You do not need much Persian to take part in a Persian chat room. A few dozen phrases cover most of what is said in the first minutes of any conversation. Here they are in Persian script, with pronunciation and meaning.
How to read the pronunciation: â is a long "a" as in "father"; plain a is short as in "cat". kh is the sound in Scottish "loch" or German "Bach". gh is a soft sound made at the back of the throat. ' marks a tiny pause. Stress usually falls on the last syllable.
Saying hello
| Persian | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| سلام | salâm | Hello (works everywhere, at any hour) |
| سلام به همه | salâm be hame | Hello everyone |
| درود | dorud | Greetings (an older Persian word, a little formal) |
| صبح بخیر | sobh bekheyr | Good morning |
| عصر بخیر | asr bekheyr | Good afternoon / evening |
| شب بخیر | shab bekheyr | Good night |
| خوش آمدید | khosh âmadid | Welcome |
How are you?
After salâm, Persian speakers nearly always ask how you are, often two or three times in different words. It is part of the greeting, and a short answer is all that is expected.
| Persian | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| حال شما چطوره؟ | hâl-e shomâ chetore? | How are you? (polite) |
| چطوری؟ | chetori? | How are you? (informal) |
| خوبی؟ | khubi? | You good? |
| چه خبر؟ | che khabar? | What's new? |
| خوبم، مرسی | khubam, mersi | I'm fine, thanks |
| بد نیستم | bad nistam | Not bad |
| سلامتی | salâmati | "Good health": the standard answer to che khabar?, meaning "nothing new, all is well" |
| شما چطورید؟ | shomâ chetorid? | And you? |
Thank you and you're welcome
| Persian | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| مرسی | mersi | Thanks (borrowed from French, very common) |
| ممنون | mamnun | Thank you |
| خیلی ممنون | kheyli mamnun | Thank you very much |
| متشکرم | motashakkeram | Thank you (formal) |
| دستت درد نکنه | dastet dard nakone | "May your hand not hurt": thanks for something you did for me |
| خواهش می‌کنم | khâhesh mikonam | You're welcome / please |
| قابلی نداره | ghâbeli nadâre | It was nothing |
Polite words
| Persian | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| لطفاً | lotfan | Please |
| ببخشید | bebakhshid | Excuse me / sorry |
| بفرمایید | befarmâyid | Go ahead / here you are / please come in (one word for many situations) |
| بله / آره | bale / âre | Yes (polite / informal) |
| نه | na | No |
| باشه | bâshe | OK, all right |
| خسته نباشید | khaste nabâshid | "May you not be tired": said to anyone who is or has been working |
Getting to know someone
| Persian | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| اسمت چیه؟ | esmet chiye? | What's your name? |
| اسم من … است | esm-e man … ast | My name is … |
| اهل کجایی؟ | ahl-e kojâyi? | Where are you from? |
| کجا زندگی می‌کنی؟ | kojâ zendegi mikoni? | Where do you live? |
| خوشوقتم | khoshvaghtam | Pleased to meet you |
| فارسی من خوب نیست | fârsi-ye man khub nist | My Persian is not good |
| لطفاً آهسته‌تر | lotfan âheste-tar | Slower, please |
| یعنی چی؟ | ya'ni chi? | What does that mean? |
Saying goodbye
| Persian | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| خداحافظ | khodâhâfez | Goodbye |
| فعلاً | fe'lan | Bye for now |
| به امید دیدار | be omid-e didâr | Hope to see you again |
| مواظب خودت باش | movâzeb-e khodet bâsh | Take care of yourself |
| شب خوش | shab khosh | Have a good night |
"You" comes in two sizes
Persian has a polite "you", شما (shomâ), and a familiar one, تو (to). Use shomâ with people you have just met, with anyone older, and whenever you are unsure. Friends, and people of the same age who have talked for a while, switch to to. In the tables above, the phrases ending in -id are the polite forms and those ending in -i are the familiar ones.
A first exchange
Put together, a typical opening in a chat room looks like this:
- سلام، خوبی؟ — salâm, khubi? — Hi, how are you?
- سلام، مرسی، تو چطوری؟ — salâm, mersi, to chetori? — Hi, thanks, how are you?
- خوبم. چه خبر؟ — khubam. che khabar? — I'm fine. What's new?
- سلامتی. اهل کجایی؟ — salâmati. ahl-e kojâyi? — All well. Where are you from?
Many people in chat rooms type Persian in Latin letters, much like the pronunciation column here. That informal spelling has its own habits, described in our guide to Finglish, and the short forms you will meet are collected in Persian chat slang.