Lesson 5: Greetings and Basic Courtesies

Iranians are generous with greetings and thanks, and a polite exchange often runs longer than it would in English. This lesson gives you the core phrases; our taarof phrasebook covers the more elaborate courtesies.

Hello and goodbye

Persian	Say it	English
سلام	salâm	hello (works everywhere)
سلام علیکم	salâm aleykom	hello (more formal, often from older people)
صبح بخیر	sobh bekheyr	good morning
عصر بخیر	asr bekheyr	good afternoon
شب بخیر	shab bekheyr	good night
خداحافظ	khodâhâfez	goodbye
فعلاً	fe’lan	see you (informal; literally “for now”)

How are you?

Persian	Say it	English
خوبی؟	khubi?	how are you? (informal: friends, children)
خوب هستید؟	khub hastid?	are you well? (polite)
حالتون چطوره؟	hâletun chetore?	how are you? (polite, spoken)
خوبم، مرسی	khubam, mersi	I’m fine, thanks
بد نیستم	bad nistam	not bad
شما چطورید؟	shomâ chetorid?	and you?

Please, thank you and sorry

Persian	Say it	English
لطفاً	lotfan	please
مرسی	mersi	thanks (borrowed from French, very common)
ممنون	mamnun	thank you
خیلی ممنون	kheyli mamnun	thank you very much
خواهش می‌کنم	khâhesh mikonam	you’re welcome; also “please, go ahead”
ببخشید	bebakhshid	excuse me; sorry
بله	bale	yes (polite)
آره	âre	yeah (informal)
نه	na	no

Polite and informal “you”

Persian has two words for “you”: تو to for family, close friends and children, and شما shomâ for everyone else. As a newcomer, use shomâ with adults, and let people invite you to be more informal.

Tehran tip: Say salâm when you get into a taxi or walk into a shop, and khodâhâfez or mersi when you leave. It costs nothing and makes a noticeably warmer impression.

Practise

1. Greet a shopkeeper in the morning and ask how they are, politely.
2. What is the difference between bale and âre?

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