I did not catch that in Persian
The document window, the visitor caught half of what was said in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «ببخشید، خوب نشنیدم. چی گفتید؟» — Excuse me, I did not catch that. What did you say?; «مدارک رو تا آخر ماه باید تحویل بدید.» — You must hand in the documents by the end of the month.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: the document window, the visitor caught half of what was said. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- ببخشید، خوب نشنیدم. چی گفتید؟bebakhshid, khub nashenidam. chi gâfted؟Excuse me, I did not catch that. What did you say?
- مدارک رو تا آخر ماه باید تحویل بدید.madârek râ tâ âkhare mâh bâyad tahvil bedekhid.You must hand in the documents by the end of the month.
- درست فهمیدم؟ تا سی‌ام؟dârâst fahmidam؟ tâ si-âm؟Did I understand right? By the thirtieth?
- بله. فرم هم لازم دارید.bale. farm ham lâzem dârid.Yes. You also need a form.
- اسم این فرم چیه؟âme in farm chie؟What is this form called?
- فرم درخواست. حرف‌به‌حرف بگم؟farme darkhâst. harf-be-harf begâm؟The application form. Shall I spell it out?
- بله، آهسته بگید، می‌نویسم.bale, âheste begid, mi-nevisam.Yes, say it slowly, I am writing it down.
- خیلی آهسته، حرف به حرف. حالا واضحه؟kheyli âheste, harf be harf. hâlâ vâzhehe؟Very slowly, letter by letter. Clear now?
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ببخشید، خوب نشنیدم. چی گفتید؟ | bebakhshid, khub nashenidam. chi gâfted؟ | Excuse me, I did not catch that. What did you say? |
| مدارک رو تا آخر ماه باید تحویل بدید. | madârek râ tâ âkhare mâh bâyad tahvil bedekhid. | You must hand in the documents by the end of the month. |
| درست فهمیدم؟ تا سی‌ام؟ | dârâst fahmidam؟ tâ si-âm؟ | Did I understand right? By the thirtieth? |
| بله. فرم هم لازم دارید. | bale. farm ham lâzem dârid. | Yes. You also need a form. |
| اسم این فرم چیه؟ | âme in farm chie؟ | What is this form called? |
| فرم درخواست. حرف‌به‌حرف بگم؟ | farme darkhâst. harf-be-harf begâm؟ | The application form. Shall I spell it out? |
| بله، آهسته بگید، می‌نویسم. | bale, âheste begid, mi-nevisam. | Yes, say it slowly, I am writing it down. |
| خیلی آهسته، حرف به حرف. حالا واضحه؟ | kheyli âheste, harf be harf. hâlâ vâzhehe؟ | Very slowly, letter by letter. Clear now? |
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?
“ببخشید، خوب نشنیدم. چی گفتید؟” (bebakhshid, khub nashenidam. chi gâfted؟) — Excuse me, I did not catch that. What did you say? 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.