I Don’t Understand in Persian: 40 Phrases to Ask, Clarify and Keep Talking

The most common way to say “I don’t understand” in Persian is نمی‌فهمم (nemifahmam). A softer, very natural option is متوجه نمی‌شم (motevajjeh nemisham), spoken form of متوجه نمی‌شوم. When you missed something someone just said, Iranians usually use the past tense: ببخشید، متوجه نشدم (bebakhshid, motevajjeh nashodam), “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

Knowing that one sentence is only half the job. The moment you say it, you need the next phrase: “slower, please”, “say it again”, “what does that mean?”, “how do you say this in Persian?”, “do you speak English?”. This guide gives you all of them in Persian script with pronunciation and Listen buttons, tells you which ones Iranians actually use in everyday speech, warns you about two that can sound rude, and lists the replies you are likely to hear back.

“I don’t understand” in Persian: the main ways to say it

Persian has two verbs for “understand”. فهمیدن (fahmidan) is the plain, everyday verb. متوجه شدن (motevajjeh shodan) literally means “to become aware” or “to notice”, and Iranians use it all the time as a gentler “understand” or “catch”. Both are correct; the second one sounds a little more polite and is the safer default with strangers.

Say them out loud with the audio: نمی‌فهمم Listen متوجه نمی‌شم Listen ببخشید، متوجه نشدم Listen

Why Iranians often say “I didn’t understand” instead

In English you say “I don’t understand” about something that was just said. In Persian, if the problem is one sentence you just heard, the past tense is more natural: نفهمیدم (nafahmidam) or متوجه نشدم (motevajjeh nashodam), literally “I didn’t understand (it)”. The present tense نمی‌فهمم sounds more like a general state: “I don’t understand (this language, this topic, this situation)”. Both are understood, but using the past tense for a missed sentence is one of those small things that makes you sound less like a phrasebook.

How the verb works

نمی‌فهمم is built like any present-tense verb: the negative prefix نمی (nemi-) + the present stem فهم (fahm) + the ending م (-am, “I”). Change the ending and you can talk about anyone. There is a full lesson on fahmidan, the Persian verb for “to understand”.

A word of caution: two phrases that can sound rude

Be careful turning this verb toward other people. نمی‌فهمی؟ (nemifahmi?, “don’t you understand?”) and especially مگه نمی‌فهمی؟ (mage nemifahmi?) usually sound like “Are you stupid?” And نفهم (nafahm), literally “non-understanding”, is an insult meaning roughly “idiot”. To check that someone followed you, ask متوجه شدید؟ (motevajjeh shodid?) instead. It is neutral and polite.

Asking someone to slow down or repeat

Saying “I don’t understand” and then stopping leaves the other person guessing. Tell them what would help. Starting with ببخشید (bebakhshid, “excuse me / sorry”) makes any of these requests polite; see how to say sorry in Persian for more on that word.

Practice: میشه آهسته‌تر صحبت کنید؟ Listen میشه دوباره بگید؟ Listen ببخشید، چی فرمودید؟ Listen

A few notes on these:

• میشه (mishe) is the spoken form of می‌شود (mishavad), “is it possible”. Putting it in front of a request is the easiest way to sound polite in spoken Persian, just like “could you” in English.
• بگید (begid) is the spoken form of بگویید (beguyid), “say”. The differences between spoken and written Persian are exactly this kind of shortening.
• فرمودید (farmudid) comes from farmudan, the polite verb for “to say”. You use it for what other people say, never for yourself.
• Use the -id forms (بگید، کنید) with anyone you don’t know well. With a friend, drop the -d: میشه دوباره بگی؟ (mishe dobâre begi?).

The one-word “pardon?”

If you just didn’t hear, you don’t need a full sentence. Iranians say بله؟ (bale?, literally “yes?”) with a rising tone, the way English speakers say “Sorry?” or “Pardon?”. Among family and close friends you will also hear جانم؟ (jânam?), a warm “yes, dear?”. Plain چی؟ (chi?, “what?”) works with friends but sounds blunt with strangers, just like “What?” in English.

“What does that mean?” and “How do you say it in Persian?”

Sometimes you heard every word and still miss one. These are the phrases that turn a conversation into a free lesson.

Practice: یعنی چی؟ Listen به فارسی چی میشه؟ Listen منظورتون چیه؟ Listen

یعنی (ya’ni) is also a handy way to check that you understood. Say یعنی plus your guess with a rising tone: یعنی فردا؟ (ya’ni fardâ?), “You mean tomorrow?”. If you are right, you will hear آره (âre) or بله (bale), “yes”.

“Do you speak English?” and talking about your Persian

The most natural spoken question is not “do you speak” but “do you know”: انگلیسی بلدید؟ (engelisi baladid?). بلد بودن (balad budan) means “to know how to do something”, and Iranians use it for languages all the time. The longer version, انگلیسی صحبت می‌کنید؟ (engelisi sohbat mikonid?), “Do you speak English?”, is also correct and a bit more formal.

