Relative Clauses in Persian: Ke, the -i Suffix, Whose, Where and Spoken Forms

Persian relative clauses are built with one word, که (ke, “that, who, which”), placed after the noun, and the noun itself usually takes a small suffix -i: کتابی که دیروز خریدم (ketâbi ke diruz kharidam), “the book (that) I bought yesterday.” Persian has no separate words for who, which and whom, never drops که the way English drops “that”, and the verb comes at the end of the clause.

That pattern, noun + -i + ke + clause, covers most of what you need. The rest of this guide shows how to spell the -i after vowels, where the object marker را (râ) goes, when you need an extra pronoun inside the clause (the Persian way to say “the city I live in” or “the man whose son”), how to say “where”, “when”, “what” and “whoever”, and how all of this sounds in everyday spoken Persian.

The basic pattern: noun + -i + ke

Start with an ordinary sentence and add a description of one of its nouns. In English you add “that” or “who” after the noun. In Persian you add که after the noun, and you attach -i (written ی) to the noun:

Listen to the first two: مردی که در را باز کرد Listen فیلمی که دیشب دیدیم Listen

Three things to notice:

• One word for everything. که covers who, whom, which and that. People and things are treated the same way.
• The verb of the clause comes last, just as in any Persian sentence: که دیشب دیدیم (ke dishab didim), literally “that last night we saw.” Then the main sentence continues with its own verb at the very end. If word order still feels unfamiliar, see Persian sentence structure, step by step.
• که is never dropped. English says “the movie we saw” without “that.” Persian always needs که: فیلمی که دیدیم, never *فیلمی دیدیم with that meaning.

Do not confuse this که with the که that introduces reported speech or purpose, as in گفت که می‌آید (goft ke miâyad, “he said that he is coming”). That one follows a verb, not a noun, and the noun has no -i. Our lesson on که as a conjunction covers it.

The -i on the head noun: spelling and rules

The noun that the clause describes (grammar books call it the head noun or antecedent) takes an unstressed -i. It looks like the indefinite -i of کتابی “a book”, but here it simply signals “a clause describing me is coming,” and it is used whether the meaning is “a” or “the.” How you write it depends on the last letter of the word:

Listen: خانه‌ای که Listen کتاب‌هایی که Listen

When the noun has an adjective

If the noun is joined to an adjective with the ezâfe, the -i goes at the end of the whole phrase, on the adjective, not on the noun:

• کتاب قرمزی که خریدی (ketâb-e ghermezi ke kharidi), the red book you bought
• پیراهن آبی‌ای که پوشیده بودی (pirâhan-e âbi-i ke pushide budi), the blue shirt you were wearing

The same rule applies to the plural: کتاب‌های قدیمی‌ای که (ketâbhâ-ye ghadimi-i ke), the old books that.

When there is no -i

The -i is left out when the noun is already fully identified and the clause only adds extra information, like an English clause set off by commas:

• Names: تهران، که پایتخت ایران است، شهر بزرگی است. (Tehrân, ke pâytakht-e Irân ast, shahr-e bozorgi ast.) Tehran, which is the capital of Iran, is a big city.
• Pronouns: من که ایرانی نیستم… (man ke Irâni nistam…) I, who am not Iranian… In speech this often means “since I’m not Iranian” or “I’m not Iranian, after all.”
• Nouns with a possessive: برادرم، که در آلمان زندگی می‌کند، فردا می‌آید. (barâdaram, ke dar Âlmân zendegi mikonad, fardâ miâyad.) My brother, who lives in Germany, is coming tomorrow.

With a demonstrative (این in, آن ân, همان hamân), everyday Persian usually keeps the -i: آن کتابی که (ân ketâbi ke), همان جایی که (hamân jâi ke). In formal and literary writing you will also meet the demonstrative alone, without -i: آن کتاب را که دیروز خریدم خواندم (ân ketâb râ ke diruz kharidam khândam), “I read the book that I bought yesterday.” Both are correct; the version with -i is the safer choice for learners.

