The wedding of a sister in Persian
Two friends in the street; one invites the other to his sister’s wedding in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «خواهرم بهار عقد میکند، شما هم بیایید.» — My sister is having a wedding in spring — come too; «خوشحالم! نامزدی کی بود؟» — Congratulations! And when was the engagement?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two friends in the street; one invites the other to his sister’s wedding. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- خواهرم بهار عقد میکند، شما هم بیایید.khâharam bâhâr agd mi-kânad, shâmâ ham biyoid.My sister is having a wedding in spring — come too.
- خوشحالم! نامزدی کی بود؟khâshhâlam! nâmzâdi ki bud؟Congratulations! And when was the engagement?
- زمستان. حلقه ازدواج را با هم انتخاب کردند.zemestân. halghe izdâvâzh râ ba ham entekhâb kardand.In winter. They chose the wedding rings together.
- چه بیاورم، دسته گل یا هدیه؟che biyovâram, dâste gâl yo hedie؟What should I bring, a bouquet or a present?
- رسمه پول هدیه باشد، در پاکت.resme pâl-e hedie bâshad, dar pâket.It is the custom to give money in an envelope.
- خوب. چطور لباس بپوشم؟khub. chetâr lebâs bepâsham؟Good. And what should I wear?
- مرتب. بعد از شام سخنرانی هست، بعد رقص.mârab. bad az shâm sâkhanrâni hast, ba'd rags.Decent. After dinner there will be a speech, then dancing.
- می‌آیم. به عروس و داماد تبریک می‌گویم.mi-âyam. be ârus â dâmâd tabrik mi-gâyam.I will come. I will congratulate the newlyweds.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| خواهرم بهار عقد میکند، شما هم بیایید. | khâharam bâhâr agd mi-kânad, shâmâ ham biyoid. | My sister is having a wedding in spring — come too. |
| خوشحالم! نامزدی کی بود؟ | khâshhâlam! nâmzâdi ki bud؟ | Congratulations! And when was the engagement? |
| زمستان. حلقه ازدواج را با هم انتخاب کردند. | zemestân. halghe izdâvâzh râ ba ham entekhâb kardand. | In winter. They chose the wedding rings together. |
| چه بیاورم، دسته گل یا هدیه؟ | che biyovâram, dâste gâl yo hedie؟ | What should I bring, a bouquet or a present? |
| رسمه پول هدیه باشد، در پاکت. | resme pâl-e hedie bâshad, dar pâket. | It is the custom to give money in an envelope. |
| خوب. چطور لباس بپوشم؟ | khub. chetâr lebâs bepâsham؟ | Good. And what should I wear? |
| مرتب. بعد از شام سخنرانی هست، بعد رقص. | mârab. bad az shâm sâkhanrâni hast, ba'd rags. | Decent. After dinner there will be a speech, then dancing. |
| می‌آیم. به عروس و داماد تبریک می‌گویم. | mi-âyam. be ârus â dâmâd tabrik mi-gâyam. | I will come. I will congratulate the newlyweds. |
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?
“خواهرم بهار عقد میکند، شما هم بیایید.” (khâharam bâhâr agd mi-kânad, shâmâ ham biyoid.) — My sister is having a wedding in spring — come too. 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.