Who came by in Persian
An office corridor, two colleagues discuss the new coworker in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «آن مرد کی بود؟» — Who was that man?; «متوسط قد، طاس، سفیدمو.» — Of medium height, bald, gray-haired.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an office corridor, two colleagues discuss the new coworker. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- آن مرد کی بود؟ân mard ki bud؟Who was that man?
- متوسط قد، طاس، سفیدمو.mâtavassete gâd, tâs, sefidmu.Of medium height, bald, gray-haired.
- نه، او جوان‌تر و خیلی فرفری بود.ne, u dzhavântar va kheyli ferferi bud.No, he is younger and very curly-haired.
- آه، همکار جدید. خیلی اجتماعی است.âh, hamkare dzhadid. kheyli edzhtemai ast.Ah, the new colleague. Very sociable.
- پس سخت‌کوش هم است؟pes sakht-kâsh ham ast؟So, hardworking too?
- خیلی. و صبور هم است.kheyli. va sabur ham ast.Very. And patient.
- آن قبلی عصبی بود.ân gâbli asabi bud.The former one was hot-tempered.
- درست است. این با همه خوب رفتار می‌کند.dârâst ast. in ba hame khub raftâr mi-kâned.True. This one behaves well with everyone.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| آن مرد کی بود؟ | ân mard ki bud؟ | Who was that man? |
| متوسط قد، طاس، سفیدمو. | mâtavassete gâd, tâs, sefidmu. | Of medium height, bald, gray-haired. |
| نه، او جوان‌تر و خیلی فرفری بود. | ne, u dzhavântar va kheyli ferferi bud. | No, he is younger and very curly-haired. |
| آه، همکار جدید. خیلی اجتماعی است. | âh, hamkare dzhadid. kheyli edzhtemai ast. | Ah, the new colleague. Very sociable. |
| پس سخت‌کوش هم است؟ | pes sakht-kâsh ham ast؟ | So, hardworking too? |
| خیلی. و صبور هم است. | kheyli. va sabur ham ast. | Very. And patient. |
| آن قبلی عصبی بود. | ân gâbli asabi bud. | The former one was hot-tempered. |
| درست است. این با همه خوب رفتار می‌کند. | dârâst ast. in ba hame khub raftâr mi-kâned. | True. This one behaves well with everyone. |
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?
“آن مرد کی بود؟” (ân mard ki bud؟) — Who was that man? 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.