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Persian Joke: Praying for Rain in Class (Explained)

Hand-painted cover for the Persian class joke about praying for rain, with students joking under dry skies.

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معلم: بچه ها بیایید با هم دیگه دعای باران بخونیم !

یکی از شاگردها: آقا آخه دعای ما که برآورده نمیشه !

معلم: چرا عزیزم!؟ شما دل هاتون پاکه حتما دعاهاتون برآورده میشه !

A cheeky Persian classroom joke about praying for rain, line by line with spoken and written forms, key grammar, the punchline explained and a quiz.

A Persian classroom joke: let's pray for rain

In this joke a teacher asks the class to say a prayer for rain together. Saying دعای باران (do'â-ye bârân), a prayer for rain, is a traditional practice in times of drought. The students' reply is a cheeky bit of classroom humor that every Iranian schoolchild understands: students joking about strict teachers.

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
معلم: بچه‌ها، بیایید با همدیگه دعای باران بخونیم! /mo'allem: bachche-hâ, biyâyid bâ hamdige do'â-ye bârân bekhunim!/ Teacher: "Children, let's say the prayer for rain together."
یکی از شاگردها: آقا، آخه دعای ما که برآورده نمیشه! /yeki az shâgerd-hâ: âghâ, âkhe do'â-ye mâ ke barâvorde nemishe!/ One of the students: "But sir, our prayers never come true."
معلم: چرا عزیزم؟ شما دل‌هاتون پاکه، حتما دعاهاتون برآورده میشه! /mo'allem: cherâ azizam? shomâ del-hâtun pâke, hatman do'â-hâtun barâvorde mishe!/ Teacher: "Why, dear? Your hearts are pure; your prayers will surely come true."
یکی دیگه از شاگردها: آقا، آخه اگه قرار بود دعاهای ما برآورده بشه، شما تا الان باید هزار بار مرده بودین! /yeki dige az shâgerd-hâ: âghâ, âkhe age gharâr bud do'â-hâ-ye mâ barâvorde beshe, shomâ tâ alân bâyad hezâr bâr morde budin!/ Another student: "But sir, if our prayers were going to come true, you would have died a thousand times by now."

Why it is funny

The teacher says something kind: children have pure hearts, so their prayers are answered. The second student proves the opposite with an unexpected confession. The students have secretly wished for their teacher's death a thousand times, and since he is still alive, their prayers obviously do not work. It is exaggerated schoolroom teasing, not real hostility, and the number هزار (hezâr), "a thousand", is there to make the exaggeration obvious.

Spoken vs written forms

Spoken / Written Pronunciation English
همدیگه / همدیگر /hamdige / hamdigar/ each other, together
بخونیم / بخوانیم /bekhunim / bekhânim/ let's read / recite
نمیشه / نمی‌شود /nemishe / nemishavad/ does not become
دل‌هاتون / دل‌هایتان /del-hâtun / del-hâyetân/ your hearts
پاکه / پاک است /pâke / pâk ast/ is pure
دیگه / دیگر /dige / digar/ other, another
اگه / اگر /age / agar/ if
بودین / بودید /budin / budid/ you had (been)

Grammar notes

  • برآورده شدن (barâvorde shodan) means "to be fulfilled, to come true" and is used for wishes and prayers.
  • آقا (âghâ), "sir", is how students traditionally address a male teacher. آخه (âkhe) adds a tone of objection: "but, after all".
  • اگه قرار بود … بشه: قرار بودن (gharâr budan) means "to be supposed to, to be going to". Here it sets up an unreal condition: "if it were the case that …".
  • باید مرده بودین (bâyad morde budin), "you should have died", combines باید with the past perfect to describe something that would have happened but did not.

Glossary

Persian Pronunciation English
دعا /do'â/ prayer, wish
باران /bârân/ rain
شاگرد /shâgerd/ student, pupil
دل /del/ heart
پاک /pâk/ pure, clean
حتما /hatman/ surely, definitely

Practice

  1. What does "barâvorde shodan" mean? برآورده شدن

    Show answer

    to be fulfilled, to come true

  2. Give the written form: نمیشه

    Show answer

    nemishavad نمی‌شود

  3. How do students address a male teacher?

    Show answer

    âghâ, "sir" آقا

  4. What does the second student's answer reveal?

    Show answer

    That the students have wished for the teacher's death many times, and since he is alive, their prayers do not work.

More jokes: Laugh and Learn Persian.

یکی دیگه از شاگردها: آقا آخه اگه قرار بود دعاهای ما برآورده بشه ، شما تا الان باید 1000 بار مرده بودین !


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