The work stalled in Persian
A manager and a worker look into why the work stopped in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «چرا کار یک هفته کامل کشدار شد؟» — Why did the work drag on a whole week?; «جنس نرسید و ما بی‌فایده کار کردیم.» — The goods did not come, and we worked to no purpose.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a manager and a worker look into why the work stopped. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- چرا کار یک هفته کامل کشدار شد؟cherâ kâr yek hâfte kâmel kesh-dâr shâd؟Why did the work drag on a whole week?
- جنس نرسید و ما بی‌فایده کار کردیم.dzhens naresid â mâ befâyde kâr kardim.The goods did not come, and we worked to no purpose.
- چرا زودتر نگفتی و جواب را عقب انداختی؟cherâ zudtar nagâfti â dzhâvâb râ âghâb ândâkhti؟Why did you not say earlier and kept delaying the answer?
- فکر کردم مانع را خودمان برطرف می‌کنیم.fekr kardâm mâne râ khudemân bartâraf mi-kânim.I thought we would clear the obstacle ourselves.
- حالا باید دست به کار شویم، تقریباً از صفر.hâlâ bâyad dest be kâr shavim, takribân az sefr.Now we must buckle down, almost from scratch.
- تسلیم نمی‌شوم، فقط کمک لازم دارم.taslim namishavam, fagat kâmake lâzam dâram.I will not give up; I simply need help.
- قبول. کارها را بچینیم و تا جمعه تمام کنیم.gâbul. kârhâ râ bechinim â tâ dzhâme tamâm kânim.Agreed. We will distribute the affairs and finish by Friday.
- این بار درست حسابی انجامش می‌دهیم، طبق قانون.in bâr dârâst hesâbi anddzhâmesh mi-dehim, tabag gânun.This time we will do it properly, by the book.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| چرا کار یک هفته کامل کشدار شد؟ | cherâ kâr yek hâfte kâmel kesh-dâr shâd؟ | Why did the work drag on a whole week? |
| جنس نرسید و ما بی‌فایده کار کردیم. | dzhens naresid â mâ befâyde kâr kardim. | The goods did not come, and we worked to no purpose. |
| چرا زودتر نگفتی و جواب را عقب انداختی؟ | cherâ zudtar nagâfti â dzhâvâb râ âghâb ândâkhti؟ | Why did you not say earlier and kept delaying the answer? |
| فکر کردم مانع را خودمان برطرف می‌کنیم. | fekr kardâm mâne râ khudemân bartâraf mi-kânim. | I thought we would clear the obstacle ourselves. |
| حالا باید دست به کار شویم، تقریباً از صفر. | hâlâ bâyad dest be kâr shavim, takribân az sefr. | Now we must buckle down, almost from scratch. |
| تسلیم نمی‌شوم، فقط کمک لازم دارم. | taslim namishavam, fagat kâmake lâzam dâram. | I will not give up; I simply need help. |
| قبول. کارها را بچینیم و تا جمعه تمام کنیم. | gâbul. kârhâ râ bechinim â tâ dzhâme tamâm kânim. | Agreed. We will distribute the affairs and finish by Friday. |
| این بار درست حسابی انجامش می‌دهیم، طبق قانون. | in bâr dârâst hesâbi anddzhâmesh mi-dehim, tabag gânun. | This time we will do it properly, by the book. |
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?
“چرا کار یک هفته کامل کشدار شد؟” (cherâ kâr yek hâfte kâmel kesh-dâr shâd؟) — Why did the work drag on a whole week? 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.