Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation: Recent Episodes
Chai & Conversation
Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation teaches you conversational Persian in a fun and casual manner in weekly lessons of about 15-20 minutes each. Check out our website chaiandconversation.com for more information.
So excited to share that Navied Mahdavian's incredible debut graphic memoir, This Country: Searching for Home in (Very) Rural America is NOW OUT and available for purchase! And to celebrate, I’m so excited to share with you all the conversation I had with Navied after reading his incredible his work.
The book is set in rural Idaho where Navied moved with his wife and dog in November 2016- yes, the month Trump got elected. I could NOT put the book down and enjoyed reading it immensely- it brought up so many issues we all think about so much, like issues of identity, language, culture, being “others”- I had so many questions for Navied and feel so lucky I got to sit down and ask him some of them. He’s delightful to talk to, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the conversation as much as I did.
Related Links:
Navied Mahdavian on Instagram
Navied's comic about Iran
In this second part of the discussion for Rumi's deevāné shō, we go over the first two lines of the poem in detail.
Host: Leyla Shams
Guest: Marjan Kamali
Introduction:
- Leyla Shams, host of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation, introduces her guest Marjan Kamali, the award-winning author of the Stationary Shop.
Topics Discussed:
- Marjan Kamali's The Stationary Shop
- Recommended by the founder of Ketab Club, Kimia, as the number one book by a middle eastern author.
- Leyla shares her experience reading the book with a dozen other women and the emotions it evoked.
- Setting and Historical Context
- Unlike the common discourse about the 1979 revolution, this novel is set during the 1953 coup in Iran.
- Discussion on how the 1953 coup altered the course of Iranian history.
- Insight into how the novel shows that the coup was a significant event leading to a loss of hope and irreversible change for Iran.
- Discussion with Marjan Kamali
- The inspiration behind the novel.
- Kamali's thoughts on current events in Iran and her predictions for the future.
Recommendations:
- Leyla highly recommends her listeners to read The Stationary Shop.
- Encourages joining Ketab Club, a wonderful book club focused on Middle Eastern authors. Link will be provided in the shownotes.
In this Growing Up Irooni we talk to Omid Roustaei, better known as the Caspian Chef. In this conversation, we discuss the process of coming to the United States on his own and figuring out his own path for assimilating into American culture as a means of survival. Omid has has a very rich and va...
In this final part of the discussion of Bani Adam by Saadi, we go over the last two lines of the poem, and review the entire poem in its entirety as well.
In this lesson, we'll go over the first part of the poem bani ādam and learn the individual words and phrases of this section of the poem.
In this poetry episode, we go over one of the most famous poems of the Persian language- bani adam by the poet saadi. We will learn about Saadi and what made him such a unique voice. And then we'll go over this poem specifically. We're joined in this episode by Muhammad Ali of Persian Poetics.
In this lesson, we're going to go over the final part of the poem beshnō een nay by Rumi. We will go over the Persian words and phrases learned in this part of the poem.man bé har jam'eeyatee nālān shodamIn every crowd, I cried out in despairمن به هر جمعیتی نالان شدمjofté...
In this third part of our discussion of Rumi's beshnō een nay, we go over the middle part of the poem, and learn the words and phrases associated with this part of the poem.seené khāham sharhé sharhé az farāghI seek a heart, from longing torn apartسینه خواهم شَرحه شَرحه از فِراق<...
In this lesson, we're going to go over the first four lines of the poem beshnō een nay, (also known as beshnō az nay- we explain this in the lesson) and learn the vocabulary and phrases associated with the poem. We also learn other vocabulary words related to the ones learned in this part of the ...
In this lesson, we go over one of Rumi's most famous poems, beshnō een nay, which means ‘listen to the reed flute,' with our friend Muhammad Ali of Persian Poetics. We go over the essence and meaning behind the poem, and analyze it line by line using ...
Kaveh Hoda is a physician, musician and host of the medical podcast House of Pod in San Francisco. His expertise is in gastroenterology, hepatology and, according to him, making fun of medical grifters. He cohosts the humor adjacent medical podcast, the House of Pod, which is how I first learned ...
My name is Leyla Shams, host of the Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation podcast. Today’s interview is with Mohammad Ali, better known as Persian poetics on both Instagram and twitter. He went viral just a few months ago on a twitter thread where he talked about the bestselling poetry book in...
In this lesson, we continue our study of Ahmad Shamlou's poem, Rāz. We learn the words and phrases in the second half of the poem.با رازِ کهنهاَز راه رِسیدَمحَرفی نَروندَمحَرفی نَروندیاَشکی فِشوندَماَشکی فِشوندیلَبامو بَستَماَز چِشام خوندی bā rāzé kohné,az rāh reseedam,<!--...
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In this lesson, we go over the first half of Ahmad Shamlou's poem, Rāz. Here is the Persian script and English transliteration of this section: با من رازی بودکه به کوه گفتمبا من رازی بودکه به چاه گفتمتو راه درازبه اسب سیاه گفتمبیکس و تنهابه سنگای راه گفتم bā man rāzee bood,
In this lesson, we introduce the iconic Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou, and talk about his poem ‘Raz’ or راز, meaning ‘the secret’. Shamlou was born in 1925 in Rasht, and he died in 2000, after a few years of health problems. He went through a few revolutions, he was put in jail and he was a journali...
John Ghazvinian joins us to talk about his new book, America and Iran: A History, 1720 to the Present, a comprehensive new survey of the bilateral relationship, based on years of archival research in both Iran and the United States, which he has been working on since 2008. For the past many decad...
Yara Elmjouie is a Webby Award-wnning, James Beard-nominated video producer, journalist, and host at AJ+. He's also a great voice in the Iranian American community, creating engaging videos explaining current conditions in Iran, and documenting the experiences of Iranian Americans. He was born in...
Leyla Shams: First, I want to ask you to tell me a little bit about your background. Where were you born and where what is your language background?Azadeh Shams: I was born in Iran and there until I was 19. So Persian is my mother tongue in every aspect. I'm fluent in reading and...
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we learn the common terms for body. The word for 'body' in Persian is badan. In this unit of Chai and Conversation, we are learning several vocabulary words related to a certain theme at once. Listen to the lesson for many different words associate...
In this Persian / Farsi lesson, we go over vocabulary needed to talk about the home. In Persian, house is called 'khooné' (in written Persian, it's khāné). Different rooms in the house include:room - otāghbedroom - otāgh khābbathroom - dast shoowee or toowāletdining room - āshpaz khoonéliving roo...
This Persian (Farsi) lesson is all about the wonderful words of sports- or varzesh in Persian. Varzesh literally means physical exercise, but it's the word used for sports as well. Many of the words for different sports in the Persian language come directly from the western word,...
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we learn the common terms for members of a family. Family in Persian is khānevādé. In this unit of Chai and Conversation, we are learning several vocabulary words related to a certain theme at once. Listen to the lesson for many different words ass...
Tehran Von Ghasri is a half African American, half Iranian comedian who reads and speaks Farsi fluently. Originally, I wanted to interview Tehran to ask him about being raised in a half Iranian family and how his father managed to keep him interested in the Persian language and culture. However, ...
In this lesson, Leyla and her husband Chris go over how to talk about emotions in the Persian language. This lesson is part of the vocabulary sprint series, so they go over several vocabulary words around the theme of feelings and emotions.
In Farsi, emotions are called ehsāsat. We le...
This Raising Neem-Roonis interview features Shabnam Rezaei, cofounder of Big Bad Boo, an animation studio featuring cartoons with multicultural themes and diverse languages. Shabnam is the mother of two Neem-Rooni daughters, and the only one of our interviewees that managed to keep her children s...
In this conversation with Adib Khorram, young adult fiction writer, we get to hear about the experiences of growing up as a neem-Rooni. Adib was raised in Kansas City, Missouri by an Iranian father and American mother. He didn't grow up speaking the language, but grew up infused in the culture, w...
