را

From Arabic رَأَى‎ (raʔā). Compare Maltese ra.

• IPA^(key): /raː/

را • (rā) (form I, non-past يرى‎ (yrā))

1. (dated) to see

   ‏ما شفت ما ريت‎

   ma šuft ma rīt

   I didn't see anything.

   (literally, “I didn't see, I didn't see.”)

2. (imperative) to give

   ‏آرى لي داك الكتاب‎

   ʔāra li dāk le-ktāb

   Give me that book.

   ‏آراوا دوك الخناشي باش ما ننساهمش غدا ملي نكون ماشي للسوق.‎‎

   ʔārāw dūk le-ḵnāši bāš ma ninsāhumš ḡadda milli nkūn māši le-s-sūq.

   Give me those bags so I don't forget them tomorrow when I'm going to the market.

• IPA^(key): /rɑ/

را • (râ)

1. toward me or us (pronominal prefix of the first person)

• رو‎ (ro) (colloquial Iranian)

From Middle Persian lʾd (rāy), from Old Persian 𐎼𐎠𐎭 (ra-a-da, rād, “cause, reason, because of, due to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit together”).[1]

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /ɾɑː/
• (Dari) IPA^(key): /ɾɒː/
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): /(ɾ)a/ (/ɾ/ often lost after a consonant)
• (Iranian Persian) IPA^(key): /ɾɒː/
  • (Tehrani) IPA^(key): /(ɾ)o/ (/ɾ/ often lost after a consonant)
• (Tajik) IPA^(key): /ɾɔ/

• Audio

  (file)

را • (râ)

1. Used after certain noun phrases which are the direct object, normally a definite direct object; hence often called the “definite object marker”. See Usage notes.

   ‏دیروز او را دیدم.‎‎ ― diruz u râ didam. ― I saw him yesterday.

   ‏باید تو را پیدا کنم.‎‎ ― bâyad to râ peydâ konam. ― I have to find you.

   ‏کتاب را خریدم.‎‎ ― ketâb râ xaridam. ― I bought the book.

   ‏مردی را کشته بود.‎‎ ― mardi râ košte bud. ― He had killed a man.

   • 1258, Shaykh Muṣliḥ-ud-Dīn Saʿdī of Shiraz, Wheeler M. Thackston, transl., The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di: Bilingual English and Persian Edition with Vocabulary, Bethesda, MD: Ibex Publishers, published 2008, →ISBN, page 33:

     ‏پدر و مادرش را بخواند و بنعمت بیکران خشنود گردانیدند و قاضی فتوی داد که خون یکی از رعیت ریختن سلامتِ نفس پادشاه را روا باشد.‎‎

     pidar u mādar-aš rā bixwānd u ba ni'mat-i bē-kirān xušnūd girdānīdand u qāzī fatwā dād ki xūn-i yakē az ra'īyyat rēxtan salāmat-i nafs-i pādšāh rā rawā bāšad.

     The boy’s mother and father were summoned [lit. “He summoned his mother and father”] and appeased with immeasurable wealth, and the judge issued an opinion that it was licit to shed the blood of a subject for the sake of the king’s health.

     (Classical Persian romanization)

   • c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 7”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]‎:

     ‏صوفی بیا که آینه صافیست جام را
     تا بنگری صفای می لعل‌فام را‎

     sûfî biyâ ki âyina-yi sâfi-st jâm râ
     tâ bingarî safâ-yi may-i la'l-fâm râ

     Mystic, come, for the cup has a bright mirror,
     So that you might see the brightness of ruby-hued wine.

     (romanization in Classical Persian)

2. (usually dated) to; indicates that the preceding noun phrase is an indirect object.

   Synonym: به‎ (be)

   ‏خدا را شکر.‎‎ ― xodâ râ šokr. ― Thank God. (literally, “Thanks [be] to God.”)

   ‏او را گفتم.‎‎ (dated or dialectal) ― u râ goftam. ― I told him.

3. Follows certain nouns being used adverbially, or as an exclamation.

   ‏خدارا!‎‎ ― xodâ-râ! ― By God!

   ‏قضا را‎ ― qazâ râ ― by chance

   ‏فردا رو‎ (colloquial) ― fardâ ro ― tomorrow (as an adverb)

4. (archaic, Classical Persian) Used as a genitive particle to mark the possessor; in particular, used with the verbبودن‎ (budan, “to be”).

   ‏ما را این نیست.‎‎ (archaic) ― mâ râ in nist. ― We do not have this.

