written with digits

In everyday writing, dates are written with digits and no ending at all: ۵ آبان. In headlines and posters you will also see digits with the ending attached, such as ۴۰مین for چهلمین (chehelomin, fortieth). When you read it aloud, always say the full word.

Asking “which number?”: chandom and chandomin

English has no neat question for ordinals, but Persian does. چند (chand) means “how many”; چندم (chandom) and چندمین (chandomin) mean “which one in order”.

• امروز چندم است؟ (emruz chandom ast?) What is the date today? Spoken: امروز چندمه؟ (emruz chandome?)
• طبقه‌ی چندم؟ (tabaghe-ye chandom?) Which floor?
• کلاس چندمی؟ (kelâs chandomi?) What grade are you in? (spoken, to a child)
• این چندمین بار است؟ (in chandomin bâr ast?) How many times is this now? (literally “this is the how-manyth time?”, often said with irritation)

Listen

Dates: how to say “the 5th of Aban”

To say a date, use the -om ordinal, then ezafe, then the month: پنجم آبان (panjom-e âbân, the 5th of Aban). The day always comes first. The year that follows is a plain cardinal number: پنجم آبان ۱۴۰۵ (panjom-e âbân-e hezâr-o chahârsad-o panj).

Listen

Iranians use the Persian solar calendar day to day, so the month names you hear most are Farvardin, Ordibehesht, Khordad and so on. The Persian calendar guide lists all twelve, and the Persian date converter turns any Gregorian date into its Persian one so you can practice reading it.

Spoken dates often use the cardinal

In casual speech, many people drop the ordinal and say the plain number with ezafe: پنج آبان (panj-e âbân) instead of پنجم آبان. Some well-known dates are named this way, like سیزده بدر (sizdah bedar), the picnic day on the 13th of Farvardin. Both styles are correct; the ordinal sounds a little more careful. For full practice with dates, see Learn Farsi in 100 Days, Day 54: Date.

Centuries and anniversaries

Centuries take the -om ordinal: قرن بیست و یکم (gharn-e bist-o yekom, the 21st century). Anniversaries usually take -omin: دهمین سالگرد ازدواج (dahomin sâlgard-e ezdevâj, the tenth wedding anniversary).

Floors, school grades and turns

Iranian buildings count floors the British way. The ground floor is همکف (hamkaf), and طبقه‌ی اول (tabaghe-ye avval) is the floor above it. The basement is زیرزمین (zirzamin).

• دفتر ما طبقه‌ی سوم است. (daftar-e mâ tabaghe-ye sevvom ast.) Our office is on the third floor.
• پسرم کلاس ششم است. (pesaram kelâs-e sheshom ast.) My son is in sixth grade.
• این بچه‌ی دوم ماست. (in bachche-ye dovvom-e mâst.) This is our second child.
• بار اول است که به ایران می‌آیم. (bâr-e avval ast ke be irân miâyam.) It is my first time coming to Iran.
• نوبت شماست. (nowbat-e shomâst.) It is your turn. نفر بعدی (nafar-e ba’di) is “the next person”.

Listen

Rankings and competitions

To talk about places in a race, exam or league, Persian uses اول، دوم، سوم with شدن (shodan, to become):

• اول شدم. (avval shodam.) I came first.
• تیم ما دوم شد. (tim-e mâ dovvom shod.) Our team came second.
• مقام سوم را گرفت. (maghâm-e sevvom râ gereft.) She took third place.
• نفر اول کلاس (nafar-e avval-e kelâs) the top student in the class

رتبه (rotbe) is “rank”, used for exams: رتبه‌ی اول (rotbe-ye avval) is first rank. Iranians know this word well from the university entrance exam, کنکور (konkur).

Listen

Fractions: one third, three quarters

Persian builds fractions from a cardinal and an ordinal, just like English “two thirds”: the cardinal counts the parts and the ordinal names their size.

Listen

Example: دو سوم دانشجوها زن هستند. (do sevvom-e dâneshjuhâ zan hastand.) Two thirds of the students are women. Notice the ezafe after the fraction when “of something” follows. For “a quarter past” and “half past” on the clock, see telling time in Persian.

