ـها

One item, several items. کتاب means “book”; کتاب‌ها means “books.” Modern standard writing commonly uses a half-space between a joining noun and ـها. The break keeps the suffix boundary clear while retaining one word.

For people, دوست‌ها is a possible plural of دوست. Some words also have familiar plurals in ـان or an inherited loan plural. Do not treat ـها as restricted to objects or animals.

If an adjective or owner follows, the final /ā/ takes the vowel-following ezafe -ye: کتاب‌های خوب and کتاب‌های من. The written ی is the link, not a new plural ending on the following word.

Compare دو کتاب, “two books,” with کتاب‌ها, “books.” Ordinary counting uses a singular-form noun after the number. Also, Persian lacks an English-style definite article: context determines whether کتاب‌ها means “books” or “the books.”