Rescheduling the meeting in Persian
A phone call between two colleagues early in the week in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «سلام، زنگ زدم در مورد جلسه فردا.» — Hi, I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting; «سلام، بفرمایید. یه دقیقه وقت دارم.» — Hi, go ahead. I have a minute.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a phone call between two colleagues early in the week. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- سلام، زنگ زدم در مورد جلسه فردا.salâm, zang zadam dar mârâde dzhalse fardâ.Hi, I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting.
- سلام، بفرمایید. یه دقیقه وقت دارم.salâm, befarmâid. ye dige vâgt dâram.Hi, go ahead. I have a minute.
- می‌شه جلسه رو به چهارشنبه جابه‌جا کنیم؟mi-she dzhalse râ be châhârshânbe dzhâbe-dzhâ kânim؟Can we move the meeting to Wednesday?
- موضوع اینه که چهارشنبه سر کارم.mavzu ine ke châhârshânbe sar kârâm.The thing is, on Wednesday I am at work.
- پس پنجشنبه بعدازظهر چطوره؟pâs pandzhshânbe bâdaz-zâhr châtâre؟Then how about Thursday after lunch?
- بشه، ولی نه قبل از پنج.beshe, vali ne gâbl az pandzh.Fine, but not earlier than five.
- قرار رو ساعت پنج می‌ذاریم. یادت باشه!garâr râ sâât pandzh mi-zârim. yâdet bâshe!We set the meeting for five. Do not forget!
- باشه، سر وقت هستم.bâshe, sâre vâgt hastam.Done, I will be on time.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| سلام، زنگ زدم در مورد جلسه فردا. | salâm, zang zadam dar mârâde dzhalse fardâ. | Hi, I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting. |
| سلام، بفرمایید. یه دقیقه وقت دارم. | salâm, befarmâid. ye dige vâgt dâram. | Hi, go ahead. I have a minute. |
| می‌شه جلسه رو به چهارشنبه جابه‌جا کنیم؟ | mi-she dzhalse râ be châhârshânbe dzhâbe-dzhâ kânim؟ | Can we move the meeting to Wednesday? |
| موضوع اینه که چهارشنبه سر کارم. | mavzu ine ke châhârshânbe sar kârâm. | The thing is, on Wednesday I am at work. |
| پس پنجشنبه بعدازظهر چطوره؟ | pâs pandzhshânbe bâdaz-zâhr châtâre؟ | Then how about Thursday after lunch? |
| بشه، ولی نه قبل از پنج. | beshe, vali ne gâbl az pandzh. | Fine, but not earlier than five. |
| قرار رو ساعت پنج می‌ذاریم. یادت باشه! | garâr râ sâât pandzh mi-zârim. yâdet bâshe! | We set the meeting for five. Do not forget! |
| باشه، سر وقت هستم. | bâshe, sâre vâgt hastam. | Done, I will be on time. |
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، زنگ زدم در مورد جلسه فردا.” (salâm, zang zadam dar mârâde dzhalse fardâ.) — Hi, I am calling about tomorrow’s meeting. 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.