عین

What it means

عین (eyn) in everyday colloquial Persian means exactly like, the spitting image of, or the very same. It is borrowed from Arabic عَيْن (‘ayn), which in Arabic covers a wide field including eye, spring of water, the very self, and essence. Persian has narrowed its everyday colloquial use to one main job: drawing an exact comparison. When a Persian speaker says «عین مادرشه» (eyn-e mâdar-ashe), they mean she looks or acts exactly like her mother, not approximately or mostly. عین هم (eyn-e ham) means identical, and «عین خودشه» (eyn-e khodeshe) in the right context means it is exactly like him or it is characteristically him. The word operates in informal spoken registers; in formal prose the equivalents هماننده (hamânande) or درست مثل (dorost mesle) are used instead. Note that عین in formal literary Persian also means essence or the letter ‘ayn of the Arabic alphabet, but learners will hear the colloquial comparison sense far more often in daily life.

How to use it

• عین باباشه (eyn-e bâbâshe) “He’s the spitting image of his father.”
• این دو تا عین همن (in do tâ eyn-e haman) “These two are identical.”
• عین اون روز بود (eyn-e un ruz bud) “It was exactly like that day.”
• عین خودشه که انقدر دیر کرده (eyn-e khodeshe ke inghadr dir karde) “It’s so like him to be this late.”

Cultural note

Describing family resemblance is a popular conversational topic in Iranian social gatherings, and عین is the preferred word for it. Complimenting a child by saying «عین مادرته» or «عین باباته» (you look exactly like your mother / father) is a warm, affectionate observation. The word also gets used with a touch of humor or mild exasperation, as in «عین اون روزاشه» (it’s exactly like the old days) when something predictably repeats itself, carrying a knowing, slightly wry tone.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab