Talk about a trip in Persian: you look great, where did you go, did you have fun, jâ-ye sh
speaking
| English | Pronunciation | Persian | ||
| Neda: | You look great, | /âli be nazar miyây, rafte budi safar?/ | عالی به نظر میای، رفته بودی سفر؟ | :ندا |
| Sara: | Yes, I just got back yesterday? | /âre, taze diroz bargashtam/ | آره، تازه دیروز برگشتم | :سارا |
| Neda: | Where did you go? | /kojâ rafte budi?/ | کجا رفته بودی؟ | :ندا |
| Sara: | I went to Esfahan. | /rafte budam esfahân/ | رفته بودم اصفهان | :سارا |
| Neda: | That’s good, how was it? | /che khob, chetor bud? Khosh gozasht?/ | چه خوب، چطور بود؟ خوش گذشت؟ | :ندا |
| Sara: | It was great, | /âli bud, jay shomâ khali/ | عالی بود، جای شما خالی | :سارا |
Talk about a trip in Persian: you look great, where did you go, did you have fun, jâ-ye shomâ khâli, past perfect and a short quiz.
Talking about a trip: where did you go?
Neda sees her friend Sara looking relaxed and guesses she has been away. Sara got back from Isfahan just yesterday. Neda asks how it was and whether she had a good time, and Sara answers with the very Iranian phrase جای شما خالی (jâ-ye shomâ khâli).
The dialogue uses the past perfect, رفته بودی (rafte budi), "you had gone", which spoken Persian often uses for trips that are now over.
The dialogue
| Speaker | Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neda | عالی به نظر میای، رفته بودی سفر؟ | /âli be nazar miyây, rafte budi safar?/ | You look great. Were you away on a trip? |
| Sara | آره، تازه دیروز برگشتم. | /âre, tâze diruz bargashtam./ | Yes, I just got back yesterday. |
| Neda | کجا رفته بودی؟ | /kojâ rafte budi?/ | Where did you go? |
| Sara | رفته بودم اصفهان. | /rafte budam esfahân./ | I went to Isfahan. |
| Neda | چه خوب، چطور بود؟ خوش گذشت؟ | /che khub, chetor bud? khosh gozasht?/ | How nice. How was it? Did you have a good time? |
| Sara | عالی بود، جای شما خالی. | /âli bud, jâ-ye shomâ khâli./ | It was great. I wish you had been there. |
Key words and phrases
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| به نظر اومدن | /be nazar omadan/ | to seem, to look |
| عالی به نظر میای | /âli be nazar miyây/ | you look great |
| سفر | /safar/ | trip, journey |
| سفر رفتن | /safar raftan/ | to go on a trip |
| تازه | /tâze/ | just (recently); fresh |
| دیروز | /diruz/ | yesterday |
| برگشتن | /bargashtan/ | to return, come back |
| برگشتم | /bargashtam/ | I came back |
| رفته بودی | /rafte budi/ | you had gone |
| چطور بود؟ | /chetor bud?/ | how was it? |
| خوش گذشت؟ | /khosh gozasht?/ | did you have a good time? |
| جای شما خالی | /jâ-ye shomâ khâli/ | we missed you there (set phrase) |
Spoken vs written Persian
Neda and Sara speak casually. In writing, the verb forms are fuller and the destination takes به (be), "to".
| Spoken / written | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| میای / می‌آیی | /miyây / mi-âyi/ | you come, you seem |
| رفته بودی سفر / به سفر رفته بودی | /rafte budi safar / be safar rafte budi/ | had you gone on a trip |
| رفته بودم اصفهان / به اصفهان رفته بودم | /rafte budam esfahân / be esfahân rafte budam/ | I had gone to Isfahan |
| آره / بله | /âre / bale/ | yes |
Culture note: jâ-ye shomâ khâli
جای شما خالی literally means "your place was empty". People say it when telling someone about a nice meal, trip or party that the listener missed, to show they thought of them. A polite reply is جاتون سبز (jâtun sabz), literally "may your place be green", or simply مرسی.
خوش گذشت؟ literally asks "did it pass pleasantly?". It is the usual way to ask "did you have fun?". The answer can be آره، خیلی خوش گذشت (âre, kheyli khosh gozasht), "yes, I had a great time".
Grammar note
The past perfect is the past participle plus بودن: رفته بودم (rafte budam), رفته بودی (rafte budi), رفته بود (rafte bud). In conversation it is common for a completed trip, as in کجا رفته بودی؟, where English simply says "where did you go?". تازه before a past verb means "just": تازه رسیدم (tâze residam), "I just arrived".
Try it yourself
- Tell a friend you just got back from Shiraz: تازه از شیراز برگشتم (tâze az shirâz bargashtam).
- Ask someone back from a holiday: خوش گذشت؟
- Tell a friend about a great dinner and add جای شما خالی.
Practice
-
How do you say "You look great" to a friend?
Show answer
âli be nazar miyây عالی به نظر میای
-
When did Sara come back, and from where?
Show answer
Yesterday, from Isfahan. دیروز، از اصفهان
-
Ask "Did you have a good time?"
Show answer
khosh gozasht? خوش گذشت؟
-
What does {{جای شما خالی}} literally mean, and when is it used?
Show answer
"Your place was empty"; said when telling someone about something nice they missed.
-
Say "I had gone to Tehran" in written Persian.
Show answer
be tehrân rafte budam به تهران رفته بودم
Find more dialogues in the Farsi conversation lessons series, and review the sounds behind the transliteration on the Persian pronunciation page.
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