Lesson 35: A Dialogue between Leyla and Her Uncle Ahmad

Leyla: Hello and welcome to learn Persian with Chai and Conversation. I’m Leyla

Matt: And I’m Matt

Leyla: Here with another installment in our Dallas conversations series. There are only two more lessons in this series, in which I have conversations with various family members who are native speakers of the Persian language. The final lessons in Unit 2 will consist of dialogues that take place in various establishments around town.

Matt: As always, bonus materials and our previous lessons will be found on our website at www.chaiandconversation.com

Leyla: Also, as a side note-­‐ in the past, we have been slow to release lessons. Chai and conversation is far from a weekly podcast because both Matt and I have other obligations in addition to creating this podcast.

Matt: We have prerecorded Unit 4 however, and for the remainder of this unit, we will be releasing one lesson a week. This way, less time will lapse between each lesson, and hopefully you will retain more information.

Leyla: You can now pre-­‐order the bonus materials for Unit 4-­‐ you’ll get the bonus materials for lesson 30-­‐34, and you will receive the bonus materials for each new lesson as soon as it’s released. This will make it easier for you and for us.

Matt: There are also exciting changes on the way for the website, which we will be announcing shortly.

Leyla: Sorry this has been such a long introduction, let’s get on with the program. Matt, are you ready to begin learning?

Matt: Ready!

Leyla: Great, then let’s begin to Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation!

Leyla: So as we said, this is another episode of the Dallas conversations series of Chai and Conversation. In this lesson, we listen to a dialogue I have with my dear uncle ahmad, or as I call him, dayeejoon ahmad. Dayee joon literally means dear uncle, and it’s a common name to call your oldest uncle. Dayee joon

Matt: Dayee joon.

Leyla: This extends to other aunts and uncles too. We covered this way back in Unit 1, but let’s go over the terms for aunt and uncle again as a refresher. Again, in Iranian culture, family is extremely important. This is perhaps most evident in the very specific terms we have for each different family member. So what is dayee, Matt?

Matt: It’s your uncle on your mother’s side, I believe.

Leyla: That’s exactly right. So what about your uncle on your father’s side?

Amoo

Leyla: Great. So if we want to use this term of respect, we can call him Amoo joon

Matt: Amoo joon

Leyla: Again, you generally reserve this term for your oldest uncle. What about aunt on your mothers side?

Matt: Khaleh

Leyla: Exactly khaleh. And what if you want to use a slightly more polite version of that?

Matt: Khaleh joon

Leyla: Great, khaleh joon. And lastly, aunt on your father’s side

Matt: Ameh.

Leyla: Yes, ameh. So how about dear aunt on your father’s side?

Matt: Ameh joon.

Leyla: Perfect! So let’s return back to dayeejoon ahmad, and listen to our conversation. As a bit of a background, my uncle owns a large piece of land in a small town in East Texas. He’s owned it for about 10 years now, and being an extremely industrious engineer, he’s developed this land himself by adding trails, ponds, and even a house he built himself over the years. We often visit this place with the entire family, and spend weekends fishing, riding around in 4 wheelers, looking at stars and birds and other very Texas-­‐y activities. We call this place ‘zameen’ which simply means ‘land’. Zameen

Matt: Zameen

Leyla: Ok, so now, let’s listen to the conversation I had with my uncle when we visited ‘zameen’ on my last trip to Dallas. In addition to having been a long time since I’d been there, it was also the first time I got to see the house he’d built. Let’s listen.

Salam dayeejoon ahmad!

Salam leyla jan! Beh zameen khosh amadee.

Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon! Cheghadr eenja ghashange!

Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee?

Hatman, bebeeneem.

Befarma een taraf. Khob, een saloneh.

Khayli bozorgeh!

Baleh. Een ham ashpazkhoonast

Aaliyeh.

Een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh.

Chand ta?

Sheesh ta!

Khayli zeeyadeh!

Baleh, khob meedoonee, fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh

Dorosteh.

Bereem beeroon?

Basheh, bereem.

Ajab zeeb-­‐ast!

Baleh, haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem. derakht zeeyad dareem. Va do ta daryacheh koochooloo ham dareem!

Deegeh chee dareen?

Deegeh, tractor dareem, bulldozer dareem. Albateh, tractoremoon kharabeh. Panchar shodeh.

Aha. Khob, hayvoonat chetor?

