This document provides resources for learning Farsi/Persian, including virtual Farsi keyboards, videos demonstrating letter writing, exercises to practice reading and writing letters in initial, middle, and final positions, and conversations to practice verbs and relationships in the present tense. It includes vocabulary lists, conversation models, questions, and images to support learning grammar structures like the verb "to be" and possessive constructions using the ezāfe. The focus is on building foundational literacy and communication skills in Farsi.

1. Virtual Farsi Keyboards
https://vkboard.com/virtual-farsi-keyboard/
https://www.branah.com/farsi
http://gate2home.com/Farsi-Persian-Keyboard
http://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/persian.htm
Reading & Writing practice «‫پ‬ ،‫ب‬ ،‫»الف‬
➔ Watch the videos below to see how each letter is written:
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/persian_teaching_resources/1-1/Unit1_1-2.mp4
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/persian_teaching_resources/1-1/Unit1_2-2.mp4
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/persian_teaching_resources/1-1/Unit1_2-3.mp4
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/persian_teaching_resources/1-1/Unit1_5-2.mp4
https://www.laits.utexas.edu/persian_teaching_resources/1-1/Unit1_5-3part1.mp4
Exercise 1
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_lnhPWLOAYHN0lvRXdpYzNSRDA
a. Can you read the brand name?
b. Highlight the first 3 letters of the alphabets in initial, middle, and final position in
the following images (http://kalleh.com/fa)/ . Use the table below when
necessary.
/ ‫پ‬pe/ /be/ ‫ب‬ / ‫الف‬alef/
‫پ‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ا‬ / ‫آ‬ Isolated
‫ﭘ‬ ‫ﺑ‬ ‫آ‬ Initial Position
‫ـ‬‫ﭙ‬ ‫ـ‬‫ﺒ‬ ‫ﺎ‬ Middle Position
‫ـپ‬ ‫ـب‬ ‫ﺎ‬ Final Position

2. Mokaleme (1)
Gush konid, Bekhanid, va tekrar konid.
Conversation (1)
Listen, read, and repeat.
Salaam, man Sara hastam.Hi, I am Sara.
Salaam Sara, man Mina hastam.Hi Sara, I'm Mina.
Khosbakhtam (khoshbakht +am).Nice to meet you. (lit. I’m happy.)
Hamchenin.Nice to meet you too. (lit. also, too.)
●،‫هستم‬ ،‫من‬ ،‫سالم‬‫همچنین‬ ،‫خوشﺒختم‬
Fel e «budan», zaman e hal e sadeBe, simple present tense
1st Person singularNegative FormFull FormShort Form
mannistamhastamam
Man Sara hastam. / khoshbakhtam.
Mokaleme (2)
Gush konid, Bekhanid, va tekrar konid.
Conversation (2)
Listen, read, and repeat.
Salaam Sara, khubi?Hi Sara, how are you? (lit. are you alright?)
Salaam. khubam, merci. To khubi?Hi. I'm fine, thanks. How are you?
Khubam, merci.Fine, thanks.
Raasti Sara, to Irani hasti?Oh, By the way, Sara, are you Iranian?

3. Aare, man Iraniyam
To chetor?
Yeah, I’m Iranian.
What about you?
Man Canadai hastam.I’m Canadian.
E? Che jaaleb.Oh, cool. (lit. Oh? How interesting.)
●‫ایرانیم‬ ،‫آره‬ ،‫هستی‬ ،‫ایرانی‬ ،‫راستی‬ ،‫تو‬ ،‫مرسی‬ ،‫خوﺑم‬ ،‫خوﺑی؟‬،‫چطور؟‬ ،
‫جﺎلب‬ ‫چه‬ ‫؟‬ِ‫ا‬ ،‫کﺎنﺎدایی‬
Fel e «budan», zaman e hal e sadeBe, simple present tense
2nd Person singularNegative FormFull FormShort Form
tonistihastii
Khubi? To Irani hasti?
Matn e kutahShort Text
In Sam ast. Oo doctor ast. Oo Irani ast.This is Sam. He is a doctor. He is Iranian.
●‫دکتر‬ ،‫او‬ ،‫است‬ ،‫این‬
Mokaleme (3)
Gush konid, Bekhanid, va tekrar konid
Conversation (3)
Listen, read, and repeat.

