Râ in Persian (را): When to Use the Object Marker, with Spoken -o and Ro

In Persian, را (râ) marks a definite or specific direct object: the person or thing the listener can identify. It goes right after the whole object phrase, before the verb: کتاب را خریدم (ketâb râ kharidam, “I bought the book”). With an indefinite object you leave it out: کتاب خریدم (ketâb kharidam, “I bought a book”). In speech, râ becomes -o or ro.

That one rule covers most sentences. The rest of this guide shows how to decide whether an object is “specific”, where exactly râ goes in longer phrases, how it works with pronouns (مرا, منو) and ezâfe phrases, the spoken forms you will hear in Iran, and the mistakes learners make most often. Every example has Persian script, transliteration and English.

What râ does: the short version

English shows the object by word order: “Ali saw Maryam” and “Maryam saw Ali” mean different things. Persian word order is more flexible, so it uses a small word, را Listen, to tag the direct object when it is specific. Grammar books call it the direct object marker, the object marker or the accusative marker. Iranian grammar calls the direct object مفعول (maf’ul) and را its sign.

Listen to the pair: کتاب را خریدم Listen and the spoken کتابو خریدم Listen.

So râ does a job that English splits between “the” and word order. Persian has no word for “the”; when a definite noun is the object, râ is often the only sign that it is definite. If you want a slower beginner lesson first, see our grammar lesson on the object marker râ.

When to use râ

Ask one question: can the listener tell exactly which person or thing I mean? If yes, and it is the direct object of the verb, add râ. These are the cases where the answer is almost always yes.

1. Nouns you have already mentioned or both know

غذا را خوردم. (ghazâ râ khordam) “I ate the food.” The food on the table, not food in general. Compare غذا خوردم. (ghazâ khordam) “I ate” or “I have eaten”, which just says you had a meal.

2. Names of people and places

A name always refers to someone specific, so a name as object always takes râ: علی را دیدم. (Ali râ didam) “I saw Ali.” تهران را دوست دارم. (Tehrân râ dust dâram) “I like Tehran.”

3. Pronouns

Object pronouns are simply the subject pronouns plus râ: او را دیدم. (u râ didam) “I saw him / her.” The full table and the short forms are in the pronoun section below.

4. Nouns with “this” or “that”

این (in, this) and آن (ân, that) make a noun specific: این فیلم را دیده‌ای؟ (in film râ dide-i?) “Have you seen this film?” In speech: این فیلمو دیدی؟ (in filmo didi?) Listen

5. Nouns with “my”, “your”, “Ali’s”

A possessed noun is specific: کارم را تمام کردم. (kâram râ tamâm kardam) “I finished my work.” Spoken: کارمو تموم کردم. (kâramo tamum kardam). The same goes for ezâfe possession: ماشین علی را دیدم. (mâshin-e Ali râ didam) “I saw Ali’s car.”

6. Specific plurals

نامه‌ها را نوشتم. (nâmehâ râ neveshtam) “I wrote the letters.” Without râ, نامه نوشتم (nâme neveshtam) means “I wrote letters” or “I did some letter-writing”. For more on ـها and ـان, see plural nouns in Persian.

7. “Everyone”, “everything”, “which one” and “who”

Words like همه (hame, everyone / all of it), کدام (kodâm, which) and question words used as objects take râ: همه را دیدم. (hame râ didam) “I saw everyone.” چه کسی را دیدی؟ (che kasi râ didi?) “Whom did you see?” In speech: کی رو دیدی؟ (ki ro didi?) Listen and چی رو می‌خوای؟ (chi ro mikhây?) “Which thing do you want?” or “What is it you want?”

8. A specific “a”: the object that is new but particular

This is the case most short guides miss. An object can be indefinite in English (“a book”, “a friend”) and still take râ in Persian, because the speaker has one particular item in mind and goes on to identify it. The most common pattern is a noun with the suffix ـی (-i) followed by a relative clause:

کتابی را که دیروز خریدم خواندم. (ketâbi râ ke diruz kharidam khândam) “I read the book (that) I bought yesterday.”
Spoken: کتابی رو که دیروز خریدم خوندم. (ketâbi ro ke diruz kharidam khundam)

Another everyday example: یکی از دوستامو دیدم. (yeki az dustâmo didam, spoken) “I saw one of my friends.” The friend is not named, but the speaker means one particular person, so the object gets -o. The relative clause itself is covered in our lesson on که as a conjunction.

