Intermediate course · Intermediate lesson 16
You can now hold a conversation in Tehrani Persian, but the moment you look at a sign, a menu or a news website, the language changes. This lesson helps you read Persian in its written register: the full verb endings, ast and râ, the formal words that replace everyday ones, and the compressed style of signs and headlines. Beginner Lesson 18 introduced the differences; here you put them to work.
From spoken to written
Written Persian keeps the longer, older forms that speech has worn down. Once you know the main changes you can “translate” in your head.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| می‌رود | miravad | goes (spoken: mire) |
| می‌شود | mishavad | becomes, is done (spoken: mishe) |
| می‌خواهم | mikhâham | I want (spoken: mikhâm) |
| دارند | dârand | they have (spoken: dâran) |
| خوب است | khub ast | it is good (spoken: khube) |
| کتاب را | ketâb râ | the book, as object (spoken: ketâbo) |
| آنجا / آن | ânjâ / ân | there / that (spoken: unjâ / un) |
| خانه | khâne | house, home (spoken: khune) |
Grammar note: In writing, “he/she/it” verbs end in -ad (miravad, dârad, mikonad) where speech has -e (mire, dâre, mikone), and “they” verbs end in -and where speech has -an. Ast (is) is written in full, and the object marker is always râ.
Written Persian also uses many Arabic-style plurals: مدارس madâres (schools; singular madrese), ادارات edârât (offices; singular edâre), ساعات sâ’ât (hours). In speech, people mostly say madrese-hâ, edâre-hâ.
Signs and notices
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| ورود ممنوع | vorud mamnu’ | no entry |
| بکشید / فشار دهید | bekeshid / feshâr dahid | pull / push (on doors) |
| توقف ممنوع | tavaghghof mamnu’ | no stopping |
| استعمال دخانیات ممنوع | este’mâl-e dokhâniyât mamnu’ | no smoking (literally “use of tobacco forbidden”) |
| ایست | ist | stop |
| خطر | khatar | danger |
| آقایان / بانوان | âghâyân / bânovân | gentlemen / ladies |
| ویژه بانوان | vizhe-ye bânovân | women only (for example, metro carriages) |
| تعطیل است | ta’til ast | closed |
| ساعات کار | sâ’ât-e kâr | opening hours |
| خارج از سرویس | khârej az servis | out of service |
ممنوع mamnu’ (forbidden) is the key word: whatever comes before it is not allowed. Notice that the ezafe is normally not written on signs, so vizhe-ye bânovân appears simply as ویژه بانوان.
Menus
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| پیش‌غذا | pishghazâ | starter |
| غذای اصلی | ghazâ-ye asli | main course |
| مخلفات | mokhallafât | side dishes, accompaniments |
| نوشیدنی | nushidani | drinks |
| دسر | deser | dessert |
| چلوکباب کوبیده | chelow kabâb-e kubide | minced-meat kebab with plain rice |
| پرس / نیم پرس | pors / nim pors | portion / half portion |
| قیمت به تومان | gheymat be tomân | prices in tomans |
| مالیات بر ارزش افزوده | mâliyât bar arzesh-e afzude | VAT (on the bill) |
Formal linking words
News, notices and official letters swap everyday words for more formal ones. Learn to recognise these and long sentences become much easier.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| به دلیل | be dalil-e | because of, due to (spoken: chon) |
| مطابق | motâbegh-e | in accordance with |
| طبق / بر اساس | tebgh-e / bar asâs-e | according to / based on |
| به گزارش | be gozâresh-e | according to (a report by) |
| در حال حاضر | dar hâl-e hâzer | at present |
| همچنین / نیز | hamchenin / niz | also, in addition (spoken: ham) |
| پس از / پیش از | pas az / pish az | after / before (spoken: ba’d az / ghabl az) |
| اعلام کرد | e’lâm kard | announced |
| تا اطلاع ثانوی | tâ ettelâ’-e sânavi | until further notice |
News headlines
Persian headlines usually drop the verb altogether and turn the event into a chain of nouns linked by unwritten ezafes. Read them as “the closure of…”, “the opening of…”. The headlines and news sentences below are invented examples written for practice; they do not report real events.
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| تعطیلی مدارس تهران به دلیل آلودگی هوا | ta’tili-ye madâres-e Tehrân be dalil-e âludegi-ye havâ | Tehran schools closed due to air pollution |
| بارش برف در شمال تهران | bâresh-e barf dar shomâl-e Tehrân | snow falls in north Tehran |
| افتتاح ایستگاه جدید مترو | eftetâh-e istgâh-e jadid-e metro | new metro station opens |
And here is the kind of sentence you will find under such a headline:
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| به گزارش خبرنگار ما، مدارس تهران روز شنبه به دلیل آلودگی هوا تعطیل شدند. | be gozâresh-e khabarnegâr-e mâ, madâres-e Tehrân ruz-e shanbe be dalil-e âludegi-ye havâ ta’til shodand. | Our reporter says Tehran’s schools were closed on Saturday because of air pollution. |
| مطابق اعلام استانداری، ادارات نیز ساعت ۱۰ صبح باز می‌شوند. | motâbegh-e e’lâm-e ostândâri, edârât niz sâ’at-e dah-e sobh bâz mishavand. | According to the governor’s office, offices will also open at 10 a.m. |
Spot the written features: shodand and mishavand (“they” endings in full), niz for “also”, and the plurals madâres and edârât. A Tehrani telling a friend the same news would say: madrese-hâ ta’til shodan, edâre-hâ ham sâ’at-e dah bâz mishan.
Dialogue: Reading a notice at a metro station
Emma: رضا، این تابلو چی می‌گه؟
Rezâ, in tâblo chi mige?
Reza, what does this sign say?
Rezâ: نوشته «به دلیل تعمیرات، این ایستگاه تا اطلاع ثانوی بسته است».
Neveshte “be dalil-e ta’mirât, in istgâh tâ ettelâ’-e sânavi baste ast”.
It says “Due to repairs, this station is closed until further notice.”
Emma: «به دلیل» یعنی «چون»؟
“Be dalil-e” yani “chon”?
Does be dalil-e mean chon?
Rezâ: آره، تقریباً. ولی تو حرف زدن می‌گیم «چون دارن تعمیرش می‌کنن».
Âre, taghriban. Vali tu harf zadan migim “chon dâran ta’miresh mikonan”.
Yes, more or less. But in conversation we’d say “because they’re repairing it”.
Emma: «تا اطلاع ثانوی» یعنی چی؟
“Tâ ettelâ’-e sânavi” yani chi?
What does tâ ettelâ’-e sânavi mean?
Rezâ: یعنی معلوم نیست کی باز می‌شه! بیا با اتوبوس بریم.
Yani ma’lum nist key bâz mishe! Biyâ bâ otobus berim.
It means nobody knows when it’ll reopen! Let’s take the bus.
نوشته neveshte, literally “it has written”, is how Persians say “it says” about any text. Ta’mirât (repairs) is another Arabic-style plural, and yani (written: ya’ni) means “it means” or “that is”.
Tehran tip: Tehran is full of free reading practice. Metro maps and station signs are in both Persian and English, so you can check yourself; newspaper kiosks display the day’s front pages, ideal for headline-spotting; and café menus, like those in our north Tehran cafés guide, mix familiar words with new ones.
Practise
- Match the signs to their meanings: ورود ممنوع, بکشید, فشار دهید, خروج (push, exit, no entry, pull).
- Give the spoken forms: miravad, khub ast, dârand, ketâb râ.
- Translate the headline: افتتاح ایستگاه جدید مترو.
- On a menu, under which heading would you look for a drink: پیش‌غذا, نوشیدنی or دسر?
- What does be dalil-e mean, and what would you say instead in conversation?
- What is the singular of madâres, and of edârât?
- Which door would a woman look for: آقایان or بانوان?
Show answers
- ورود ممنوع vorud mamnu’ no entry; بکشید bekeshid pull; فشار دهید feshâr dahid push; خروج khoruj exit.
- mire, khube, dâran, ketâbo.
- New metro station opens (literally “opening of a new metro station”).
- نوشیدنی nushidani, drinks.
- Because of, due to; in speech you would use chon.
- madrese (school) and edâre (office).
- بانوان bânovân, ladies.
Flashcards
Test yourself
Summary
- Written Persian uses full forms: -ad and -and verb endings, ast, râ, ân and khâne.
- Key sign words: vorud mamnu’, bekeshid, feshâr dahid, âghâyân, bânovân, ta’til ast.
- Menus are organised into pishghazâ, ghazâ-ye asli, mokhallafât, nushidani and deser.
- Formal linking words such as be dalil-e, motâbegh-e, be gozâresh-e and pas az replace everyday ones.
- Headlines drop the verb and chain nouns together: ta’tili-ye madâres-e Tehrân.