Eenja hayvoonateh vahshee zeeyad dareem. Bobcat dareem, coyote dareem, ahoo dareem. Hameh cheez dareem.

Parandeh chetor?

Baleh! Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem. Een yekee ro beebeen, cheghadr ghashangeh. Abeeyeh roshaneh. Behesh meegan ‘Eastern Bluebird”

Leyla: Ok, like we do every time, we’re going to take this dialogue two sentences at a time. Beginning with the first two:

Salam dayeejoon ahmad!

Salam leyla jan! Beh zameen khosh amadee.

Leyla: So I enter and say ‘salam dayeejoon ahmad’ We learned the term dayee joon, what does it mean Matt?

Matt: Dear uncle

Leyla: Right, so hello dear uncle ahmad. Salam dayeejoon ahmad

Matt: Salam dayeejoon ahmad

Leyla: And he replied:

Salam leyla jan! khosh amadee.

Leyla: The phrase khosh amadee is welcome. Khosh amadee

Matt: Khosh amadee

Leyla: So he’s welcoming me to his home. Khosh amadee

Matt: Khosh amadee. Great. Next two sentences:

Leyla: Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon! Cheghadr eenja ghashange!

Matt: Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee?

Leyla: So first I say khayli mamnoon az davatetoon. Davat means invitiation. Da’vat

Matt: Da’vat

Leyla: So da’vatetoon means your invitation. So thatnks for your invitation. Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon

Matt: Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon.

Leyla: Da’vat is one of those tricky words that has a stop in the middle of the sentence.

Matt: Da’vat. Da’vat

Leyla: So again, khayli mamnoon az da’vatetoon

Matt: Khayli mamnoon az da’vatetoon

Leyla: And then I said “cheghadr eenja ghashangeh.’ We learned the word cheghadr before. It doesn’t have a direct English translation but it means something like ‘how much’. Cheghadr

Matt: Cheghadr

Leyla: And I’m sure you remember it because it’s pretty tricky to say. So cheghadr eenja ghashangeh.

Matt: Cheghadr eenja ghashangeh.

Leyla: So my full response again:

Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon! Cheghadr eenja ghashange!

Leyla: Let’s repeat each sentence one more time. Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon

Matt: Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon

Leyla: Cheghadr eenja ghashange

Matt: Cheghadr eenja ghashange

Leyla: Ok great. Moving on, my uncle says:

Matt: Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee?

Leyla: So the word ‘bebeenee’ is a bit tricky to explain. We learned the word bebeen in an earlier lesson. It’s the imperative form of to see. So when you say ‘bebeen’ you are saying ‘look’ in a commanding  way.  Bebeenee is a proposal or suggestion.The phrase ‘doost  daree khoonaro bebeenee’ is a gentle proposal. It means ‘would you like to see the house’. Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee

Matt: Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee

Leyla: Or he could have said ‘khoonaro bebeeneem?’ This would mean shall we see the house? Or I could have said khoonaro bebeenam? This would mean shall I see the house? Instead, he proposed’ doost daree khoonaro bebeenee’? Meaning would you like to see the house. Let’s repeat it one more time. ‘Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee?’

Matt: Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee

Leyla: Ok, let’s move on to the next two sentences.

Hatman, bebeeneem.

Befarma een taraf. Khob, een saloneh.

Leyla: Ok, so following the last explanation, you should know what my reply meant. Hatman, bebeeneem. Hatman means ‘certainly.’ Hatman

Matt: Hatman

Leyla: And what does bebeeneem mean?

Matt: Let’s see

Leyla: Exactly, again, it’s in the imperative form, or the form of a proposal.

Matt: Bebeeneem, let’s see. Bebeeneem Bebeeneem

Leyla: Put together hatman, bebeeneem

Matt: Hatman, bebeeneem

Leyla: Meaning ‘certainly, let us see’ He said

Befarma een taraf. Khob, een saloneh.

Leyla: We’ve learned the word ‘befarma’ several times before. It’s a polite symbol meaning ‘go ahead’. Befarma

Matt: Befarma

Leyla: Een taraf means this way. So go ahead this way. Befarma een taraf

Matt: Befarma een taraf.

Leyla: So, supposedly in this dialogue I follow him this way. And he says

Matt: Khob, een saloneh.

Leyla: Salon is another word we got from the French. Salon. This means living room. Salon

Matt: Salon

Leyla: So, ‘khob, een saloneh’ Khob, een saloneh.

Matt: Ok, moving on to the next two sentences:

Khayli bozorgeh!

Baleh. Een ham ashpazkhoonast

Leyla: This reply should be very simple for you. I said ‘khayli bozorgeh’. What does this mean Matt?

Matt: It’s very big!

Leyla: That’s right. Khayli bozorgeh Khayli bozorgeh.

Leyla: My uncle replied:

Baleh. Een ham ashpazkhoonast

Leyla: Now, we’ve learned ashpazee before. It means ‘to cook’. So ashpazkhooneh means kitchen. Ashpazkhooneh

Matt: Ashpazkhooneh.

Leyla: So he says een ham ashpazkhonast. Meaning ‘and this is the kitchen’. Een ham ashpazkhoonast

Matt: Een ham ashpazkhoonast

Leyla: Great. Moving on:

Aaliyeh.

Een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh.

Leyla: So, I say aaliyeh. Which we’ve heard so many times before. My uncle replies by saying:

Matt: Een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh.

Leyla: The word ‘otagh’ simply means room. Otagh

Matt: Otagh

Leyla: And khab means room. So a sleep room. Bedroom. Otagh khab

Matt: Otagh khab

Leyla: So een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh means

Matt: This room has 6 bedrooms

Leyla: That’s right. Een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh

Matt: Een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh.

Leyla: Next two sentences:

Chand ta?

Sheesh ta!

Leyla: So this is a common exchange we’ve heard before. Chand ta means how many. Chand ta?

Matt: Chand ta?

Leyla: And he says ‘sheesh ta’

Matt: Sheesh ta

Leyla: He could have just said ‘sheesh’ but he included the ta in there. Ta doesn’t have a direct translation in English but just means something like ‘unit’. So Again chand ta?

Matt: Chand ta?

Leyla: Sheesh ta

Matt: Sheesh ta.

Leyla: Next two sentences:

Khayli zeeyadeh!

Baleh, khob meedoonee, fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh

Leyla: So I said ‘khayli zeeyadeh’. Zeeyad means a lot. So basically ‘that’s a lot’. Khayli zeeyadeh

Matt: Khayli zeeyadeh

Leyla: This may sound like a redundant sentence in English but it works in Persian. You could also just say ‘zeeyadeh’ and that works too. But 6 bedrooms is a lot a lot, so I say ‘khayli zeeyadeh’

Matt: Khayli zeeyadeh.

Leyla: To which he replies:

Baleh, khob meedoonee, fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh

Leyla: So first, meedoonee means you know. Meedoonee

Matt: Meedoonee

Leyla: What does the word ‘fameel’ mean?

Matt: Family

Leyla: Yes, and they’re very similar words. So fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh means

Matt: Our family is very big

Leyla: That’s right. Fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh.

Matt: Fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh.

Leyla: And the full sentence is ‘baleh, khob meedoonee, fameelemoon  khayli bozorgeh’

Matt: Baleh, khob meedoonee, fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh.

Leyla: And my reply is ‘dorosteh’, or ‘that’s right’. Dorosteh

Matt: Dorosteh

Leyla: Ok very good. At this point, as we always do, let’s listen to the entire conversation up to this point.

Salam dayeejoon ahmad!

Salam leyla jan! Beh zameen khosh amadee.

Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon! Cheghadr eenja ghashange!

Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee?

Hatman, bebeeneem.

Befarma een taraf. Khob, een saloneh.

Khayli bozorgeh!

Baleh. Een ham ashpazkhoonast

Aaliyeh.

Een khooneh sheesh otagh khab dareh.

Chand ta?

Sheesh ta!

Khayli zeeyadeh!

Baleh, khob meedoonee, fameelemoon khayli bozorgeh

Dorosteh.

Leyla: At this point, let’s go over a few of the new words and phrases we learned in this first part. First, dear uncle, dayeejoon

Matt: Dayeejoon

Leyla: Next, welcome, or khosh amadee

Matt: Khosh amadee

Leyla: Next, thank you for your invitation, or ‘khayli mamnoon az davatetoon’

Matt: ‘khayli mamnoon az davatetoon’

Leyla: Next, the words for different rooms in the house. Living room is ‘salon’

Matt: Salon

Leyla: Kitchen is ashpazkhooneh Ashpazkhooneh

Matt: And bedroom is otagh khab Otagh khab

Leyla: Great. Now moving on to the next two sentences of the dialogue:

Bereem beeroon?

Basheh, bereem.

Leyla: So again, the word bereem. What does this mean again

Matt: Let’s go

Leyla: It does mean let’s go, but since in this sentence it’s part of a question, it’s better translated as shall we go.

Matt: Outside is beeroon Beeroon

Leyla: So bereem beeroon is shall we go outside? Bereem beeroon?

Matt: Bereem beeroon?

Leyla: So if he says it as a sentence, it would be let’s go outside.

Matt: Bereem beeroon Bereem beeroon

Leyla: So that way it’s a imperative, declarative sentence. In a question form, it’s a proposal. Bereem beeroon?

Matt: Bereem beroon?

Leyla: And I reply: basheh, bereem

Matt: Basheh, bereem.

Leyla: Meaning, yes, let’s go. So it’s declarative. Basheh, bereem

Matt: Basheh, bereem.

Leyla: All right. Next two sentences:

Ajab zeeb-­‐ast!

Baleh, haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem. derakht zeeyad dareem. Va do ta daryacheh koochooloo ham dareem!

Leyla: Ok, so first I say ‘ajab zeebast.’ Ajab is a word that can be translated as ‘how’, or, in this context, ‘how beautiful it is’ ajab zeebast!’

Matt: Ajab zeebast.

Leyla: Now, my uncle gave a long reply, so let’s listen to it again, and break it apart.

Matt: Baleh, haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem. derakht zeeyad dareem. Va do ta daryacheh koochooloo ham dareem!

Leyla: So first, he says ‘baleh, haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem’. Hopefully you’ve been reviewing your numbers a lot and remember what haftad o panj is

Matt: I think it’s 75

Leyla: That’s right. Hectar is the Persian word for acre. So Haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem. We went over the word zameen in the beginning of the lesson-­‐ what does it mean?

Matt: Land

Leyla: Right, so we have 75 acres of land. Haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem

Matt: Haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem

Leyla: Great. So then my uncle goes on to list other things about his land. The next sentence he says is:

Matt: derakht zeeyad dareem.

Leyla: The word derakht means tree. Derakht

Matt: Derakht

Leyla: So derakht zeeyad dareem

Matt: Derakht zeeyad dareem

Leyla: We have a lot of trees. Which is true, his land has lots of trees. Next:

Va do ta daryacheh koochooloo ham dareem!

Leyla: So when he first purchased the land, my uncle bought bulldozers and tractors, and used them to create a clearing in the land and dig out a pond. Pond is daryacheh

Matt: Daryacheh

Leyla: And koochooloo means little. So daryacheye koochooloo

Matt: Daryacheye koochooloo

Leyla: This means small pond. So do ta daryacheh koochooloo ham dareem, meaning

Matt: We also have two small ponds.

Leyla: Perfect. Do ta daryacheyeh koochooloo ham dareem.

Matt: Do ta daryacheyeh koochooloo ham dareem.

Leyla: Let’s listen to the whole description again:

Baleh, haftad o panj hectar zameen dareem. derakht zeeyad dareem. Va do ta daryacheh koochooloo ham dareem!

Leyla: Ok, next sentences:

Deegeh chee dareen?

Deegeh, tractor dareem, bulldozer dareem. Albateh, tractoremoon kharabeh. Panchar shodeh.

Leyla: So I started off by asking deegeh chee dareen? This means what else do you have? Deegeh chee dareen?

Deegeh chee dareen?

Leyla: Now, before we re-­‐listen to this next sentence, let me explain that my uncle has been in the United States since the mid 70’s. Before the revolution, many young people, mostly young men, came to the US to get an education, and after the revolution ended up staying. So he’s lived in the US longer than he’s lived in Iran. For this reason, he does tend to use a lot of English words when he speaks Persian. But again, language is all about communication, so as long as I can understand what he’s saying, he’s done his job right. So he said:

Deegeh, tractor dareem, bulldozer dareem. Albateh, tractoremoon kharabeh. Panchar shodeh.

Leyla: So first sentence:

Deegeh, tractor dareem, bulldozer dareem.

Leyla: The word tractor is used in the Persian language, but bulldozer definitely isn’t. Next sentence:

Albateh, tractoremoon kharabeh. Panchar shodeh.

Leyla: Albateh is a great conversational filler word to learn. It means ‘although’ or ‘except’. Albateh

Matt: Albateh

Leyla: And kharab means broken. So tractoremoon kharabeh. Our tractor is broken.