4. Oon kiye*? (ki: who + e: ast)Who is he?
Oon Same.He is Sina.
Che kaarast*? (che kare +ast)What does he do?
doctore.He is a doctor.
Jeddi? Che jaleb! Amricaiye*?Really? Interesting. Is he American?
Na, Amricai nist.No, he’s not American.
oon is the spoken form for oo
●+ ‫(کی‬ ‫کیه‬ ،‫اون‬،)‫ه‬ + ‫(آمریکﺎیی‬ ‫آمریکﺎییه‬ ‫جدی؟‬ ،‫است؟‬ ‫کﺎره‬ ‫چه‬ ،)‫است‬
‫نیست‬ ،‫نه‬
Kiye, Amricaiye: we add a /j/ sound in between to avoid vowel clash.
Che karaast is a case of vowel assimilation in Persian: che kare +ast → che kaarast
/e/ preceeding /a/→/a/
Fel e «budan», zaman e hal e sadeBe, simple present tense
3rd Person
singular
Negative FormFull FormShort Form (used exclusively
in speech)
Oo, oon (s/he, in
(this)
nistAst (limited to written
form)*
e
in Sina ast. / oo doktor ast. / oo irani ast.
Doktore. / Iraniye.
* except for when its preceding word ends with /e/ sound: che kare e? → che karaast?
Fel e «budan», jomleye khabari,
jomleye porseshi
Be; Statements and Questions

5. Man Sara hstam. / to doctor hasti. / oo Irani ast.Statements (+)
Man Sara nistam. / to doctor nisti. / oo Irani nist.Statements (-)
Khubi? / to Irani hasti?Yes / No ?
Oon kiye? Oon chekaraast?Information ?
● There is no short version for the negative form of the verb «budan».
Lesson Focus: Budan (to be): simple present tense (+ - ?), subject
pronouns, relations, occupations
Review Conversation Model
- Salaam, sobh bekheir Sina jaan. Khubi?
- Salaam Shima jaan. Merci, to khubi?
- Manam (man+ham) khubam. Mamnun.
- Raasti Sina, to Tehrani hasti ya Shirazi?
- Man Shiraziyam (Shirazi +am), to chi?
- Manam (man+ham) hamintor.
Salaam, man Sina … . In shima … . Ma ... (your hometown) o … (your
hometown) … . Ma … (friend) … .
●،‫چی؟‬ ‫تو‬ ،‫شیرازی‬ ،‫یﺎ‬ ،‫تهرانی‬ ،‫ممنون‬ ،)‫هم‬ + ‫(من‬ ‫منم‬ ،‫جﺎن‬ ،‫ﺑخیر‬ ‫صﺒح‬
‫همینطور‬
Neither: Hich kodam (written form) = hichkodum
I’m neither from Shiraz nor Tehran: Na shiraziyam na tehrani

6. Kalame haa ye taazeNew Words
(To) chi?.. ham hamintoryamamnunjaanSobh bekheir
How about (you)?… tooorthanksDear, darlingGood morning
Fel e «budan», zaman e hal e sadeBe, simple present tense
1st Person pluralNegative FormFull FormShort Form
manistimhastimim
●،‫مﺎ‬‫نیستیم‬ ،‫هستیم‬
Kalame haa ye taaze: RavaabetNew Words: Relations
dusthamsaayehamkelaasihamkaar
friendneighborclassmateco-worker
●‫دوست‬ ،‫همسﺎیه‬ ،‫همکالسی‬ ،‫همکﺎر‬
● Complete the sentences
man o Taha dust … .
ma hamkaar ham … , amma hamkelaasi … .
man ba/o Sara hamsaaye … .

7. Amma: but
Ba: with
O (spoken form) short for va (written form): and
●‫و‬ ،‫ﺑﺎ‬ ،‫امﺎ‬
Note!
When we’re talking about relations in Farsi we keep the descriptive relation
word singular, unlike in English: we are coworkers → ma hamkaar
hastim.
● Take the role of Sina. introduce “yourself” and your new friend
Shima.
Salaam, man Sina … . In shima … . Ma ... (your hometown) o … (your
hometown) … . Ma … (friend) … .
Fel e «budan», zaman e hal e sadeBe, simple present tense
2nd Person formal/ pluralNegative FormFull FormShort Form
shomanistid/ nistinhastid/ Less Formal:
hastin
id/ in
●)‫(نیستین‬ ‫نیستید‬ ،)‫(هستین‬ ‫هستید‬ ،‫شمﺎ‬
Conversation Model
- Bebakhshid, shoma Iliya hastid?

