Beginner course · Lesson 17
Arranging to meet someone, catching a bus or reading a receipt in Tehran all mean dealing with times, days and the Persian calendar, which is quite different from the one used in Europe. This lesson teaches you to tell the time, name the days of the week and the twelve Persian months, and say a date such as “the 5th of Âbân”.
Telling the time
Ask sâ’at chande? and the answer starts with sâ’at (hour, clock) followed by the number. Minutes are joined with -o- (“and”), and “to” the hour is be.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| ساعت چنده؟ | sâ’at chande? | what time is it? |
| ساعت سه | sâ’at se | three o’clock |
| سه و نیم | se-o-nim | half past three |
| سه و ربع | se-o-rob’ | quarter past three |
| یه ربع به چهار | ye rob’ be chahâr | quarter to four |
| صبح | sobh | morning |
| ظهر | zohr | noon |
| عصر | asr | late afternoon |
| شب | shab | night |
| دقیقه | daghighe | minute |
| ده و ده دقیقه | dah-o-dah daghighe | ten past ten |
| ده دقیقه به پنج | dah daghighe be panj | ten to five |
| بعد از ظهر | ba’d az zohr | afternoon |
| ساعت چند باز می‌شه؟ | sâ’at chand bâz mishe? | what time does it open? |
To make it clear which part of the day you mean, add the time of day after the hour: sâ’at hasht-e sobh (8 in the morning), sâ’at hasht-e shab (8 in the evening). Timetables, tickets and official notices often use the 24-hour clock instead.
Days of the week
The Iranian week starts on Saturday, and Friday is the weekly day off. Most days are simply numbered from Saturday: yekshanbe is “one-Saturday”, doshanbe “two-Saturday”, and so on up to panjshanbe.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| شنبه | shanbe | Saturday |
| یکشنبه | yekshanbe | Sunday |
| دوشنبه | doshanbe | Monday |
| سه‌شنبه | seshanbe | Tuesday |
| چهارشنبه | chahârshanbe | Wednesday |
| پنجشنبه | panjshanbe | Thursday |
| جمعه | jom’e | Friday |
| امروز | emruz | today |
| فردا | fardâ | tomorrow |
| پس‌فردا | pasfardâ | the day after tomorrow |
| روز / هفته / ماه / سال | ruz / hafte / mâh / sâl | day / week / month / year |
The Persian calendar
Iran uses the solar hijri calendar. The year begins at Nowruz, on the spring equinox around 20 or 21 March, and the year 1405 began in March 2026. The months follow the seasons: the first six have 31 days, the next five have 30 and the last has 29, or 30 in a leap year.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| فروردین | Farvardin | late March to April |
| اردیبهشت | Ordibehesht | April to May |
| خرداد | Khordâd | May to June |
| تیر | Tir | June to July |
| مرداد | Mordâd | July to August |
| شهریور | Shahrivar | August to September |
| مهر | Mehr | September to October |
| آبان | Âbân | October to November |
| آذر | Âzar | November to December |
| دی | Dey | December to January |
| بهمن | Bahman | January to February |
| اسفند | Esfand | February to March |
Iranians call this calendar شمسی shamsi (solar) and the European one میلادی milâdi. Religious holidays follow a third, lunar calendar, so they move about eleven days earlier each year.
Saying a date
For dates, Persian uses ordinal numbers (“fifth”, “twentieth”). Add -om to the number, then join it to the month with the ezafe: پنجم آبان panjom-e Âbân, the 5th of Âbân. The first three are slightly irregular.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| اول | avval | first |
| دوم | dovvom | second |
| سوم | sevvom | third |
| چهارم | chahârom | fourth |
| پنجم | panjom | fifth |
| دهم | dahom | tenth |
| بیستم | bistom | twentieth |
| بیست و یکم | bist-o-yekom | twenty-first |
| اول فروردین | avval-e Farvardin | the 1st of Farvardin (New Year’s Day) |
| امروز چندمه؟ | emruz chandome? | what’s the date today? |
| تاریخ | târikh | date |
| تولدت کیه؟ | tavallodet keye? | when’s your birthday? (informal) |
To add the year, put it after the month with another ezafe: panjom-e Âbân-e hezâr-o-chahârsad-o-panj, the 5th of Âbân 1405. Written in figures, Iranian dates run year, month, day: ۱۴۰۵/۰۸/۰۵ is the 5th day of the 8th month (Âbân) of 1405. In everyday speech you will also hear the plain number used with the ezafe, as in panj-e Âbân; both are understood, and the ordinal is the standard form.
Grammar note: Ordinals are regular from four upwards: number plus -om. Watch the spoken forms you met in Lesson 7: shish (six) gives shishom (written: sheshom). The same ordinals work outside dates, placed after the noun with the ezafe: tabaghe-ye sevvom, the third floor.
Tehran tip: Official documents, receipts and bills in Iran use Persian dates. If a form asks for your date of birth, people may expect it in the Persian calendar; any converter will do the sum for you.
Dialogue: arranging to meet
Tom: فردا وقت داری؟
Fardâ vaght dâri?
Are you free tomorrow?
Sârâ: فردا نه. پنجشنبه چطوره؟
Fardâ na. Panjshanbe chetore?
Not tomorrow. How about Thursday?
Tom: باشه. ساعت چند؟
Bâshe. Sâ’at chand?
OK. What time?
Sârâ: ساعت پنج و نیم، تو کافه.
Sâ’at panj-o-nim, tu kâfe.
Half past five, at the café.
Tom: پنجشنبه چندمه؟
Panjshanbe chandome?
What’s the date on Thursday?
Sârâ: چهاردهم آبان.
Chârdahom-e Âbân.
The 14th of Âbân.
Vaght dâri? (“do you have time?”) is the everyday way to ask if someone is free, and … chetore? (“how is …?”) is a handy way to suggest something. Tu is the spoken word for “in” or “at” (written: dar). Chârdahom (14th) is how chahârdahom is usually said: in speech chahâr (four) shrinks to châr.
Practise
- Say “quarter past five” and “half past eight”.
- Which month starts the Persian year, and when?
- Say “quarter to seven” and “ten past two”.
- What are the Persian names for Monday, Thursday and Friday?
- Say “the 3rd of Mehr” and “the 20th of Dey”.
- Read this date aloud: ۱۴۰۵/۰۱/۰۱. What day is it?
- Ask what time the museum opens (muze).
Show answers
- Panj-o-rob’, hasht-o-nim.
- Farvardin, which starts at Nowruz around 20 or 21 March.
- Ye rob’ be haft, do-o-dah daghighe.
- Doshanbe, panjshanbe, jom’e.
- Sevvom-e Mehr, bistom-e Dey.
- Avval-e Farvardin-e hezâr-o-chahârsad-o-panj: New Year’s Day 1405, in March 2026.
- Muze sâ’at chand bâz mishe?
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- Tell the time with sâ’at plus a number, joining minutes with -o-: se-o-nim, ye rob’ be chahâr.
- The week starts on shanbe (Saturday), and jom’e (Friday) is the day off.
- The Persian calendar starts at Nowruz in March; 1405 began in March 2026.
- Say a date with an ordinal, the ezafe and the month: panjom-e Âbân, the 5th of Âbân.