My first week teaching an Italian student, she asked me how to say “handsome” in Farsi. I taught her خوشتیپ. khosh-tip. She looked at the transliteration and said, “Wait. tip? Like the Italian word for type?” Yes. Persian borrowed it from French (type), and now khosh-tip literally means “good-type”. good-looking. Languages are thieves, all of them.
This farsi adjectives list gives you 60 adjectives organized by what they describe. appearance, emotion, quality, size, temperature. with the spoken Tehrani variant, the opposite, and a real example for each. Because learning adjectives as isolated words is useless. You need to know that بزرگ (bozorg) is a polite word but گنده (gondeh) is the spoken/slightly rude version. Context makes the vocabulary.
How Persian Adjectives Work
Before the word list, three rules that save you months of confusion:
1. Adjectives come after the noun. English says “big house.” Persian says خانهی بزرگ. khâneh-ye bozorg. literally “house big.” The adjective follows the noun, connected by the ezafe (-e or -ye).
2. No gender agreement. Unlike French, Italian, or Arabic, Persian adjectives don’t change based on the noun’s gender. because Persian nouns don’t have gender. مرد خوب (mard-e khub. good man) and زن خوب (zan-e khub. good woman) use the same adjective. One fewer thing to memorize.
3. Comparatives use -tar, superlatives use -tarin. Big = bozorg. Bigger = bozorgtar. Biggest = bozorgtarin. That’s it. Almost no exceptions. The grammar post on adjectives covers the full pattern including the few irregular comparatives.
Appearance and Physical
بزرگ. bozorg. big/large
Opposite: کوچک. kuchak (spoken: kuchik)
Ye khuneh-ye bozorg dâran. They have a big house.
کوچک. kuchak. small
Spoken: کوچیک. kuchik
Bacheye kuchik dâran. They have a small child.
bozorg
بزرگ
big (neutral, polite)
gondeh
گنده
big (informal, slightly rude for people)
بلند. boland. tall/long/loud
Opposite: کوتاه. kutâh
Triple duty: ghad-esh boland-e (he’s tall), mu-hâsh boland-e (her hair is long), sedâsh boland-e (the sound is loud).
کوتاه. kutâh. short (height/length)
Opposite: بلند. boland
Mu-hâsho kutâh kard. She cut her hair short.
زیبا. zibâ. beautiful (formal)
Spoken alternative: قشنگ. ghashang (the everyday word)
Che ghashang-e!. How beautiful! You’ll hear ghashang ten times for every one zibâ.
زشت. zesht. ugly
Opposite: زیبا / قشنگ
Ye kâr-e zeshti kard. He did an ugly thing (morally ugly, not physically).
چاق. châgh. fat/overweight
Opposite: لاغر. lâghar
Ye kam châgh shode. She’s gained some weight. (Iranians say this to your face. Cultural norm, not rudeness.)
لاغر. lâghar. thin/skinny
Opposite: چاق. châgh
Kheyli lâghar shodi!. You’ve gotten so thin! (This is a compliment or a concern, depending on tone.)
جوان. javân. young
Spoken: جوون. javun (â-to-u shift)
Opposite: پیر. pir
Hanuz javun-e. She’s still young.
پیر. pir. old (for people)
Opposite: جوان. javân
Pedar-bozorgam pir shode. My grandfather has gotten old. For objects, use قدیمی (ghadimi).
Emotion and Personality
خوشحال. khoshhâl. happy
Opposite: ناراحت. nârâhat
Kheyli khoshhâlam ke umadi. I’m so happy you came.
ناراحت. nârâhat. upset/sad/uncomfortable
Opposite: خوشحال. khoshhâl / راحت. râhat
One word, three meanings. Nârâhat shod could mean he got sad, upset, or physically uncomfortable. Context decides.
عصبانی. asabâni. angry
Cherâ asabâni shodi?. Why did you get angry? Spoken Farsi often uses this more than nârâhat for clear anger.
خسته. khasteh. tired
Kheyli khasteh-am. I’m really tired. The default response when someone asks how you are, right after bad nist.
