Persian/Planning

This page is for people who might help improve this Persian course on English Wikibooks.

To take the Persian language course, click here.

Book definition

• Scope: This Wikibook aims to teach the Persian language from scratch, including grammar, core vocabulary, common phrases, formal/literary language, and conversational language. By the end, the student should be able to read and write Persian, but may need a human teacher to help with listening and speaking.
• Audience: Anyone who can read English and wishes to learn Persian. Students may not know much about grammar or linguistics, so the text should describe grammar ideas in simple English.
• Organization: This Wikibook requires no prior knowledge of Persian, and all relevant terms are explained as they are encountered. The book is meant to be read from lesson 1 forward to the end.
• Narrative: The course will move slowly. The conversations are meant to be engaging and thorough. Each lesson should include many examples and exercises. Key grammar and vocabulary items are repeated several times to reinforce the foundation being built. After describing each grammar topic, provide several examples and exercises, then a summary.
• Style: The formatting is consistent throughout, with UniPers transcription in angle brackets (e.g., ‹alef›) the same formatting throughout. Each lesson begins with a conversation, including the key grammar and vocabulary in the lesson. At the end, a summary reviews what was learned.

To-Do List

• Add any missing language topics to the list below.
• Move the language topics into the appropriate lesson, building from common or easier topics to uncommon or more difficult ones.
• Create audio files of entire spoken sentences or short conversations (rather than several individual files) for convenient downloading.
• Add more examples to the handwriting section. More explanation of Persian handwriting.
• Possibly: An introductory section for Arabic speakers. (Shouldn't such a section be in an Arabic Wikibook?)
• A section on Arabic grammar. (Only in the limited sense that such grammar is used in Persian, right?)
• A definitive policy on what level of language should be used.

Transliteration

The transliteration system UniPers, consistent with w:Persian phonology and wikt:Wiktionary:Persian transliteration, is used in these lessons. That system gives a single transcription letter for each Persian phoneme, so when it is written within angle brackets (‹alef be pe te se›), it is consistent with the orthographic use of w:International Phonetic Alphabet.

Pronunciation

Both formal and colloquial pronunciation should be included, with a consistent register throughout any given dialogue. Differences between colloquial and formal (e.g. formal [ɒːn] becomes colloquial [uːn]) should be mentioned to the student. This course has a print version, wherever pronunciation of a single word is to be presented, show it visually using IPA and include a link to the audio file for convenient online access. template:listen is helpful here. (Supply IPA pronunciation as the last parameter, which replaces "listen".)

Practice

After explaining each grammar topic or lesson, show example phrases, then invite the student to participate actively with reading, listening, and speaking exercises. Exercises should be simple, show answers if relevant, and even repetitive to help instill an intuition for Persian.

Lesson Planning

This is a space for the development of an overall framework for the book, so that grammar and vocabulary can be introduced in a logical order and at a good pace. Previously covered grammar and vocabulary should be revisited regularly.

As you write, remember that people reading this book may be totally new to the language. Do not write as if you are writing for another Persian speaker, but explain things so learners can use this book easily.

Add any missing topics below. Keep the lesson contents manageable and their size regular.

Note: The first bullet point in each lesson below shows the main focus for the lesson.

Fundamentals

The first four lessons focus on the writing system with minimal grammar and vocabulary.

Persian/Lesson 1

• Orthography: Introduce alphabet from ‹alef› to ‹xe›. Show stroke order with animate gif files.
• Dialogue: ‹salâm!› Friends آرش ‹âraš› and شيرين ‹širin› greet each other informally.
• Culture: Brief Arab-Persian history and the influence of the Arab language on Persian.
• Orthography: separate and joined letter forms (‹alef› lacks a joined form)
• Orthography: short vowels and how they are usually omitted in writing.

Persian/Lesson 2

• Orthography: Continue alphabet: د ‹dâl›, ذ ‹zâl›, ر ‹re›, ز ‹ze›, ژ ‹že›, س ‹sin›, ش ‹šin›, ص ‹sâd›, ض ‹zâd›, ط ‹tâ›, ظ ‹zâ›. Show stroke order with animated images.
• Dialogue: ‹hâl-e šomâ cetor ast?› آرش ‹âraš› and آقاى پیمان ‹âqâ-ye peymân› greet each other formally.
• Phonology: syllable stress
• Culture: titles like آقا and its feminine homophone آغا are used before or after the first name, last name, or both. پيمان is a first name. Family names are relatively new (1912?) in Iran.
• Orthography: د ‹dâl›, ذ ‹zâl›, ر ‹re›, ز ‹ze›, ژ ‹že› lack a joined form

Persian/Lesson 3

• Orthography: Continue alphabet: ع ‹'eyn›, غ ‹qeyn›, ف ‹fe›, ق ‹qaf›, ک ‹kaf›, گ ‹gaf›, ﻝ ‹lâm›, م ‹mim›, ن ‹nun›. Show stroke order with animated gif files.
• Dialogue: صبح بخیر ‹sobh bexeyr› ("good morning") حسن ("Hassan", a.k.a. حسن ی /hasani/) talks with Mohamad (a.k.a. ممد /Mamad/).
• Vocabulary : Introduce one form of the negative present tense copula, e.g. نیستم ‹nistam› and a few adjectives.

Persian/Lesson 4

• Orthography: Finish alphabet: و ‹vâv›, ه ‹he›, ی ‹ye› (‹vâv› lacks a joined form). Show stroke order with animated gif files.
• Dialogue: آقا رضا ‹âqâ rezâ› talks with خانم شيرين ‹xânom širin›.
• Orthography: long vowels (with alef at beginning vs. without alef in the middle/end)
• Orthography: Alphabet summary. Copyedit and move most of Persian/Alphabet into here.
• Vocabulary: include pronouns that have not yet been introduced in preparation for the grammar lessons: ما, آنها, او
• Grammar: تشديد tašdid

Basic grammar

The next several lessons establish a foundation of Persian grammar.

