How to Speak Persian

[arashmordad]

I think it would be a great idea to teach some farsi in this forum, since many people are interested. I would appreciate the help if anyone wants to chip in . If you have any questions about farsi, put them on this thread and I (we) can answer them for you.

Before we begin teaching farsi, the background of farsi needs to be given.

In the Middle East there are three major language families being spoken, which are:

Afro-Asiatic
Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.); Berber

Altaic
Turkic (Turkish, Azeri, Turkmen, etc.)

Indo-European
Indo-Iranian; Armenian; Greek (in very small communities scattered around in M.E.)

Persian is a part of the the Indo-European language family and is branched as:

Indo-European>> Indo-Iranian [Aryan]>> Iranian [Iranic]>> Persian, Kurdish, Pashtu, Ossetian, etc.

Farsi is the main language of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and is also spoken in small communities and as second languages in Central Asia. Farsi has three main dialects which are:

FPersian (Parsi)
Irani (Farsi), Dari* (Afghani), Tajiki

*Not to be confused with Zoroastrian Dari, which is another Iranian language

Countries that speak Persian as a main language


In these countries, Persian breaks up into many other different dialects and accents. For example as in Iran there is the Tehrani accent, Esfahani accent, Mashadi accent, and so on and so forth. What I am going to try to teach is standard Farsi which can be spoken in all Persian countries and cities.

Before I go any further, I should note that:
1. I am first going to teach the exact and correct way of Prsian grammar, as so people can see and understand how Persian grammar works. Later on I can teach the modern way that Persian is being spoken today (especially in Tehran). I am doing it this way because all the Persian dialects and accents do not follow the modern Irani-Tehrani dialect and if someone is to go to Afghanistan, Tajikistan or even many parts of Iran, it might be hard to understand and grasp by the modern Tehrani way.
2. I will not be teaching how to write in the Persian script, I am only going to teach how to SPEAK Farsi. If anyone would like to teach the Persian script (on this thread), I would much appreciate it.

Enjoy, and be good students or else :P

[arashmordad]

Phonetics

a - as in "alarm"
æ - as in "cat"
b - as in "book"
d - as in "dog"
ch - as in "chair"
e - as in "net"
f - as in "fine"
g - as in "gum"
q/gh - a hard "g" from throat
h - as in "hat
i/ee - as in "need"
j - as in "jump"
jh/zh - like french "j," as in "je" or chinese "zhou", or "s" in "measure"
k - as in "keg"
kh/x - throat sound, as in german "tochter" or scottish "loch"
l- as in "letter"
m - as in "mother"
n - as in "night"
o - as in "note"
p - as in "poke"
r- as in "root" (have a accent on the "r," like a regular spanish "r" in "naranja")
s - as in "sighn"
sh - as in "shoe"
t - as in "type"
u/oo - as in spanish "luna"
v/w - as in "van" ("v" in Irani dialect, "w" in Afghan Dari & Tajiki dialects)
y - as in "yawn"
z - as in "zoo"

Also
(Ar.) - means word is of arabic decent
(Tk./Mg.) - means of turkic or mongolian decent
(Fr.) - means of french decent
(Foreign) - means word is not originally Farsi

[arashmordad]

Ok, why don't we start off with some greetings and important words to get around.

sælam = hello (Ar.)

dorud = hello [traditional]

dorud bær shoma = hello/blessings upon you [formal]

Khoda hafez (Khodafez) = goodbye {may God remember you} (hafez = protector (Ar.))

bedorud = goodbye [traditional]

hal e shoma chetor æst? = how are you? {how is your health?} [formal]

hal e tun chetor æst? = how are you? {how is your health}

chetóri? = wassup?

khosh amædi = welcome {you come with happiness}

sobh bekheir; bamdad khosh = good morning

ruz bekheir/ ruz khosh = good day (kheir = good (Ar.))

shæb bekheir/ shæb khosh = goodnight/evening

mersi = thanks (Fr.)

Motshæker/ Tæshækor = thank you (Ar.)

sepas = Thank you [traditional]

sepas gozar hæstæm = I am thankful [formal]

khosh bashi = may you be well/happy

zende bashi = may you stay alive

nam e shoma che æst? = what is your name [formal]

esm e tun chist? = what is your name? (esm = name (Ar.))

to ki hæsti? = who are you?

shoma ki hæstid? = who are you? [formal]

mobaræk = congratulations (Ar.)

Khoda be hæmra e tun bashæd = may God be with you

ruz e khubi dasht e bashin = may you have a good day

nam e mæn ..... æst = my name is .....

are = yes

bæle = yes [formal]

næ, ne = no

khub, nik, beh = good

bæd = bad

khub æst = it is good

bæd æst= it is bad

beh'tær = better

bæd'tær = worse

[arashmordad]

Family Members - "khane vade/ fameli"


madær = mother

pedær = father

bæradær/ bradær = brother

khahær = sister

pesær (pur) = boy/son

dokhtær (dokht) = girl/daughter

maman = mom/ mommy

baba = dad/ daddy

pedærbozorg = grandfather

madærbozorg = grandmother

æme = aunt on father's side

æmu = uncle on father's side

khale = aunt on mother's side

dayi = uncle on mother's side

pesær-khale = boy cousin of mother's side aunt

dokhtær-dayi = girl cousin of mother's side uncle


People - "adæm-ha/ mærdom"


mærd = man

zæn, zen = woman

aqa = sir

ban = sir

banu = lady / miss

khan= sir (Trk.)

khanem = miss (Trk.)

aqayan = sirs

banuvan = ladies

kudæk = toddler/ child

bæche = child (can sometimes mean "boy" also)

jævan = young

dust = friend



shah/keyi = king

bambeshn = queen [very old, not used anymore]

mælek/soltan = king (Ar.)

mælæke = queen (Ar.)

næne = nanny / mom

sepah = soldier

amuzegar = teacher

mo'ælem = teacher (Ar.)

nevisænde - author/writer

doktor = doctor

polis = police

ranænde = driver

næqash = drawer, painter (Ar.)