Where does را (râ) go?

If the head noun is the definite direct object of the main verb, it needs the object marker را (see our lesson on the object marker را). There are two positions, and both are used:

Listen to the spoken version: Listen

Notice the difference between the two clauses here. Inside the relative clause, the book is the object of “you gave,” but no را appears there. The را belongs to the main verb خواندم (I read). If the noun is not an object of the main verb, there is no را at all: کتابی که به من دادی گم شد (ketâbi ke be man dâdi gom shod), “the book you gave me got lost.”

Resumptive pronouns: “the city I live in”, “the man whose son”

English can leave a preposition hanging at the end (“the city I live in”) or use “whose.” Persian cannot. When the noun plays the role of a prepositional object or a possessor inside the clause, Persian repeats it with a pronoun in the right spot. Linguists call this a resumptive pronoun. It is not optional in these cases.

Listen: مردی که پسرش دکتر است Listen

So Persian has no separate word for “whose.” You say “the man that his son is a doctor,” with the possessive ending -ش (-ash) or -شان (-eshân, their) on the possessed thing. The endings are explained in our guide to Persian pronouns, and the prepositions in Persian prepositions.

Resumptive pronouns in spoken Persian

In speech the pronoun shrinks into a short ending attached to the preposition:

• خونه‌ای که توش زندگی می‌کنیم (khune-i ke tush zendegi mikonim), the house we live in Listen
• زنی که باهاش حرف زدم معلمه. (zani ke bâhâsh harf zadam mo’alleme.) The woman I talked to is a teacher. Listen
• دوستی که بهش زنگ زدم (dusti ke behesh zang zadam), the friend I called

Direct objects: pronoun usually left out

When the noun is the direct object inside the clause, standard Persian normally leaves the pronoun out: کتابی که خریدم (ketâbi ke kharidam), the book I bought. In casual speech, though, you will often hear an object ending added to the verb: کتابی که دیروز خریدمش (ketâbi ke diruz kharidamesh), literally “the book that I bought it yesterday.” That is normal spoken Persian, but leave it out when you write.

Where, when, what, whoever: the ke family

Persian has no special relative words for “where” or “when.” It uses a general noun with -i plus که: “the place that,” “the time that,” “the thing that.” These combinations are worth learning as fixed chunks:

Listen: جایی که کار می‌کنم Listen چیزی که گفتی Listen

A few of these can drop که because the “relative” meaning is built into the word: آنچه, هر چه and وقتی are often used without it (وقتی رسیدم, vaghti residam, “when I arrived”). That is the main exception to the “never drop ke” rule.

Careful with question words. کجا (kojâ, where?), کی (key, when? / ki, who?) and چه (che, what?) are for questions, as explained in Persian question words. “The place where I work” is جایی که کار می‌کنم, not *کجا کار می‌کنم.

Which verb form goes inside the clause?

Any tense can appear in a relative clause, and it is formed exactly as in a main clause (the Persian verb conjugator shows every form). One choice is special to Persian: if the noun is hypothetical, someone or something that may not exist yet, the verb goes into the subjunctive.

If the subjunctive is new to you, start with our lesson on the present subjunctive.

Moving the clause to the end

Long relative clauses in the middle of a sentence push the main verb far away. Persian speakers often avoid this by moving the clause after the main verb, leaving the noun with its -i in place:

• دیروز مردی را دیدم که فارسی بلد بود. (diruz mardi râ didam ke fârsi balad bud.) Yesterday I saw a man who spoke Persian.
• کسی آمد که هیچ‌کس او را نمی‌شناخت. (kasi âmad ke hichkas u râ nemishenâkht.) Someone came whom nobody knew.

Listen: Listen

This is completely normal in both writing and speech, and it is often the more natural choice. When you see که right after a verb, check whether an earlier noun ends in -i. If it does, the clause probably belongs to that noun.