Persian/Lesson 5

• Grammar: introduction to verb conjugation via the present tense forms of copula بودن (the most common verb in Persian) in short/clitic form (ام، است، ...) and emphatic/full-form (هستم، ...)
• Dialogue: ___ talks with احمد جان /Ahmad jân/ ("dear Ahmad", term of endearment), include all standard personal pronouns in copular sentences
• Grammar: simple copular sentence structure, verb last, optional subjects. (no definite object marker yet, no prepositions)
• است (with singular and plural subjects) and هستند (animate plural subjects only) for "there is" and "there are". Some sources disagree with this and say است is only a copula, not used for existence.

Persian/Lesson 6

• Grammar: Ezâfe
• Dialogue:
• Grammar: adjectives following nouns, unstressed ی (like ezafe and considered such by modern/western grammars, but functionally different and not considered ezafe by traditional Persian grammars because it does not join two substantives) as enclitic (not suffix), pronunciation and written/unwritten form after consonant (/e/) or vowel (/je/); colloquially, short forms are used even after vowels.
• demonstrative adjectives: این /in/ ("this"), آن /un/ ("that"), before noun.
  • Demonstrative contractions: /injâ/ ("here"), آنجا /unjâ/ ("there"), /conin/ ("like this"), /conân/ ("like that"), /hamin/ ("this [very] same"), /hamân/ ("that [very] same")
  • Demonstrative pronouns آنها ‹unhâ› ("those there" or just "those", special case where ها is always joined) and اینها ‹inhâ› ("these here", second special case where ها ‹hâ› is always joined).

Persian/Lesson 7

• Grammar: simple past tense conjugation (infinitive /-an/; past stem + /-am/ /-i/ /-/, /-im/, /-id/, /-and/)
• Dialogue:
• Culture: plurality and formality/deference
• Grammar: plurality of verb with animate vs. inanimate subject
• Plurality of subject reference, optional subject pronoun, and verb as it relates to formality and deference:
  • Semantically plural human subject requires plural verb.
  • 2nd person semantically singular addressee:
    • Friendly, informal reference: (optional pronoun) تو /tow/, singular verb (ی ending)
    • Semi-formal, respectful: (optional plural pronoun) شما /šomâ/, singular verb (ی ending)
    • Formal, more respectful: plural verb, optional plural pronoun (شما), plural verb written with ید ending, pronounced colloquially as ین.
    • Very formal conditions treating the addressee with deference: جناب عالی /jenâb âli/ ("your excellency")
  • 3rd person semantically singular human reference: او /u/ or ایشان /išân/. May use plural verb to show greater respect.

Persian/Lesson 8

• Grammar: negation
  • negative particle ن ‹na-› takes the stress and prefixes conjugated verb, not the invariant part
• Grammar: negative copula (بیستم، بیست، ...)

Persian/Lesson 9

• Grammar: plural nouns, (joined or ZWNJ plus) ها suffix, works for all nouns in spoken Persian.
  • Bonus: Alternatively, plurals of certain Arabic nouns representing animates or paired body parts can take ان ‹-un›. Regular (un-"broken") Arabic plurals can take ات ‹-ât›. Arabic final ه becomes جان. Some Arabic nouns can take ین ‹-in›.
  • No suffix when numeral is used (before the noun). Written Persian: use ان suffix for human nouns, irregular plurals from Arabic (ات، ین، or vowel alternation, e.g. کتاب)
  • non-pronoun subject may be unspecified for number
  • plural non-human subject with plural suffix ها may take singular verb if it is thought of as a collective unit. Plural verb is always used with plural autonomous subjects, e.g. vehicles carrying people, governments of people, buildings with people, etc.

Persian/Lesson 10

• Grammar: indefinite marker as unstressed clitic ی, translates as “a”, “an”, or “some” (after ها)
  • written as ئی after ا or و
  • singular noun with ی may express uncertainty about the quantity
  • colloquial use of یک as a singular indefinite determiner vs. indefinite clitic ی. Avoid confusion between ezâfe (کتابهای "books of") and indefinite (کتابهائی "some books")
• homographs with different short vowels: کرم for ‹kerm› "worm", ‹karam› "generosity", ‹kerem› "cream", ‹krom› "chrome", ‹karm› "vine"; also, مردی as noun ‹mard› + indefinite suffix or + linking enclitic or + 2nd person singular copula enclitic or + abstract morpheme, or verb ‹mord› + 2nd person singular conjugation suffix

Persian/Lesson 11

• Grammar: direct objects and prepositions
  • definite or human object enclitic را , colloquially pronounced or /o/ after consonant, /ro/ after vowel
• Dialogue:
• Grammar: no actual direct article, but in some situations را carries similar meaning, less used than "the".
• Grammar: prepositions, semantic objects marked by prepositions (/az/, /be/)
• Grammar: single-clause sentence structure: (subject) (definite object را) (prep phrases) (adverbs) (predicate nominative/adjective) verb

Persian/Lesson 12

• Present tense conjugation (می + ZWNJ + imperative stem): imperative/present stem + /-am/, /-i/, /-ad/, /-im/, /-id/, /-and/
  • Old form of simple present was without می, which carries imperfective sense, but the می form has replaced the simple present in modern use for most verbs.
  • Verbs that don't take می in the present tense: بودن (ههستم، ...)، داشتن (درم، ...)
  • Negative present (نمی)

Persian/Lesson 13

• Grammar: (bound) personal enclitics after (singular or plural) noun phrase:
  • After consonant: /am/, /at/, /aš/, /emân/, /etân/, /ešân/
  • After و or ا, /yam/, /yat/...
  • After ه or ی, singular suffixes are spelled with leading zwnj+ا.
  • after noun phrase, expresses possession /pedaram/ ("my father"), /dust-e xubam/ ("my good friend")
  • alternative pronomial direct objects as enclitics
• Differences between spoken and written forms (e.g., written را is spoken و, ‹e› as the spoken form of است, colloquial verb endings: ه ‹eh›, written ان ‹ân› vs spoken ‹un›, but not in خانم ‹xânom›)

