A Dialogue between Leyla and Aunt Farnaz

Leyla: Hello and welcome to lesson 32, the second in our dialogues series.

Matt: In this lesson, we'll be hearing a dialogue with an actual native speaker of the Persian language.

Leyla: That's right- we'll be listening to a conversation that I had with my aunt- afterwards, Matt and I will go over the vocabulary and phrases used in the dialogue.

Matt: Remember that a transcript of the dialogue along with other bonus materials can be found on our website at www.chaiandconversation.com, with chai spelled CHAI.

Leyla: For the bonus materials of this unit, you will be able to listen to each dialogue line by line, a helpful feature to ensure you understand every bit of the dialogue fully! But enough of that for now, Matt, hazeree barayeh dars?

Matt: Hazeram!

Leyla: Khob, pass yala, farsi yad begeereem ba chai and conversation.

Leyla: So last week, we listened to a dialogue between me and Matt, talking about what we did over the three months we did not see each other. Matt talked about his time in Spain, and I talked about my time in Dallas. Now, I know what you're thinking- it sounds like Matt got a much better deal than I did. But, most of my family lives in Dallas, and I actually have a great time visiting! So, in this dialogue, we're going to listen to a conversation I had with my aunt Farnaz before arriving in Dallas- I called to let her know I'd be arriving, and to make some plans to hang out with her while I was there.

Now, we covered the future tense extensively in unit 3. This dialogue is centered around the future tense, because it talks about what we are going to do on the upcoming trip. Because of this, I'd like to go over the future tense conjugations of one particular verb we'll hear over and over again in the dialogue, and that is the verb amadan. This means to come. As we said over and over again in Unit 3, the present stem of verbs are irregular, and amadan has a very strange present stem- it is simply a. So, I come is simply meeyam

Matt: Meeyam

Leyla: So remember that in colloquial Persian, this can mean 'I come, I will come, and I am coming.' So again, I come, meeyam

Matt: meeyam

Leyla: You come, informal, is meeyay

Matt: Meeyay

Leyla: He or she comes is meeyad

Matt: Meeyad

Leyla: We come meeyaym

Matt: Meeyaym

Leyla: You come, formal or plural, meeyayn

Matt: Meeyayn

Leyla: And finally, they come, meeyan

Matt: Meeyan

Leyla: Ok, great- so now let's listen to in on the conversation I had with my aunt over the phone before my trip to Dallas over the winter break-

Leyla: Alo, khaleh farnaz?

Farnaz: Baleh, salam leyla jan!

Leyla: Salam!

Farnaz: Khoobee azizam?

Leyla: Baleh, khayli mamnoon. Shoma khoob hasteen?

Farnaz: Khoobam! Shaneedam meeyay Dallas!

Leyla: Baleh, dorosteh! Emshab meeresam.

Farnaz: Aaliyeh! Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma?

Leyla: Zood meeyam! Farda chetore?

Farnaz: Farda khoobe! Meeyay barayeh nahar?

Leyla: Na, na, zahmat nakesheed.

Farnaz: Zahmatee neest! Pizza meegeereem!

Leyla: Khob basheh!

Farnaz: Doost daree bereem cinema?

Leyla: Baleh, doost daram! Cheh feelmee?

Farnaz: Feelmeh 'beenavayan'. Beh eengeleesee meesheh les miserable

Leyla: Fekr meekonam les miserable farancaveeyeh!

Farnaz: Areh, rast meegee. Khob, saateh chand meeyay?

Leyla: Saateh 12 khoobeh?

Farnaz: Khayli khoobeh. Baad az nahar meereem cinema.

Leyla: Pirouz ham meeyad?

Farnaz: Nemeedoonam, hala bebeeneem.

Leyla: Khob, pass ta fara

Farnaz: Ta farda azizam- khodahafez.

Leyla: Khodahafez khaleh Farnaz!

