The interview in Persian
The HR office of a small firm in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «خوش آمدید. لطفا خودتان معرفی کنید.» — Welcome. Tell us about yourself, please; «سلام. سابقه کار من پنج سال است.» — Hello. My work experience is five years.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the HR office of a small firm. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- خوش آمدید. لطفا خودتان معرفی کنید.khâsh âmâdid. lâtfan khâdetân mâarrefi kânid.Welcome. Tell us about yourself, please.
- سلام. سابقه کار من پنج سال است.salâm. sâbege kâre man pandzh sâl ast.Hello. My work experience is five years.
- چرا دنبال کار جدید هستید؟chera dânbâle kâre dzhadid hastid؟Why are you looking for a new job?
- دنبال کار بزرگ‌تر هستم.dânbâle kâre bâzârg-tar hastam.I am looking for a bigger job.
- معرفی‌نامه دارید؟mâarrefinâme dârid؟Do you have a reference?
- بله, دارم. دیروز فرستادم.bale, dâram. diruz ferestâdam.Yes. I sent it yesterday.
- دوره آزمایشی سه ماه است. خوب است؟dâvre âzmâishi se mâh ast. khub ast؟The probation period is three months. All right?
- بله. از فردا؟bale. az fardâ؟Yes. From tomorrow?
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| خوش آمدید. لطفا خودتان معرفی کنید. | khâsh âmâdid. lâtfan khâdetân mâarrefi kânid. | Welcome. Tell us about yourself, please. |
| سلام. سابقه کار من پنج سال است. | salâm. sâbege kâre man pandzh sâl ast. | Hello. My work experience is five years. |
| چرا دنبال کار جدید هستید؟ | chera dânbâle kâre dzhadid hastid؟ | Why are you looking for a new job? |
| دنبال کار بزرگ‌تر هستم. | dânbâle kâre bâzârg-tar hastam. | I am looking for a bigger job. |
| معرفی‌نامه دارید؟ | mâarrefinâme dârid؟ | Do you have a reference? |
| بله, دارم. دیروز فرستادم. | bale, dâram. diruz ferestâdam. | Yes. I sent it yesterday. |
| دوره آزمایشی سه ماه است. خوب است؟ | dâvre âzmâishi se mâh ast. khub ast؟ | The probation period is three months. All right? |
| بله. از فردا؟ | bale. az fardâ؟ | Yes. From tomorrow? |
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?
“خوش آمدید. لطفا خودتان معرفی کنید.” (khâsh âmâdid. lâtfan khâdetân mâarrefi kânid.) — Welcome. Tell us about yourself, please. 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.