farsi

Farsi Grammar #

In my spare time, I’m learning Farsi. I’ll use this as a kitchen sink for my notes on the language.

Peyda Konam #

In farsi, there are phrases such as

ادامه پیدل کنم

The peyda konam (found X) is used in a situation where a direct action is not taken to make the object achieve that state.

For example, you could say “if the revolution continues…” - but this does not refer to any specific object ensuring the revolution does continue.

This is where “peyda konam” comes in. Since it’s nebulous whether it will actually happen, it’s about it finding itself in a situation when it does occur vs actively being done.

Mitoonestan #

The word mitoonestan (می‌توانستم) is the past continuous/imperfect form of the verb tavānestan (توانستن), which means “to be able to.”

Mitoonestan is interesting, because it is a model / auxiliary verb. Model / auxiliary verbs require a main verb to clarify what is possible / what is desired / etc.

So applying the past tense to these case is complicated, and the way that it’s done in farsi is to conjugate the modal verb, not the main verb.

e.g. I couldn’t do it is نمتستن کنم.

The word “az” is used sometimes where it’s not in english #

Sometimes you might hear an Iranian use phrases like “thanks from” when speaking English. This is be cause in Persian, the word for from, “از”, is used as a preposition where it is not in English.

For example, “thanks for” is actually “thankful from” (تشکر از).

Always use “keh”, even for “who” #

Unlike English, where we use “who” for people and “what” for things, Farsi uses “keh” for both.

For example, “who is there?” is “کی اونجاست؟” (key unjāst?) - but “what is there?” is “چی اونجاست؟” (chi unjāst?).

Use “chand ta” for unknown quantities #

When you’re asking about a quantity of something, and you don’t know the exact number, use “chand ta” (چند تا).

For example, “how many apples are there?” is “چند تا سیب اونجاست؟” (chand ta sib unjāst?).

This is in contrast to “chand hafte ha” (چند هفته ها) which is used when you’re saying a quantity (plural is attached to the object).