What it means
برخی (barkhi) means “some” or “certain ones,” used in formal and written Persian. It is a pure Persian word, formed from the root برک (bark, meaning portion or part) with the Persian suffix -i. It is the formal register counterpart to بعضی (ba’zi), which is the everyday spoken choice. The diglossic split is clear: a journalist writes برخی کارشناسان (barkhi kârshenasân, “some experts”) in a newspaper, while the same person says بعضی متخصصا (ba’zi motakhasses-â) at home. برخی rarely appears in casual conversation without sounding deliberately formal or academic.
How to use it
- برخی از مردم مخالفند. (barkhi az mardom mokhâlefand.) “Some people are opposed.”
- برخی کارشناسان معتقدند که… (barkhi kârshenasân mo’taqedand ke…) “Some experts believe that…”
- برخی مسائل نیاز به بررسی دارند. (barkhi masâ’el niyâz be barrasi dârand.) “Some issues need to be examined.”
- برخی اوقات سکوت بهتر است. (barkhi owqât sokut behtar ast.) “Sometimes silence is better.”
Cultural note
The برخی / بعضی split is a textbook example of Persian diglossia, the gap between formal written language and spoken everyday language. News anchors and politicians switch to برخی naturally when speaking on camera, then drop back to بعضی in the same breath when the camera turns off. For learners, recognizing برخی in reading is essential from B1 onward, even if you will rarely produce it in speech. The word also appears in legal and governmental documents as the default choice for “some.”