Persian Slang: 40 Everyday Words and Phrases Iranians Really Use

Persian slang is the relaxed, spoken Persian Iranians use with friends: words like آره (âre, yeah), باشه (bâshe, OK), دمت گرم (damet garm, nice one, thanks), خفن (khafan, awesome) and بی‌خیال (bikhiyâl, forget it). Below are 40 everyday slang words and phrases with pronunciation, real example sentences and a clear note on who you can say them to.

Everything here is clean, friendly slang that you will hear in Tehran streets, Iranian films, group chats and family dinners. None of it is rude. Most of it is still informal, though, so the golden rule is simple: use it with friends, people your age and younger relatives, and switch back to polite Persian with elders, teachers, officials and anyone you address as شما (shomâ). If you are new to the informal register, read our guide to spoken vs written Persian first; slang sits on top of those spoken forms.

How Persian slang works (in one minute)

Three things make Persian slang easier than it looks:

• It is built on spoken grammar. Slang sentences use spoken verb forms like می‌رم (miram, I go) instead of written می‌روم (miravam), and خوبه (khube, it is good) instead of خوب است (khub ast).
• Many slang words are normal words with a new meaning. توپ (tup) means “ball”, but حالم توپه (hâlam tupe) means “I feel great”. تابلو (tâblo) is a sign or painting, and in slang it means “obvious”.
• Tone does a lot of work. نه بابا (na bâbâ) can be “no way” with a laugh or “oh, come on” with a sigh. Listen to how Iranians say it, not only to the words.

1. Yes, no and OK

Examples you will actually hear:

• باشه، فردا می‌بینمت. (bâshe, fardâ mibinamet.) OK, see you tomorrow. Listen
• حله، من می‌خرم. (halle, man mikharam.) Done, I’ll buy it. Listen
• عمراً بیاد. (omran biyâd.) No way he’s coming.
• نه بابا، جدی؟ (na bâbâ, jeddi?) No way, seriously? Listen

2. Greetings and goodbyes

A typical exchange between two friends:

سلام، چطوری؟ چه خبر؟ (salâm, chetori? che khabar?) Hi, how’s it going? What’s new? Listen
هیچی، سلامتی. تو خوبی؟ (hichi, salâmati. to khubi?) Nothing much, all good. You okay? Listen

For polite greetings with people you do not know well, see common Persian greeting phrases and the beginner dialogue saying hello and how are you.

3. Thanks and praise

دمت گرم، خیلی کمکم کردی. (damet garm, kheyli komakam kardi.) Thanks a lot, you really helped me. Listen

ایول، قبول شدی؟ (eyval, ghabul shodi?) Nice, you passed? Listen

The “sacrifice” phrases sound dramatic in English but are everyday affection in Persian. They are part of the same politeness culture explained in our guide to taarof, Persian politeness.

4. Describing things: cool, obvious, embarrassing

این فیلم خیلی خفن بود. (in film kheyli khafan bud.) This movie was awesome. Listen

حالم توپه. (hâlam tupe.) I feel great. Listen

5. Reactions: aww, oh come on, forget it

آخی، چه ناز. (âkhey, che nâz.) Aww, how cute. Listen

بی‌خیال، مهم نیست. Listen

6. What friends call each other

Adding جون (jun) after a first name is the friendliest way to address someone, and جان (jân) is the slightly more polite version that you can use with almost anyone you know. For romantic words, see how to say I love you in Persian and 30 endearments.

7. Slang verbs: nagging, having fun, messing up

فردا می‌ریم کوه، پایه‌ای؟ Listen

دیشب کلی حال کردیم. Listen

Notice the spoken verb forms: پیچوندن (pichundan) is the spoken pronunciation of written پیچاندن (pichândan), with the â before n turning into u. That one sound change explains hundreds of everyday words, from خونه (khune, house) to نمی‌دونم (nemidunam, I don’t know).

Slang you should not use with elders

Persian has a strong formal and informal divide, so even clean slang can sound rude in the wrong room. As a learner, keep these out of conversations with older people, teachers, officials, customers and in-laws you have just met:

• عمراً (omran), نه بابا (na bâbâ) and ای بابا (ey bâbâ): they can sound like you are brushing the other person off.
• گیر دادن (gir dâdan) and پیچوندن (pichundan): they describe someone negatively.
• داداش (dâdâsh) and آبجی (âbji) to strangers: fine for taxi drivers in some neighborhoods, but risky from a foreigner.

With these people, use polite standard phrases: بله (bale, yes), خیلی ممنون (kheyli mamnun, thank you very much), ببخشید (bebakhshid, excuse me). Also keep the polite pronoun شما (shomâ); our lesson on polite shomâ instead of to explains when to use it. One more caution: Persian, like English, has vulgar slang. This list deliberately leaves it out. If a word you hear in a film makes people laugh nervously, do not repeat it until you have asked a native speaker what it means.

How to learn Persian slang faster

• Learn spoken grammar first. Slang always comes in spoken form, so learn the main sound changes (â to u, verb endings in -e) and slang becomes easy to parse.
• Watch with Persian subtitles. Iranian films and series are full of the words above. Pause when you hear one and repeat the full sentence.
• Read jokes. Jokes are written in spoken Persian. Try our explained jokes such as the lazy robbers joke in spoken Farsi.
• Notice Finglish. Young Iranians often type slang in Latin letters (“damet garm”, “eyval”). Our Finglish to Persian converter turns those spellings back into Persian script.
• Learn idioms next. Slang and idioms overlap. Continue with Farsi idioms with no English equivalent and test yourself with the Persian idioms quiz.

If you want to hear these words inside full, natural dialogues, the Farsi Conversations book is built around the phrases Iranians use every day, written in both spoken and standard Persian.

Common questions

What is the most common Persian slang word?

There is no official count, but آره (âre, yeah), باشه (bâshe, OK) and مرسی (mersi, thanks) are among the words you will hear most in any casual conversation. Among more “slangy” words, دمت گرم (damet garm) and ایول (eyval) are very common.

What does damet garm mean?

دمت گرم (damet garm) literally means “may your breath be warm”. It is used as “nice one”, “good on you” or “thanks a lot” between friends. It is casual, so with elders say دستتون درد نکنه (dastetun dard nakone) instead.

What does khafan mean in Persian?

خفن (khafan) is youth slang for something impressive or intense, close to “awesome” or “hardcore”. Depending on context it can also mean scary or tough, as in a hard exam.

Is Persian slang the same in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan?

No. The slang on this page is Iranian, mostly Tehrani, and it is the slang you hear in Iranian films and media. Dari in Afghanistan and Tajik have their own everyday words, and some Iranian slang will sound foreign there.

Is it rude to use slang in Persian?

Clean slang is not rude among friends, but it is informal. Iranians pay close attention to politeness, so using عمراً (omran) or داداش (dâdâsh) with an elder or a stranger can sound disrespectful. When unsure, use polite standard Persian.

How do Iranians say “cool” in Persian?

The most common words are باحال (bâhâl, cool, fun), خفن (khafan, awesome) and عالی (âli, great). For “I feel great” people say حالم توپه (hâlam tupe).

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