8. - Na, man Sina hastam. In Iliyast (Iliya +ast)
- Ahaa, doroste (dorost ast)! Bebakhshid Iliya jaan, shoma che kare
hastid?
- Man moalem hastam. Shoma chetor?
- Man ham hamintor.
- Jeddi? Che jaaleb! Pas hame hamkaar hastim.
Moalem: teacher
●‫همه‬ ،‫ﭘس‬ ،‫جطور‬ ،‫معلم‬ ،‫درسته‬ ،‫آهﺎ‬ ،‫ﺑﺒخشید‬
! For numbers other than 2 and 3, use «hame»
Har do: both / har se: the three of us / hame:all
Do: 2
Se: 3
●‫سه‬ ‫هر‬ ،‫دو‬ ‫هر‬
Kalame haa ye taazeNew Words
hamepasdorostebebakhshid
all, we allthenThat’s rightExcuse me
Fel e «budan», zaman e hal e sadeBe, simple present tense
2nd Person pluralNegative FormFull FormShort Form
Aanha/ oonanistand/ nistanHastand/ hastanand/ an

9. ●)‫(نیستن‬ ‫نیستند‬ ،)‫(هستن‬ ‫هستند‬
Bart o Milhouse dust o hamkelaasi hastand. Aanha hamsaye ham hastand.
Iliya Moalem ast, Sina ham hamintor. Aanha hamkaar hastand.
Q&A
A
1. Bart o Milhouse / hamkaar
2. Shoma / to o Sima / hamsaaye / ya / dust
3. Homer o Flanders / dust
4. Shoma / daneshmand
5. Shoma / Mexici
B
Look at the pictures. Ask yes/ no and info questions about people's
occupations and their relations. Use «ya» and «chi/ chetor» in your
questions whenever possible (oona daneshmandan ya doktor? / oon
doktore? Oona chi?)
● Useful words and Phrases: nemidunam (nemidaanam: I don’t know)
Pas che karast? (pas che kare + ast)
●)‫(نمیدانم‬ ‫نمیدونم‬
Kalame haa ye taaze: Shoghl haNew Words: Occupations

10. MekaanikkaarmandHonarmanddaaneshmand
mechanicEmployeeArtistScientist
●‫مکﺎنیک‬ ،‫کﺎرمند‬ ،‫هنرمند‬ ،‫دانشمند‬
Image Source: http://www.freepik.com/

13. Lesson Focus: Possessive nouns and pronouns, Budan (to be): simple present tense
(+ - ?), subject pronouns, relations (+1), occupations (+1)
The Ezāfe Construction, First Function: Possessives
Possessives 1
When we want to talk about possessions, belongings, and relations* in Farsi, we use
the Ezāfe construction: we link to ourselves what belongs or relates to us with a
«kasre» (an /e/ sound):
● My computer: computer-e man ‫من‬ ‫کﺎمﭙیوتر‬
● My name: esm-e man ‫من‬ ‫اسم‬
● My neighbor: hamsaye-ye man ‫همسﺎیه‬‫من‬

14. Note! In case of vowel clash - when two vowels like /e/ follow each other - we add a
/j/ and sometimes /g/ sound for ease of articulation)
● My hometown: shahr-e man ‫من‬ ‫شهر‬
* broadly speaking, whenever we want to add descriptive information to a concept.
Conversation Model
Sobh dar Taxi
- Salaam, sobh bekheir.
- Salaam, sobh-e shoma bekheir.
- Bebakhshid, esm-e shoma chiye? (chi + e: ast)
- Esm-e man Saman e. esm-e shoma chiye?
- Man Kyan hastam. Kheili khoshbakhtam.
- Hamchenin.
- Shoma ahl-e koja hastin?
- Man ahl-e Shirazam. Shoma chi?/ shoma chetor?
- Manam (man + ham) Shiraziyam (Shirazi + am).
- Jeddi? Che jaleb! Pas hamshahri hastim.
Questions
1. Saman ahl-e kojast? Kyan chi?/ Kyan chetor?
2. Saman o Kyan hamkaar hastan?
Kalame haa ye taazeNew Words
hamshahriAhl-e … budankojaKheilidar (prep)
Fellow citizen1. To come from …
(lit. to belong to …)
WhereVery, reallyin

15. ●‫اهل‬ ،‫کجﺎ‬ ،‫خیلی‬ ،‫در‬…‫همشهری‬ ،‫ﺑودن‬
Q&A
A
1. Milhouse hamsaye-ye kiye (ki + e: ast)? (Bart)
2. Homer hamkaar-e Moe e ya Flanders? Pas hamkaar-e kiye? (Karl o Lenny)
3. Burns hamsaaye-ye Homere? (raees)
4. Groundskeeper Willie ahl-e kojast? (scotland)
5. Esm-e dust-e Bart chiye? (Milhouse)
6. Lenny kiye? (Lenny’s relations: raees: Burns, hamkaar: Karl, Homer)
B
1. To o Mina/ hamshahri/ ?
2. Hamkaar/ shoma/ ahl/ koja/ ?
3. esm/ dust/ shoma/ chi/ ?
4. Sara/ hamsaaye/ to/ ?