Expressing Opinions

Overview

In this chapter you learn how to say what you think and feel in Persian in a clear and natural way. You already know basic sentences and tenses, so we will focus on patterns that are specific to giving opinions, reacting to others, and softening or strengthening what you say.

We will stay at a useful everyday level, the typical spoken standard used in Iran, and show formal written variants when it matters.

Core Structures for Stating an Opinion

The most central idea is that Persian often uses the verb “to think” or “to believe” to introduce opinions. You place your whole opinion as a clause after these verbs.

Very common verbs are:

• فکر کردن /fekr kardan/ to think
• عقیده داشتن /aqide dâshtan/ to have an opinion, to believe
• به نظر رسیدن /be nazar residan/ to seem, to appear
• مطمئن بودن /motma’en budan/ to be sure

The simplest and most frequent pattern in speech is:

من فکر می‌کنم که …
/ man fekr mikonam ke … /
I think that …

Example:

من فکر می‌کنم که این فیلم خوبه.
/ man fekr mikonam ke in film xub-e. /
I think this movie is good.

In more formal style you can say:

به نظر من این فیلم خوب است.
/ be nazar-e man in film xub ast. /
In my opinion this movie is good.

Both sentences express a personal opinion, but the second one sounds more formal and careful.

Using “I Think” in Spoken and Written Forms

In everyday speech you will hear a more colloquial form of “I think”:

به‌نظرم …
/ be nazaram … /
It seems to me, I think …

This is simply به نظر من with attached pronoun. It is very common and friendly.

Examples:

به‌نظرم خسته‌ای.
/ be nazaram khaste-i. /
I think you are tired.

به‌نظرم هوا سرد می‌شه.
/ be nazaram havâ sard mishe. /
I think the weather is getting cold.

In more formal writing or careful speech you often see:

به نظر من …
/ be nazar-e man … /
In my opinion …

For example:

به نظر من این تصمیم درسته.
/ be nazar-e man in tasmim dorost-e. /
In my opinion this decision is correct.

Notice that in the spoken standard the verb at the end often uses the colloquial “e” instead of “ast”. In fully formal language you would say درست است /dorost ast/.

Softer vs Stronger Opinions

Persian, like English, has ways to make your opinion sound soft and tentative or strong and confident.

To sound softer, less direct, you can use:

• فکر می‌کنم /fekr mikonam/ I think
• به‌نظرم /be nazaram/ it seems to me, I think
• به نظر من /be nazar-e man/ in my opinion
• شاید /šâyad/ maybe, perhaps
• فکر نمی‌کنم /fekr nemikonam/ I don’t think (so)

Examples:

به‌نظرم وقت نداریم.
/ be nazaram vaght nadârim. /
I think we do not have time.

شاید حق با تو باشه.
/ šâyad haq bâ to bâše. /
Maybe you are right.

فکر نمی‌کنم امروز برسه.
/ fekr nemikonam emruz berese. /
I do not think it will arrive today.

To sound stronger and more certain, you can use:

• مطمئنم /motma’en-am/ I am sure
• مطمئن هستم /motma’en hastam/ I am sure (more formal)
• صددرصد مطمئنم /sad-dar-sad motma’en-am/ I am one hundred percent sure
• کاملا مطمئنم /kâmelan motma’en-am/ I am completely sure

Examples:

من مطمئنم که اون میاد.
/ man motma’en-am ke un miyâd. /
I am sure he is coming.

کاملا مطمئنم که این کار اشتباهه.
/ kâmelan motma’en-am ke in kâr eštbâh-e. /
I am completely sure this action is wrong.

Agreeing with Someone’s Opinion

To express agreement, Persian uses a set of very frequent short expressions. These are essential in conversations when you respond to the opinions of others.

Common ways to agree:

• حق با توئه. / haq bâ toe. / You are right.
• حق با شماست. / haq bâ šomâst. / You are right. (polite)
• موافقم. / movâfeq-am. / I agree.
• منم همین فکر رو می‌کنم. / man-am hamin fekr-o mikonam. / I think the same.
• دقیقا. / daghigan. / Exactly.
• کاملا درسته. / kâmelan dorost-e. / It is completely right.

Example dialogue:

الف: به نظر من فیلم خوبی نیست.
/ A: be nazar-e man film-e xub-i nist. /
A: In my opinion it is not a good movie.

ب: حق با توئه، خسته‌کننده بود.
/ B: haq bâ toe, xaste-konande bud. /
B: You are right, it was boring.

The phrase حق با توئه literally means “the right is with you”. It is the most common way to say “you are right”.

If you want to be a bit more formal or polite:

ب: حق با شماست.
/ B: haq bâ šomâst. /
B: You are right.

Disagreeing Politely

Disagreement can be expressed strongly or politely. At this level it is important to know the polite forms for everyday conversation.

