What it means
هر کدام (har kodum) means “each one” or “each of them.” Both parts of this word are inherited Persian: هر (har) means “every” and کدام (kodum) means “which one” in spoken form. Together they point to every individual member of a group, one by one. A close synonym is هر یک (har yek), which is slightly more formal and often found in written Persian. Where هر کدام picks out individuals from a set, همه (hame) refers to the group as a whole.
How to use it
- هر کدوم از شما یه چیز بگه. (har kodum az shomā ye chiz bege.) “Each one of you say something.”
- هر کدوم از اینا رو که بخوای بردار. (har kodoom az ina ro ke bekhāy bardār.) “Take whichever one you want.”
- هر کدوم از بچهها یه رنگ انتخاب کردن. (har kodum az bachehā ye rang entekhāb kardan.) “Each one of the kids chose a color.”
- به هر کدوم از مهمونها یه چیز دادیم. (be har kodum az mehmunā ye chiz dādim.) “We gave each one of the guests something.”
Cultural note
In everyday spoken Persian, کدام (kodām) almost always shortens to کدوم (kodum), so you will hear هر کدوم far more often than the formal spelling هر کدام. Written Persian, including news and formal documents, keeps the full form. When distributing things equally among people, Iranians commonly reach for this word: هر کدام یه چیز داره, meaning everyone has their own thing, which reflects a quiet cultural emphasis on fairness within groups.