Table of Contents
Talking about countries and nationalities
In this chapter you learn how to say where you are from, which country you live in, and what your nationality is in very simple Persian. We will focus on a small group of very common countries and nationalities that you can use to introduce yourself and talk to others.
Key pattern: “I am from …”
You already know the verb “to be” and simple sentences. To say which country you are from, you use the preposition “az” and the country name.
Example in speech (without full script yet):
man az Irân hastam.
I am from Iran.
Structure in Latin letters:
man az [country] hastam.
I from [country] am.
Important pattern:
man az [country] hastam.
“I am from [country].”
Some basic examples:
man az Irân hastam.
I am from Iran.
man az Almân hastam.
I am from Germany.
man az Amrikâ hastam.
I am from America / the United States.
man az Engelis hastam.
I am from England.
man az Farânse hastam.
I am from France.
man az Itâliâ hastam.
I am from Italy.
man az Espaniâ hastam.
I am from Spain.
man az Torkiye hastam.
I am from Turkey.
man az Rusiye hastam.
I am from Russia.
man az Hind hastam.
I am from India.
man az Čin hastam.
I am from China.
man az Japoni hastam.
I am from Japan.
man az Kanadâ hastam.
I am from Canada.
man az Ostorâliâ hastam.
I am from Australia.
You can also add the city:
man az Irân, az Tehrân hastam.
I am from Iran, from Tehran.
Asking “Where are you from?”
To ask someone about their country, you use “az kojâ” meaning “from where”.
Example:
šomâ az kojâ hastid?
Where are you from? (polite)
to az kojâ hasti?
Where are you from? (informal, to a friend)
Answers:
man az Irân hastam.
I am from Iran.
man az Amrikâ hastam.
I am from America.
Question pattern:
šomâ az kojâ hastid?
“Where are you from?” (polite)
to az kojâ hasti?
“Where are you from?” (informal)
Saying your nationality
Persian often uses an adjective that comes from the country name to express nationality. In basic conversation, people also understand if you simply say the country, but it is useful to know the nationality words.
Here we use the verb “hastam” again:
man irâni hastam.
I am Iranian.
Structure:
man [nationality] hastam.
I [nationality] am.
Important examples:
man irâni hastam.
I am Iranian.
man almâni hastam.
I am German.
man amerikâyi hastam.
I am American.
man engelisi hastam.
I am English.
man farânsevi hastam.
I am French.
man itâliâyi hastam.
I am Italian.
man espâniâyi hastam.
I am Spanish.
man torki hastam.
I am Turkish.
man rusi hastam.
I am Russian.
man hendi hastam.
I am Indian.
man čini hastam.
I am Chinese.
man japoni hastam.
I am Japanese.
man kanâdâyi hastam.
I am Canadian.
man ostorâliâyi hastam.
I am Australian.
To ask someone’s nationality, you can ask:
šomâ irâni hastid?
Are you Iranian?
šomâ almâni hastid?
Are you German?
šomâ čini hastid?
Are you Chinese?
Answering:
bale, man irâni hastam.
Yes, I am Iranian.
na, man irâni nistam, man amerikâyi hastam.
No, I am not Iranian, I am American.
Saying where you live
To say where you live, we use “dar” meaning “in” and the verb “zendegi kardan” (to live). For A1, we will use a simple fixed sentence pattern:
man dar [country / city] zendegi mikonam.
I live in [country / city].
Examples:
man dar Irân zendegi mikonam.
I live in Iran.
man dar Tehrân zendegi mikonam.
I live in Tehran.
man dar Amrikâ zendegi mikonam.
I live in America.
man dar Londôn zendegi mikonam.
I live in London.
You can combine place of origin and place of living:
man az Irân hastam, ammâ dar Amrikâ zendegi mikonam.
I am from Iran, but I live in America.
man az Almân hastam, va dar Berlîn zendegi mikonam.
I am from Germany, and I live in Berlin.
Short dialogues with countries and nationalities
Here are simple mini conversations that use only the patterns from this chapter and earlier ones.
Dialogue 1:
A: salâm. šomâ az kojâ hastid?
Hello. Where are you from?
B: salâm. man az Irân hastam. šomâ če?
Hello. I am from Iran. And you?
A: man az Amrikâ hastam.
I am from America.
Dialogue 2:
A: šomâ irâni hastid?
Are you Iranian?
B: na, man irâni nistam. man farânsevi hastam.
No, I am not Iranian. I am French.
Dialogue 3:
A: to kojâ zendegi mikoni?
Where do you live? (informal)
B: man dar Tehrân zendegi mikonam. to az kojâ hasti?
I live in Tehran. Where are you from?
A: man az Hind hastam, ammâ dar Tehrân zendegi mikonam.
I am from India, but I live in Tehran.
Vocabulary list for this section
| Persian (script) | Latin transcription | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| من | man | I |
| تو | to | you (informal) |
| شما | šomâ | you (polite / plural) |
| هستم | hastam | I am |
| هستی | hasti | you are (informal) |
| هستید | hastid | you are (polite / plural) |
| از | az | from |
| در | dar | in |
| کجا | kojâ | where |
| ایران | Irân | Iran |
| ایرانی | irâni | Iranian |
| آلمان | Almân | Germany |
| آلمانی | almâni | German (nationality) |
| آمریکا | Amrikâ | America, USA |
| آمریکایی | amerikâyi | American |
| انگلستان / انگلیس | Engelestân / Engelis | England |
| انگلیسی | engelisi | English (nationality) |
| فرانسه | Farânse | France |
| فرانسوی | farânsevi | French (nationality) |
| ایتالیا | Itâliâ | Italy |
| ایتالیایی | itâliâyi | Italian (nationality) |
| اسپانیا | Espaniâ | Spain |
| اسپانیایی | espâniâyi | Spanish (nationality) |
| ترکیه | Torkiye | Turkey |
| ترکی | torki | Turkish (nationality / language) |
| روسیه | Rusiye | Russia |
| روسی | rusi | Russian (nationality / language) |
| هند | Hend | India |
| هندی | hendi | Indian |
| چین | Čin | China |
| چینی | čini | Chinese |
| ژاپن | Jâpon | Japan |
| ژاپنی | japoni | Japanese |
| کانادا | Kanadâ | Canada |
| کانادایی | kanâdâyi | Canadian |
| استرالیا | Ostorâliâ | Australia |
| استرالیایی | ostorâliâyi | Australian |
| تهران | Tehrân | Tehran |
| لندن | Londôn | London |
| زندگی میکنم | zendegi mikonam | I live |
| سلام | salâm | hello |
| نه | na | no |
| بله | bale | yes |
| اما | ammâ | but |
| و | va | and |
| چه؟ | če? | what? / and you? (short) |