The tap is leaking in Persian
A call to a repairman from a rented flat in Persian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «سلام! شیر چکه میکند.» — Hello! The tap is leaking; «امروز ساعت پنج.» — Today at five. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a call to a repairman from a rented flat. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- سلام! شیر چکه میکند.salâm! shir chekke mi-kânad.Hello! The tap is leaking.
- امروز ساعت پنج.emruz sâât pandzh.Today at five.
- آب گرم هم نیست.âb gârm ham nist.And there is no hot water.
- خانه کجاست؟khâne kâdzhâst؟Where is the house?
- نزدیک بازار. کی میآیید؟nazdik bâzâr. key mi-âyid؟Near the bazaar. When will you come?
- پنج, صبر کنید.pandzh, sâbr kânid.At five, wait for me.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| سلام! شیر چکه میکند. | salâm! shir chekke mi-kânad. | Hello! The tap is leaking. |
| امروز ساعت پنج. | emruz sâât pandzh. | Today at five. |
| آب گرم هم نیست. | âb gârm ham nist. | And there is no hot water. |
| خانه کجاست؟ | khâne kâdzhâst؟ | Where is the house? |
| نزدیک بازار. کی میآیید؟ | nazdik bâzâr. key mi-âyid؟ | Near the bazaar. When will you come? |
| پنج, صبر کنید. | pandzh, sâbr kânid. | At five, wait for me. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Persian in this situation?
“سلام! شیر چکه میکند.” (salâm! shir chekke mi-kânad.) — Hello! The tap is leaking. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.