Leyla: Ok, so just as we said in lesson 31, don't get discouraged if you didn't understand every word in this dialogue, or if you missed whole chunks of it. We're going to go over it line by line to fill in gaps for you. But hopefully you got the general idea of the conversation. So now, let's go back and listen to the first part of the conversation. Because most of this should be easy for you to understand, we're going to listen to more than the first two lines-

Leyla: Alo, khaleh farnaz?

Farnaz: Baleh, salam leyla jan!

Leyla: Salam!

Farnaz: Khoobee azizam?

Leyla: Baleh, khayli mamnoon. Shoma khoob hasteen?

Farnaz: Khoobam! Shaneedam meeyay Dallas!

Leyla: Ok, so first let's cover greetings on the phone. The most common greeting for a telephone conversation in the Persian language is the word alo. So you pick up the phone and say 'Alo?'

Matt: Alo?

Leyla: And if you're familiar with the French language, that's exactly what the French say, and that's where we got it from. So again, alo

Matt: Alo?

Leyla: Ok, and let's skip ahead to the last sentence my aunt said in this segment, and that is

Matt: Shaneedam meeyay Dallas!

Leyla: So the word shaneedam means 'I heard'. Shaneedam

Matt: Shaneedam

Leyla: So we covered meeyay before we heard the conversation, do you remember what this means Matt?

Matt: You informal come

Leyla: Right, so putting those together, what does shaneedam meeyay Dallas mean?

Matt: I heard you are coming to Dallas?

Leyla: Exactly! I heard you're coming to Dallas. Shaneedam meeyay Dallas

Matt: Shaneedam meeyay Dallas.

Leyla: Ok, now let's listen to the next two sentences of the conversation.

{repeat: Leyla: Baleh, dorosteh! Emshab meeresam.

Farnaz: Aaliyeh! Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma?}

Leyla: Ok, so first I replied 'baleh, dorosteh'. Now the word dorost means correct. So dorosteh is a combination of dorost and hast, meaning it is correct. Dorosteh

Matt: Dorosteh.

Leyla: Next, I said, Emshab meeresam. Emshab means tonight. Emshab

Matt: Emshab

Leyla: And meeresam means I arrive. Meeresam

Matt: Meeresam.

Leyla: So put together, emshab meeresam means 'I arrive tonight. Emshab meeresam

Matt: Emshab meeresam.

Leyla: Ok, so dorosteh, emshab meeresam

Matt: Dorosteh, emshab meeresam.

Leyla: Next, my aunt replied

Farnaz: Aaliyeh! Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma?}

Leyla: Again, we covered the word meeyay before the lesson- what does it mean Matt?

Matt: You, informal come.

Leyla: Right. And we covered the word kay a long time ago. It means 'when'. Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma. Meaning so when are you coming to our house? Pass means so. Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma

Matt: Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma?

Leyla: Ok, moving on, the next two sentences:

{ Leyla: Zood meeyam! Farda chetore?

Farnaz: Farda khoobe! Meeyay barayeh nahar?

}

Leyla: Ok, so the word zood means soon. Zood

Matt: Zood

Leyla: So zood meeyam, I'll come soon. Zood meeyam

Matt: Zood meeyam

Leyla: Great, and what does farda mean Matt? We've covered this several times before.

Matt: It means tomorrow.

Leyla: Great. My aunt asked 'meeyay barayeh nahar?' What does this mean?

Matt: Will you come for lunch?

Leyla: Exactly, we learned before that barayeh means for. Meeyay barayeh nahar?

Matt: Meeyay barayeh nahar?

Leyla: Ok, great, now the next two sentences:

{ Repeat: Leyla: Na, na, zahmat nakesheed.

Farnaz: Zahmatee neest! Pizza meegeereem!

}

Leyla: Ok, so to understand the next sentence, perhaps it will be helpful if you've seen the video we produced about the concept of Tarof on youtube. If you haven't seen it yet, just look up Chai and Conversation on youtube, and it should come up. But the phrase I said here 'zahmat nakesheed' is a good example of tarof. If someone invites you to lunch, this is a good phrase to say- it basically means 'don't go through the trouble' Zahmat nakesheed

Matt: Zahmat nakesheed

Leyla: Zahmat is hard work or trouble. So even if I want to go to lunch at my aunt's house, it's more polite for me to decline her offer, saying that it's too much trouble. So I said na, na, zahmat nakesheed. No, don't go through the trouble. Na, zahmat nakesheed

Matt: Na, zahmat nakesheed

Leyla: So she responds:

Matt: Zahmatee neest! Pizza meegeereem!

