Study notes for Lesson 12: twenty Persian words for time, from yesterday and tonight to week and year, with pronunciation, examples and a quiz.
Persian words for time
These study notes go with the Lesson 12 video of Learn to Speak Persian Fast. The theme of the lesson is time: parts of the day, days, weeks and years, and words like early and late. Learn these words first. On the grammar page you will use them with the simple past tense to say what you did and when.
Word list
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| وقت | /vaght/ | time (free time, the right time) |
| ساعت | /sâ'at/ | hour; clock; watch |
| دقیقه | /daghighe/ | minute |
| روز | /ruz/ | day |
| شب | /shab/ | night |
| صبح | /sobh/ | morning |
| ظهر | /zohr/ | noon, midday |
| بعدازظهر | /ba'd-az-zohr/ | afternoon |
| عصر | /asr/ | late afternoon, early evening |
| دیروز | /diruz/ | yesterday |
| امروز | /emruz/ | today |
| فردا | /fardâ/ | tomorrow |
| دیشب | /dishab/ | last night |
| هفته | /hafte/ | week |
| ماه | /mâh/ | month (also: moon) |
| سال | /sâl/ | year |
| پارسال | /pârsâl/ | last year |
| امسال | /emsâl/ | this year |
| زود | /zud/ | early; soon |
| دیر | /dir/ | late |
Notes on usage
- ساعت (sâ'at) covers three English words: hour, clock and watch. یک ساعت (yek sâ'at) is "one hour".
- وقت (vaght) is time you have or need: وقت داری؟ (vaght dâri?), "Do you have time?"
- Persian says دیشب (dishab) for "last night" and امشب (emshab) for "tonight". The same pattern gives امروز (today) and امسال (this year).
- عصر (asr) is the part of the day between afternoon and dark. Iranians often use it where English speakers say "this evening".
- زود (zud) also means "soon" or "quickly": زود بیا (zud biâ), "come soon". دیر (dir) is only "late".
- Time words usually come at or near the start of the sentence: دیروز من… or من دیروز…. Both orders are fine.
Example sentences
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| دیروز صبح زود بیدار شدم. | /diruz sobh zud bidâr shodam./ | Yesterday I woke up early in the morning. |
| دیشب دیر خوابیدم. | /dishab dir khâbidam./ | Last night I went to bed late. |
| امروز ظهر ناهار خوردیم. | /emruz zohr nâhâr khordim./ | Today at noon we had lunch. |
| فردا عصر وقت داری؟ | /fardâ asr vaght dâri?/ | Are you free tomorrow evening? |
| هفته‌ی پیش به اصفهان رفتم. | /hafte-ye pish be esfahân raftam./ | Last week I went to Isfahan. |
| پارسال فارسی یاد گرفتم. | /pârsâl fârsi yâd gereftam./ | Last year I learned Persian. |
| کلاس ده دقیقه دیر شروع شد. | /kelâs dah daghighe dir shoru' shod./ | The class started ten minutes late. |
Combining time words
Put a day word in front of a part of the day to be more exact. No extra word is needed between them.
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| دیروز صبح | /diruz sobh/ | yesterday morning |
| دیروز عصر | /diruz asr/ | yesterday evening |
| امروز بعدازظهر | /emruz ba'd-az-zohr/ | this afternoon |
| فردا شب | /fardâ shab/ | tomorrow night |
| هفته‌ی پیش | /hafte-ye pish/ | last week |
| ماه آینده | /mâh-e âyande/ | next month |
| سال آینده | /sâl-e âyande/ | next year |
Most of these sentences use the simple past (رفتم, خوابیدم, شد). Do not worry about the endings yet; the grammar page explains them step by step.
More from Lesson 12
- Lesson 12: Grammar (simple past)
- Lesson 12: Speaking (talking about yesterday)
- Lesson 12: Reading (Ali's day off)
Practice
-
How do you say "yesterday" in Persian?
Show answer
diruz دیروز
-
What does this word mean? دیشب
Show answer
last night
-
What is the opposite of this word? زود
Show answer
dir, "late" دیر
-
Translate: فردا صبح
Show answer
tomorrow morning
-
Which Persian word means hour, clock and watch?
Show answer
sâ'at ساعت
This page is part of the free course Learn to Speak Persian Fast. Previous lesson: Lesson 11: Reading. Next: Lesson 12: Grammar.
Take this lesson further
Study with the book
Learn to Speak Persian Fast: For Beginners
This free lesson is part of Learn to Speak Persian Fast. The book puts the whole series in one printable PDF you can study offline.
Serious about Persian? Get all 30 of our Persian learning books for $199.99 (55% less than buying them one by one).
Free Persian Starter Kit (PDF)
The Persian alphabet chart and the 101 most common Persian words with pronunciation, in one printable PDF. You also get a one-time 10% code for any of our books.
We will email you new lessons and book news from Learn Persian Online. Unsubscribe any time.