Farsi
This is a practical short book on the Persian Language, as spoken in Iran. Perhaps it might be called Iranian or Persian, but the currently correct word is Farsi.
It was prepared by me, Peter Roberts, and my wife, Helena, when we had a spell working in Iran, near the Persian Gulf.
Before we first went out to Iran, to work as consultants on civil engineering and highway projects, we retained the services of a native speaking Iranian gentleman to teach us some Farsi. As our lessons became more complicated, we started making hand-written notes, and typed them up between lessons. Then we learned them. And so we made use of our typed notes, which later formed the foundation for our book.
Then, once we had arrived in Iran, we found that when we went out of Tehran onto site, very few people spoke English. At first we were alright because we were in a hotel, and so had no problem. However, after a while we transferred to self catering accommodation, and then we had to go to the local markets to buy food and other necessities.
That's where we got the idea of turning our notes into a small book - one each - so that we could get about independently as well as together.
I inserted all the business, office and engineering site vocabulary that I found useful, and my wife, who self-catered for some months there, inserted all the domestic and food words that she found useful as well. So the book is ideal for anyone going to Iran for any length of time and working away from Tehran. Few of the ordinary people speak English - particularly policemen, taxi drivers, workmen, shop keepers, and the like.
See more details by scrolling down.
ISBN 978-1-910537-11-4 Printed Version, Paperback.
ISBN 978-1-910537-02-2 Electronic Version.
The first thing that you will want to know is "What's in it?" So here is the Table of Contents:
1. Pronunciation & Grammar (So we teach you how to pronounce it.)
a) Vowels
b) Consonants
c) Syllabic division
d) Plurals
e) Comparative, superlative
f) Grammar
2. Verb Structure (Then we teach you how to communicate using verbs.)
a) Verb endings
b) Subject pronouns
c) Past tense
d) Present tense
e) Future tense
f) To form the negative
g) To form the imperative
h) List of useful verbs
i) Irregular verbs
j) Regular verbs
3. Some Handy Vocabulary (Then we fill you in on the necessary words you will need.)
a) Greetings
b) Currency
c) General
d) Useful phrases
e) Colours
f) Countries and languages
4. Shopping
a) General vocabulary
b) Groceries
c) Household items
d) Places to shop
e) Useful phrases
5. Dining Out
a) General vocabulary
b) Compliments or not!
c) Useful phrases
6. Around the house/hotel
a) General vocabulary
b) Useful phrases
7. Travelling by car or taxi or rail
a) General vocabulary
b) Useful phrases
8. Numbers
a) Cardinal
b) Ordinal
9. Calendar
10. Time
11. Work Environment
a) General vocabulary
b) Useful phrases
c) Civil Engineering vocabulary
12. Cookery and food information
a) General vocabulary
b) Useful phrases
13. At the office
a) General vocabulary
b) Useful phrases
14. Very important signs!
(Finally, we show you some Persian script signs that are used in public places and that are important because in most cases, they do not have an English word next to them, and you need to be able to recognise them, and/or ask for them by showing the image to local people who don't speak English.)
Of all these, the signs for Male and Female are the most important. That is because you will sometimes need them for the toilets, but mostly, in Iran there is segregation of men from women in many places, such as at airports for checking, in mosques, etcetera, etcetera. So we provide these in the form of images, that you can use for the purpose. We know from personal experience that this will be helpful for you.
VERY IMPORTANT SIGNS TO LEARN
14. VERY IMPORTANT SIGNS in public places
Do try to learn the Farsi words and script shapes.
Entrance/IN
Vorudi/Vorudi-e
ورود
Exit/OUT
Khuruj
خروج
Toilet
Tuâlet
توالت
Female (e.g. toilets)
Zanâneh (feminine)
زنان
Male (e.g. toilets)
Mardâneh (masculine)
مردانه
Hint from Helena Roberts: If you are reading this as a printed book, then try cutting out these last few important symbols from the book and make them into cards. I found it very useful to have little cards to show to people if needed.
WHEN READING THE FOLLOWING EXTRACTS, PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT
THESE ARE JUST TINY SAMPLES FROM A BOOK THAT IS 70 PAGES LONG.
IT CONTAINS A REAL WEALTH OF VERBS, WORDS, AND USEFUL PHRASES.
Persian
Roberts' Rapid Farsi (Iranian, Persian)
Peter and Helena Roberts
Learn 35 words to speak Spanish
Learn Farsi
SEE IF YOU LIKE IT BEFORE YOU BUY
THESE ARE A FEW EXTRACTS FROM THE BOOK
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NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING ARE JUST SNIPPETS
FROM THE BOOK WITH MANY LINES DELETED.
They are presented here to show you what interesting and
useful information is contained in this compact book.
This is all the information we needed when living in Iran. We wrote it all down ourselves, so you can be sure that this book will be of great use to you.
They are presented here to show you what interesting and useful information is contained withing this compact book.
(Please note that any irregularities in spacings below are due to the website compiler. Neither the book nor the PDF file contains any such bad spacing variations.)
