Study notes for lesson 5 speaking: a spoken Persian dialogue about a family photo with amu, khâle and cousins, useful phrases and a role-play.
Speaking practice: looking at a family photo
Study notes for this lesson. In this original dialogue, Arash visits his friend Mina and notices a family photo on the wall. They talk the way friends do in Tehran, using تو and the spoken forms of the possessive endings from the grammar page. Read it aloud and pay attention to how the endings and است combine in speech, as in عمومه (amume), "he's my uncle".
Dialogue
| Speaker | Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arash | این عکس کیه؟ | /in aks-e kiye?/ | Whose photo is this? |
| Mina | عکس خانواده‌مه. | /aks-e khânevâdame./ | It's a photo of my family. |
| Arash | این آقا پدرته؟ | /in âghâ pedarete?/ | Is this man your father? |
| Mina | نه، عمومه. پدرم اینجاست، کنار مادرم. | /na, amume. pedaram injâst, kenâr-e mâdaram./ | No, he's my uncle. My father is here, next to my mother. |
| Arash | این خانم کیه؟ | /in khânom kiye?/ | Who is this lady? |
| Mina | خاله‌مه، خاله نرگس. | /khâleme, khâle narges./ | She's my aunt, Aunt Narges. |
| Arash | اون دختر کوچولو دخترشه؟ | /un dokhtar kuchulu dokhtareshe?/ | Is that little girl her daughter? |
| Mina | آره، نیلوفره. دخترخاله‌مه. | /âre, nilufare. dokhtar-khâleme./ | Yes, that's Nilufar. She's my cousin. |
| Arash | تو خواهر یا برادر داری؟ | /to khâhar yâ barâdar dâri?/ | Do you have any sisters or brothers? |
| Mina | نه، تک‌فرزندم. تو چی؟ | /na, tak-farzandam. to chi?/ | No, I'm an only child. What about you? |
| Arash | من یه برادر بزرگ‌تر دارم. | /man ye barâdar-e bozorgtar dâram./ | I have an older brother. |
Useful phrases
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| این کیه؟ | /in kiye?/ | Who is this? Written: in kist? |
| عکس کیه؟ | /aks-e kiye?/ | Whose photo is it? |
| عمومه. | /amume./ | He's my uncle. Written: amuyam ast. |
| خاله‌مه. | /khâleme./ | She's my aunt. Written: khâle-am ast. |
| پدرته؟ | /pedarete?/ | Is he your father? Written: pedarat ast? |
| تک‌فرزندم. | /tak-farzandam./ | I'm an only child. |
| تو چی؟ | /to chi?/ | What about you? |
| یه برادر دارم. | /ye barâdar dâram./ | I have a brother. Written: yek barâdar dâram. |
Two spoken habits stand out. یک (yek), "one", becomes یه (ye) before a noun. And when a possessive ending meets the spoken "is", you hear both: پدرته is pedar + -et (your) + -e (is).
Role-play
Take a real or imagined family photo. Your partner points to people and asks این کیه؟; you answer with a family word and a possessive ending, such as عمومه, دخترخاله‌مه or پدربزرگمه, and add one more sentence about the person. Then ask your partner تو خواهر یا برادر داری؟ and swap roles. Try to use at least four different relatives.
Pronunciation tip
Spoken endings stack up quickly, so say them smoothly as one word: dokh-tar-khâ-le-me. Stress falls on the last syllable of the family word, before the endings: dokhtar-khâLE-me.
Other pages in this lesson
Practice
-
Who is the man in the photo?
Show answer
Mina's uncle (her father's brother) عمومه.
-
Who is Nilufar?
Show answer
Mina's cousin, the daughter of Aunt Narges دخترخاله‌مه.
-
Does Mina have brothers or sisters?
Show answer
No, she is an only child. تک‌فرزندم.
-
Say "I have an older brother" in spoken Persian.
Show answer
man ye barâdar-e bozorgtar dâram. من یه برادر بزرگ‌تر دارم.
This page is part of the free course Learn to Speak Persian Fast.
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