[sinasina]

farsi dictionary http://www.istgah.com/content/view/sel_325/id_23/

you can dl it

[alitezar]

Very cool thread. Thanks Arash

[socrates#1fan]

Sælam, chetóri?
nam e mæn Socrates.
Bedorud!

I'm probably doing it wrong.
My khahær really wants to learn Farsi.
She is in love with Persian history.

[arashmordad]

Originally Posted by socrates#1fan

Sælam, chetóri?
nam e mæn Socrates.
Bedorud!

I'm probably doing it wrong.
My khahær really wants to learn Farsi.
She is in love with Persian history.

Everything was right, except saying your name there must be a "æst" at the end. thus:
"nam e mæn Socrates æst" {lit. "name of mine Socrates is"}
Good job over all

Did you show you sister our threads? You can learn a lot of stuff about Iran on this site from what people contribute.

[arashmordad]

Conjugation - "peyvastegi"

mæn = I, me

to/tu = you

shoma = you [formal/plural]

*an, u = that /person/ [informal]

vey = that person [formal (used mostly in academic situations)]

ma = we

anha = they, them, those [informal]

ishan = they [formal], but this word is used mostly for "that person" singular [formal]


* There is no "he, she, him, her" in Farsi. Instead "that person, that woman, that man," etc. is used. At first it might seem hard but you will get used to it as you progress.

In farsi grammar the way to put together a simple sentence is as follows:
pronoun - noun - verb

eg. "mæn khoob æstæm" I am well {lit. "I well am"}

Now lets move on to the method of conjugation.

mæn -æm

to -i

shoma -id

an - *e

ma -im

anha/ishan -ænd

* "an" sometimes differs from verb to verb

[arashmordad]

Now that you know the method, we can start with our first verb "budæn" - to be.

budæn (to be), æst (is)

mæn hæstæm - I am

to hæsti - you are

shoma hæstid - you are [formal]

an (h)æst * - that is

ma hæstim - we are

anha hæstænd - they are

* It can also be said "hæste, hæstesh, or hæstæn" when refering to a person, but it does not need to be.

[arashmordad]

Now let us put in nouns to make a sentence.

mæn doktor hæstæm = I am a doctor

to mærd hæsti = you are a man

shoma polis hæstid = you are a police /officer/

an tup (h)æst = that is a ball (tup = ball)

an zæn khub (h)æst = that woman is good

ma pesær hæstim = we are boys

shoma mo'ælem hæstid = you (all) are teachers

anha gol hæstænd = those are flowers

anha futbalist hæstænd = they are football(soccer) players

As you can see, it is not as hard as it looks. Practice this type of grammatical format as it is the basis of the language.

[Shapoor]

Thank you for this helpful thread Arash
Just one small thing: Amuzegar (teahcer) is also a popular word used instead of mo'ælem.

[arashmordad]

Originally Posted by Shapoor

Thank you for this helpful thread Arash
Just one small thing: Amuzegar (teahcer) is also a popular word used instead of mo'ælem.

Yes thats true, but is it said as much as mo'ælem? And, i forgot, is it amuzegar or amuzegær?

[Shapoor]

It is rather a formal word usually written in books but it's more popular outside Tehran. I personally use Amuzegaar because it's Persian. Btw Amuzegar is right

[arashmordad]

Originally Posted by Shapoor

It is rather a formal word usually written in books but it's more popular outside Tehran. I personally use Amuzegaar because it's Persian. Btw Amuzegar is right

thanx Shapoor jan. I'll add it to the list.

[arashmordad]

Numbers - "shomare-ha" 1-10

Engl. Anc.Pers./Avst. Farsi
1 one ------ eka ------ yek
2 two ------ dva ------ do
3 three ------ thri ------ se
4 four ------ catur ------ chahar
5 five ------ pancha ------ pænj
6 six ------ shash ------ sheish
7 seven ------ apta ------ hæft
8 eight ------ achta ------ hæsht
9 nine ------ nava ------ noh
10 ten ------ dasa ------ dæh
--------------------------------------------

1 = yek
2 = do
3 = se
4 = chahar
5 = pænj
6 = sheish
7 = hæft
8 = hæsht
9 = noh
10= dæh

[noonghandi]

You can see the roots of latin numbering system in older persian numbers.

[socrates#1fan]

Originally Posted by arashmordad

Everything was right, except saying your name there must be a "æst" at the end. thus:
"nam e mæn Socrates æst" {lit. "name of mine Socrates is"}
Good job over all

Did you show you sister our threads? You can learn a lot of stuff about Iran on this site from what people contribute.

Sepas!
Nam e mæn Socrates æst!
beh'tær?


Esm e tun chist?
I see a lot of common names between Farsi and English.
Are they in any way related?
My khahær wants to learn it by the book in college.
She doesn't trust the internet.

[arashmordad]

Originally Posted by socrates#1fan

Sepas!
Nam e mæn Socrates æst!
beh'tær?


Esm e tun chist?
I see a lot of common names between Farsi and English.
Are they in any way related?
My khahær wants to learn it by the book in college.
She doesn't trust the internet.

Lol, I see. I think that would be better though, as I am no professional. And yes, both english and farsi are of the Indo-European language family, but english is apart of the germanic branch and farsi is apart of the indo-iranian branch, so you will see a lot of similarities.

[arashmordad]

Originally Posted by noonghandi

You can see the roots of latin numbering system in older persian numbers.

Its actually from sanskrit root.