Kings, wars and sequels

Names with a number use the -om ordinal after ezafe, never -omin:

• شاه عباس اول (shâh abbâs-e avval) Shah Abbas I
• الیزابت دوم (elizâbet-e dovvom) Elizabeth II
• جنگ جهانی دوم (jang-e jahâni-ye dovvom) World War II
• قسمت سوم (ghesmat-e sevvom) episode three, part three

Firstly, secondly, last

When you list points in an argument, formal Persian uses Arabic adverbs ending in -an: اولاً (avvalan, firstly), ثانیاً (sâniyan, secondly) and ثالثاً (sâlesan, thirdly). The small mark on top is the tanvin, explained in Persian adverbs with tanvin. In conversation people more often say اول اینکه (avval inke, first of all) and دوم اینکه (dovvom inke, second).

آخر works exactly like an ordinal: -in for the form before the noun, -i for “the last one”.

Expressions with ordinals (and one with a cardinal)

• دست دوم (dast-e dovvom) second-hand, used: ماشین دست دوم (mâshin-e dast-e dovvom), a used car.
• اول ماه (avval-e mâh) the beginning of the month; آخر هفته (âkhar-e hafte) the weekend.
• درجه یک (daraje yek) first-rate, top quality. Here Persian uses the cardinal, not an ordinal; درجه دو (daraje do) is “second-rate”.

Common mistakes with Persian ordinals

• Saying bist-o avval for 21st. Inside a number, “first” is always yekom: بیست و یکم.
• Adding ezafe after -omin. It is دومین روز (dovvomin ruz), not dovvomin-e ruz.
• Forgetting ezafe with -om. It is روز دوم (ruz-e dovvom), with the -e you hear but do not see.
• Misspelling 2nd and 3rd. Write دوم and سوم with one و, even though you hear a doubled v.
• Using yekomin for “the first”. Say اولین (avvalin).
• Putting the month before the day. Persian says بیست و پنجم دسامبر (the 25th of December), day first.

Keep practicing

Ordinals sit on top of the cardinal numbers, so the fastest way to get them automatic is to make the basic numbers automatic. Review them on the Persian numbers vocabulary page, test yourself with the Persian numbers quiz, and then read today’s date out loud in Persian every morning. Dates, numbers and everyday conversations like these are practiced step by step in Learn Farsi in 100 Days.

Common questions

How do you say first, second and third in Persian?

First is اول (avval), second is دوم (dovvom) and third is سوم (sevvom). Before a noun they become اولین (avvalin), دومین (dovvomin) and سومین (sevvomin): اولین روز (avvalin ruz, the first day).

What is the difference between -om and -omin in Persian?

They mean the same. The -om form follows the noun with ezafe (روز دوم, ruz-e dovvom), and the -omin form comes before the noun with no ezafe (دومین روز, dovvomin ruz). Speech tends to prefer -om; titles, news and anniversaries prefer -omin.

How do you write dates in Persian?

Day first, then month, then year: ۵ آبان ۱۴۰۵. Read the day as an ordinal with ezafe, panjom-e âbân, and the year as a normal number. In casual speech many people say the cardinal instead, panj-e âbân.

Is “first” avval or yekom in Persian?

Both. اول (avval) is the everyday word. یکم (yekom) is used in dates and lists, and always at the end of compound numbers like بیست و یکم (bist-o yekom, 21st). نخست (nakhost) is the formal, literary choice.

How do you say fractions like one third in Persian?

Use a cardinal plus an ordinal: یک سوم (yek sevvom, one third), سه چهارم (se chahârom, three quarters), یک دهم (yek dahom, one tenth). Half is نصف (nesf) or نیم (nim).

What does chandom mean in Persian?

چندم (chandom) asks “which one in order”, a question English has no single word for. امروز چندمه؟ (emruz chandome?) means “What’s the date today?” and طبقه‌ی چندم؟ (tabaghe-ye chandom?) means “Which floor?”

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