مهربان. mehrabân. kind/gentle
Spoken: مهربون. mehrabun
Âdam-e mehrabuni-e. He/she is a kind person.
بخیل. bakhil. stingy/cheap
Opposite: سخاوتمند. sakhâvatmand (generous, formal) / دست و دلباز. dast-o del-bâz (generous, spoken)
Bâbâsh kheyli bakhil-e. His dad is really stingy.
تنبل. tanbal. lazy
Opposite: زرنگ. zerang (clever/hardworking)
Cheghadr tanbal-i!. You’re so lazy!
باهوش. bâhush. smart/intelligent
Opposite: احمق. ahmagh (stupid) / spoken: خنگ. kheng
Bache-ye bâhushi-e. She’s a smart kid.
Iranians use زرنگ (zerang) as a compliment. it means clever, resourceful, quick. In English, calling someone “crafty” has a negative edge. In Farsi, zerang is pure praise. Che zerangi!. How clever you are! (Said to a child who just outsmarted you.)
Quality and Evaluation
خوب. khub. good
Opposite: بد. bad
The most used adjective in the language. Khub-e. It’s good. Bad nist. Not bad (the Iranian “I’m fine”).
عالی. âli. excellent/great
Âli shod!. It turned out great! Stronger than khub.
بد. bad. bad
Opposite: خوب. khub
Watch the vowel: بد (bad. bad) ≠ باد (bâd. wind). Short vowel vs long vowel.
ارزان. arzân. cheap/inexpensive
Opposite: گران. gerân
In arzân-e?. Is this cheap? Essential for bazaar shopping.
گران. gerân. expensive
Opposite: ارزان. arzân
Kheyli gerân-e!. It’s so expensive! The phrase that begins every negotiation in Iran.
آسان. âsân. easy
Spoken alternative: راحت. râhat (comfortable/easy)
Opposite: سخت. sakht
Fârsi âsân nist, vali sakht ham nist. Farsi isn’t easy, but it’s not hard either.
سخت. sakht. hard/difficult/tough
Opposite: آسان. âsân
Emtehân kheyli sakht bud. The exam was really hard.
درست. dorost. correct/right
Opposite: اشتباه. eshtebâh (wrong/mistake)
Dorost-e. That’s correct. Also means “proper” and “fixed.”
تمیز. tamiz. clean
Opposite: کثیف. kasif
Otâghet ro tamiz kon. Clean your room.
کثیف. kasif. dirty
Opposite: تمیز. tamiz
Dast-hât kasif-e. Your hands are dirty.
Size, Temperature, Speed
گرم. garm. hot/warm
Opposite: سرد. sard
Havâ kheyli garm-e. The weather is really hot.
سرد. sard. cold
Opposite: گرم. garm
Châi-t sard shod. Your tea got cold.
تند. tond. fast/spicy/sharp
Opposite: آهسته. âhesteh (slow) / ملایم. molâyem (mild)
Another triple-duty word: tond boro (go fast), ghazâ tond-e (the food is spicy), bu-ye tond (sharp smell).
آهسته. âhesteh. slow/slowly
Spoken: آروم. ârum (also means calm/quiet)
Âhesteh harf bezan. Speak slowly. Ârum bâsh. Calm down.
âhesteh sohbat konid
آهسته صحبت کنید
Speak slowly (formal)
ârum harf bezan
آروم حرف بزن
Speak slowly (spoken)
سنگین. sangin. heavy
Opposite: سبک. sabok
In chamedun kheyli sangin-e. This suitcase is really heavy.
سبک. sabok. light (weight)
Opposite: سنگین. sangin
Ye chiz-e sabok mikhâm. I want something light.
نزدیک. nazdik. near/close
Opposite: دور. dur
Nazdik-e inja-s. It’s near here.
دور. dur. far
Opposite: نزدیک. nazdik
Kheyli dur-e. It’s really far.
خالی. khâli. empty
Opposite: پر. por
Livân khâli-e. The glass is empty.
