A week of silence in Persian
An evening park, one friend consoles another in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «دیروز هم حرف نزدیم. از این بدم میآید.» — Yesterday we did not talk either. I am sick of it; «می‌فهمم. بعد چه شد؟» — I understand. And what happened then?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an evening park, one friend consoles another. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- دیروز هم حرف نزدیم. از این بدم میآید.diruz ham harf nazadim. az in bâdam miâyad.Yesterday we did not talk either. I am sick of it.
- می‌فهمم. بعد چه شد؟mi-fahmam. bâd che shâd؟I understand. And what happened then?
- یک سوءتفاهم کوچک بود، بعد داد زد.yek su-tafahâme kuchek bud, bâd dâd zad.There was a small misunderstanding, then he shouted.
- و تو ساکت بودی؟ شرمنده شدی؟va tâ sâket budi? sharmande shâdi?And you kept silent? Were you ashamed?
- بیشتر قهر کردم. نمی‌خواهم بهانه بیاورم.bishtar gâr kârdam. nemi-khâham bahâne biyâram.Rather, I took offense. I do not want to make excuses.
- نمی‌خواهد. ولی یکی باید کوتاه بیاید.nemi-khâhad. vali yeki bâyad kutâh biyad.And there is no need. But someone must yield first.
- آشتی می‌کنیم، نه؟âshti mi-kânim, ne؟We will make up, yes?
- بله. طاقت بیار، خوب می‌شود.bale. tâgât biyâr, khub mi-she.Yes. Hang in there, all will be well.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| دیروز هم حرف نزدیم. از این بدم میآید. | diruz ham harf nazadim. az in bâdam miâyad. | Yesterday we did not talk either. I am sick of it. |
| می‌فهمم. بعد چه شد؟ | mi-fahmam. bâd che shâd؟ | I understand. And what happened then? |
| یک سوءتفاهم کوچک بود، بعد داد زد. | yek su-tafahâme kuchek bud, bâd dâd zad. | There was a small misunderstanding, then he shouted. |
| و تو ساکت بودی؟ شرمنده شدی؟ | va tâ sâket budi? sharmande shâdi? | And you kept silent? Were you ashamed? |
| بیشتر قهر کردم. نمی‌خواهم بهانه بیاورم. | bishtar gâr kârdam. nemi-khâham bahâne biyâram. | Rather, I took offense. I do not want to make excuses. |
| نمی‌خواهد. ولی یکی باید کوتاه بیاید. | nemi-khâhad. vali yeki bâyad kutâh biyad. | And there is no need. But someone must yield first. |
| آشتی می‌کنیم، نه؟ | âshti mi-kânim, ne؟ | We will make up, yes? |
| بله. طاقت بیار، خوب می‌شود. | bale. tâgât biyâr, khub mi-she. | Yes. Hang in there, all will be well. |
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 هم حرف نزدیم. از این بدم میآید.” (diruz ham harf nazadim. az in bâdam miâyad.) — Yesterday we did not talk either. I am sick of it. 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.