Persian/Lesson 14

• Grammar: verbs with invariant separable prefixes (sometimes known as "light" verb constructions, similar to English "make an announcement", "catch a cold")
• causative sense of کردن vs. شدن (e.g. تلفن کردن, تمیر کردن, گریه کردن, فراموش کردن, فکر کردن)

Persian/Lesson 15

• formal questions with sentence-initial آیا
• informal questions with voice tone only

Intermediate grammar

Persian/Lesson 16

• Perfective aspect:
  • Present perfect ("... has/have [done]"): past participle + auxiliary present بودن in simple clitic or bound form: دیدهم /dideam/, دیدهی /didei/, دیدهست /dideast/, ...; رفتهم /rafteam/, رفتهی /raftei/, رفتهست /rafteast/, ...
  • negative perfect: negative ن /na-/ prefixes main verb, not the auxiliary (in case full/emphatic form is used).
  • Use of از ... ن with negative present perfect verb for "have not done ... for [some period of time]"
  • Use of است که ... ت with negative present perfect verb for "it's been ... since [someone did something]"
  • Past perfect ("... had [done]"): with ...ه past participle + auxiliary simple past بودن , e.g.: دیده بودم /dide budam/, دیده بودی /dide budi/, دیده بود /dide bud/, ...; رفته بودم /rafte budam/, رفته بودی /rafte budi/, ...
  • Negative past perfect: ن /na-/ prefixes main verb, not auxiliary: نرفنه بودم /narafte budam/
• Invariant prefix before auxiliary verb.
• Negative auxiliary with positive main verb.

Persian/Lesson 17

• Comparative adjectives (ZWNJ + stressed تر suffix) follow noun with ezâfe like other adjectives.
• Superlative adjectives (ZWNJ + stressed ترین suffix). Superlative comes before noun.
• Comparing two nouns using از  ‹az› (“than”), prepositional phrase typically goes before predicate nominative

  Proverb: /došman-e dânâ behtar az dust-e nâdân ast/ ("a wise foe is better than a foolish friend")

Persian/Lessons 18-?

• Imperative: stem changes, with and without ب prefix, informal imperative as ب + present stem with no personal ending, negative imperative as ن replacing ب

  Subjunctive: subordinate statement of desire, doubt, possibility, or indirect quote.

  Imperative/conditional/subjunctive: ب /be-/ + present stem + present personal clitic: بنویسم /benevisam/, بنویسی /benevisi/, بنویسد /benevisad/, ...; دیدن : present stem بین /bin/ (to see): ببینم /bebinam/, ببینی /bebini/, ...; رفتن raftan, ‘to go’, stem رو (rav), بروم /beravam/, بروی /beravi/, /biravad, biravim, biravid, biravand/; bibakhshid, 'pardon!', bibinid, 'see!'

  Negative imperative/subjunctive/conditional: ن /na/ + present stem + personal endings e.g. naravid 'don't go'; nakunid 'don't do!’

  Informal imperative: 'bi' + present stem + Ø, e.g. bibin 'see!', bikhuwr 'eat!’, bigu, ‘say!'.

  • Subjunctive ("[that] I write") and conditional: "I want to go" translates as می‌خواهم بروم /mixâham beravam/ ("I want [that] I go"). Similarly, /mitavânam bebinam/ ("I can [that] I see"). Past: xâstam biram, 'I wanted to go'; nazasht biram (naguzasht biravam)', ‘He didn't let me go.'

    verbs frequently followed by subjuctive: tavanistan, 'to be able to', xâstan, 'to want', fikr kardan, 'to think', umidvar budan, 'to hope', guzaŝtan, ‘to let’.

  • /be/ pronounced as /bu/ before syllable with /u/, pronounced as /bi/ before syllable with /â/
• Explicit possession with the noun مال, e.g. مال من ‹mâl-e man› (“mine”): این کتاب مال من است، ن مال تو ‹in ketâb mâl-e man ast, na mâl-e to› (“"this book is mine, not yours")
• Future:
  • Spoken Persian, future expressed with present imperfective and time adverb (/fardâ/ ("tomorrow"), /baødan/ ("later")), e.g. /fardâ sobh be muze miravim/ ("We'll go to the museum tomorrow morning").
  • With auxiliary خواستن, e.g. خواهم، خواهی، ... followed by simple past stem (otherwise unconjugated main verb)
  • Literary Persian future simple tense
• Abstraction with stressed suffix ی. Works with nouns and adjectives. آب، مرد، خوب، بزرک، گل، صورت، نارنج، قهوه، خاکستر...
• progressive/continuous tense:
  • No progressive tense in written Persian
  • Informal progressive/continuous with simple present auxiliary داشتن /dâštan/ conjugated for person + imperfective (present or past, depending on sense) tense main verb (both verbs conjugated for person). Sometimes also used as informal future tense. /dâram minevisam/ ("I am writing"), /dârad minevisad/ ("he/she is writing").
  • No negative progressive ( */dâram neminevisam/ ). Instead, the negative imperfective main verb is used with no auxiliary. /neminevisam/ ("I'm not writing")
  • Tendency not to negate present continuous, but to use negative simple present instead
• Relative pronouns آنجه، هرجه، کدام
• Reflexive pronoun خود  ‹xod› (“oneself, myself, ...”) always replaces a standard personal pronoun if it has the same referent as the subject
• Past imperfect:
  • Expresses continuous or habitual past action, e.g. ‹‹vaqtî bachchih bûdam tû yik furûshgâh kâr mîkardam›› 'I used to work in a department store when I was a child.'
  • می /mi/ + ZWNJ + simple past stem + personal suffix.
  • When negated نمی is pronounced /nemi-/ in standard dialect, but /nami-/ in Afghanistan and Tajik
• Past continuous
• past continuous + که (for "while" or "when") + simple past
• اگر ("if"), مگر ("unless") with subjunctive verb prefix ب
• باید می + simple past tense for "should have [done]": auxiliary verb is invariant
• شاید +‌ present perfect for "may/might have [done]": auxiliary verb is invariant
• توانستن conjugated for "can [do]"
• خواستن conjugated + (dropped که +) subjunctive for "want to [do]"
• Coordinating conjunctions:
  • [subject] هم [complement 1] هستم/است/.../هستند ("am/is/are both") هم ("and") [complement 2]
  • [subject] یا [complement 1] است/هستم/.../هستند ("am/is/are either") یا ("or") [complement 2]
  • [subject] نه [complement 1] هیت/هستم/.../هستند ("am/is/are neither") نه ("nor") [complement 2]
  • [subject] نه تنها [complement 1] هستم/است/.../هستند ("am/is/are not only") بلکه ("but") [complement 2] هم هستم/است/.../هستند ("also am/is/are")
• Nouns used like prepositions but read with ezafe: کنار, رو ,پهلو ,پشت ,جلو, عفب, زیر
• Impersonal verbs (آدم)
• Addressing people:
  • Friend: آقا /âqâ/ (Mr.) or جان /jân/ (dear) before or after the names as آقا احمد /âqâ Ahmad/, احمد آقا /Ahmad âghâ/ (Mr. Ahmad) or رضا جان /Reza jân/ (dear Reza).
  • Father: بابا /bâbâ/ (dad), پدر /pedar/ (father), آقاجان /âgha jân/ (dear Mr.), بابایی /bâbâii/ (daddy), باباجان /bâbâ jân/ (dear dad)
    