پر. por. full
Opposite: خالی. khâli
Metro por-e. The metro is full/crowded.
More Essential Adjectives
مهم. mohem. important
In kheyli mohem-e. This is very important.
لازم. lâzem. necessary
Lâzem nist biyâi. You don’t need to come.
آماده. âmâdeh. ready
Ghazâ âmâde-s. The food is ready.
راحت. râhat. comfortable/easy
Inja râhat-e. It’s comfortable here.
خطرناک. khatarnâk. dangerous
Inja khatarnâk-e. It’s dangerous here.
ممکن. momken. possible
Momken-e fardâ biyâm. It’s possible I’ll come tomorrow.
عجیب. ajib. strange/weird
Che ajib!. How strange!
گرسنه. gorosneh. hungry
Kheyli gorosneh-am. I’m really hungry.
تشنه. teshneh. thirsty
Teshneh-am. I’m thirsty.
خوشمزه. khosh-mazeh. delicious (literally “good-taste”)
Ghazâ kheyli khosh-mazeh bud. The food was really delicious. For more food vocabulary, the food hub has 100+ words.
شلوغ. sholugh. crowded/busy
Opposite: خلوت. khalvat
Metro sholugh-e. The metro is crowded.
ساکت. sâket. quiet/silent
Sâket bâsh!. Be quiet!
Opposites: The Pairs That Stick Together
Research on vocabulary retention shows one consistent finding: learning adjectives in opposite pairs doubles your retention rate. Your brain anchors one to the other. Here’s the full opposite pairs table:
| Adjective | Transliteration | English | Opposite | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| بزرگ | bozorg | big | کوچک | kuchak | small |
| بلند | boland | tall/long | کوتاه | kutâh | short |
| زیبا | zibâ | beautiful | زشت | zesht | ugly |
| چاق | châgh | fat | لاغر | lâghar | thin |
| جوان | javân | young | پیر | pir | old |
| خوب | khub | good | بد | bad | bad |
| خوشحال | khoshhâl | happy | ناراحت | nârâhat | upset |
| گرم | garm | hot | سرد | sard | cold |
| تند | tond | fast | آهسته | âhesteh | slow |
| سنگین | sangin | heavy | سبک | sabok | light |
| نزدیک | nazdik | near | دور | dur | far |
| خالی | khâli | empty | پر | por | full |
| آسان | âsân | easy | سخت | sakht | hard |
| ارزان | arzân | cheap | گران | gerân | expensive |
| تمیز | tamiz | clean | کثیف | kasif | dirty |
| درست | dorost | correct | اشتباه | eshtebâh | wrong |
| باهوش | bâhush | smart | احمق | ahmagh | stupid |
| تنبل | tanbal | lazy | زرنگ | zerang | clever |
| شلوغ | sholugh | crowded | خلوت | khalvat | quiet/empty |
| جدید | jadid | new | قدیمی | ghadimi | old (things) |
Twenty pairs = 40 adjectives memorized in the time it would take to learn 20 individually. Add comparatives (-tar) and superlatives (-tarin) to each pair and you have 120 forms from 40 base words.
FAQ
Where do adjectives go in a Farsi sentence?
How do you make comparatives in Farsi?
What is the most common adjective in Persian?
Do Persian adjectives change for plural nouns?
What is the difference between زیبا and قشنگ in Farsi?
Sixty adjectives. Twenty opposite pairs. Zero gender rules. Persian makes adjectives simple. and that simplicity means you can focus on actually using them instead of memorizing agreement tables.
For the grammar of how adjectives work in sentences. comparatives, superlatives, and the ezafe that connects everything. the grammar adjectives post covers the patterns. This post gave you the words. That one gives you the machine.
If you want to drill these as flashcards, ZabanYar can build an adjective deck in seconds. pairs on each card, with script on the front and transliteration + opposite on the back. And when you’re ready to describe things out loud instead of on a screen. book a session on Preply. I’ll point at things in my Milan apartment and you describe them in Farsi. It’s more fun than it sounds.