In this Raising Neem-Roonis edition of Chai and Conversation, we talk to author, commentator, producer, professor, and many other hat-wearer Iranian-American Reza Aslan about passing on the Persian culture and language to the next generation. Reza has four neem-Roonis of his own, and talks about ...
In this Raising Neem-Roonis interview, we talk to the most well known Iranian-American comedian, Maz Jobrani. Maz is the father of two half Iranian, half Indian children, ages 9 and 11. He gives advice for those with young children, and shares experiences of people he's met at comedy shows that s...
In this vocabulary sprint lesson, Leyla and her husband Chris go over Persian/ Farsi vocabulary associated with food. Food is an important topic of conversation in Persian culture, as Iranians have a rich history of gathering and celebrating food. In this lesson, we go over different important di...
In this second Raising Neem-Roonis interview, we talk to Arash Karami, contributor to Al-Monitor and commentator on Iranian politics. We talk about the challenges of passing on the Persian language and culture to the next generation. You can find Arash on Twitter at @thekarami, where he consisten...
Raising Neem-Roonis is our podcast series about the joys and challenges of raising half Iranian children, specifically when it comes to passing along language and culture. Our first interview the series is with actress turned cookbook author Naz Deravian, author of the fantastic cookbook
In this Persian/ Farsi lesson, Leyla and her husband Chris go over different vocabulary associated with the topic of transportation, which we are referring to as 'coming and going'- raft ō āmad. We discuss different modes of transportation including:
Bicycle - docharkhé Car -
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we go over vocabulary associated with the most important Persian holiday, Nowruz. We'll learn about the haft seen table, and the items associated with the haft seen table. In addition, we'll learn a few different ways to wish people a happy Nowruz holiday, includin...
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we go over common vocabulary words for the time and date. This includes the words for the seasons, and the words for the days of the week. The days of the week in Persian are:
Monday doshambé
دوشَنبه
...
This is a vocabulary sprint, which means you can listen to the lesson no matter where you are in the learning process. It's just a way to get a number of vocabulary words in your tool belt.In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we learn the words for different animals. We'll first go over animals covered ...
In this lesson, we go over the following lines of the poem: chon āghebaté kāré jahān neestee hastچون عاقِبَتِ کارِ جَهان نیستی اَستSince the end of the affairs of the world is nothingness engār ké neestee, chō hastee, khosh bāshاِنگار کِه نیستی، چو هَستی خوش ب...
In this second part of the Persian language/Farsi lesson on Khayām's Khosh Bash we go over the following section of the poem, along with all the vocabulary and phrases associated with the words learned:
خیام اگر ز باده مستی خوش باش
با ماهرخی اگر نشستی خوش باش
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we go over the most common colors in the Persian language, as well as some incidental vocabulary associated with the colors. This is a vocabulary sprint, meaning you can listen to it no matter what level you are in the Persian language. These lessons are meant to p...
In this lesson, we introduce one of the greats of Persian Sufi poetry, Omar Khayyam. Khayyam was a 12th century poet and a true renaissance man- in addition to being one of the most well known Iranian poets, he was also a famed mathematician and astronomer. This shouldn't be surprising, however, ...
In this last part of our series on Forough Farrokhzad, we learn the final part of the selection of the poem we've been learning.
In addition, we learn about three birds that feature prominently in the poem that play a large part in the symbolic structure of the poem. These birds are the crow (...
In this fourth part of the Persian language/Farsi lesson on Forough Farrokhzad's Fathé Bāgh, or Conquestion of the Garden, we go over the following section of the poem, along with all the vocabulary and phrases associated with the words learned:
و صمیمیت تن هامان، در طراری
و درخشیدن عر...
