What happened in the yard in Persian
Two neighbors at the entrance discuss yesterday’s alarm in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «دیروز چه صدایی از حیاط آمد؟» — What was that noise in the yard yesterday?; «نمی‌دانم, آن وقت خواب بودم. ماجرا چه بود؟» — I do not know, I was asleep then. What is the story?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two neighbors at the entrance discuss yesterday’s alarm. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- دیروز چه صدایی از حیاط آمد؟diruz che sâdeyi az hayyot âmâd؟What was that noise in the yard yesterday?
- نمی‌دانم, آن وقت خواب بودم. ماجرا چه بود؟nemidânam, ân vâgt khâb budam. mâdzharrâ che bud؟I do not know, I was asleep then. What is the story?
- ماجرا این بود: ناگهان دود آمد.mâdzharrâ in bud: nâgâhân dud âmâd.Here is what happened: suddenly smoke poured out.
- از کجا؟ از انبار؟az kâdzhâ? az anbar؟From where? From the shed?
- به گفته همسایه, از بخاری بود.be gâffte hamsâye, az bâkkhâri bud.According to the neighbor, from the stove.
- کسی آسیب ندید؟kesi âsib nâdid؟Was anyone hurt?
- نه. در چند دقیقه آتش‌نشان‌ها آمدند.ne. dar chand dige âtesh-nâshânhâ âmâdand.No. The firefighters came within minutes.
- حالا دیگر می‌فهمم چرا بوی دود هنوز هست.hâlâ diger mi-fahmam cherâ buye dud hânuz hast.Now I understand why the smell of smoke is still here.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| دیروز چه صدایی از حیاط آمد؟ | diruz che sâdeyi az hayyot âmâd؟ | What was that noise in the yard yesterday? |
| نمی‌دانم, آن وقت خواب بودم. ماجرا چه بود؟ | nemidânam, ân vâgt khâb budam. mâdzharrâ che bud؟ | I do not know, I was asleep then. What is the story? |
| ماجرا این بود: ناگهان دود آمد. | mâdzharrâ in bud: nâgâhân dud âmâd. | Here is what happened: suddenly smoke poured out. |
| از کجا؟ از انبار؟ | az kâdzhâ? az anbar؟ | From where? From the shed? |
| به گفته همسایه, از بخاری بود. | be gâffte hamsâye, az bâkkhâri bud. | According to the neighbor, from the stove. |
| کسی آسیب ندید؟ | kesi âsib nâdid؟ | Was anyone hurt? |
| نه. در چند دقیقه آتش‌نشان‌ها آمدند. | ne. dar chand dige âtesh-nâshânhâ âmâdand. | No. The firefighters came within minutes. |
| حالا دیگر می‌فهمم چرا بوی دود هنوز هست. | hâlâ diger mi-fahmam cherâ buye dud hânuz hast. | Now I understand why the smell of smoke is still here. |
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?
“دیروز چه صدایی از حیاط آمد؟” (diruz che sâdeyi az hayyot âmâd؟) — What was that noise in the yard yesterday? 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.