A loan at the bank in Persian
A bank branch in Tehran, a talk with a consultant in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «سلام. میخواهم درباره وام حرف بزنم.» — Hello. I want to talk about a loan; «خوش آمدید. وام مسکن یا وام کوچک؟» — Welcome. A mortgage or a small loan?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a bank branch in Tehran, a talk with a consultant. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- سلام. میخواهم درباره وام حرف بزنم.salâm. mi-khâham darbâre vâm harf bezanam.Hello. I want to talk about a loan.
- خوش آمدید. وام مسکن یا وام کوچک؟khâsh âmâdid. vâme masken yâ vâme kâchek؟Welcome. A mortgage or a small loan?
- وام مسکن. آپارتمان میخواهم.vâme masken. âpârtemân mi-khâham.A mortgage. I want a flat.
- درآمد شما چقدر است؟dârâmâde shâmâ chegadr ast؟What is your income?
- درآمد من خوب است. کار تمام‌وقت دارم.dârâmâde man khub ast. kâre tamâm-vâgt dâram.My income is good. My job is full-time.
- بله. مدت وام طولانی است.bale. mâddate vâm tulâni ast.Good. The term of the loan is long.
- چند قسط؟chand gâst؟How many installments?
- هفت قسط در سال. فردا حساب باز می‌کنیم.hâft gâst dar sâl. fardâ hesâb bâz mi-kânim.Seven installments a year. Tomorrow we open the account.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| سلام. میخواهم درباره وام حرف بزنم. | salâm. mi-khâham darbâre vâm harf bezanam. | Hello. I want to talk about a loan. |
| خوش آمدید. وام مسکن یا وام کوچک؟ | khâsh âmâdid. vâme masken yâ vâme kâchek؟ | Welcome. A mortgage or a small loan? |
| وام مسکن. آپارتمان میخواهم. | vâme masken. âpârtemân mi-khâham. | A mortgage. I want a flat. |
| درآمد شما چقدر است؟ | dârâmâde shâmâ chegadr ast؟ | What is your income? |
| درآمد من خوب است. کار تمام‌وقت دارم. | dârâmâde man khub ast. kâre tamâm-vâgt dâram. | My income is good. My job is full-time. |
| بله. مدت وام طولانی است. | bale. mâddate vâm tulâni ast. | Good. The term of the loan is long. |
| چند قسط؟ | chand gâst؟ | How many installments? |
| هفت قسط در سال. فردا حساب باز می‌کنیم. | hâft gâst dar sâl. fardâ hesâb bâz mi-kânim. | Seven installments a year. Tomorrow we open the account. |
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 درباره وام حرف بزنم.” (salâm. mi-khâham darbâre vâm harf bezanam.) — Hello. I want to talk about a loan. 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.