In this third installment of Forough Farrokhzad's Conquest of the Garden, we go over the following section of poetry:
سخن از پیوند سست دو نام
و همآغوشی در اوراق کهنهٔ یک دفتر نیست
سخن از گیسوی خوشبخت منست
با شقایقهای سوختهٔ بوسهٔ تو
sokhan az payvandé s...
This lesson covers a section of the poem Conquest of the Garden, or Fathé Bāgh, by Forough Farrokhzad. This portion of the poem is:
همه میترسند
همه میترسند، اما من و تو
به چراغ و آب و آینه پیوستیم
و نترسیدیم
hamé meetarsand
hamé meetarsand ...
This lesson is an introduction to one of Iran's most lauded modern poets, Forough Farrokhzad. An extremely influential voice in a time of great change in Iran, she wrote about the nature of being an artist and an independent woman in a society that often did not make these pursuits easy. Here we ...
In the first part of our detailed study of Rumi's poem Rooz ō shab, we cover the first two lines, which are:
dar havāyat bee gharāram rooz ō shab
sar ze pāyat bar nadāram rooz ō shab
We go over the vocabulary and phrases in this segment of the poem, and also le...
In this lesson, we learn Rumi's poem Rooz ō shab. In this poem, the words rooz, day and shab, night, are repeated like a mantra. Even though Rumi was a 13th century Persian poet, his poems remain extremely relevant and relatable today. So, don't be intimidated by the unfamiliar sounding language....
In this final part of our Sohrab Sepehri dar golestānéseries we cover the rest of the vocabulary covered in the poem. After this lesson, you will be able to understand the entirety of the selection of the poem we heard.
In this lesson, we continue the study of Sohrab Sepehri's dar golestāné by learning more about the words and phrases in the middle section of our selection.As promised, here is an image of the beautiful red poppy flowers in the Zagros mountains in Iran:
In this lesson, we introduce Sohrab Sepehri, and read his iconic poem dar golestāné. In this lesson, we are joined by friend of the show Fared Shafinury. You may recognize Fared as the composer and performer of our theme song. For this initial conversation about the poem, we listen to Fared recit...
In the last lesson of this series, we talk about the importance of poetry in Persian culture, and talk about why we're learning this magical language in the first place.
To find out more about Persian miniatures, check out the
In this lesson, we learn the langauge associated with one of the most important parts of Persian culture- food. We learn vocabulary for different Persian dishes, how to consume Persian food, and how to talk about it afterwards. This lesson might make you hungry, somake sure to have at least a lit...
In this lesson, we learn all the language associated with pregnancy, babies and small children.
In this lesson, we learn all the vocabulary associated with getting married in Persian! Includes the process of proposing, getting married, and language associated with the wedding ceremony.
As promised, here are some links to some of our favorite Persian wedding songs!
Vigen, Shah Damad
...
Lesson 56 covers language needed for talking on the phone, including etiquette used in greetings and saying goodbye on the phone.
If you’re around Iranians often, chances are you’ll be invited to their homes. Iranians love hosting, and it’s common to invite someone over as soon as you meet them. So, let’s learn some of the language and etiquette that goes along with being hosted.
In this lesson, we learn common Persian sayings that often don't make sense in English. Expressions, idioms- these are what make a language unique! We also learn some common Persian insults.
Respect is a big deal in Persian culture- respect for your family, respect for elders, among other things. We've learned about tārof- but this type of etiquette is just one aspect of showing respect for others. In this lesson, we learn other ways respect is demonstrated in the Persian culture.
In this lesson, we continue our discussion of the Persian concept of 'tārof'- we learn different situation in which 'tārof' comes into play, and how to successfully navigate through these situations. These situations include being paid a compliment, making a financial transaction at a store, inte...
In this lesson, we talk about one of the most important concepts when it comes to learning about Persian culture- the concept of tārof. Tārof is basically the code of etiquette Iranians use in all social situations, and it's quite culturally pervasive. While western culture also has rule...
In this lesson, we learn more about how to talk about daily routines, especially routines associated with waking up and going to bed.
In Lesson 49, we learn to talk about simple daily routines. These include things like eating breakfast, going to work, having meals, and resting.