1. PRONUNCIATION
a) Vowels
As in the
English word
i long ee sea
e short e bet
a short a cat
â long ah father
When followed by a consonant cluster the short vowels,
a, e, o are considerably lengthened.
All vowels are always pronounced fully
b) Consonants As in the
English word
p p pot +aspirated
b b bag
t t tap +aspirated
d d dog
k k king
g hard g go
q rr like the French guttural rr
' (apostrophe in a word) do a glottal stop
c) Syllabic division
1. no internal syllable may begin with a vowel
2. between the two consonants of a two consonant cluster
3. between the 2nd and 3rd consonants of a three consonant cluster
All nouns, adjectives and prepositions are stressed on the last syllable.
The consonant cluster 'nd' is often reduced to 'n'
(raftand - raftan)
d) Plurals
To make nouns plural add the suffix -hâ
this book in ketâb
these books in ketâbha
To make adjectives plural add the suffix as for nouns -
hâ, ân
e) Comparative, superlative
To make a comparative adjective
add the suffix -tar
young kuchek
younger kuchektar
To make a superlative adjective
add the suffix -tarin
youngest kuchektarin
f) Grammar
Possessive suffix
my am
your et
his, hers, its esh
my house khane-am
our house khane-emân
2. VERB STRUCTURE
a) verb endings b) subject pronouns
I am man
you i to
(very informal, best only used for relatives or
close friends, or for children)
he/she ad u
(also, singular animate objects)
c) The past stem of all verbs is formed by dropping the
ending 'an' and adding the personal ending.
am
i
-
im
id
and
d) The present stem must be learned.
1. Most but not all verbs ending in -idan are formed by removing the -id ending of the past stem. (i.e. removing -idan)
2. Verbs whose past stems end in -nd generally drop the -d
e) The future tense is formed by using the verb root of 'to want' -khâstan - khâh plus the present tense personal suffix
khâham
khâhi
khâhad
plus the main verb root only
The future tense of compound verbs is formed by adding the auxiliary khâstan between the two parts of the compound verb.
to return bar gashtan
I will return man bar khâham gasht
f) To form the negative add the prefix
'na' or 'ne'
g) To form the singular imperative (command)
- a prefix is added to the present stem usually -be
take it! begirid!
except:
i) when followed in the next syllable by 'o' the prefix becomes bô
put it down! bogozârid!
ii) 'aw' or 'u' the prefix becomes bô
(depending on the regional accent)
go! beravid!
h) List of useful verbs
(present stem in brackets)
to ask porsidan (pors)
to be budan (hast)
to be able to tavânestan (tavân)
to buy khâridan (khâr)
to become , to be possible shodan (shav)
to break shekastan(shekan)
to bring âvardan (âvor) +y
to build sâkhtan (sâz)
to carry bordan (bar)
to change (something) avaz kardan (kôn)
to clean tamiz kardan (kon)
to come âmadan (â)
NEVER say 'kardan' on its own as a word.
NEVER say 'man kardam'.
to finish tamâm kardan (kon)
to forget farâmush kardan (kôn)
i) Verb structure - Irregular Verbs
budan = to be (hast)
Present tense Future tense Past tense
hastam khâham bud budam
hasti khâhi bud budi
hast khâhad bud bud
hastim khâhim bud budim
hastid khâhid bud budid
hastand khâhand bud budand
dâshtan = to have (dâr)
Present tense Future tense Past tense
dâram khâham dâsht dâshtam
dâri khâhi dâsht dâshti
dârad khâhad dâsht dâsht
dârim khâhim dâsht dâshtim
dârid khâhid dâsht dâshtid
dârand khâhand dâsht dâshtand
kardan = to do (kon) pronounced cone!
Present tense Future tense Past tense
mikonam khâham kard kardam
mikoni khâhi kard kardi
mikonad khâhad kard kard
j) Verb structure - Regular Verbs
khordan = to consume (eat or drink) (khor)
Present tense Future tense Past tense
mikhoram khâham khord khordam
mikhori khâhi khord khordi
kharidan = to buy (khar)
Present tense Future tense Past tense
mikharam khâham kharid kharidam
mikhari khâhi kharid kharidi
âvordan = to bring (âvor)
Present tense Future tense Past tense
miyâvaram khâham âvard âvardam
miyâvari khâhi âvard âvardi
porsidan = to ask (pors)
Present tense Future tense Past tense
miporsam khâham porsid porsidam
miporsi khâhi porsid porsidi
3. SOME HANDY VOCABULARY
a) Greetings
hello salâm
good morning sobh bekheyr
good evening asr bekheyr
good day ruz bekheyr
(all daylight hours)
good afternoon zohr bekheyr
(pm up to dusk)
good evening asr bekheyr
good night shab bekheyr
goodbye at any time khodâ hâfez
b) Currency
100 Dînars = 1 Rial
10 Rials = 1 Toman
(Thus 1,000 Dinars in 1 Toman)
c) General
above, over bâlâ-ye
age senn
also ham
and va
attractive/pretty/nice ghashang
bag, carrier nilon
d) Useful phrases
Do you speak English?
shoma Englesi harf mizanin?
