Basic Conjunctions

Joining Ideas with Basic Persian Conjunctions

In this chapter you learn how to join words and simple sentences in Persian using the most common conjunctions. You already know how to make simple sentences, now you will start connecting them to sound more natural and fluent.

We focus on very frequent, everyday conjunctions that you will use all the time at A2 level: “and,” “but,” “or,” “because,” “so,” “that,” and “if.”

All examples use simple A1–A2 vocabulary so you can concentrate on the conjunction itself.

“And” in Persian: وَ / و

The most basic conjunction is “and.” In Persian it is written وَ or simply و and pronounced /va/ or sometimes /o/ in fast speech. At A2 level you should always pronounce it clearly as /va/.

You use وَ / و to join words or sentences.

Ali and Sara:
علی و سارا
Ali va Sārā

Book and pen:
کتاب و خودکار
ketāb va xodkār

I am Iranian and I live in Tehran:
من ایرانی هستم و در تهران زندگی می‌کنم.
man irāni hastam va dar Tehrān zendegi mikonam.
“I am Iranian and I live in Tehran.”

You can put وَ / و between two verbs or between two whole sentences.

I work and I study:
من کار می‌کنم و درس می‌خوانم.
man kār mikonam va dars mixānam.

I am tired and I am hungry:
من خسته هستم و گرسنه هستم.
man xaste hastam va gorsne hastam.

“But”: امّا / ولی

To show contrast or something opposite, you use “but.” The two most common words are:

امّا
ammā

ولی
vali

They are almost the same in meaning. ولی is more informal and very frequent in speech. امّا is a bit more formal.

I am tired, but I am happy:
من خسته هستم، ولی خوشحال هستم.
man xaste hastam, vali xošhāl hastam.

He has a car, but he does not drive:
او ماشین دارد، امّا رانندگی نمی‌کند.
u māšin dārad, ammā rānandegi nemikonad.

Notice that the word order of each sentence stays the same. The conjunction just connects them.

Sometimes you can use امّا / ولی after a short pause.

The weather is good, but it is cold:
هوا خوب است، ولی سرد است.
havā xub ast, vali sard ast.

You can mix وَ and ولی in one sentence.

I am at home and I am studying, but I am sleepy:
من در خانه هستم و درس می‌خوانم، ولی خواب‌آلود هستم.
man dar xāne hastam va dars mixānam, vali xābālud hastam.

“Or”: یا

To give a choice, use “or.” In Persian this is:

یا
yā

You can use it between words or whole sentences.

Tea or coffee:
چای یا قهوه
čāy yā qahve

Do you want tea or coffee?
چای می‌خواهی یا قهوه؟
čāy mixāhi yā qahve?
“Do you want tea or coffee?”

Are you Iranian or Afghan?
ایرانی هستی یا افغان؟
irāni hasti yā afqān?

We can go by bus or by taxi:
می‌توانیم با اتوبوس یا با تاکسی برویم.
mitavānim bā otobus yā bā tāksi beravim.

Sometimes in yes/no questions you see یا at the beginning, especially in more formal or written style, but at A2 level it is enough to use یا between words or clauses.

“Because”: چون / چونکه / برای اینکه

To give a reason, you use “because.” There are several common forms:

چون
čon

چونکه
čonke

برای اینکه
barāye inke

All three mean “because.” چون is short and very common. برای اینکه is a bit longer and very clear in meaning.

There are two main patterns at this level.

Pattern 1, “A, because B”:
من نمی‌آیم، چون خسته هستم.
man nemi-āyam, čon xaste hastam.
“I am not coming, because I am tired.”

او خانه است، چون مریض است.
u xāne ast, čon mariz ast.
“He/She is at home, because he/she is sick.”

Pattern 2, “Because B, A”:
چون خسته هستم، نمی‌آیم.
čon xaste hastam, nemi-āyam.
“Because I am tired, I am not coming.”