  • Mother: مامان /mâmân/ (mom), مادر /mâdar/ (mother), مامانی /mâmâni/ (mommy), مامان جان /mâmân jân/ (dear mommy)
  • Brother: برادر /barâdar/, داداش /dâdâš/ or داداشی /dâdâši/ (brother), خان داداش /khân dâdâš/ (great brother), or by first name
  • Sister: خواهر /xâhar/, آبجی /âbji/ or همشیره /hamšireh/ (sister), and also by their FN.
  • Father's sister: عمه /ammeh/, عمه جان /ammeh jân/, عمه خانم /ammeh xânom/
  • Mother's sister: خاله /xâleh/, خاله جان /xâleh jân/ and خاله خانم /xâleh xânom/
  • Father's brother: عمو /amu/, عمو جان /amu jân/, خان عمو /xân amu/
  • Mother's brother: دایی /dâii/, دایی جان /dâii jân/ and خان دایی /khân dâii/
  • Mother's sister's daughter: دخترخاله /doxtar xâleh/
  • Father's sister's son: پسرعمه /pesar ammeh/
  • Mother's bother's son: پسر دایی
  • Grandfather: بابابزرگ /bâbâ bozorg/, پدربزرگ /pedar bozorg/, پدرجان /pedar jân/, آقا جان /âghâ jân/
  • Grandmother: مادربزرگ /mâdar bozorg/, مامان بزرگ /mâmân bozorg/, مادرجان /mâdar jân/, خانم جان /xânom jân/, ننه /naneh/, بی بی /bibi/
  • Daughter-in-law: عروس /arus/ (bride).
  • Addressing addressee with addresser's title: Father to his son: "بابایی ٬ در رو باز کن." ("Daddy, open the door."). Aunt to niece/nephew: "خاله, ..." (/xâleh/, "aunt"), or /ammeh/ ("aunt").
  • Use of family terms for non relatives: پدر /pedar/ ("father"), مادر /mâdar/ ("mother"), پسرم /pesaram/ ("my son"), دخترم /doxtaram/ ("my daughter"), ننه /naneh/ ("grand ma"), etc. Among these, terms عمو /amu/, دایی /dâii/ (uncle), داداش /dâdâš/ (brother), are mostly used by male speakers when calling their male addressees. The terms همشیره /hamšireh/, خواهر /xâhar/, آبجی /âbji/ (sister), are used when addressing a female recipient.
  • Religious: Addressing someone as /hâji/, /karbalâii/ or /mašhadi/. Specifically, a male who done the religious ceremony حج /haj/ may be addressed as حاجی /hâji/ or حاج آقا /hâj âqa/, or a female as حاجیه خانم ‹hâjieh xânom›. Similarly a pilgrim to Karbalâ is called کربلایی /karbalâii/ or کربلایی احمد /karbalâii Ahmad/, and a pilgrim to Mashhad is called مشهدی /mašhadi/ or مشهدی علی /mašhadi Ali/.
  • Pet names: e.g., عزیزم /azizam/ ("my dear"), گلم /golam/ ("my flower"), خانم خانما /xânom xânoma/ ("beauty Miss")
  • Very intimate pet names: کوچولو /kučulu/ ("the little"), جیگر /jigar/ ("the liver"), رفیق /rafiq/ ("mate"), عزیز /aziz/ ("dear"), پهلوان /pahlavân/ ("champion"), ارباب /arbâb/ ("lord"), etc.
  • Descriptive address: آقای عزیز /âqaye aziz/ ("dear sir"), خانم محترم /xânome mohtaram/ ("respected lady"), عزیز دلم /azize delam/ ("darling of my heart"), دختر نازم /doxtare nâzam/ ("my lovely girl"), خوشتیپ /xoštip/ ("handsom person") and گل پسر /gol pesar/ ("good boy")

Advanced grammar

• Classifiers: optional, never used with یک, but often used by natives with other numbers
  • Books: جلد  ‹jeld› (“volumes”)
  • People: نفر  ‹nafar› (“individuals”)
  • Paper: ورق  ‹varaq› (“sheets”)
  • Soap: قالب  ‹qâleb› (“bars”)
  • General: تا  ‹tâ› (“units”), e.g. works with میز، در، چراغ، ...
• Relative clauses: nominal + که + RC. resumptive pronoun is required when the gap is anything other than the subject or DO. Optional RP in the object gap. No RP in subject gap. E.g.: subject که (omitted subject repetition) object را verb "subject that verbs object"; subject1 که subject2 (omitted object corresponding to subject1) PP verb-optionalObjectPronounEnclitic "subject1 that subject2 verbs (it) PP"; subject1 که subject2 preposition prep.object.pronoun.clitic.for.subject1 direct.object را verb "subject1 preposition which subject2 verb direct.object"
• Exhortations, optative
• Reported speech, perception verbs

Topics

This section is for building out topics. They can be augmented, organized, and formatted here while we're not yet sure which lesson to put them into.

