در کلاس زیست شناسی
معلم:سعید! دو تا حیوان دوزیست نام ببر.
A short Persian classroom joke about amphibians, line by line with pronunciation, the wordplay on do-zist explained, key words and a quiz.
A Persian classroom joke: name two amphibians
Classroom jokes are very popular in Persian, and many of them follow the same pattern: the teacher asks a question and a student gives an answer that is technically correct but not what the teacher wanted. In this one the topic is biology, زیست‌شناسی (zist-shenâsi).
How to study a joke: read the Persian line by line with the pronunciation, then cover the English and retell the joke aloud in your own words. A joke is a good test of listening, because if you understand the punchline, you understood the grammar too.
The joke, line by line
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| در کلاس زیست‌شناسی | /dar kelâs-e zist-shenâsi/ | In biology class |
| معلم: سعید! دو تا حیوان دوزیست نام ببر. | /mo'allem: sa'id! do tâ heyvân-e dozist nâm bebar./ | Teacher: "Saeed, name two amphibians." |
| سعید: قورباغه و برادرش. | /sa'id: ghurbâghe va barâdarash./ | Saeed: "A frog and its brother." |
Why it is funny
The teacher wants two different species, for example a frog and a salamander. Saeed knows only one amphibian, so he solves the problem by naming the frog twice: the frog, and then the frog's brother. His answer obeys the letter of the question, "two amphibians", while missing its point completely.
There is a small extra layer in the word itself. دوزیست (dozist) is built from دو (do), "two", and زیست (zist), "life": an animal that lives two lives, in water and on land. The number two is already inside the word, and the teacher asks for two of them, so the joke plays with "two" twice.
Spoken vs written forms
The joke is told in a fairly neutral style. Here is how the same lines would sound in relaxed speech and in careful writing.
| Form A / Form B | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| دو تا / دو | /do tâ / do/ | two (spoken uses the counting word تا) |
| برادرش / داداشش | /barâdarash / dâdâshesh/ | his/its brother (written / very casual spoken) |
| نام ببر / اسم ببر | /nâm bebar / esm bebar/ | name (it): formal / everyday |
| حیوان / حیوون | /heyvân / heyvun/ | animal: written / spoken |
Grammar notes
- نام بردن (nâm bordan), "to name, to mention", is a compound verb. The imperative is نام ببر (nâm bebar), "name". In speech people say اسم ببر (esm bebar).
- حیوانِ دوزیست (heyvân-e dozist) uses the ezâfe -e to join a noun and its adjective: "amphibious animal".
- برادرش (barâdarash) adds the possessive ending -ash, "his, her, its", to برادر (barâdar), "brother".
Glossary
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| زیست‌شناسی | /zist-shenâsi/ | biology |
| دوزیست | /dozist/ | amphibian; amphibious |
| قورباغه | /ghurbâghe/ | frog |
| معلم | /mo'allem/ | teacher |
| نام بردن | /nâm bordan/ | to name, to mention |
| برادر | /barâdar/ | brother |
- Laugh and Learn Persian: all jokes
- Joke 1: Memory Loss
- Joke 2: Lazy Robbers
- Joke 4: Snake in Love
- Joke 5: Let's Pray
Practice
-
What does "dozist" literally mean? دوزیست
Show answer
"two lives": an animal that lives in water and on land (amphibian)
-
How does the teacher say "Name two amphibians"?
Show answer
do tâ heyvân-e dozist nâm bebar. دو تا حیوان دوزیست نام ببر.
-
What is the everyday spoken alternative to "nâm bebar"? نام ببر
Show answer
esm bebar اسم ببر
-
Why is Saeed's answer funny?
Show answer
He names the same animal twice, a frog and its brother, which is technically two amphibians but not two kinds.
More jokes: Laugh and Learn Persian.
سعید: قورباغه و برادرش.
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