In this lesson, we learn the Persian words for different types of transportation, including airplanes, cars, bicycles, and motorcyles.
In this lesson, we learn to talk about one of the most important parts of Persian culture- breakfast. We learn how to talk about breakfast- including a list of breakfast foods and important breakfast drinks.
This week, we’re continuing with our kitchen Persian vocabulary, and learning practical conversations you would have in any household. In this lesson, we learn more vocabulary for how to talk about illnesses and pain. In addition, we learn words for more parts of the body.
In this lesson, we cover a topic you will hopefully not have to use too often- the topic of not feeling too well. We'll learn how to express that you're not feeling well, how to ask others how they are feeling, and how to talk about pain that you have. Also, we will learn the Persian words for se...
We’re continuing on with our power series, learning a good bit of grammar and words to help fill in our vocabulary. So Lessons 21 and 22 were devoted entirely to the...
In this lesson, we build on Lesson 42, and learn how to talk about wants. For instance, 'I want to go to the cinema.' In addition, we learn some special verbs that allow us to construct additional subjunctive sentences. These special verbs include 'must', 'might', 'it's possible', and 'it's bette...
This lesson teaches the simple subjunctive, which will allow you to take definite sentences like 'I am going to the movies tonight' to less definite ones like 'I could go to the movies tonight'.
In this lesson, we go over some 'structured infinitive sentences'. These are verb structures that include all parts you need to make a full sentence within them. The four verbs we focus on are 'I telephoned ______', 'I am happy with ______', 'I am angry with _______', and 'I am waiting for ______...
In this lesson, we’re going to listen to two people deciding what they’re going to do one evening. They go through a variety of options, including going to the cinema, getting Chinese food, and making food at home. Listen to find out what they ultimately decide.
In this dialogue, we ask Matt and Ladan what they've been up to the past few months. We get to hear how Matt's been doing in med school, and we also hear some really exciting information that Ladan reveals.
This dialogue teaches you vocabulary to use in stores while buying things such as jewelry.
Up until now, we’ve been listening to conversations between Leyla and various family members. In Lesson 37, we listen to a dialogue that takes place in a restaurant, first between a host and patrons, and then between a waitress and patrons. This should sound familiar to you, because much of this ...
Lesson 36 features a conversation between Leyla and her Aunt Farnoosh. Aunt Farnoosh describes her trip to Cancun.
Lesson 33 features a dialogue in Persian (Farsi) between Leyla and her mother. This lesson won't have a particular focus in terms of tenses. Rather, it will have general conversational vocabulary and skills that we need to learn.
Welcome to lesson 32, the second in our dialogues series. In this lesson, we'll be hearing a dialogue with an actual native speaker of the Persian language. That's right: we'll be listening to a conversation in Persian (Farsi) that Leyla had with her aunt! Afterwards, Matt and Leyla will go over...
Lesson 31 features a dialogue in Persian (Farsi) between Matt and Leyla. This lesson begins a very special unit of Chai and Conversation! We're going to take all the vocabulary, phrases, and grammar rules we've learned in the first three units, and combine them in short and simple dialogues.
Lesson 29 teaches how to emphasize the present continuous tense and how to form imperative statements.
Lesson 25 teaches compound verbs. Most compound verbs are constructed using the verbs shodan, to become, and kardan, to do. We'll conjugate these verbs, and learn how to construct compound verbs with them. We'll then conjugate those verbs in the past tense.
Lesson 24 goes over the concept of ‘ezafe,’ which will allow you to communicate many things in the Persian language, including adjectives.
Lesson 23 goes over the simple past tense, including how to talk about what you did over the last weekend.
Lesson 22 is all about the verb ‘to have,’ which will come in handy very soon in our upcoming grammar lessons.
Lesson 21 is the first lesson in Unit 3 of Chai and Conversation! In this unit, we will be going over the fundamentals of grammar of the Persian language. This entire lesson is devoted to the verb ‘to be,’ and its many different forms.