Telling time

• ساعت  ‹sâ’at› (“hour, o'clock”)

  ساعت یک است ‹sâ’at yek e› (“it's one o'clock”)

• نیم  ‹nim› (“half”)

  ساعت دو و نیم است ‹sâ’at do vo nim e› (“it's half past two”)

• ربع  ‹rob’› (“quarter”)

  ساعت یک و ربع است ‹sâ’at yek o rob’ e› (“it's a quarter past one”)

• کم  ‹kam› (“to (the hour)”)

  ساعت سه ربع کم است ‹sâ’at se rob’ kam e› (“it's a quarter to three”)

• دقیقه  ‹daqiqe› (“minutes”)

  ساعت هفت و پنج دقیقه کم است ‹sâ’at haft o panj daqiqe kam e› (“it's five minutes to seven”)

Calendar

Iranian newspapers publish three different calendars: Persian, Muslim, and Christian.

The Persian calendar dates back to Zoroastrian pre-Islamic times. It begins with the Persian New Year on the vernal equinox (March 20 or 21) and each month corresponds to a sign of the Zodiac:

Order	Begins	Days	Name in Iran	Name in Afghanistan
1	March 20 or 21	31	فروردین  ‹farvardin›	حمل  ‹hamal› (“Aries”) ♈
2	April	31	اردیبهشت  ‹ordibehešt›	ثور  ‹sawr› (“Taurus”) ♉
3	May	31	خرداد  ‹xordâd›	جوزا  ‹jawzâ› (“Gemini”) ♊
4	June	31	تیر  ‹tir›	سرطان  ‹saratân› (“Cancer”) ♋
5	July	31	مرداد  ‹mordad›	اسد  ‹asad› (“Leo”) ♌
6	August	31	شهریور  ‹šahrivar›	سنبله  ‹sonbola› (“Virgo”) ♍
7	September	30	مهر  ‹mehr›	میزان  ‹mizân› (“Libra”) ♎
8	October	30	آبان  ‹âbân›	عقرب  ‹’aqrab› (“Scorpio”) ♏
9	November	30	آذر  ‹âzar›	قوس  ‹qaws› (“Sagittarius”) ♐
10	December	30	دی  ‹dey›	جدی  ‹jadi› (“Capricorn”) ♑
11	January	30	بهمن  ‹bahman›	دلو  ‹dalwa› (“Aquarius”) ♒
12	February	29/30	اسفند  ‹esfand›	حوت  ‹hut› (“Pisces”) ♓

The first day of the calendar year is نوروز  ‹nowruz› (“New Day”), the most important festival of the year in Persian regions.

Seasons: بهار  ‹bahâr› (“spring”), تابستان  ‹tâbestân› (“summer”), پاییز  ‹pâyiz› (“autumn”), زمستان  ‹zemestân› (“winter”)

In Iran, the weekend is on Thursday and Friday and the standard business office workweek is from Saturday through Wednesday. The weekend schedule accommodates the Muslim day of prayer—Friday. Other than جمعه  ‹jom’e› (“Friday”), the days of the week are named based on شنبه  ‹šambe› (“Saturday”):

1. یک‌شنبه  ‹yek-šambe› (“Sunday”) (one day after Saturday)
2. دوشنبه  ‹do-šambe› (“Monday”) (two days after Saturday)
3. سه‌شنبه  ‹se-šambe› (“Tuesday”) (three days after Saturday)
4. چهارشنبه  ‹cahâr-šambe› (“Wednesday”) (four days after Saturday)
5. پنج‌شنبه  ‹panj-šambe› (“Thursday”) (five days after Saturday)

Note that ‍نب‍ ‹-nb-› is pronounced as ‹-mb-›, not just in شنبه  ‹šambe›, but in all Persian words where the consonant ن ‹n› is immediately followed by ب ‹b› .

Vocabulary

Limit the core vocabulary to about 15 new words per lesson, but feel free to add any additional words that fit the lesson topic as bonus vocabulary. Doing so gives students the choice of how much to learn. If the topic for which you have new words hasn't been introduced yet, add them to Persian/Glossary.

As each word below finds its way into a lesson, move it from below to Persian/Glossary (above) and indicate the lesson where it is introduced.

occupations: آموزگار  ‹âmuzgâr, âmuzegâr› (“teacher”) معلّم  ‹mo’allem› (“teacher”) دکتر  ‹doktar› (“doctor”) (used as noun or as title) نرس  ‹ners› (“nurse”) پرستار  ‹parastâr› (“nurse”) پستچی  ‹postci› (“mail carrier”) استاد  ‹ostâd› (“professor”) رئیس  ‹re’is› (“director, boss, manager”) منشی  ‹monši› (“secretary”) شوفر  ‹šufer› (“chauffeur, driver”) راننده  ‹rânande› (“driver”) شاگرد  ‹šâgerd› (“student, apprentice, bus driver”) مهندس  ‹mohandes› (“engineer”)	Nations and nationalities: انگلیسی  ‹engelisi› (“English”), انگلستان  ‹engelestân› ایتالیایی  ‹itâliyâyi› (“Italian”), ایتالیا  ‹itâliyâ› (“Italy”) آلمانی  ‹âlmâni› (“German”), آلمان  ‹âlmân› (“Germany”) مصری  ‹mesri› (“Egyptian”), مصر  ‹mesr› (“Egypt”) چینی  ‹cini› (“Chinese”), چین  ‹cin› (“China”) ‌ ژاپنی  ‹žâponi› (“Japanese”), ژاپن  ‹žâpon› (“Japan”)
other nouns: گل  ‹gol› (“flower”), mentioned in lesson 3 ماشین  ‹mâšin› (“car”) میز  ‹miz› (“table, desk”) درخت  ‹daraxt› (“tree”) چراغ  ‹cerâq› (“lamp”) تلفن  ‹telefon› (“telephone”) تلویزیون  ‹televizion› (“television”) صندلی  ‹sandali› (“chair”) هتل  ‹hotel› (“hotel”) بانک  ‹bânk› (“bank”) سینما  ‹sinemâ› (“movie theater”)	صابون  ‹sâbun› (“soap”) پتو  ‹patu› (“blanket”) فارسی  ‹farsi› (“Persian”) قالی  ‹qâli› (“carpet”) مال  ‹mâl› (“property”) بها  ‹bahâ› (“price, value, worth”) پرچم  ‹parcam› (“flag”) گفتگو  ‹goftogu› (“dialogue, conversation”) درد  ‹dard› (“pain”) ‌ سرما  ‹sarmâ› (“cold”) فکر  ‹fekr› (“thought”) استراحت  ‹esterâhat› (“rest, relaxation”) صحبت  ‹sohbat› (“conversation”)	شوخی  ‹šuxi› (“joke”) باور  ‹bâvar› (“belief”) لطف  ‹favor› ‌ مثل  ‹mesl› (“likeness”), plural امثال  ‹amsâl› باران  ‹bârun› (“rain”) نامه  ‹nâme› (“letter”) نوروز  ‹nowruz› (“New Year's Day”) عید  ‹’eyd› (“feast, festival”) عیدی  ‹’eydi› (“New Year's gift”) سال  ‹sâl› (“year”) جشن  ‹jašn› (“celebration”) قوم  ‹qowm› (“nation, people”) لباس  ‹lebâs› (“clothing”) امید  ‹omid› (“hope”)

