را
Moroccan Arabic
Etymology
From Arabic رَأَى (raʾā). Compare Maltese ra.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /raː/
Verb
را • (rā) (form I, non-past يرى (yrā))
- (dated) to see
- ما شفت ما ريت
- ma šuft ma rīt
- I didn't see anything.
- (literally, “I didn't see, I didn't see.”)
- (imperative) to give
- آرى لي داك الكتاب
- ʔāra li dāk le-ktāb
- Give me that book.
- آراوا دوك الخناشي باش ما ننساهمش غدا ملي نكون ماشي للسوق.
- ʔārāw dūk le-ḵnāši bāš ma ninsāhumš ḡadda milli nkūn māši le-s-sūq.
- Give me those bags so I don't forget them tomorrow when I'm going to the market.
Conjugation
| Conjugation of را | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | |||||||
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | |||
| past | m | ريت (rīt) | ريتي (rīti) | را (rā) | رينا (rīna) | ريتوا (rītu) | راوا (rāw) | |
| f | رات (rāt) | |||||||
| non-past | m | نرى (nrā) | ترى (trā) | ترى (yrā) | نراوا (nrāw) | تراوا (trāw) | يراوا (yrāw) | |
| f | تراي (trāy) | ترى (trāw) | ||||||
| imperative | m | آرى (ʔārā) | آروا ٫ آراوا (ʔāru or ʔārāw) | |||||
| f | آري ٫ آراي (ʔārāy or ʔāri) | |||||||
Pashto
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /rɑ/
Pronoun
را • (râ)
- toward me or us (pronominal prefix of the first person)
Persian
Alternative forms
- رو (ro) (colloquial Iranian)
Etymology
From Middle Persian lʾd (rāy), from Old Persian 𐎼𐎠𐎭 (ra-a-da, rād, “cause, reason, because of, due to”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to fit together”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (Classical Persian) IPA(key): /ɾɑː/
- (Dari) IPA(key): /ɾɒː/
- (Kabuli) IPA(key): /(ɾ)a/ (/ɾ/ lost after a consonant)
- (Iranian Persian) IPA(key): /ɾɒː/
- (Tehrani) IPA(key): /(ɾ)o/ (/ɾ/ lost after a consonant)
- (Tajik) IPA(key): /ɾɔ/
Audio (file)
Particle
را • (râ)
- Used after certain noun phrases which are the direct object, normally a definite direct object; hence often called the “definite object marker”. See Usage notes.
- دیروز او را دیدم. ― diruz u râ didam. ― I saw him yesterday.
- باید تو را پیدا کنم. ― bâyad to râ peydâ konam. ― I have to find you.
- کتاب را خریدم. ― ketâb râ xaridam. ― I bought the book.
- مردی را کشته بود. ― mardi râ košte bud. ― He had killed a man.
- c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 7”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]:
- صوفی بیا که آینه صافیست جام را
تا بنگری صفای می لعل‌فام را- sūfī biyā ki āyina-yi sāfi-st jām rā
tā bingarī safā-yi may-i la'l-fām rā - Mystic, come, for the cup has a bright mirror,
So that you might see the brightness of ruby-hued wine.
- sūfī biyā ki āyina-yi sāfi-st jām rā
- (often dated) to; indicates that the preceding noun phrase is an indirect object.
- Synonym: به (be)
- خدا را شكر. ― xodâ râ šokr. ― Thank God. (literally, “Thanks [be] to God.”)
- او را گفتم. (dated or dialectal) ― u râ goftam. ― I told him.
- (archaic, Classical Persian) Used as a genitive particle to mark the possessor; in particular, used with the verb بودن (budan, “to be”).
- ما را این نیست. (archaic) ― mâ râ in nist. ― We do not have this.
- 1010, Ferdowsi, شاهنامه [Shahnameh]:
- شنیدم که رستم ز آغاز کار
چنان یافت نیرو ز پروردگار
که گر سنگ را او به سر شدی
همی هر دو پایش بدو در شدی- šunīdam ki rustam dar āğāz-i kār
čunān yāft nērō zi parwardigār
ki gar sang rā ō ba sar būdē
hamē har du pāy-aš bad-ō dar šūdē - I have heard that at the beginning, Rustam
Was given such strength from God
That if he were upon the top of a rock
Both his two feet would keep sinking into it.
- šunīdam ki rustam dar āğāz-i kār
- c. 1390, Hafez, “Ghazal 7”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Hafez]:
- صوفی بیا که آینه صافیست جام را
تا بنگری صفای می لعل‌فام را- sūfī biyā ki āyina-yi sāfi-st jām rā
tā bingarī safā-yi may-i la'l-fām rā - Sufi, come, for the cup has a bright mirror,
So that you might see the brightness of ruby-hued wine.
- sūfī biyā ki āyina-yi sāfi-st jām rā
- (colloquial) Can be optionally used to mark the topic if it has been moved to the beginning of the sentence for topicalization, with certain exceptions.
- شیرین و فک می‌کنم برنده بشه. (colloquial Tehrani)
- širin o fek mi-konam barande beše.
- As for Shirin, I think she might win.
- (colloquial) Sometimes appears after nouns being used adverbially, such as فردا (fardâ, “tomorrow”).
- (archaic) for the sake of
- Synonym: برای (barâ-ye)
Usage notes
(direct object marker)
- را (râ) is obligatory for the direct object if the referent is definite, i.e. has already been identified or is immediately identifiable. In English, this will usually correspond to a personal pronoun; a proper noun; or a common noun preceded by the definite article the, a demonstrative determiner, or a possessive determiner. Verbal infinitives used as nouns are also typically considered to be definite.
- را (râ) can also be used for an indefinite direct object, following the indefinite noun suffix ـی (-i). The nuance of the resulting sequence ـی را (-i râ) is often approximated as “a certain...”, with an emphatic sense.
- The use of را (râ) for indefinite nouns is mostly based on semantic grounds. The particle is commonly used for indefinite direct objects if the action of the verb is unusual or unexpected; if the object is human, as opposed to non-human; and for certain verbs which are felt to be particularly “intense”. For example, را is almost always used for the verb کشتن (koštan, “to kill”) if it is a human that has been killed, and for the verb ترجیح دادن (tarjih dâdan, “to prefer”) if the thing to which one prefers the direct object has been given.
- In Early New Persian (early second millennium), the particle was chiefly used for animate direct objects.
References
- Nourai, Ali (2011) An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and other Indo-European Languages, page 32