A talk about the new colleague in Persian
Two colleagues over tea discuss what the newcomer is like at work in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «نظرت درباره همکار جدید چیست؟» — What do you think of the new colleague?; «کم‌حرف است, ولی کارش خوب است.» — Of few words, but his work is good.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues over tea discuss what the newcomer is like at work. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- نظرت درباره همکار جدید چیست؟nazret darbâre hamkâre dzhadid chist؟What do you think of the new colleague?
- کم‌حرف است, ولی کارش خوب است.kâm-harf ast, vali kâresh khub ast.Of few words, but his work is good.
- من فکر می‌کنم او وسواسی است.man fekr mi-kânam u vasvâsi ast.I think he is meticulous.
- وسط کار به درد می‌خورد.vasate kâr be dard mi-khârad.In the middle of a task that is just what is needed.
- راست می‌گویی. دیروز یک اشتباه مرا گرفت و او کمک کرد.râst mi-gui. diruz yek eshtebâh mara gereft â u kâmak kard.You are right. Yesterday a mistake let me down, and he helped.
- می‌بینم. مرد خوبی است.mi-binam. marde khubi ast.I see. He is a good person.
- فقط ظاهراً کمی خجالتی است.fagat zâheran kami khâdzhâlti ast.Only supposedly a little shy.
- عیبی ندارد, من هم اولش این‌طور بودم.'eybi nadârad, man ham avvalesh in-târ budam.No problem — I was like that at the start too.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| نظرت درباره همکار جدید چیست؟ | nazret darbâre hamkâre dzhadid chist؟ | What do you think of the new colleague? |
| کم‌حرف است, ولی کارش خوب است. | kâm-harf ast, vali kâresh khub ast. | Of few words, but his work is good. |
| من فکر می‌کنم او وسواسی است. | man fekr mi-kânam u vasvâsi ast. | I think he is meticulous. |
| وسط کار به درد می‌خورد. | vasate kâr be dard mi-khârad. | In the middle of a task that is just what is needed. |
| راست می‌گویی. دیروز یک اشتباه مرا گرفت و او کمک کرد. | râst mi-gui. diruz yek eshtebâh mara gereft â u kâmak kard. | You are right. Yesterday a mistake let me down, and he helped. |
| می‌بینم. مرد خوبی است. | mi-binam. marde khubi ast. | I see. He is a good person. |
| فقط ظاهراً کمی خجالتی است. | fagat zâheran kami khâdzhâlti ast. | Only supposedly a little shy. |
| عیبی ندارد, من هم اولش این‌طور بودم. | 'eybi nadârad, man ham avvalesh in-târ budam. | No problem — I was like that at the start too. |
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?
“نظرت درباره همکار جدید چیست؟” (nazret darbâre hamkâre dzhadid chist؟) — What do you think of the new colleague? 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.