ایشان

What it means

ایشان (ishân) is the formal, respectful third-person singular pronoun in Persian, equivalent to he or she when speaking about someone with deference. The standard third-person pronoun is او (u) or colloquially اون (un), but ایشان signals that the speaker regards the subject as worthy of elevated respect: an elder, a parent, a religious figure, a superior at work, or any guest being spoken about in polite company. Grammatically it takes the same verb conjugations as third-person plural, which itself is a mark of respect echoing similar patterns in French (vous) and German (Sie). In written formal Persian ایشان also appears in official correspondence when referring to a respected individual.

How to use it

• ایشان تشریف دارن؟ (ishân tashrif dâran?) “Is he/she present? [honorific phrasing]”
• ایشان خیلی زحمت کشیدن (ishân kheyli zahmat keshidan) “He/she worked very hard. [said with respect]”
• ایشان استاد ما هستن (ishân ostâd-e mâ hastan) “He/she is our professor.”
• از ایشان خواهش کردم که بیان (az ishân khâhesh kardam ke biân) “I asked him/her to come.”

Cultural note

The choice between اون (un, casual), او (u, neutral), and ایشان (ishân, respectful) is one of the clearest registers in Persian. Using اون about a guest in the room or about a parent in front of others signals disrespect, while ایشان signals polish and awareness of social hierarchy. Iranian children are corrected early when they use informal pronouns about elders, so the switch to ایشان is learned young. Foreign learners who deploy ایشان correctly when speaking about an Iranian’s parents or teacher earn immediate goodwill. Note also that در حضور ایشان (dar hozur-e ishân, in his/her presence) signals extreme formal register.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab