At the electronics shop in Persian
A counter with appliances; a customer chooses a projector and measures everything in words in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «سلام، پروژکتور کوچک برای اتاق میخواهم.» — Hello, I want a small projector for the room; «سه مدل داریم. فاصله تا دیوار چقدر است؟» — We have three models. What is the distance to the wall?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a counter with appliances; a customer chooses a projector and measures everything in words. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- سلام، پروژکتور کوچک برای اتاق میخواهم.salâm, prâzhektâre kuchek barâe âtâg mi-khâham.Hello, I want a small projector for the room.
- سه مدل داریم. فاصله تا دیوار چقدر است؟se mâdel dârim. fâsele ta divâr chegadr ast؟We have three models. What is the distance to the wall?
- حدود سه متر و نیم.hâdâd se metr â nim.About three and a half meters.
- پس این کافی است. تصویرش دو متر پهنا دارد.pâs in kâfi ast. tasvirâsh dâ metr pahnâ dârad.Then this one will do. Its picture is two meters wide.
- به گوشی وصل می‌شود؟be gushi vesl mi-shavad؟Does it connect to the phone?
- بله، با سیم یا خودکار بی‌سیم.bele, ba sim yo khâdkâr be-sim.Yes, by wire or automatically, by wireless.
- چقدر وزن دارد؟ با خودم می‌برم.chegadr vazn dârad؟ ba khâdam mi-baram.How much does it weigh? I will carry it with me.
- دقیقاً یک کیلو و نیم، گارانتی هم سه سال است.dâgigan yek kilâ â nim, garânti ham se sâl ast.Exactly one and a half kilos — and the warranty is three years.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| سلام، پروژکتور کوچک برای اتاق میخواهم. | salâm, prâzhektâre kuchek barâe âtâg mi-khâham. | Hello, I want a small projector for the room. |
| سه مدل داریم. فاصله تا دیوار چقدر است؟ | se mâdel dârim. fâsele ta divâr chegadr ast؟ | We have three models. What is the distance to the wall? |
| حدود سه متر و نیم. | hâdâd se metr â nim. | About three and a half meters. |
| پس این کافی است. تصویرش دو متر پهنا دارد. | pâs in kâfi ast. tasvirâsh dâ metr pahnâ dârad. | Then this one will do. Its picture is two meters wide. |
| به گوشی وصل می‌شود؟ | be gushi vesl mi-shavad؟ | Does it connect to the phone? |
| بله، با سیم یا خودکار بی‌سیم. | bele, ba sim yo khâdkâr be-sim. | Yes, by wire or automatically, by wireless. |
| چقدر وزن دارد؟ با خودم می‌برم. | chegadr vazn dârad؟ ba khâdam mi-baram. | How much does it weigh? I will carry it with me. |
| دقیقاً یک کیلو و نیم، گارانتی هم سه سال است. | dâgigan yek kilâ â nim, garânti ham se sâl ast. | Exactly one and a half kilos — and the warranty is three years. |
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، پروژکتور کوچک برای اتاق میخواهم.” (salâm, prâzhektâre kuchek barâe âtâg mi-khâham.) — Hello, I want a small projector for the room. 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.