Matt: Tractoremoon kharabeh.

Leyla: He explains why it’s broken by saying ‘panchar shodeh’. This means it has a flat tire.

Matt: Panchar shodeh Panchar shodeh.

Leyla: So let’s listen to this segment again:

Deegeh, tractor dareem, bulldozer dareem. Albateh, tractoremoon kharabeh. Panchar shodeh.

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

Aha. Khob, hayvoonat chetor?

Eenja hayvoonateh vahshee zeeyad dareem. Bobcat dareem, coyote dareem, ahoo dareem. Hameh cheez dareem.

Leyla: So, continuing with the conversation of what my uncle has on his land, I ask khob, hayvoonat chetor? Hayvoonat means animals. Hayvoonat

Matt: Hayvoonat

Leyla: So hayvoonat chetor? Means how about animals?

Hayvoonat chetor?

Matt: Hayvoonat chetor?

Leyla: My uncle replies:

Eenja hayvoonateh vahshee zeeyad dareem. Bobcat dareem, coyote dareem, ahoo dareem. Hameh cheez dareem.

Leyla: So this is another vocabulary lesson, and another example of my uncle mixing Persian words with English words. So first he says

Matt: Eenja hayvoonateh vahshee zeeyad dareem.

Leyla: Vahshee is a great word and means wild. Vahshee

Matt: vahshee

Leyla: So hayvoonateh vahshee is wild animals. Hayvoonateh vahshee

Matt: Hayvoonateh vahshee

Leyla: So eenja hayvoonateh vahshee zeeyad dareem

Matt: Eenja hayvoonateh vahshee zeeyad dareem

Leyla: Bobcat dareem, coyote dareem, ahoo dareem. Hameh cheez dareem. So, bobcat is an English word, as is Coyote. But ahoo is a Perisan word, and means deer. Ahoo

Matt: Ahoo

Leyla: And next he says ‘hameh cheez dareem’

Matt: Hameh cheez dareem

Leyla: Meaning ‘we have everything’. Hameh cheez dareem

Matt: Hameh cheez dareem

Leyla: And the last two sentences of the dialogue:

Parandeh chetor?

Baleh! Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem.

Een yekee ro beebeen, cheghadr ghashangeh. Abeeyeh roshaneh.

Behesh meegan ‘Eastern Bluebird”

Leyla: The word parandeh means bird. Parandeh

Matt: Parandeh

Leyla: So parandeh chetor? How about birds? Parandeh chetor?

Matt: Parandeh chetor

Leyla: One thing about Texas is that it’s a lovely state for bird watching. So my uncle replies:

Baleh! Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem.

Een yekee ro beebeen, cheghadr ghashangeh. Abeeyeh

roshaneh. Behesh meegan ‘Eastern Bluebird”

Leyla: So first, he says

Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem.

Leyla: Hameh joor means every kind. Joor is kind and hameh is every. Hameh joor

Matt: Hameh joor.

Leyla: So hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem

Matt: Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem

Leyla: This means we also have every kind of bird. Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem

Matt: Hameh joor parandeyee ham dareem.

Leyla: Een yekee ro beebeen, cheghadr ghashangeh. So there was a gorgeous little bird my uncle pointed out to me last time I was at the land. Een yekee ro bebeen means ‘look at this one’. So een yekee ro bebeen

Matt: Een yekee ro bebeen.

Abeeyeh roshaneh. Behesh meegan ‘Eastern Bluebird”

Leyla: Abee we’ve learned before means ‘blue’. Roshan is bright. So, it’s bright blue. Abeeyeh roshaneh.

Matt: Abeeyeh roshaneh

Leyla: Behesh meegan is also another important phrase. It means they call it. Behesh meegan

Matt: Behesh meegan.

Leyla: And he says the name of that particular bird, which is eastern bluebird. The picture associated with this lesson is of an eastern bluebird-­‐ make sure to have a look at it because it is truly beautiful. So behesh meegan Eastern Bluebird

Matt: Behesh meegan easter bluebird.

Leyla: All right, let’s listen to the entire dialogue again, and hopefully this time you’ll understand it from start to finish

Salam dayeejoon ahmad!

Salam leyla jan! Khosh amadee.

Khayli mamnoon az davatetoon!

Cheghadr eenja ghashange!

Doost daree khoonaro bebeenee?

Hatman, bebeeneem.