Learn how to ask for directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hi everyone, I’m Brandon. |
| Mohammad: And “salaam” again! I’m Mohammad. |
| Brandon: Welcome back to PersianPod101.com. This is “Absolute Beginner season 1, lesson 12 - What Are You Looking For in Iran? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for directions. |
| Mohammad: Our conversation happens inside a house - it’s the rest of the dialog between Mr. Mohseni, and Ms. Kazemi from the last lesson. |
| Brandon: They are colleagues, so as the time passes, the language they use changes from formal to more informal. |
| Mohammad: So, Mr. Mohseni visited Ms. Kazemi, and they had a Persian dinner together. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Mohammad, are there any differences between Iranian houses, and houses in other places around the world? |
| Mohammad: There are a few differences. For example, Iranians have their own kind of bathrooms, which include a polished hole in the floor instead of a seat. Though in most houses, both Iranian-style and European-style bathrooms exist. |
| Brandon: What about the other parts of the house? |
| Mohammad: Some big, older houses have a veranda. These have roofs, and at least one open wall, and are usually built with pillars. |
| Brandon: That sounds like a great place for an afternoon tea! |
| Mohammad: They are, since Iranians really like drinking tea too! And also, in the yards of the same big old houses, usually there's a little pond with goldfish swimming in it. |
| Brandon: That’s a nice view for the tea party! What about kitchens? |
| Mohammad: Kitchens are usually the same as in other countries. |
| Brandon: Listeners, be sure to visit an Iranian house if you get the chance - it sounds like a great experience! |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What’s our first word? |
| Mohammad: “injaa”. It means “here”. |
| Brandon: It’s a word that shows the direction, position, or simply the placement of something. |
| Mohammad: Yes. “injaa” literally means “this place.” “in” is “this”, and “jaa” is “place”. |
| Brandon: And what’s the word for the opposite of it? |
| Mohammad: “aanjaa” meaning “there” or “that place”. |
| Brandon: And what's the most simple sentence you can make with these words? |
| Mohammad: We can add the verb “ast” and we’ll have the sentence “injaa-st.” or “aanjaa-st.” meaning “It’s here.” or “It’s there”. |
| Brandon: Great. Can you please repeat the word? |
| Mohammad: “injaa”, (Pause) “injaa”. |
| Brandon: Our next word is? |
| Mohammad: “rooberoo” meaning “the opposite side” or “the facing side.” |
| Brandon: It’s another adverb that shows the direction of something. How do you use it in a sentence? |
| Mohammad: We say “the opposite side of something,” so we add a possessive “ye” to “rooberoo,” followed by the name of the place that's on the other side. |
| Brandon: Like for example? |
| Mohammad: “rooberooye dar” meaning “the opposite side of the door.” |
| Brandon: Is “Rooberoo” a separate word itself? Or can it be broke down into smaller parts? |
| Mohammad: It’s actually “roo – be – roo,” which literally means “face to face.” |
| Brandon: Oh, interesting! One more time. Listeners, please listen and repeat. |
| Mohammad: “rooberoo” (Pause) “rooberoo.” |
| Brandon: Okay. Our last word is …? |
| Mohammad: “na,” which means “no.” |
| Brandon: They are so similar! Just like English, it’s used to deny or oppose something when you don’t accept it. |
| Mohammad: That’s right. “na” makes the sentence negative. |
| Brandon: What’s the class of “na”? Is it an adverb, or an interjection? |
| Mohammad: It depends. It’s usually an adverb, but if you say it with a lot of strength, or emotion and disbelief, it becomes an interjection. |
| Brandon: Can you say it now as an interjection? |
| Mohammad: “na!” |
| Brandon: Okay! Is there any other word with a similar meaning? |
| Mohammad: Actually there's a word, “Kheyr,” which is more formal. And sometimes both of them are used together as “nakheyr.” |
| Brandon: But the first “no” that comes into mind is? |
| Mohammad: “na.” Listeners, please repeat… “na.” |
| Brandon: Okay. Let’s move on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give directions. Mohammad, what’s the difference between the way we ask for directions in this lesson and in previous lessons? |
| Mohammad: In previous lessons, we used the exact phrase “Where is?” which was “kojaast?”. But in this lesson, instead of the exact position, we ask about its direction, which is more general and includes the surroundings as well. |
| Brandon: And how do we say this one? |
| Mohammad: We used the words “taraf” and “samt” in this lesson, which mean “side”. |
| Brandon: What are the phrases that use these words? |
| Mohammad: “az kodoom samt” or “az kodoom taraf” meaning “from which side”. |
| Brandon: Is there any other word or expression, that we can use for this purpose? |
| Mohammad: There is the word “jahat” that is equal to the English word “direction” and is more formal. |
| Brandon: Do you mean we can also say “From which direction”? |
| Mohammad: That’s right. We can say “az kodoom jahat.” |
| Brandon: Great! How do you answer these questions? Do you use the same words? |
| Mohammad: Yes, we use the same three words of “samt,” “taraf,” and “jahat,” plus the word that shows the direction, before or after them. |
| Brandon: The word that shows the direction? |
| Mohammad: Yes. For example, the word “آن” (aan) meaning “that,” or “chap” meaning “left.” |
| Brandon: Like the phrases used in the conversation...“that way” and “left side.” |
| Mohammad: Yes. Which are “aan taraf” and “samte chap.” |
| Brandon: How do you know if you have to say it before the word “direction,” or after it? |
| Mohammad: It has a rule. The pronouns like “that,” or “aan,” are usually before “side” and “direction,” and the rest of the words are always after it. So, you’d say “samte chap” for “left side.” |
| Brandon: Okay. So the only thing that’s left is to know the pronouns and adverbs that show the direction. What are a few of them? |
| Mohammad: For example, “in” means “this,” and “raast” means “right.” |
| Brandon: And what about “up” and “down”? |
| Mohammad: “Up” is “baalaa,” and “down” is “paayin.” |
| Brandon: And an example with these words is…? |
| Mohammad: For Example, “samte paayin ro negaah nakon, miofti.” means “Don’t look down, you’ll fall.” |
| Brandon: In which you used “paayin” after the word for “side,” plus a possessive “e,” right? |
| Mohammad: Exactly. |
Outro |
| Brandon: That’s just perfect! So listeners, did you learn how to say the direction you want? |
| Mohammad: If you have any questions, please ask us by leaving a comment. |
| Brandon: We’re happy to help! In the meantime, thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Mohammad: “khodaahaafez.” |
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