برای اینکه دیر است، می‌خوابم.
barāye inke dir ast, mixābam.
“Because it is late, I sleep / I am going to sleep.”

You can see that word order of each clause does not change. Only the position of “because” clause can move to the beginning or the middle.

“So”: پس

To show a result or conclusion, Persian often uses:

پس
pas

This is similar to “so,” “therefore,” or “then” in English.

I am tired, so I am going home:
من خسته هستم، پس به خانه می‌روم.
man xaste hastam, pas be xāne miravam.

It is late, so I sleep:
دیر است، پس می‌خوابم.
dir ast, pas mixābam.

Sometimes the cause is understood from the context, and you only say the result with پس.

So, I am not coming:
پس نمی‌آیم.
pas nemi-āyam.

In conversation you often see a pair: first a “because” sentence, then a “so” sentence.

چون خسته هستم، نمی‌آیم. پس فردا می‌بینمت.
čon xaste hastam, nemi-āyam. pas fardā mibinamet.
“Because I am tired, I am not coming. So I see you tomorrow.”

“That” after verbs: که

The conjunction که (ke) is very frequent and can be tricky, because it has several uses in Persian. In this chapter we focus only on the basic “that” use after some verbs like “to say,” “to know,” or “to think.”

In English you say “I know that he is tired.” Often in speech you drop “that” and just say “I know he is tired.” In Persian you normally keep که.

I know that he is tired:
من می‌دانم که او خسته است.
man midānam ke u xaste ast.

He says that he is busy:
او می‌گوید که سرش شلوغ است.
u miguyad ke sar-aš šolug ast.

We think that the lesson is easy:
ما فکر می‌کنیم که درس آسان است.
mā fekr mikonim ke dars āsān ast.

You can put که right after the main verb or a little later, but at A2 level the safest is to put که directly after the main verb clause.

Sometimes in Persian, especially in informal speech, speakers drop “that” in English but keep که in Persian.

I know he is at home:
من می‌دانم که او در خانه است.
man midānam ke u dar xāne ast.

In very informal speech, Persian speakers sometimes drop که, but for now you should keep it.

“If”: اگر

To talk about conditions, even in very simple ways, you use:

اگر
agar
“if”

At A2 level you use it mainly for real, possible situations in the present or future.

If you are tired, rest:
اگر خسته هستی، استراحت کن.
agar xaste hasti, esterāhat kon.

If I have time, I will come:
اگر وقت داشته باشم، می‌آیم.
agar vaqt dāšte bāšam, mi-āyam.

If it rains, we will not go:
اگر باران بیاید، نمی‌رویم.
agar bārān biyāyad, nemiravim.

You can also use it with past tense when you talk about a condition in the past, but more complex conditional structures belong to a higher level. At A2, just practice “if + present, then present/future.”

The “then” part is often not expressed with a special word. You simply say the second clause.

If you want, we can study Persian:
اگر می‌خواهی، می‌توانیم فارسی درس بخوانیم.
agar mixāhi, mitavānim fārsi dars bexānIm.

Combining conjunctions in short sentences

You can start to combine two different conjunctions in simple ways, but keep sentences short and clear.

Because I am tired, I am at home and I am watching TV:
چون خسته هستم، در خانه هستم و تلویزیون تماشا می‌کنم.
čon xaste hastam, dar xāne hastam va televizyon tamāšā mikonam.

I want tea or coffee, but not juice:
چای یا قهوه می‌خواهم، ولی آبمیوه نمی‌خواهم.
čāy yā qahve mixāham, vali āb-mive nemixāham.

He says that he is at work, so he cannot come:
می‌گوید که سرِ کار است، پس نمی‌تواند بیاید.
migu-yad ke sar-e kār ast, pas nemitavānad biyāyad.

At this level it is better not to put too many conjunctions in one sentence. Two clauses with one or two conjunctions are usually enough.

Vocabulary list for this section