Relative clauses in spoken Persian

The structure stays the same in everyday Tehran speech; only the usual spoken changes apply: را becomes رو (ro) or -o, است becomes -e, verbs shorten, and یه (ye, “a”) often appears before the noun as well as the -i. Here are sentences you will actually hear:

Listen: همونی که دیروز گفتم Listen کسی که زنگ زد کی بود؟ Listen

Note همونی که (hamuni ke, spoken for همانی که, hamâni ke), “the very one that.” It is one of the most frequent relative phrases in conversation.

Common mistakes learners make

1. Forgetting the -i. *کتاب که خریدم sounds wrong. Say کتابی که خریدم.
2. Dropping که. English “the man I saw” needs مردی که دیدم (mardi ke didam).
3. Using question words as relatives. Not *مردی کی… or *جا کجا…. Use که, with کسی, جایی or چیزی when English has who, where or what.
4. Leaving a preposition without its pronoun. Not *شهری که زندگی می‌کنم در. Say شهری که در آن زندگی می‌کنم, or in speech شهری که توش زندگی می‌کنم.
5. Looking for a word for “whose”. There is none. Put the possessive ending on the possessed noun: مردی که ماشینش خراب شد (mardi ke mâshinash kharâb shod), the man whose car broke down.
6. Misspelling the -i after a vowel. خانه‌ای and جایی, not خانه‌ی or جای (خانه‌ی is the ezâfe, “house of”).
7. Putting را inside the clause for the main verb’s object. را goes after the noun or after the whole clause, never before the clause’s own verb.

Quick reference

Relative clauses are typically taught at the intermediate level, after you are comfortable with verb tenses, را and the ezâfe. If you want a structured path with exercises, Farsi Grammar in Use: For Intermediate Students covers them alongside the subjunctive and conditionals.

Want more practice? Try the Persian grammar quiz, or look up any word from this page in the online Persian dictionary.

Common questions

How do you say “who”, “which” and “that” in Persian relative clauses?

All three are که (ke). Persian does not distinguish people from things or subjects from objects here: مردی که آمد (mardi ke âmad, the man who came), کتابی که خریدم (ketâbi ke kharidam, the book that I bought).

What is the -i before ke in Persian?

It is an unstressed suffix on the noun that the clause describes, written ی after consonants, ای after silent ه and ی, and یی after ا and و. It marks the noun as being defined by the clause that follows, and it is used for both “a” and “the” meanings. Names and nouns with “my”, “your” and so on usually do not take it.

Can you leave out ke in Persian?

Not in ordinary relative clauses. English “the book I read” must be کتابی که خواندم. The exceptions are words with a built-in relative meaning, such as آنچه (ânche, what), هر چه (har che, whatever) and وقتی (vaghti, when), which often appear without که.

How do you say “whose” in Persian?

There is no separate word. Use که and put a possessive ending on the possessed noun: مردی که پسرش دکتر است (mardi ke pesarash doktor ast), the man whose son is a doctor. For several owners use -شان (-eshân): همسایه‌هایی که خانه‌شان بزرگ است (hamsâyehâi ke khâne-eshân bozorg ast), the neighbors whose house is big.

How do you say “where” and “when” in a Persian relative clause?

Use جایی که (jâi ke, the place where) and وقتی که (vaghti ke, when) or روزی که (ruzi ke, the day when). The question words کجا and کی are not used this way.

Where does râ go in a sentence with a relative clause?

If the described noun is the definite object of the main verb, را comes right after the noun with its -i (کتابی را که دادی خواندم) or after the whole clause (کتابی که دادی را خواندم). The first is the standard written order; the second is very common, especially in speech, where را is pronounced ro.

Learn Persian with our bestseller

Study with the book

Learn Farsi in 100 Days: The Ultimate Crash Course to Learning Farsi Fast

PDF ebook, instant download. $26.99 Original price was: $26.99.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.

Add to cart See inside

Serious about Persian? Get all 30 of our Persian learning books for $199.99 (55% less than buying them one by one).

Browse all Persian learning books