   • 1010, Ferdowsi, شاهنامه [Shahnameh]:

     ‏شنیدم که رستم ز آغاز کار
     چنان یافت نیرو ز پروردگار
     که گر سنگ را او به سر شدی
     همی هر دو پایش بدو در شدی‎

     šunîdam ki rustam dar âğâz-i kâr
     čunân yâft nêrô zi parwardigâr
     ki gar sang râ ô ba sar bûdê
     hamê har du pây-aš bad-ô dar šûdê

     I have heard that at the beginning, Rustam
     Was given such strength from God
     That if he were upon the top of a rock
     Both his two feet would keep sinking into it.

     (romanization in Classical Persian)

   • c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 7”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]‎:

     ‏صوفی بیا که آینه صافیست جام را
     تا بنگری صفای می لعل‌فام را‎

     sûfî biyâ ki âyina-yi sâfi-st jâm râ
     tâ bingarî safâ-yi may-i la'l-fâm râ

     Sufi, come, for the cup has a bright mirror,
     So that you might see the brightness of ruby-hued wine.

     (romanization in Classical Persian)

5. (archaic) for the sake of

   Synonym: برای‎ (barâ-ye)

   • 1258, Shaykh Muṣliḥ-ud-Dīn Saʿdī of Shiraz, Wheeler M. Thackston, transl., The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di: Bilingual English and Persian Edition with Vocabulary, Bethesda, MD: Ibex Publishers, published 2008, →ISBN, page 33:

     ‏پدر و مادرش را بخواند و بنعمت بیکران خشنود گردانیدند و قاضی فتوی داد که خون یکی از رعیت ریختن سلامتِ نفس پادشاه را روا باشد.‎‎

     pidar u mādar-aš rā bixwānd u ba ni'mat-i bē-kirān xušnūd girdānīdand u qāzī fatwā dād ki xūn-i yakē az ra'īyyat rēxtan salāmat-i nafs-i pādšāh rā rawā bāšad.

     The boy’s mother and father were summoned and appeased with immeasurable wealth, and the judge issued an opinion that it was licit to shed the blood of a subject for the sake of the king’s health.

     (Classical Persian romanization)

6. (archaic) concerning, about, of; used for the object of a report or story.
   • 1258, Shaykh Muṣliḥ-ud-Dīn Saʿdī of Shiraz, Wheeler M. Thackston, transl., The Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa’di: Bilingual English and Persian Edition with Vocabulary, Bethesda, MD: Ibex Publishers, published 2008, →ISBN, page 32:

     ‏مردم‌آزاری را حکایت کنند که سنگی بر سر صالحی زد.‎‎

     mardum-āzārī rā hikāyat kunand ki sangē bar sar-i sālihē zad.

     They tell the tale of an oppressor who threw a stone at a pious man.

     (Classical Persian romanization)

7. (colloquial) Can be optionally used to mark the topic if it has been moved to the beginning of the sentence for topicalization, with certain exceptions.

   ‏شیرین و فک می‌کنم برنده بشه.‎‎ (colloquial Tehrani)

   širin o fek mi-konam barande beše.

   As for Shirin, I think she might win.

(direct object marker)

• را (râ) is obligatory for the direct object if the referent is definite, i.e. has already been identified or is immediately identifiable. In English, this will usually correspond to a personal pronoun; a proper noun; or a common noun preceded by the definite article the, a demonstrative determiner, or a possessive determiner. Verbal infinitives used as nouns are also typically considered to be definite.
• را (râ) can also be used for an indefinite direct object, following the indefinite noun suffix ـی‎ (-i). The nuance of the resulting sequence ـی را‎ (-i râ) is often approximated as “a certain...”, with an emphatic sense.
• The use of را (râ) for indefinite nouns is mostly based on semantic grounds. The particle is commonly used for indefinite direct objects if the action of the verb is unusual or unexpected; if the object is human, as opposed to non-human; and for certain verbs which are felt to be particularly “intense”. For example, را is almost always used for the verb کشتن‎ (koštan, “to kill”) if it is a human that has been killed, and for the verb ترجیح دادن‎ (tarjih dâdan, “to prefer”) if the thing to which one prefers the direct object has been given.

(Early New Persian)

• In Early New Persian (early second millennium), the particle was chiefly used for animate direct objects, regardless of definiteness.
• In Early New Persian, it was often used with a pleonastic particle مر‎ (mar).