When not to use râ

Leave râ out in these situations. Adding it here is the most common error learners make, because English “the” habits pull them toward it.

1. General or “any” objects

When the object is a kind of thing rather than a particular one, no râ: چای می‌خورم. (chây mikhoram) “I drink tea.” فارسی یاد می‌گیرم. (fârsi yâd migiram) “I am learning Persian.” غذا خوردی؟ (ghazâ khordi?) “Have you eaten?” Listen

2. Objects with یک (yek, “a / one”) that you are introducing

یک ماشین خریدم. (yek mâshin kharidam) “I bought a car.” The listener does not know this car yet, so no râ. Once it becomes known, it takes râ: ماشین را دیروز تحویل گرفتم. (mâshin râ diruz tahvil gereftam) “I picked up the car yesterday.”

3. Subjects

Râ never marks the subject, even a definite one. علی آمد. (Ali âmad) “Ali came.” Not علی را آمد.

4. Verbs without a direct object

Verbs like رفتن (raftan, to go), آمدن (âmadan, to come) and نشستن (neshastan, to sit) have no direct object, so there is nothing for râ to mark. به خانه رفتم (be khâne raftam) “I went home”, not خانه را رفتم.

5. Objects of prepositions

If a preposition such as به (be, to), با (bâ, with) or از (az, from) already links the noun to the verb, do not add râ. Some verbs that take a direct object in English take a preposition in Persian:

Our lesson on Persian verbs and their prepositions lists many more of these, and the guide to Persian prepositions explains each one.

6. The noun inside a compound verb

Many Persian verbs are a noun plus a light verb: کار کردن (kâr kardan, to work), گوش دادن (gush dâdan, to listen), یاد گرفتن (yâd gereftan, to learn). The noun part is not an object and never takes râ. But the compound verb can have its own object, and that object does: در را باز کن. (dar râ bâz kon) “Open the door.” Spoken: درو باز کن. (daro bâz kon) Listen.

Where râ goes in the sentence

Râ follows the entire object phrase, not just the first noun. Everything that belongs to the object (adjectives, ezâfe links, possessive endings) comes first, then râ.

Râ and ezâfe phrases

The ezâfe (-e / -ye) links the words inside the object phrase; râ closes the phrase. So the last word before râ never carries an ezâfe: دوست خوب من را دیدی؟ (dust-e khub-e man râ didi?) “Did you see my good friend?” Learners sometimes put râ after the first noun (ketâb râ-ye jadid) or keep an ezâfe before râ (ketâb-e râ); both are wrong. If ezâfe still feels shaky, read our guide to ezafe in Persian.

Râ with relative clauses

When the object has a که (ke, that / which) clause, râ comes before که, directly after the head noun, which usually carries -i: فیلمی را که گفتی دیدم. (filmi râ ke gofti didam) “I saw the film you mentioned.” Spoken: فیلمی رو که گفتی دیدم. (filmi ro ke gofti didam).

Word order around râ

The basic Persian order is subject, object, verb. A râ-object usually comes before other parts of the sentence, while an object without râ sits right before the verb:

• کتاب را به علی دادم. (ketâb râ be Ali dâdam) “I gave the book to Ali.”
• به علی یک کتاب دادم. (be Ali yek ketâb dâdam) “I gave Ali a book.”

Because râ clearly marks the object, you can also move it to the front for emphasis: این نامه را من نوشتم. (in nâme râ man neveshtam) “I am the one who wrote this letter.”

Râ with pronouns: man râ, marâ, mano

Any pronoun can be an object with râ. Two pronouns also have old contracted forms that still appear in writing, songs and poetry, and spoken Persian has its own forms.