pleasantries:

• لطفا || "please"
• خواهش می‌کنم || "you're welcome"
• خان  ‹xân› (“Khan”) (title used after first name)
• متشکّر  ‹motašakker› (“thankful”)
• دس خوش || interjection
• خیلی مخلصیم || interjection
• دست مريزاد || interjection
• معذرت می خوام /mazerat mixâm/ || interjection to get listener's attention when name is unknown
• خواهش میکنم  ‹xâheš mikonam› (“I request [that you not...]”) (used like "don't mention it.")

adjectives: بزرگ  ‹bozorg› (“big, large”) بلند  ‹boland› (“tall, long, loud”) کوتاه  ‹kutâh› (“short”) کوچک  ‹kucek› (“small”) نو  ‹now› (“new”) خوشگل  ‹xošgel› (“pretty”) خوش تیپ  ‹xoš tip› (“handsome”) خوشقیافه  ‹xošqiyâfe› (“good looking”) بد قیافه  ‹bad qiyâfe› (“bad looking”) زشت  ‹zešt› (“ugly”) غمگین

"sad" جوان

"young" قشنگ  ‹qašang› (“beautiful”) زیبا  ‹zibâ› (“beautiful, elegant”) گران  ‹gerân› (“expensive”) ارزان  ‹arzân› (“inexpensive, cheap”) تنبل

"lazy" جدّی  ‹jeddi› (“serious”) آشنا  ‹âšnâ› (“acquainted”) امیدوار  ‹omidvâr› (“hopeful”) مبارک  ‹mobârak› (“blessed”)

colors: رنگ  ‹rang› (“color”) خوش رنگ  ‹xoš rang› (“of pretty color”) بد رنگ  ‹bad rang› (“of ugly color”) سفید  ‹sefid› (“white”) سیاه  ‹siâh› (“black”) سیز  ‹siz› (“green”) زرد  ‹zard› (“yellow”) صورتی  ‹surati› (“pink”) بنفش  ‹banafš› (“purple”) نارنجی  ‹nâranji› (“orange”) سرخ  ‹sorx› (“red”) گلی  ‹goli› (“rose red”) قرمز  ‹qermez› (“red”) قهوه‌ای  ‹qahve’i› (“coffee-colored”)

not sure about the transliteration. does this really have a glottal stop? خاکستری  ‹xâkestari› (“gray”)

common verbs and modal verbs: رفتن  ‹raftan› (“to go”), pr. stem رَو ‹rav› colloquially ‹r› دیدن  ‹didan› (“to see”)

present stem بين بودن  ‹budan› (“to be”) داشتن  ‹dâštan› (“to have”)

present stem دار کردن  ‹kardan› (“to do”)

present stem كُن شدن  ‹šodan› (“to become”)

present stem شَو آمدن  ‹âmadan› (“to come”), pr. stem آ ‹â› , می‌آید ‹miyâd› توانستن  ‹tavânestan› (“to be able to”), pr. stem: توان ‹tavân› , باید  ‹bâyad› (“should, ought, must”) نباید ‹nabâyast› (“you should not”) colloquially ‹nabâs›, نباید ‹nabâyad› (“he/she should not”) شاید  ‹šâyad› (“may, might, maybe, probably”) خواستن  ‹xâstan› (“want”), pr. stem خواه ‹xâh› colloquially ‹xâ› drops following ‹a›

one-word verbs (see also and wikt:Category:Persian verbs): خندیدن  ‹xandidan› (“to laugh”) نوشتن  ‹neveštan› (“to write”) گفتن  ‹goftan› (“to say”), pr. stem گو ‹guy› colloquially ‹g› خوردن  ‹xordan› (“to eat”)

present stem خور دادن  ‹dâdan› (“to give”), pr. stem دِه ‹dah›, colloquially ‹d› خواندن  ‹xândan› (“to read”)

present stem خوان دانستن  ‹dâneštan› (“to know (something)”)

present stem دان فروختن  ‹foruxtan› (“to sell”)

present stem فُروش خریدن  ‹xaridan› (“to buy”)

present stem خَر شناختن  ‹šenâxtan› (“to know (someone)”)

present stem شِناس زدن  ‹zadan› (“to hit, to strike”)

present stem زِن پوشیدن  ‹pušidan› (“to wear”) بوسیدن  ‹busidan› (“to kiss”) گذاشتن  ‹gozâštan› (“to let”), pr. stem گذار ‹gozâr› colloquially ‹zâr› after prefix ‹mi›/‹be›

