نه‌تنها

What it means

نه‌تنها (na-tanhâ) means “not only.” Literally نه (na) “no” plus تنها (tanhâ) “alone, only,” giving “not alone, not just.” The word almost always shows up in a paired construction with بلکه (balke) “but also,” so learning the pair matters more than learning the word in isolation.

Pure Persian. Both halves are native. The B1 placement reflects the fact that this is not a single-word lookup: you have to plan the second half of the sentence the moment you say the first.

How to use it

• نه‌تنها فارسی، بلکه عربی هم بلده (na-tanhâ fârsi, balke arabi ham balade) “He knows not only Persian, but Arabic too”
• نه‌تنها نیومد، بلکه زنگ هم نزد (na-tanhâ nayumad, balke zang ham nazad) “Not only did he not come, he didn’t even call”
• این فیلم نه‌تنها قشنگه، بلکه آموزنده‌اس (in film na-tanhâ qashange, balke âmuzande-ast) “This film is not only beautiful, it’s educational”
• نه‌تنها برای ما، بلکه برای همه (na-tanhâ barâye mâ, balke barâye hame) “Not only for us, but for everyone”
• نه‌تنها قبول کرد، بلکه کمک هم کرد (na-tanhâ qabul kard, balke komak ham kard) “Not only did he accept, he also helped”

The correlative pair

The natanha + balke structure is one of the few cases where Persian forces you to plan a sentence in advance. You commit to the second half the moment you say natanha, the way English commits with “not only.” Dropping balke and replacing it with و (va) “and” sounds wrong, the way “not only X and Y” sounds wrong in English.

The ham (هم) “too, also” inside the second clause is optional but common. It reinforces the additive meaning. Without ham the sentence still works; with it, the parallel feels tighter.

Register

Natanha is more written than spoken. You will read it in news, essays, and formal speech. In casual conversation Iranians often skip it and just stack two facts with و (va) “and.” Knowing it lets you read newspapers and listen to news broadcasts; using it in casual speech makes you sound bookish.

Common errors

Two recurring mistakes: writing نه‌تنها as two separate words (نه تنها), which is acceptable but the bound form is more standard, and forgetting balke and substituting va. The first is forgivable. The second breaks the structure.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab