An argument about the price in Persian
A small firm; two people disagree about the price in Persian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «پیشنهاد میدهم قیمت را ده درصد بالا ببریم.» — I propose raising the price by ten percent; «مطمئن نیستم. استدلال تو چیست؟» — I am not sure. What is your argument?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a small firm; two people disagree about the price. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- پیشنهاد میدهم قیمت را ده درصد بالا ببریم.pishnehâd mi-deham geymat râ dah dardsad bâlâ bebârim.I propose raising the price by ten percent.
- مطمئن نیستم. استدلال تو چیست؟mâtmaen nistam. âstâdlâle tâ chist؟I am not sure. What is your argument?
- خرج‌ها بالا رفت؛ این واقعیت است، نه نظر.khardzhhâ bâlâ raft; in vâgiyot ast, ne nazar.The expenses grew — that is a fact, not an opinion.
- من مخالفم. مشتری‌ها شکایت می‌کنند.man mâkhâlefam. mâshtarihâ shekâyat mi-kânand.I am against. The clients will complain.
- بر قیمت خود اصرار می‌کنم.bar geymate khâd esrâr mi-kânam.I insist on my price.
- پس در گروه مشتری‌ها نظرسنجی بگیریم.pâs dar gâruhe mâshtarihâ nazarsandzhi begirem.Then we will hold a poll among the clients.
- خوب، دیدگاه آن‌ها را هم در نظر بگیریم.khub, didgâhe ânhâ râ ham dar nazar begirem.Fine, we will take their point of view into account too.
- تصمیم را هفته بعد می‌گیریم.tasmim râ hâfte-e ba'd mi-girem.We will make the decision next week.
Lines one by one
| Persian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| پیشنهاد میدهم قیمت را ده درصد بالا ببریم. | pishnehâd mi-deham geymat râ dah dardsad bâlâ bebârim. | I propose raising the price by ten percent. |
| مطمئن نیستم. استدلال تو چیست؟ | mâtmaen nistam. âstâdlâle tâ chist؟ | I am not sure. What is your argument? |
| خرج‌ها بالا رفت؛ این واقعیت است، نه نظر. | khardzhhâ bâlâ raft; in vâgiyot ast, ne nazar. | The expenses grew — that is a fact, not an opinion. |
| من مخالفم. مشتری‌ها شکایت می‌کنند. | man mâkhâlefam. mâshtarihâ shekâyat mi-kânand. | I am against. The clients will complain. |
| بر قیمت خود اصرار می‌کنم. | bar geymate khâd esrâr mi-kânam. | I insist on my price. |
| پس در گروه مشتری‌ها نظرسنجی بگیریم. | pâs dar gâruhe mâshtarihâ nazarsandzhi begirem. | Then we will hold a poll among the clients. |
| خوب، دیدگاه آن‌ها را هم در نظر بگیریم. | khub, didgâhe ânhâ râ ham dar nazar begirem. | Fine, we will take their point of view into account too. |
| تصمیم را هفته بعد می‌گیریم. | tasmim râ hâfte-e ba'd mi-girem. | We will make the decision next week. |
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?
“پیشنهاد میدهم قیمت را ده درصد بالا ببریم.” (pishnehâd mi-deham geymat râ dah dardsad bâlâ bebârim.) — I propose raising the price by ten percent. 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.