Learn Persian With Chai And Conversation

In the last lesson of this series, we talk about the importance of poetry in Persian culture, and talk about why we're learning this magical language in the first place. To find out more about Persian miniatures, check out the wikipedia page!

In this lesson, we learn the langauge associated with one of the most important parts of Persian culture- food. We learn vocabulary for different Persian dishes, how to consume Persian food, and how to talk about it afterwards. This lesson might make you hungry, somake sure to have at least a little something to eat before listening to it! Also, here are some links to some of our favorite Perisan recipes and food blogs:  Najmieh Batmanglij's recipes are amazing Turmeric and Saffron is one of the best Persian food recipe blogs, with recipes for some of the foods we mentioned in the podcas Ariana Bundy has amazing videos with lots of delicious Persian recipes

In this lesson, we learn all the language associated with pregnancy, babies and small children.

In this lesson, we learn all the vocabulary associated with getting married in Persian! Includes the process of proposing, getting married, and language associated with the wedding ceremony. As promised, here are some links to some of our favorite Persian wedding songs!  Vigen, Shah Damad   vigen - shah damad original version, farsi   Shamaeezadeh, Ye Dokhtar Daram   Hassan Shamaeezadeh - Ye Dokhtar Daram | حسن شماعی زاده - یه دختر دارم     Hayedeh, Emshab Shabeh Eshgheh   Hayedeh - Shabe Eshgh (High Quality Audio)  

Lesson 56 covers language needed for talking on the phone, including etiquette used in greetings and saying goodbye on the phone.

If you’re around Iranians often, chances are you’ll be invited to their homes. Iranians love hosting, and it’s common to invite someone over as soon as you meet them. So, let’s learn some of the language and etiquette that goes along with being hosted.

In this lesson, we learn common Persian sayings that often don't make sense in English. Expressions, idioms- these are what make a language unique! We also learn some common Persian insults.

Respect is a big deal in Persian culture- respect for your family, respect for elders, among other things. We've learned about tārof- but this type of etiquette is just one aspect of showing respect for others. In this lesson, we learn other ways respect is demonstrated in the Persian culture.

In this lesson, we continue our discussion of the Persian concept of 'tārof'- we learn different situation in which 'tārof' comes into play, and how to successfully navigate through these situations. These situations include being paid a compliment, making a financial transaction at a store, interacting with guests and hosts, and much more.  

In this lesson, we talk about one of the most important concepts when it comes to learning about Persian culture- the concept of tārof. Tārof is basically the code of etiquette Iranians use in all social situations, and it's quite culturally pervasive. While western culture also has rules of engaging with others, Persians take it to a whole new level. For someone unfamiliar with the concept, sometimes the behavior of Iranians may seem a bit strange, but once these few simple rules are learned, a lot of cultural misunderstanding can be avoided. LINKS:  We also explored this concept in our popular Youtube video, which you can see here. In addition, Leyla was interviewed for PRI's The World about the concept- check it out on their webpage. Or checkout her interview with the LA Times, where again she championed the cause. 

In this lesson, we learn more about how to talk about daily routines, especially routines associated with waking up and going to bed.

In Lesson 49, we learn to talk about simple daily routines. These include things like eating breakfast, going to work, having meals, and resting.

In this lesson, we learn the Persian words for different types of transportation, including airplanes, cars, bicycles, and motorcyles.

In this lesson, we learn to talk about one of the most important parts of Persian culture- breakfast. We learn how to talk about breakfast- including a list of breakfast foods and important breakfast drinks.

This week, we’re continuing with our kitchen Persian vocabulary, and learning practical conversations you would have in any household. In this lesson, we learn more vocabulary for how to talk about illnesses and pain. In addition, we learn words for more parts of the body.

In this lesson, we cover a topic you will hopefully not have to use too often- the topic of not feeling too well. We'll learn how to express that you're not feeling well, how to ask others how they are feeling, and how to talk about pain that you have. Also, we will learn the Persian words for several parts of the body.  

We’re continuing on with our power series, learning a good bit of grammar and words to help fill in our vocabulary. So Lessons 21 and 22 were devoted entirely to the verbs "to be" and "to have", respectively. These are both very important verbs in the language, and both happen to have special subjunctive stems, so we are going to devote this entire lesson to their subjunctive forms. Thankfully, they’re both related!

In this lesson, we build on Lesson 42, and learn how to talk about wants. For instance, 'I want to go to the cinema.' In addition, we learn some special verbs that allow us to construct additional subjunctive sentences. These special verbs include 'must', 'might', 'it's possible', and 'it's better'.

This lesson teaches the simple subjunctive, which will allow you to take definite sentences like 'I am going to the movies tonight' to less definite ones like 'I could go to the movies tonight'.