Enrolling at the faculty in Persian
The admissions office of a university in Tehran, the first day of enrollment in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «سلام! میخواهم در دانشگاه قبول شوم.» — Hello! I want to enter the university; «خوش آمدید. رشته‌ات چیست؟» — Welcome. What is your major?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the admissions office of a university in Tehran, the first day of enrollment. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- سلام! میخواهم در دانشگاه قبول شوم.salâm! mi-khâham dar dâneshgâh gâbul shâvam.Hello! I want to enter the university.
- خوش آمدید. رشته‌ات چیست؟khâsh âmâdid. reshetat chie؟Welcome. What is your major?
- تاریخ. برای دانشگاه چه لازم است؟târikh. barâye dâneshgâh che lâzâm ast؟History. What does the university require?
- گواهی مدرسه و شناسنامه.gâvâhie madrese va shenâsnâme.The school certificate and an ID.
- گواهی زبان هم دارم.gâvâhie zâbân ham dâram.I also have a language certificate.
- عالی! خوابگاه هم می‌خواهید؟âli! khâbgâh ham mi-khâhid؟Excellent! And do you want the dormitory?
- بله, لطفا. کجاست؟bale, lâtfan. kâdzhâst؟Yes, please. Where is it?
- برنامه هفته دیگر می‌رسد.bârnâme hâfte digâr miresad.The schedule will come in a week.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| سلام! میخواهم در دانشگاه قبول شوم. | salâm! mi-khâham dar dâneshgâh gâbul shâvam. | Hello! I want to enter the university. |
| خوش آمدید. رشته‌ات چیست؟ | khâsh âmâdid. reshetat chie؟ | Welcome. What is your major? |
| تاریخ. برای دانشگاه چه لازم است؟ | târikh. barâye dâneshgâh che lâzâm ast؟ | History. What does the university require? |
| گواهی مدرسه و شناسنامه. | gâvâhie madrese va shenâsnâme. | The school certificate and an ID. |
| گواهی زبان هم دارم. | gâvâhie zâbân ham dâram. | I also have a language certificate. |
| عالی! خوابگاه هم می‌خواهید؟ | âli! khâbgâh ham mi-khâhid؟ | Excellent! And do you want the dormitory? |
| بله, لطفا. کجاست؟ | bale, lâtfan. kâdzhâst؟ | Yes, please. Where is it? |
| برنامه هفته دیگر می‌رسد. | bârnâme hâfte digâr miresad. | The schedule will come in a week. |
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! میخواهم در دانشگاه قبول شوم.” (salâm! mi-khâham dar dâneshgâh gâbul shâvam.) — Hello! I want to enter the university. 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.