Practice: انگلیسی بلدید؟ Listen دارم فارسی یاد می‌گیرم Listen یه کم فارسی بلدم Listen

A practical tip: try a Persian request first and save “do you speak English?” for when you are truly stuck. Iranians are usually delighted that a foreigner is making the effort, and many will slow down, repeat and even teach you a word or two. You will practice more, and you will often get a warmer welcome.

“Can you write it down?” and spelling a word

Seeing a word written helps a lot, especially names and addresses. If you already read Persian script (the Persian alphabet guide will get you there), these phrases are gold.

Why ask “sin or sâd?” Persian has several letters for the same sound: three for “s” (س، ص، ث), four for “z” (ز، ذ، ض، ظ), two for “t” (ت، ط) and two for “gh” (ق، غ). When Iranians spell a name aloud, they name the letter so there is no doubt. If you cannot type Persian yet, the free Persian keyboard lets you type a word and show it to someone, and many people will happily type it into your phone for you.

“I understand” and “got it”: showing you followed

Once things click, let the other person know. It is good manners and keeps the conversation moving.

Note the last one. درک کردن (dark kardan) means to understand in the sense of “comprehend” or “empathize”, so درکت می‌کنم is what you say to a friend who is going through something, not to a taxi driver giving directions. With someone you address as shomâ, say درکتون می‌کنم (darketun mikonam). More on this verb in the lesson on dark kardan, “to understand”.

Replies you will hear

Knowing what comes back is as important as knowing what to say. These are the responses you are most likely to get after you say you don’t understand.

That last compliment comes quickly, even after three words. It is part of Iranian politeness, so accept it modestly with لطف دارید Listen rather than arguing. The guide to taarof and Persian politeness explains why.

Two short conversations

In a taxi

میدون (meydun) is the spoken form of میدان (meydân), “square”. The square is home to the Azadi Tower.

At a market stall

Notice that the seller says زعفرون (za’farun) but writes زعفران (za’farân). In spoken Tehran Persian, “ân” often becomes “un”, which is one reason a word can sound different from how it looks. Asking to see it written clears that up instantly.

Say the key lines again: ببخشید، این به فارسی چی میشه؟ Listen میشه بنویسیدش؟ Listen

Formal, spoken and casual: quick comparison

Most of the phrases above are in spoken Persian, because that is what you will need in conversation. If you are writing an email or a message to someone you don’t know, use the written forms.

Many Iranians chat in Persian written with Latin letters, so in a text message “nemifahmam” or “motevajeh nemisham” will be understood just as well.

Keep going

These phrases work best alongside the rest of your survival kit. Pair them with the most common Persian greetings and phrases, then test yourself with the Persian greetings quiz. If you want a much bigger set of ready-to-use sentences, the phrasebook 1000 Most Common Farsi Phrases is organized by situation.

Common questions

How do you say “I don’t understand” in Farsi?

Say نمی‌فهمم (nemifahmam) or, a little more politely, متوجه نمی‌شم (motevajjeh nemisham). If you mean one sentence you just heard, use the past: ببخشید، متوجه نشدم (bebakhshid, motevajjeh nashodam), “Sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

What does “nemifahmam” mean?

نمی‌فهمم (nemifahmam) means “I don’t understand”. It comes from the verb فهمیدن (fahmidan), “to understand”. The opposite is می‌فهمم (mifahmam), “I understand”, and in the past فهمیدم (fahmidam), “I got it”.

How do you say “I don’t speak Farsi” or “I speak a little Farsi”?

“I don’t know Persian” is فارسی بلد نیستم (fârsi balad nistam). “I know a little Persian” is یه کم فارسی بلدم (ye kam fârsi baladam). “I’m learning Persian” is دارم فارسی یاد می‌گیرم (dâram fârsi yâd migiram).

How do you ask “Do you speak English?” in Persian?

The natural spoken question is انگلیسی بلدید؟ (engelisi baladid?), literally “Do you know English?”. A more formal version is انگلیسی صحبت می‌کنید؟ (engelisi sohbat mikonid?).

How do you say “What does that mean?” in Persian?

Say یعنی چی؟ (ya’ni chi?). To ask about a specific word, put it first: “ارزون یعنی چی؟” (arzun ya’ni chi?). To ask what someone meant, say منظورتون چیه؟ (manzuretun chiye?).

How do you say “Please speak slowly” in Persian?

Say لطفاً آهسته‌تر صحبت کنید (lotfan âheste-tar sohbat konid) or, in everyday speech, میشه یواش‌تر بگید؟ (mishe yavâsh-tar begid?), “Could you say it more slowly?”

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