Repairs at the house meeting in Persian
A residents’ meeting, the roof repair is discussed in Persian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «پیشنهاد میدم پشتبوم رو امسال عوض کنیم.» — I propose changing the roof this year; «فوریه، ولی پول حساب کمه.» — It is urgent, but there is little money in the account. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a residents’ meeting, the roof repair is discussed. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- پیشنهاد میدم پشتبوم رو امسال عوض کنیم.pishnâhâd mi-dâm pâshtbum ru emsâl âvâz kânim.I propose changing the roof this year.
- فوریه، ولی پول حساب کمه.fârie, vali pule hesâb kame.It is urgent, but there is little money in the account.
- از نظر من سال دیگه گرون‌تر می‌شه.az nazre man sâle dige gârântar mi-she.In my view next year it will be dearer.
- تا حدی قبولم، ولی نمی‌تونم حمایت کنم.ta hudi gâbulam, vali mi-tunam hâmâyat nakânam.I partly agree, but I cannot support it.
- برای همین وام پیشنهاد می‌کنم؛ کم‌کم پس می‌دیم.barâe hamin vâm pishnâhâd mi-kânam; kam-kam pâs midim.So I propose a loan; we will pay it back little by little.
- خلاصه، رأی می‌دیم.khâlâse, rey mi-dim.In short, let us vote.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| پیشنهاد میدم پشتبوم رو امسال عوض کنیم. | pishnâhâd mi-dâm pâshtbum ru emsâl âvâz kânim. | I propose changing the roof this year. |
| فوریه، ولی پول حساب کمه. | fârie, vali pule hesâb kame. | It is urgent, but there is little money in the account. |
| از نظر من سال دیگه گرون‌تر می‌شه. | az nazre man sâle dige gârântar mi-she. | In my view next year it will be dearer. |
| تا حدی قبولم، ولی نمی‌تونم حمایت کنم. | ta hudi gâbulam, vali mi-tunam hâmâyat nakânam. | I partly agree, but I cannot support it. |
| برای همین وام پیشنهاد می‌کنم؛ کم‌کم پس می‌دیم. | barâe hamin vâm pishnâhâd mi-kânam; kam-kam pâs midim. | So I propose a loan; we will pay it back little by little. |
| خلاصه، رأی می‌دیم. | khâlâse, rey mi-dim. | In short, let us vote. |
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?
“پیشنهاد میدم پشتبوم رو امسال عوض کنیم.” (pishnâhâd mi-dâm pâshtbum ru emsâl âvâz kânim.) — I propose changing the roof this year. 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.