light verbs: کار داشتن  ‹kâr dâštan› (“to be busy”) (“to have work”), e.g. کار دارم ‹kâr dâram› (“I’m busy.”) کار کردن  ‹kâr kardan› (“to do word”) پیدا شدن  ‹peydâ šodan› (“to become found”) گوش دادن  ‹guš dâdan› (“to give ear (listen)”) خوب بودن  ‹xub budan› (“to be good”) درد کردن  ‹dard kardan› (“to hurt”) سرما خوردن  ‹sarmâ xordan› (“to catch a cold”) فکر کردن  ‹fekr kardan› (“to think”) استراحت کردن  ‹esterâhat kardan› (“to rest, to relax”) یاد آوردن  ‹yâd âvardan› (“to remind”) یاد کردن  ‹yâd kardan› (“to commemorate, to remember”) یاد دادن  ‹yâd dâdan› (“to teach”) صحبت کردن  ‹sohbat kardan› (“to converse”) شوخی کردن  ‹šuxi kardan› (“to joke”) باور کردن  ‹bâvar kardan› (“to believe”) جدّی گفتن  ‹jeddi goftan› (“to say in earnest”) آشنا شدن  ‹âšnâ šodan› (“to become acquainted”) جشن گرفتن  ‹jašn gereftan› (“to celebrate”)

pronouns, adverbs, prepositions...: چه  ‹ce› (“what?”) (literary form) کجا  ‹kojâ› (“where?”) همه

"all" چند  ‹cand› (“several, how many?”), used with تا  ‹tâ› (“units”) ‌ دیگر  ‹digar› (“another”) بسیار

"many" از  ‹az› (“from, than”)

and other basic prepositions آیا  ‹âyâ› formal question marker ولی  ‹vali› (“but”) هر روز  ‹har ruz› (“every day”) زیاد  ‹ziyâd› (“much, many, too much”) که  ‹ke› (“that”) ‌ شاید  ‹šâyad› (“maybe, probably”) ‌ پیش  ‹piš› (“before”) پشت  ‹pošt› (“behind”) پس  ‹pas› (“then, so, back”) نزدیک  ‹nazdik› (“near”) روبرو  ‹ruberu› (“opposite”) چرا  ‹cerâ› (“why”) اینکه  ‹inke› (“the fact that”) مثل اینکه  ‹mesl-e inke› (“it seems as if”) ‌ مگر  ‹magar› (“but”), colloquially ‹mage› همدیگر  ‹hamdigar› (“each other”)

units and measures:

months of the year: (wikt:Category:fa:Gregorian calendar months and wikt:Category:fa:Months) مارس  ‹mârs› (“March”)

• جلد  ‹jeld› (“volume (of a publication)”)
• نفر  ‹nafar› (“individual”)
• می‌دانید  ‹midânin› (“do you know?”)

• ژاکت  ‹žâkat› — “jacket”

• ژن  ‹žen› — “gene”
• طناب  ‹tanâb› — “rope”
• شاخ  ‹šâx› — “branch”
• زر  ‹zar› — “gold”
• فرش  ‹farš› — “carpet”
• شیر  ‹šir› — “milk”
• عسل  ‹asal› — “honey”

Also review vocabulary linked from other language Wikibooks of Persian:

• de:Persisch: Übersicht
• de:Persisch: Zeitangaben
• de:Persisch: Tiere
• de:Persisch: Indogermanische Wurzeln
• fr:Persan/Vocabulaire/Couleurs
• fr:Persan/Vocabulaire/Famille
• fr:Persan/Vocabulaire/Mots

Classifiers:

• کاغذ  ‹kâqaz› (“paper”)
• ورق  ‹varaq› (“sheet of paper”)

Dialogue

In the dialogues, use sentences that the reader might use, hear, or read.

Following are several characters to use in the dialogues. Various relationships, ages, levels of formality, and dialects can be assigned to each and used to introduce register, deference, etc:

• شيرين ‹širin› (“Shirin”): female, friend of Arash. In Persian/Lesson 1, آرش ‹âraš› and شيرين ‹širin› greet each other informally.
• آرش ‹âraš› (“Arash”): male, friend of Shirin, acquaintance of Peyman. In Persian/Lesson 1, آرش ‹âraš› and شيرين ‹širin› greet each other informally. In Persian/Lesson 2, آرش ‹âraš› and آقاى پیمان ‹âqâ-ye peymân› greet each other formally.
• پیمان ‹peymân› (“Peyman”): male, acquaintance of Arash. In Persian/Lesson 2, آرش ‹âraš› and آقاى پیمان ‹âqâ-ye peymân› greet each other formally.
• حسن ‹hasan› (“Hassan”): male, close friend of Mohamad. In Persian/Lesson 3 (صبح بخیر ‹sobh bexeyr› "good morning"), حسن ("Hassan", a.k.a. حسن ی /hasani/) talks with Mohamad (a.k.a. ممد /Mammad/).
• (“Mohamad”): male, close friend of Hassan. In Persian/Lesson 3 (صبح بخیر ‹sobh bexeyr› "good morning"), حسن ("Hassan", a.k.a. حسن ی /hasani/) talks with Mohamad (a.k.a. ممد /Mamad/).
• رضا ‹rezâ› (“Reza”): male. In Persian/Lesson 4, خانم شيرين ‹xânom širin› stops by the office of آقا رضا ‹âqâ rezâ›.
• شبنم ‹šabnam› (“Shabnam”): female
• رضا ‹rezâ› (“Reza”): male
• ساسان ‹sâsân› (“Sasan”): male
• ژاله ‹žâle› (“Zhaleh”): female
• آقای جوادی ‹âqâ-ye javâdi› (“Mr. Javadi”): male
• مینو ‹minu› (“Minu”): female
• مینا ‹minâ› (“Mina”): female
• مهرداد ‹mehrdâd› (“Mehrdad”): male
• کیوان ‹keyvân› (“Kayvan”): male
• علی ‹’ali› (“Ali”): male
• پروانه ‹parvâne› (“Parvaneh”): female
• هوشنگ ‹hušang› (“Hushang”): male
• منیژه ‹maniže› (“Manizheh”): female
• منوچهر ‹manucehr› (“Manuchehr”): male
• فرهاد ‹farhâd› (“Farhad”): male
• بیژن ‹bižan› (“Bizhan”): male
• فرخنده ‹farxonde› (“Farkhondeh”): female
• لقمان ‹loqmân› (“Loghman”): male
• پروین ‹parvin› (“Parvin”): female
• مریم ‹maryam› (“Mariam”): female
• اسمیت ‹esmit› (“Smith”): transliterated surname