Leyla: Zahmatee neest means 'it's no trouble' Zahmatee neest

Matt: Zahmatee neest

Leyla: And the next phrase you should be able to understand- pizza meegeereem

Matt: Pizza meegeereem

Leyla: Meegeereem is the first person conjugation for 'we will get' Meegeereem

Matt: Meegeereem

Leyla: So we'll get pizza- pizza meegeereem

Matt: Pizza meegeereem

Leyla: So my aunt's assuring me that she won't go through the trouble of cooking- that we'll just order some pizza!

Ok, so let's listen to the entire conversation up to the this point again, to make sure we're understanding the whole thing:

{repeat: Leyla: Alo, khaleh farnaz?

Farnaz: Baleh, salam leyla jan!

Leyla: Salam!

Farnaz: Khoobee azizam?

Leyla: Baleh, khayli mamnoon. Shoma khoob hasteen?

Farnaz: Khoobam! Shaneedam meeyay Dallas!

Leyla: Baleh, dorosteh! Emshab meeresam.

Farnaz: Aaliyeh! Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma?

Leyla: Zood meeyam! Farda chetore?

Farnaz: Farda khoobe! Meeyay barayeh nahar?

Leyla: Na, na, zahmat nakesheed.

Farnaz: Zahmatee neest! Pizza meegeereem!}

Leyla: So far so good Matt?

Matt: I think so!

Leyla: Ok, great- this should be pretty simple. Moving on to the next two sentences:

Leyla: Khob basheh!

Farnaz: Doost daree bereem cinema?

Leyla: These should all be familiar phrases- can you translate Matt?

Matt: Well, you said 'khob basheh' meaning Well, ok, and then your aunt replied 'would you like to go to the cinema?'

Leyla: Exactly. Bereem means 'we go' so she is literally saying do you like that we go to the cinema. Doost daree bereem cinema?

Matt: Doost daree bereem cinema?

Leyla: To which I replied:

Leyla: Baleh, doost daram! Cheh feelmee?

Farnaz: Feelmeh 'beenavayan'. Beh eengeleesee meesheh les miserable

Leyla: Fekr meekonam les miserable farancaveeyeh!

Leyla: Ok, so first I said 'Baleh doost daram! Cheh feelmee? Can you translate this Matt?

Matt: Yes, I do like- Which film?

Leyla: Exactly. And my aunt said:

Farnaz: Feelmeh 'beenavayan'. Beh eengeleesee meesheh les miserable

Leyla: So, first she said feelmeh beenavayan. So the movie beenavayan. And beh eengeleesee meesheh les miserable. What does this mean Matt?

Matt: It means in English, it's Les miserable.

Leyla: That's right! And what does the phrase 'fekr meekonam' mean?

Matt: It means I think

Leyla: Exactly. So fekr meekonam les miserable farancaveeyeh- meaning-

Matt: I think les miserable is French.

Leyla: Ha, tha'ts right.

{repeat: Farnaz: Areh, rast meegee. Khob, saateh chand meeyay?

Leyla: Saateh 12 khoobeh?}

Leyla: Ok, so first, the phrase, 'rast meegee' Do you remember what 'rast' means Matt? There's 'rast' and 'chap'

Matt: It means right

Leyla: Exactly- so just as in English, right can mean the direction right, or it can mean the concept 'right' or correct, the same is true in Persian. Meegee means you say in the informal sense. So rast meegee basically means 'you're right', or more literally, you speak the truth. Rast meegee

Matt: Rast meegee

Leyla: So what time did we settle on me coming over to my aunts house?

Matt: Saateh 12, 12 o'clock.