In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we learn how to talk about love and friendship. We learn common terms of endearment, how to compliment a loved one, and how to talk about your marital status.
We also learn how to say 'I love you' in Farsi, which might be a bit more complicated than you would thin...
In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we learn all about how to describe things. We begin with the colors in the Persian language:
black
seeyāh سیاه
white sefeed سِفید
red sorkh ...
It's hard to talk about Persian food without wanting to eat it, so we apologize for this lesson in advance. In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we will go over different mealtimes that come up in every culture, such as:
breakfast - sobhāné
lunch - nāhār
dinner...
Continuing with the theme of hosting and being hosted, the theme of this Persian / Farsi lesson is a visit to the in-laws on a Saturday afternoon. We follow Matt on a hypothetical visit to his in-laws house, and a potential conversation as they try to serve him food.
We also talk about formal ...
In this Persian / Farsi lesson, we learn how to talk about possession. We start the lesson by learning the example of a house (khooné). To say 'my house', you simply say 'khooneyé man'. In order to talk about possession, we have to learn the different words for groups of people,...
in this lesson, we are going to cover the concept of being hosted, either at someone's house or at an establishment. Iranians love to host people. For instance, when you visit someone of Persian decent at their home, they will most likely immediately offer you tea. So in this lesson we learn voca...
In this Persian / Farsi, we go beyond numbers one through twenty and learn how to say ALL the numbers. In addition, we learn the Persian words for the months of the year, the days of the week, and seasons. This is a very vocabulary rich lesson, so it might take some practice to get all the words ...
When talking to someone in something other than your native language, it sometimes helps to know what other languages they speak. This not only helps you to learn more about a person, but can also potentially give you insight into other things you have in common with them. In this Persian / Farsi...
This is the last lesson in ‘Unit 1′ of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation. In this lesson, we review all the materials learned before, and learn some extra vocabulary that will help you to communicate effectively in the Persian language! Congratulations on reaching the end of ‘Unit 1′!
T...
In Iranian culture, family is extremely important. Instead of having just one Persian word for 'aunt' for instance, we have two- there is a different word for the sister of your father (amé) versus the sister of your mother (khālé). So when referring to one or the other, people ...
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, you learn to talk about your likes and dislikes. Also, we will be learning the Persian sound ‘gh’. There are two sounds in the Persian language that you don't hear in English. The first is the sound 'kh' heard in words such as 'khoobam'- we went over this in
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, you learn how to talk about your job, say where you work, and whether or not you like your job. We learn vocabulary for a long list of jobs, including:
student engineer lawyer writer architect accountant cook waiter dentist pilot artist
...
In this Persian (Farsi) language lesson, we expand on introducing family members to others, and we also learn how to count to ten in Persian! Also, we introduce a special guest at the end of the program.
If you need a quick reference, the vocabulary for counting from one to ten in Persian is: ...
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we learn the words for members of your immediate family, and learn how to introduce your family members to other people. We finish off the lesson by learning how to introduce the names of your family members to others.
We begin by learning the vocabulary words f...
In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we review all past lesson materials. You'll have a chance to test out your comprehension of the vocabulary learned, and see if you're able to use the words and phrases in the correct context.
We also learn the words needed to answer simple questions in the Persi...
In the Persian language, there are two different ways of saying 'you'- a formal version (shomā), and an informal version (tō). In this lesson, we learn both forms, and learn when it's appropriate to use them. For instance, when you're talking to a close friend or a fami...
In this lesson, we build on the last lesson, and learn how to greet people during different times of the day, several forms of the word goodbye, and how to introduce yourself in the Persian language.
Other Persian/Farsi vocabulary covered in this lesson includes:
Good morning (sobh b...
Salām, and welcome to the first-ever Persian (Farsi) language lesson of Chai and Conversation! In this lesson, we learn one of the most important things in any language – how to greet people and ask them how they are doing- in Persian! In addition, there will be a short introduct...