Practice asking and telling ages in spoken Persian with a family-photo dialogue, useful phrases, a role-play idea and a quiz.
How old are you? A Persian conversation
Study notes for this lesson. Leila visits her friend Maryam and they look at a family photo. Maryam tells her who everyone is and how old they are. The dialogue uses spoken Tehran Persian, so many verbs and endings are shortened. Read it aloud and pay attention to the short form سالمه (sâlame).
Dialogue: Leila and Maryam
| Speaker | Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leila | این عکس خانواده‌ته؟ | /in aks-e khânevâdate?/ | Is this a photo of your family? |
| Maryam | آره. اینا پدر و مادرمن. | /âre. inâ pedar-o mâdaraman./ | Yes. These are my father and mother. |
| Leila | پدرت چند سالشه؟ | /pedaret chand sâleshe?/ | How old is your father? |
| Maryam | پنجاه سالشه. | /panjâh sâleshe./ | He's fifty. |
| Leila | این پسر کیه؟ | /in pesar kiye?/ | Who is this boy? |
| Maryam | برادرم نیماست. بیست و پنج سالشه. | /barâdaram nimâst. bist-o panj sâleshe./ | That's my brother Nima. He's twenty-five. |
| Leila | پس تو از نیما کوچیک‌تری؟ | /pas to az nimâ kuchiktari?/ | So you're younger than Nima? |
| Maryam | آره، من بیست و دو سالمه. تو چند سالته؟ | /âre, man bist-o do sâlame. to chand sâlete?/ | Yes, I'm twenty-two. How old are you? |
| Leila | من بیست و سه سالمه. | /man bist-o se sâlame./ | I'm twenty-three. |
| Maryam | این دختر کوچولو هم خواهرمه، سحر. فردا تولدشه. | /in dokhtar kuchulu ham khâharame, sahar. fardâ tavallodeshe./ | And this little girl is my sister, Sahar. Tomorrow is her birthday. |
| Leila | چه خوب! تولدش مبارک. | /che khub! tavallodesh mobârak./ | How nice. Happy birthday to her. |
How the spoken age phrase works
سالمه (sâlame) is short for سالم است (sâlam ast), literally "it is my year(s)". It is the most common way to give your age in conversation. The same pattern works for every person: سالمه (sâlame), "I am"; سالته (sâlete), "you are"; سالشه (sâleshe), "he or she is". In writing or formal speech, use سال دارم (sâl dâram): من بیست و دو سال دارم.
Useful phrases
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| چند سالته؟ | /chand sâlete?/ | How old are you? (informal) |
| شما چند سالتونه؟ | /shomâ chand sâletune?/ | How old are you? (polite, spoken) |
| … سالمه. | /… sâlame./ | I'm … (years old). |
| … سالشه. | /… sâleshe./ | He / she is … (years old). |
| از … بزرگ‌ترم. | /az … bozorgtaram./ | I'm older than … |
| از … کوچیک‌ترم. | /az … kuchiktaram./ | I'm younger than … |
| این کیه؟ | /in kiye?/ | Who is this? |
| تولدت مبارک! | /tavallodet mobârak!/ | Happy birthday. |
Asking an adult's age directly can feel personal in Iran, as in many places, so with older people or new acquaintances it is safer to talk about the ages of children and younger family members.
Two more spoken features appear in the dialogue. اینا (inâ) is the spoken form of این‌ها (inhâ), "these", and کیه؟ (kiye?) is short for کی است؟ (ki ast?), "who is it?". Notice also how Leila uses پس (pas, "so, then") to draw a conclusion from what Maryam has just said.
Role-play
- Bring a real or imagined family photo and show it to a partner.
- Your partner points and asks این کیه؟ and چند سالشه؟.
- Answer with the family words from the New Words page and a number.
- Compare ages with بزرگ‌تر and کوچیک‌تر.
- Finish by asking your partner تو چند سالته؟.
Other parts of Lesson 8
Practice
-
How old is Maryam's father?
Show answer
Fifty: panjâh sâleshe. پنجاه سالشه.
-
Who is older, Maryam or Nima?
Show answer
Nima. He is 25; Maryam is 22. نیما
-
Say "I'm twenty-three" in spoken Persian.
Show answer
bist-o se sâlame. بیست و سه سالمه.
-
What does tavallodesh mobârak mean? تولدش مبارک
Show answer
Happy birthday to her (him).
-
Give the written equivalent of man bist-o do sâlame. من بیست و دو سالمه.
Show answer
man bist-o do sâl dâram. من بیست و دو سال دارم.
Previous lesson: Lesson 7: Reading. Next lesson: Lesson 9: New Words.
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