Following are phrases that can be worked into dialogues:

• دوست من ‹dust-e man› (“friend of mine”) Used as vocative between friends.
• فارسی را کجا یاد گرفتین؟ ‹fârsi ro kojâ yâd gereftin?› (“Where did you learn Persian?”)
• ‌ خیلی خوب صحبت می‌کنین. ‹xeyli xub sohbat mikonin.› (“You converse very well.”) Used to flatter someone who is learning Persian.
• من باید برم ‹man bâyad beram› (“I should be leaving.”) Used to excuse oneself, usually followed by mutual "goodbye"s.
• اسم من [...] است. اسم شما چی است؟ ‹esm-e man [...] e. esm-e šomâ ci-ye.› (“My name is [...]. What is your name?”) Used to introduce oneself, with either first name or full name replacing “[...]”. (If the name ends in a vowel, does the final ‹e› change, e.g. into ‹s› or ‹st›?)
• و شما؟ ‹va šomâ?› (“And you?”) Used to ask for reciprocation after various things, including the name introduction above.
• منهم [...]م. ‹manam [...]m.› (“I am also [...].”) Fill in the blank with an occupation, role, or nationality. If it ends in و or ی, append ام instead of just م.
• این [...] مال [...] است؟ ‹in [...] mâl-e [...] e?› (“Does this [...] belong to [...]?”) Final ‹e› becomes ‹st› or ‹s› after a vowel.
• نه، مال [...]‌ است. ‹nah, mâl-e [...] e.› (“No, it belongs to [...].”) Final ‹e› becomes ‹st› or ‹s› after a vowel.
• کجا می‌ری؟ ‹kojâ miri?› (“Where are you going?”)
• تو [...] را می‌شناسی؟ ‹to [...] o mišenâsi?› (“Do you know [...]?”) Fill in blank with a person's name or a pronoun, e.g. آرش ‹âraš› (“Arash”), او ‹u› (“he/she”)
• خیلی [...] خوب است. ‹xeyli [...]-e xub e.› (“He/she is a very good [...].”) Fill in blank with a role, e.g. پسر ‹pesar› (“boy”), دختر ‹doxtar› (“girl”), etc.
• خیلی [...] مهربان است. ‹xeyli [...]-e mehrabun e.› (“He/she is a very kind [...].”) Fill in blank with a role, e.g. پسر ‹pesar› (“boy”), دختر ‹doxtar› (“girl”), etc.
• ‌ [...] کجایی است؟ ‹[...] kojâ-iy-e?› (“Where is [...]?”) Fill in blank with a person's name.
• نمی‌دانم. ‹nemidunam.› (“I don't know.”)
• به نظر من [...] ‹be nazar-e man [...]› (“In my opinion, [...]”)
• زیاد [...] نیست. ‹ziyâd [...] nist.› (“He/she/it is not very [...].”) Fill in blank with adjective, e.g. خوب ‹xub› (“good”) for a thing or باهوش ‹bâhuš› (“smart”) for a person.
• (من) تو [...] زندگی می‌کنم. ‹man tu [...] zendegi mikonam.› (“I live in [...].”). Fill in blank with place of residence, e.g. خوابگاه ‹xâbgâh› (“dormitory”)
• یک [...] دارم که هم [...] است. ‹yek [...] dâram ke ham [...] ast(/st/s/e).› (“I have a [...] that is also [...].”) Fill first blank with descriptive noun phrase and second with adjective.
• [تو\شما] کجا [کار\ناهار] می‌کت[ی\ید]؟ ‹[to/šomâ] kojâ [kâr/nâhâr] mikon[i/id]?› (“Where do you [work/have lunch]?”)
• [من\تو\او\...] هر [روز\شب] با [ماشین\اتوبوس\...] سر کار می‌رو[م\ی\د]. ‹[man/to/u/...] har [ruz/šab] bâ [mâšin/otubus/...] sar-e kâr mirav[am/i/ad/...].› (“[I/you/he/...] go to work by [car/bus/...] every [day/evening].”)
• تو همیشه می‌آیی اینجا؟ ‹to hamiše miâi injâ?› (“Do you always come here?”)
• معمولا روزهای [...]، بعد از ظهر[...]. ‹mo’amulâ ruzâ-ye [...], ba’d az zohr [...].› (“Usually on [...]s, [...].”) Fill first blank with day of week (e.g. جمعه ‹jom’e› (“Friday”)), and second with a complete present tense clause, indicating what is done on those afternoons.
• برای چی؟ ‹barâye ci?› (“Why? (in order to do what?)”)
• [من\تو\او\...] هر [روز\شب] تلویزیون نگاه می‌کن‍[م\ی\د]. ‹[man/to/u/...] har [ruz/šab] televizion negâh mikon[am/i/ad/...].› (“[I/you/he/...] watch television every [day/evening].”)
• [من\تو\او\...] هر [روز\شب] روزنامه می‌خوان‍[م\ی\د]. ‹[man/to/u/...] har [ruz/šab] ruznâme mixân[am/i/ad/...].› (“[I/you/he/...] read the newspaper every [day/evening].”)

Archive Lessons

This is the archive of the Persian Lessons in Dutch which were originally here, which could be translated to develop this course in English: Persian Archive Lessons

Suggested Future Persian Wikibooks

Add suggestions here:

• Persian Picture Dictionary

  The best way to do this is probably just to add pictures to Persian entries in the English Wiktionary

• Persian Reader