Colloquial Persian: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed to provide a step-by-step course to Persian as it is written and spoken today. Combining a clear, practical, and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Persian in a broad range of situations.
Each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points across different key topics for communicating in Persian. This fourth edition offers thoroughly updated and expanded cultural notes, refined language points offering greater clarity and understanding of the most difficult points, a clearer introduction to the Persian script, and new audio material. Balanced, comprehensive, and rewarding, Colloquial Persian is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Persian. No prior knowledge of the language is required.
Key features include:
• A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
• Jargon-free, succinct, and clearly structured explanations of grammar.
• An extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercises.
• Realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situations.
• Helpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in Iran.
• An overview of the sounds of Persian.
Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. The audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.
Introduction
Reading and writing in Persian
Guidelines for Persian writing
سلام 1 salām
Greetings
Dialogue 1 Greeting and leave-taking
Dialogue 2 Introducing yourself
احوال پرسی 2 ahvāl-porsi
Enquiring about health
Dialogue 1 How’re you?
Dialogue 2 Pleased to meet you!
کجايی هستيد؟ 3 kojāyi hastid?
Where are you from?
Dialogue 1 Party game: Who am I?
Dialogue 2 Introducing B to C
آخر هفته چه کار کرديد؟ 4 āxar-e hafte ce-kār kardid?
What did you do at the weekend?
Dialogue 1 Wish you were there!
Dialogue 2 Nothing to write home about!
منزلتون کجاست؟ 5 manzeletun kojāst?
Where’s your home?
Dialogue 1 Giving your details
Dialogue 2 Asking about family
ورود به تهران 6 vorud be tehrān
Arriving in Tehran
Dialogue 1 How long will you stay in Iran?
Dialogue 2 Going through customs
در ايران 7 dar irān
In Iran
Dialogue 1 Getting a taxi
Dialogue 2 Checking into a hotel
گفت وگوی خيابانی 8 goft-o-gu-ye xiābāni
Street talk
Dialogue 1 Asking directions
Dialogue 2 Is there a metro station around here?
گرسنه ايد؟ 9 gorosneid?
Are you hungry?
Dialogue 1 At the dinner table
Dialogue 2 Is this seat taken?
موقعيّت های اضطراری 10 mouqe`iyathā-ye ezterāri
Emergency situations
Dialogue 1 At the police station
Dialogue 2 Describing appearance
منزل 11 manzel
Home
Dialogue 1 Answering the phone
Dialogue 2 I’m looking for a flat
گردش 12 gardeŝ
Going out
Dialogue 1 If the weather gets better . . .
Dialogue 2 What are your hobbies?
خريد 13 xarid
Shopping
Dialogue 1 Haggling
Dialogue 2 In a corner shop
خدمات 14 xadamāt
Services
Dialogue 1 At the post office
Dialogue 2 Exchanging currencies
سلامت و بهداشت 15 salāmat o behdāŝt
Health and hygiene
Dialogue 1 Hello, Doctor
Dialogue 2 At the pharmacy
روابط با ديگران 16 ravābet bā digarān
Relations with other people
Dialogue 1 Giving and receiving gifts
Dialogue 2 Arranging to meet
کار و زبان های خارجی 17 kār va zabānhā-ye xāreji
Business and foreign languages
Dialogue 1 A business appointment
Dialogue 2 A job interview
Key to the exercises
Reference grammar
Persian–English glossary
English–Persian glossary
Biography
Abdi Rafiee is a Farsi (Persian) teacher at the University of Westminster, London, UK.
