Learn some common Persian slang
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| Michael: What is Persian slang like? |
| Negar: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At PersianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. |
| Imagine the following situation: Sousan Soheyli uses a slang expression Ben Lee has never heard before, "I will be there in a sec!" |
| Sousan Soheyli: سه سوت میام! (se soot-e miaam!) |
| Dialogue |
| Sousan Soheyli: سه سوت میام! (se soot-e miaam!) |
| Ben Lee: معنی اون چیه؟ (ma'ni-ye oon chiye?) |
| Sousan Soheyli: یعنی، "من تا یک لحظه دیگه اونجا خواهم بود. (ya'ni, "man taa yek lahze-ye dige oonjaa khaaham bood.") |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Sousan Soheyli: سه سوت میام! (se soot-e miaam!) |
| Michael: "I will be there in a sec!" |
| Ben Lee: معنی اون چیه؟ (ma'ni-ye oon chiye?) |
| Michael: "What does that mean?" |
| Sousan Soheyli: یعنی، "من تا یک لحظه دیگه اونجا خواهم بود. (ya'ni, "man taa yek lahze-ye dige oonjaa khaaham bood.") |
| Michael: It means, "I will be there in an instant." |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson, you will be learning about Persian slang, or as one would say in Persian, |
| Negar: اصطلاحات عامیانه (estelaahaat-e aamiaane). |
| Michael: Slang is an informal way of speaking which is different in different countries and even age groups. You probably won't learn slang in a classroom, but it is still important to know if you want to be able to participate in casual conversations, and not stand out as a foreigner. Persian slang is used in everyday life as well as in TV shows. |
| The first thing you are going to learn is how to use slang to accept an invitation in a casual way. For instance, if someone asks you if you want to go on an outing of some kind, such as watching a movie, it might sound like this: |
| Negar: می‌خوای این آخر هفته بریم سینما؟ (mikhaay in aakhar-e hafte berim sinamaa?) |
| Michael: This means, "Do you want to watch a movie this weekend?" You could then reply using the phrase |
| Negar: من پایه ام. (man paaye-am.) |
| Michael: which translates to "I am down," meaning you are interested and want to go. |
| As a full response, you could say |
| Negar: .اگه رفتین سینما این آخر هفته، من پایه ام (age raftin sinamaa in aakhar-e hafte, man paaye-am.) |
| Michael: This translates to "If you go to the cinema this weekend, I'm down." |
| Our next piece of Persian slang is a single word. It is a term for something that you might do if the person who invited you to go to the cinema is someone you do not like, or who has been rude to you in the past. The word is: |
| Negar: پیچوندن (pichoondan). |
| Michael: This is a term for when you neither accept an invitation nor decline it; it is for when you just don't show. It translates, literally, to "twist" but means to "ditch someone" or "to stand someone up." You might hear this slang in any number of scenarios where someone has gotten out of doing something. Consider this sentence, for example: |
| Negar: من با عموم برنامه‌هایی داشتم، اما اون رو پیچوندم. (man baa amoom barnaame-haa-yi daashtam, ammaa oon ro pichoondam.) |
| Michael: which means "I had plans with my uncle, but I ditched him." Or you might be the one who gets "ditched." Then, you might tell your Persian friend about it like this: |
| Negar: من با خواهرم برنامه داشتم اما اون من رو پیچوند. (man baa khaaharam barnaame daashtam ammaa oon man ro pichoond.) |
| Michael: This translates to "I had a plan with my sister but she ditched me." |
| Let's move on to our next slang word, which is actually borrowed from the French word "tableau." The word is |
| Negar: تابلو (taablo) |
| Michael: and it translates to "picture" or "board." It is used when something is very "obvious" and perhaps awkward for being so obvious. For instance, you might be out with friends and see two of them always together and giggling. Then, you might turn to one of your other friends and say: |
| Negar: جوری که علی به مریم نگاه می‌کنه، تابلو هست که اون عاشقشه. (joori ke ali be maryam negaah mikone, taablo hast ke oon aasheqeshe.) |
| Michael: which means, "The way Ali looks at Maryam, it's obvious he's in love with her." |
| You have now learned a few useful slang words and phrases in Persian. Shall we hear more examples? |
| Negar: سه سوت. (se soot-e) |
| Michael:Allright! If you didn't understand what that meant, stay tuned to find out... |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Sousan Soheyli says, "I will be there in a sec?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Negar as Sousan Soheyli: سه سوت میام! (se soot-e miaam!) |
| Michael: The slang here is |
| Negar: سه سوت. (se soot-e) |
| Michael: Hopefully, you recognized this word as the reply moments ago. This literally translates to "three whistles" and means "instantly." Sousan is using it to express that she will be there very soon, or in a second. |
| As you can tell from this, one can use this expression when you're on your way to meet or see someone. It might also be used by a Persian relative, or someone who cares about you, to express that they will always be there for you if you call. Listen to this sentence, for example: |
| Negar: اگه چیزی خواستی، به من زنگ بزن، سه سوت میام! (age chizi khaasti, be man zang bezan, se soot-e miyaam.) |
| Michael: This means "If you need anything, call me, and I will be there in an instant!" |
| Michael: "Great job" so far, or as one might say in Persian: |
| Negar: دست مریزاد (dast marizad). |
| Michael: This slang expression is used to compliment and praise someone when they have accomplished something and translates directly to "Your hand may never fail." |
| Our next slang word describes something that is not good. It is used when one person in a relationship is a bit "clingy," or as one would say in Persian, |
| Negar: آویزون (aavizoon). |
| Michael: This translates, literally, to "hanging." It can be used to describe any person who is always very close by, is always holding your hand, or even literally hanging onto you. If a man has a girlfriend like this, his friend might say: |
| Negar: اون یه دختر دوست‌داشتنیه ولی آویزونه. (oon ye dokhtar-e doost-daashtani-ye vali aavizoone.) |
| Michael: This means, "She is a lovely girl, but she is clingy." Naturally, this is not a very nice thing to say, so use it with discretion. |
| There is another word that is synonymous to |
| Negar: آویزون (aavizoon) |
| Michael: and that is |
| Negar: سیریش (sirish). |
| Michael: It literally means "glue" or "paste," which might not seem particularly cute, but that's the nature of slang—it often creates unusual connotations between things. Here's an example of how it can be used: |
| Negar: اون سیریشه اما من این رو دوست دارم. (oon sirishe ammaa man in ro doost daaram.) |
| Michael: It means "She is clingy, but I like it." |
| Our next Persian slang phrase is |
| Negar: سرکار گذاشتن (sar-e-kaar gozaashtan) |
| Michael: which translates directly to "to put someone at work." What the slang means is "to pull someone's leg." As you probably know, in English, this refers to someone "joking around" or "teasing" in a light-hearted way. It can be used in a sentence like, "Don't worry, I'm only pulling your leg!" or |
| Negar: نگران نباش، من فقط دارم سرکارت می‌ذارم! (negaraan nabaash, man faqat daaram sar-e-kaar-et mizaaram!) |
| In Persian, it can also be used if you are meant to meet someone and they make you wait. For instance, if you were meant to meet a friend and they are an hour late, then you might call them and say something like |
| Negar: کجایی؟ منو سرکار گذاشتی. (kojaayi? mano sar-e-kaar gozaashti.). |
| Michael: This means "Where are you? You're making me wait so long." This has a less positive meaning than it did in the previous example. |
| One could also use |
| Negar: سرکار گذاشتن (sar-e-kaar gozaashtan) |
| Michael: if, for instance, someone has offered you a bargain on something, like a car, but they have not returned your call or answered your messages. You would still be saying that they were "pulling your leg," but, in this case, it means something more along the lines of being misleading or even lying. Hopefully, you will never have to use it in this way! |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: Some say that the most useful word to learn in Persian is |
| Negar: بفرمايد (befarmaayid). |
| Michael: It is used as a form of invitation for almost any given situation. One such situation might be if you invite someone to add to a conversation by saying |
| Negar: بفرماييد شما چی فکر میکنید. (befarmaayid shomaa chi fekr mikonid.) |
| Michael: This can be translated to mean "Go on, tell me what you think." |
| You could also use |
| Negar: بفرمايد (befarmaayid) |
| Michael: to offer someone something to eat by saying: |
| Negar: بفرمایید کباب. (befarmaayid kabaab.) |
| Michael: which means "Here you go, have a kebab." |
| However, if they are fussy eaters and want more than you are offering, you can tell them to |
| Negar: همینه که هست. (hamine ke hast.) |
| Michael: which means "like it or lump it." |
| And now you know quite a few slang words and phrases in Persian. Great job! |
| Negar: دست مریزاد (dast marizad)! |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Negar: خداحافظ (khodaahaafez) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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