Listen: مرا ببخش Listen (marâ bebakhsh, “forgive me”, written style) and منو ببخش Listen (mano bebakhsh, spoken).

The other way: an ending on the verb

Instead of a pronoun + râ, Persian often attaches a short object ending to the verb, especially in speech. This is how most Iranians say “I love you”:

Listen: دوستت دارم Listen and دیدمش Listen. Both styles are correct; the verb-ending style sounds more natural in conversation. Our guide to Persian pronouns has the full set of these endings.

Spoken Persian: -o and ro

In everyday conversation, especially in Tehran, nobody says “râ”. It becomes:

• -o after a consonant, attached to the word: کتابو (ketâbo), مریمو (Maryamo), کارمو (kâramo), چایو (châyo).
• ro after a vowel: علی رو (Ali ro), خونه رو (khune ro), غذا رو (ghazâ ro), همه رو (hame ro).

Many speakers also use ro after consonants (کتاب رو, ketâb ro), and you will see both spellings in texts and chats. When written informally, -o is joined to the word and ro is usually written as a separate word.

Listen: غذا رو خوردم Listen خونه رو تمیز کردم Listen اونو بده به من Listen

Notice the last example: in speech the phrase “to me” often moves after the verb. The written form stays verb-final. In formal speech, such as the news or a lecture, people pronounce را in full.

Râ in fixed expressions and older Persian

In classical poetry and some set phrases, râ has older meanings such as “to” or “for”. You do not need to use these yourself, but you will meet them:

• خدا را شکر (khodâ râ shokr) “Thank God”, used every day by Iranians. Listen
• In poetry, مرا can mean “to me” or “for me” rather than “me” as an object. If a line of Hafez or Saadi seems not to fit the rule, this is often why. Our post on Hafez quotes is a good place to see classical grammar in context.

Common mistakes with râ

A quick decision checklist

1. Is the word the direct object of the verb (not the subject, not after a preposition, not part of a compound verb)? If no, no râ.
2. Is it a name, a pronoun, or does it have “this”, “that”, “my”, “your”, or a possessor with ezâfe? Use râ.
3. Has it been mentioned before, or is it obvious from context which one you mean? Use râ.
4. Is it general, or a new item introduced with یک? No râ, unless you go on to identify it with -i + که.
5. Put râ after the whole object phrase. In speech, say -o after a consonant and ro after a vowel.

To drill objects with different tenses, try the Persian verb conjugator and the Persian grammar quiz. Râ is also covered with graded exercises in Farsi Grammar in Use: For Beginners.

Ready for more? Râ shows up in almost every past-tense sentence, so a natural next step is our guide to the Persian past tense.

Common questions

What does “ra” mean in Persian?

را (râ) has no English translation. It is a grammar word that marks the direct object of a verb when that object is definite or specific. In نامه را نوشتم (nâme râ neveshtam, “I wrote the letter”), râ tells you that “the letter” is the object and that it is a particular letter.

Is râ the same as “the” in Persian?

Not exactly. Persian has no word for “the”. Râ often lines up with “the” when a noun is the object, but it also appears with names, pronouns and “my / this” phrases, and it is never used with subjects, even definite ones.

When do you not use râ in Persian?

Leave it out when the object is general (tea, books, Persian), when it is a new item introduced with یک (yek), after prepositions like به and با, with subjects, and with the noun part of compound verbs such as کار کردن.

What is the difference between râ, ro and o?

They are the same marker. را (râ) is the written and formal form. In speech it becomes -o after a consonant (کتابو, ketâbo) and ro after a vowel (علی رو, Ali ro). Some speakers use ro after consonants too.

What does “mano” mean in Persian?

منو (mano) is spoken Persian for “me” as an object, from من را (man râ). For example, منو ببخش (mano bebakhsh) means “Forgive me.” The written equivalent is مرا (marâ). Note that منو is also how Iranians write “menu”, borrowed from French, so context tells you which one it is.

Does râ come before or after the adjective?

After. Râ always follows the complete object phrase: خانه بزرگ را دیدیم (khâne-ye bozorg râ didim, “We saw the big house”).

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