دیگری

What it means

دیگری (digari) means another one, a different one, or someone else. It is the pronominalized form of دیگر (digar), the pure Persian word for other or else. The suffix ی (i) here is the indefinite marker that turns an adjective into a pronoun, so دیگری is literally a certain other one. The word can refer to a person or a thing depending on context. When it refers to a person it means someone else; when it refers to an object it means a different one or another one. In spoken Persian the vowel often shortens and speakers say digari rapidly.

How to use it

• دیگری رو بیار (digari ro biâr) “Bring a different one.”
• این مال دیگریه (in mâl-e digarie) “This belongs to someone else.”
• یکی دیگه، نه دیگری (yeki dige, na digari) “Someone else, not that other person.”
• دیگری نمیدونه (digari nemidune) “Nobody else knows.”

Cultural note

Persian uses دیگری as a distancing word in everyday disagreements or complaints. Saying این مشکل دیگریه (this is someone else’s problem) is a common way to deflect responsibility without naming anyone directly, keeping the atmosphere non-confrontational. The word also appears in Persian proverbs and classical poetry as a shorthand for the other or the outsider, giving it a slightly literary weight even in casual use.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab