Zaban
Chapter 8 of 17 · Explore the Farsi path

How sentences work · Chapter 8 of 17

A first hello in Farsi.

Say hello and introduce yourself. Then change “I am” to “you are” or “they are,” so you can see how the sentence changes with the person.

≈ 6 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter
  • سلامsalâm“hello” is enough to begin. Read it from right to left and say salâm.
  • من مینا هستم.man Minâ hastam.“I am Mina.” puts “I” first and “am” last.
  • منman“I”, توto“you” and اوu“he; she” stand in for people. These words are called pronouns.
  • Farsi does not distinguish he from she: اوu covers both.
  • The verb usually comes at the end of the sentence.
  • Books often write استast“is” as a separate word. In everyday speech it usually attaches to the word before it: after a consonant it is often heard as -e, while after a vowel an -st sound is common, as in کجاستkojâst“where is it?”.
  • Look at the end of the verb to see who it’s about: هستمhastam“I am” ends in -am, while هستیhasti“you are” ends in -i.

Hello.

سلام.

salâm.

Start at the right and follow the letters left. For now, use salâm to say it; you don’t need to identify every letter.

Build “I am Mina”

منman“I”
من میناman Minâ“I · Mina”
Put your name after “I.”
من میناman Minâ“I · Mina”
من مینا هستم.man Minâ hastam.“I am Mina.”
هستمhastam“I am” finishes the thought. A word that tells what someone is, does, or feels is called a verb. Farsi usually puts it at the end.

Your first exchange

Say each line using the English-letter pronunciation, then open it to check the meaning.

  1. سلامsalâm
    Show answer +
    سلامsalâm“hello”
  2. من مینا هستم.man Minâ hastam.
    Show answer +
    من مینا هستم.man Minâ hastam.“I am Mina.”

Words for I, you and other people

These words let you talk about someone without repeating their name. They are called pronouns. Farsi uses the same word for “he” and “she.”

EnglishFarsi
Iمنman“I”
you — one person, familiarتوto“you”
you — plural or respectfulشماshomâ“you”
he or sheاوu“he; she”
weماmâ“we”
theyآن‌هاânhâ“they”

Change am, are and is to match the person

English changes “am” to “are” or “is.” Farsi changes the ending too. Compare the forms below and notice the part that stays the same.

EnglishFarsi
I amهستمhastam“I am”
you are — one person, familiarهستیhasti“you are”
he / she / it isاستast“is”
we areهستیمhastim“we are”
you are — plural or respectfulهستیدhastid“you are”
they areهستندhastand“they are”

I am Mina.

من مینا هستم.

man Minâ hastam.

منman“I” is the pronoun. هستمhastam“I am” is the verb, and its -am ending matches “I.”

The cat is in the house.

گربه در خانه است.

gorbe dar khâne ast.

درdar“in” comes before the place; استast“is” comes at the end.

Saying hello

EnglishFarsi
helloسلامsalâm“hello”
how are you? — familiar, as spokenحالت چطوره؟hâlet chetore?“how are you?”
how are you? — formal or pluralحال شما چطور است؟hâl-e shomâ chetor ast?“how are you?”
I am well, thank youخوبم، ممنون.khubam, mamnun.“I am well, thanks”
goodbyeخداحافظkhodâhâfez“goodbye”

The familiar line shows spoken Farsi: استast“is” has shrunk to -e on چطورهchetore.

Is, is not, and a yes-or-no question

گربه در خانه است.gorbe dar khâne ast.“The cat is in the house.”
گربه در خانه نیست.gorbe dar khâne nist.“The cat is not in the house.”
Replace استast“is” with نیستnist“is not”.
گربه در خانه است.gorbe dar khâne ast.“The cat is in the house.”
آیا گربه در خانه است؟âyâ gorbe dar khâne ast?“Is the cat in the house?”
Put آیاâyâ at the front for a clear written yes-or-no question and use ؟ at the end. Answer بلهbale“yes” or نهna“no”. In conversation, tone can make the same sentence a question without آیاâyâ.

Try these sentences

  1. من مینا هستم.

    Find منman“I” and the final verb.

    Show answer +
    من مینا هستم.man Minâ hastam“I am Mina”
  2. گربه در خانه است.

    cat · in · house · is

    Show answer +
    گربه در خانه است.gorbe dar khâne ast“The cat is in the house”
  3. آیا گربه در خانه است؟

    آیاâyâ begins a yes-or-no question.

    Show answer +
    آیا گربه در خانه است؟âyâ gorbe dar khâne ast?“Is the cat in the house?” Answer بلهbale“yes” or نهna“no”.

Three useful words

These words appeared earlier in the full route. If you came straight here, use the pronunciation hint, then open the answer and learn the word.

  1. آب

    Say âb.

    Show answer +
    آبâb“water”
  2. سگ

    Say sag.

    Show answer +
    سگsag“dog”
  3. خانه

    Say khâne.

    Show answer +
    خانهkhâne“house”
Come back to these chapters whenever you need them.All Farsi chapters ↗