Please speak slowly
lotfan yavâsh harf mizanin
Did you understand? motevajeh shodid?
I don't understand ne mifahman
e) Colours
black sîâh
blue âbi
brown ghahvehyî
f) Countries and languages
Iran iran
America âmrikâ
England engelestân
Europe urupa
France faranse
4. SHOPPING
a) General vocabulary
I want to buy 'X'
man mikhâham 'X' bekharam
cheap/cheaper/cheapest
arzân/arzântar/arzântarim
expensive gerân
fresh tâze
how much? cheghadr
(as in a measureable quantity)
how much? chândeh
(as in price)
piece tâ
(as in dotâ = two pieces)
price ghêimat
b) Groceries
almond bâdâm
anchovies mâhi-ye koli
apple sib
apricot zardulâ
baked pokhte
banana mawz
bay leaf barg-e bu
beans (red) lubiyâ ghermez
c) Household items
batteries bâtri
cloth pârché
matches kebrit
newspaper ruz name
(means day letter)
paper kâghaz (writing)
d) Places to shop
bazaar bazaar
selling place furushî
shop dokkân
shop maghâzé
book selling place ketâb furushî
e) Useful phrases when out shopping
is there a grocer's shop close by? ba'ghâi nazdîk-e?
I would like to buy 'x' man mikhâham 'x' bekharam
May I taste it? momken înha bechesham?
or mishe man inhâ bechesham?
How do I cook it? cetor-e mipozam (bepozam)?
5. DINING OUT
a) General vocabulary
bill (the check) surat-hesâb
bowl (of fruit) zarf
chair sandalî
chef sar âshpaz
coffee ghahvé
cup fenjân
b) Compliments or not!
I like it! Man doost dâram!
I do not like it! Man doost nadoram!
we like it! mâ doost dârîm!
tasty, delicious khoshmazeh
c) Useful phrases in the restaurant
Where is the toilet?
Tuvalet kojâ-st?
Please, may I have the bill?
Lotfan, surat hesâb biyârin
No ice, please
Lotfan yakh nâdashte bâshe
6. AROUND THE HOUSE OR HOTEL
a) General vocabulary
bathroom ham'ân
bed takht-é-khâb
breakfast sob'hâné
clean tamiz
dirty kasîf
electric barghi
electric stove bokhârî barghi
fan fan
b) Useful phrases
wash and iron shostan va otu
not working kâr nemikonid
7. TRAVELLING BY CAR OR TAXI
a) General vocabulary
central markaz
(centre of an area or space)
city centre markaz-e shah
house or home khâné
just here/right here namîn jâ
left chap
right râst
b) Useful phrases when in a car
Please wait for me
Lotfan montazer-e man bashîd
I will return in 5 minutes
Man panj daghighé-ye digar bar/migardam
8. NUMBERS
a) Cardinal
0 sefr
1 yek 11 yâzdah
2 do 12 davâzdah
3 se 13 sizdah
4 chahâr 14 chahârdah
5 panj 15 pânzdah
6 shish 16 shânzdah
7 haft 17 hivdah
8 hasht 18 hizhdah
9 noh 19 nuzdah
10 dah 20 bist
200 devist
300 sisad
9. CALENDAR
(Saturday is always the first day of the week)
Saturday shanbe (Shambe)
Sunday y ekshanbe
Monday doshanbe
Tuesday seshanbe
Wednesday ch(ah)ârshanbe
Thursday pânjshanbe
Friday (weekend) jom'e
week hafteh
month mâh
year sâl
10. TIME
day ruz
morning sobh
afternoon zohr
evening asr
night shab
today emruz
tomorrow fardâ
11. WORK ON-SITE ENVIRONMENT
a) General vocabulary
also ham
bad bad
before ghabl az
between bêin-é
boulder takht-e sang
bridge pol
cement simân
clay rôs
b) Useful phrases in the work environment
Where is the toilet? tuvalet kojâ'st
stop thank you - enough bas, base
(polite as when having tea poured)
stop! pause! be-îst
(as in 'stop walking, driving please. etc.
e.g. as a polite instruction to a driver)
c) Civil Engineering vocabulary
aggregate sang dâne
backhoe kajbil
bearing capacity zarfiyate bârbari
bore hole gamâne
boring gamâne zani
acceptable quality level
hadde keifijate ghâbele shabool
level quality acceptable
acceptable risk level
hadde khatare ghâbele shabool
level risk acceptable
12. COOKERY AND FOOD INFORMATION
a) General vocabulary
slice ghâch
food ghazâ
breakfast sobhune
lunch nâhâr
dinner shâm
13. AT THE OFFICE
a) General vocabulary
address neshâni
book ketâb
cartridge feshang
copy noskhe
diary sarresid-daftar khaterat
envelope pakat
folder pusheh
b) Useful phrases
You could try writing these down onto a couple of small cards to carry round in your pocket.
Do you speak English?
shoma englesi harf mizanin?
Please speak slowly.
lotfan yavâsh harf mizanin
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