Leyla: Ok, perfect. Next two sentences-

{repeat: Farnaz: Khayli khoobeh. Baad az nahar meereem cinema.

Leyla: Pirouz ham meeyad?}

Leyla: Ok, baad az nahar. We covered 'baad' last timeÉ it's not the word bad, it has more drawn out aaa sound in the middle. Do you remember what this means Matt?

Matt: It means after

Leyla: Exactly, so after lunch, we'll go to the cinema. Baad az nahar meereem cinema

Matt: Baad az nahar meereem cinema

Leyla: Great, and next- Pirouz ham meeyad? Meaning-

Matt: Will Pirouz come also?

Leyla: And Pirouz is the name of my cousin, my Aunt Farnaz's son. So she replies:

Farnaz: Nemeedoonam, hala bebeeneem.

Leyla: Khob, pass ta fara

Leyla: Ok, so hala is another important word we haven't covered yet. It means 'now.' Hala

Matt: Hala

Leyla: So for example, if you ask someone if they want to have tea, and they want to say not now, they'll say 'hala na'

Matt: 'Hala na'

Leyla: So my aunt replies hala bebeeneem. Bebeeneem means let's see or we'll see. bebeeneem

Matt: Bebeeneem.

Leyla: So she's saying 'I'm not sure, we'll see' basically. Nemeedoonam, hala bebeeneem.

Matt: Nemeedoonam, hala bebeeneem.

Leyla: Ok, and the ending of the conversation you should be able to completely understand- it's-

Farnaz: Ta farda azizam- khodahafez.

Leyla: Khodahafez khaleh Farnaz!

Leyla: Matt, do you want to translate? She said 'ta farda azizam- khodahafez.'

Matt: Until tomorrow my dear- bye

Leyla: Exactly, and I simply said 'khodahafez khaleh Farnaz' which I won't make you translate.

Leyla: Ok, so let's listen to the entire dialogue one more time, and pay special attention to the new words you learned.

Leyla: Alo, khaleh farnaz?

Farnaz: Baleh, salam leyla jan!

Leyla: Salam!

Farnaz: Khoobee azizam?

Leyla: Baleh, khayli mamnoon. Shoma khoob hasteen?

Farnaz: Khoobam! Shaneedam meeyay Dallas!

Leyla: Baleh, dorosteh! Emshab meeresam.

Farnaz: Aaliyeh! Pass kay meeyay khooneyeh ma?

Leyla: Zood meeyam! Farda chetore?

Farnaz: Farda khoobe! Meeyay barayeh nahar?

Leyla: Na, na, zahmat nakesheed.

Farnaz: Zahmatee neest! Pizza meegeereem!

Leyla: Khob basheh!

Farnaz: Doost daree bereem cinema?

Leyla: Baleh, doost daram! Cheh feelmee?

Farnaz: Feelmeh 'beenavayan'. Beh eengeleesee meesheh les miserable

Leyla: Fekr meekonam les miserable farancaveeyeh!

Farnaz: Areh, rast meegee. Khob, saateh chand meeyay?

Leyla: Saateh 12 khoobeh?

Farnaz: Khayli khoobeh. Baad az nahar meereem cinema.

Leyla: Pirouz ham meeyad?

Farnaz: Nemeedoonam, hala bebeeneem.

Leyla: Khob, pass ta fara

Farnaz: Ta farda azizam- khodahafez.

Leyla: Great, and that brings us to the end of lesson 32!

Matt: So we hope you enjoyed the lesson!

Leyla: Again, don't worry if you didn't get the entire dialogue right away. Take a look at the dialogue transcripts, and study the new words, and before no time you'll be repeating the dialogue along with us.

Be sure to use your new words in conversation as much as you can, and find new ways to incorporate them into your daily conversations.

Matt: Remember that all of the bonus materials and our previous episodes can be found at www.chaiandconversation.com with Chai spelled CHAI.

Leyla: We'll be back soon with more conversations from Dallas!

Matt: Amazing!

Leyla: Ta hafteyeh deegeh, from Leyla

And khodahafez from Matt.