Persian Numbers and Telling Time: Beginner Review

A beginner review of Persian numbers 0 to 100, Persian digits and telling the time, with a dialogue, spoken forms and a short quiz.

Beginner review: numbers and telling time

This page is a review lesson for the "Persian For Beginners: A Complete Course" series. It covers the numbers you need every day, the Persian digits you will see on signs and prices, and how to ask and tell the time.

Numbers 0 to 20

Tens and compound numbers

Compound numbers join the parts with و, pronounced o: بیست و پنج (bist o panj), "twenty-five". Persian digits are written from left to right, just like English digits, even though the text runs right to left: ۲۵ is 25.

Numbers in daily life

Persian digits appear on prices, phone numbers, license plates and clocks, so it is worth learning their shapes early. Look closely at ۴, ۵ and ۶ (4, 5 and 6), which do not resemble their English equivalents, and do not confuse ۰ (0), a small dot, with ۵ (5), a small circle or heart shape. Many people also write ۴, ۵ and ۶ in slightly different handwritten shapes, so read the number in context.

Two other habits help in shops. First, the counting word تا (tâ) often comes between a number and a noun in speech: سه تا کتاب (se tâ ketâb), "three books". Second, the noun after a number stays singular: "three book", never "three books" with a plural ending. Prices in conversation are usually given in tomans, تومان (tomân), even though the official currency is the rial; one toman equals ten rials.

To ask how many, use چند (chand) or چند تا (chand tâ) followed by a singular noun: چند تا کتاب داری؟ (chand tâ ketâb dâri?), "How many books do you have?" The same word چند appears in the time question ساعت چنده؟, literally "the hour is how much?"

Telling the time

ربع (rob') means "quarter" and نیم (nim) means "half". Minutes after the hour are added with و; minutes before the hour use به (be), "to". To show the part of the day, add صبح (sobh), "morning", بعدازظهر (ba'd az zohr), "afternoon", or شب (shab), "night": ساعت هشت شب, "eight in the evening".

Dialogue

• Persian For Beginners: A Complete Course
• Page 7: greetings and introductions

Practice

1. Read this number: ۱۷

   Show answer

   hefdah, 17

2. How do you say 25?

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   bist o panj بیست و پنج

3. Ask "What time is it?" in spoken Persian.

   Show answer

   sâ'at chande? ساعت چنده؟

4. Say "half past three".

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   se o nim سه و نیم

5. What does "ye rob' be chahâr" mean? یه ربع به چهار

   Show answer

   quarter to four

Back to the course: Persian For Beginners: A Complete Course.