Signing the lease in Persian
Two people sit over a flat lease: one lets the flat, the other reads such a paper for the first time in Persian. 6 phrases that the conversation is made of: «این قرارداد خانه است, دو بند دارد.» — This is the flat lease; it has two clauses; «بند اول چیست؟» — What is the first clause? 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: two people sit over a flat lease: one lets the flat, the other reads such a paper for the first time. 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.
- این قرارداد خانه است, دو بند دارد.in gârârdâde khâne ast, dâ bând dârad.This is the flat lease; it has two clauses.
- بند اول چیست؟bânde avval chist؟What is the first clause?
- خرج خانه هر ماه یک میلیون تومان است.khardzh-e khâne har mâh yek miliân tumân ast.The rent is a million tomans a month.
- و اگر من زود بروم؟va agar man zud berâm؟And if I leave earlier?
- یک ماه خرج می‌دهی. این شرط قرارداد است.yek mâh khardzh mi-dehi. in shârte gârârdâd ast.You pay the rent for the month. It is a condition of the contract.
- فهمیدم. اصل قرارداد کجاست؟fahmidam. asle gârârdâd kâdzhâst؟I see. Where is the original of the contract?
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| این قرارداد خانه است, دو بند دارد. | in gârârdâde khâne ast, dâ bând dârad. | This is the flat lease; it has two clauses. |
| بند اول چیست؟ | bânde avval chist؟ | What is the first clause? |
| خرج خانه هر ماه یک میلیون تومان است. | khardzh-e khâne har mâh yek miliân tumân ast. | The rent is a million tomans a month. |
| و اگر من زود بروم؟ | va agar man zud berâm؟ | And if I leave earlier? |
| یک ماه خرج می‌دهی. این شرط قرارداد است. | yek mâh khardzh mi-dehi. in shârte gârârdâd ast. | You pay the rent for the month. It is a condition of the contract. |
| فهمیدم. اصل قرارداد کجاست؟ | fahmidam. asle gârârdâd kâdzhâst؟ | I see. Where is the original of the contract? |
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?
“این قرارداد خانه است, دو بند دارد.” (in gârârdâde khâne ast, dâ bând dârad.) — This is the flat lease; it has two clauses. 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.