Useful expressions to disagree gently:

• موافق نیستم. / movâfeq nistam. / I do not agree.
• من این‌طور فکر نمی‌کنم. / man in-tor fekr nemikonam. / I do not think so.
• من نظر دیگه‌ای دارم. / man nazar-e dige-i dâram. / I have a different opinion.
• به نظر من این‌طور نیست. / be nazar-e man in-tor nist. / In my opinion it is not like that.
• مطمئن نیستم. / motma’en nistam. / I am not sure. (very soft disagreement)

If you want to be more direct:

• اصلا موافق نیستم.
  / aslan movâfeq nistam. /
  I do not agree at all.
• اصلا این‌طور نیست.
  / aslan in-tor nist. /
  It is not like that at all.

Example:

الف: فکر می‌کنم این‌جا بهترین رستورانه.
/ A: fekr mikonam injâ behtarin restorân-e. /
A: I think this is the best restaurant.

ب: من موافق نیستم، به نظر من گرونه.
/ B: man movâfeq nistam, be nazar-e man gerun-e. /
B: I do not agree, in my opinion it is expensive.

Notice how the second speaker uses both a disagreement phrase and then gives their own opinion.

Giving Reasons for Your Opinion

To keep your opinion natural and convincing, you usually add a reason. You will learn more about reasons and consequences in a separate chapter, but here are some basic and very frequent connectors:

• چون /chon/ because
• برای این‌که /barâye in-ke/ because
• چون‌که /chon-ke/ because (slightly more formal)
• چون که /chon ke/ variant spelling

The basic pattern is:

من فکر می‌کنم که ... چون ...
/ man fekr mikonam ke ... chon ... /
I think that ... because ...

Example:

من فکر می‌کنم این کلاس مفیده چون معلمش خوبه.
/ man fekr mikonam in kelâs mofid-e, chon mo’allemeš xub-e. /
I think this class is useful because the teacher is good.

You can also put the “because” clause first:

چون معلمش خوبه، فکر می‌کنم این کلاس مفیده.
/ chon mo’allemeš xub-e, fekr mikonam in kelâs mofid-e. /
Because the teacher is good, I think this class is useful.

Another very common pattern when you give your opinion is:

به نظر من ... چون ...
/ be nazar-e man ... chon ... /
In my opinion ... because ...

به نظر من این کتاب سخته چون کلماتش زیاده.
/ be nazar-e man in ketâb saxte, chon kalamâteš ziâd-e. /
In my opinion this book is difficult because it has many words.

Expressing Personal Preference

Opinions often appear as preferences. In Persian you can express what you like or prefer with several patterns. A more detailed treatment of “likes and dislikes” comes later, but here is how they relate to opinions.

Common verbs:

• دوست داشتن /dust dâštan/ to like, to love
• ترجیح دادن /tarjih dâdan/ to prefer

Patterns:

من این‌جا رو دوست دارم.
/ man injâ-ro dust dâram. /
I like this place.

من این فیلم رو بیشتر دوست دارم.
/ man in film-ro bištar dust dâram. /
I like this movie more.

من ترجیح می‌دم خونه بمونم.
/ man tarjih midam xune bemunam. /
I prefer to stay at home.

These sentences express your opinion about what is better or more pleasant for you. You can combine them with opinion starters:

به‌نظرم این‌جا بهتره، چون ساکت‌تره و من این‌جا رو دوست دارم.
/ be nazaram injâ behtar-e, chon sâket-tar-e va man injâ-ro dust dâram. /
I think this place is better, because it is quieter and I like it here.

Degrees of Certainty About Your Opinion

Sometimes you are not completely sure of your opinion. Persian uses adverbs that show how sure or unsure you are. These often come before the verb or after the subject.

Some useful ones:

• احتمالا /ehtemâlan/ probably
• معمولا /ma’mulan/ usually
• حتما /hatman/ surely, definitely
• قطعا /qat’an/ certainly, definitely
• شاید /šâyad/ maybe, perhaps

Examples focused on opinions:

احتمالا حق با توئه.
/ ehtemâlan haq bâ toe. /
You are probably right.

به نظر من این درسته، ولی مطمئن نیستم.
/ be nazar-e man in dorost-e, vali motma’en nistam. /
In my opinion this is correct, but I am not sure.

به‌نظرم این کار اشتباهه، حتما مشکل درست می‌شه.
/ be nazaram in kâr eštbâh-e, hatman moškel dorost mishe. /
I think this action is wrong, for sure it will create a problem.

شاید این بهترین راه نباشه.
/ šâyad in behtarin râh nabâše. /
Maybe this is not the best way.

Common Opinion Phrases in Everyday Topics

Here are some natural model sentences about common topics. The grammar is not new, but these give you ready-made expressions you can adapt.

About movies:

به نظر من این فیلم خیلی جالبه.
/ be nazar-e man in film xeyli jâleb-e. /
In my opinion this movie is very interesting.

من این فیلم رو دوست نداشتم، چون آخرش بده.
/ man in film-ro dust nadaštam, chon âxareš bad-e. /
I did not like this movie because the ending is bad.

About food:

به‌نظرم غذای ایرانی خیلی خوشمزست.
/ be nazaram qazâ-ye irâni xeyli xošmaze-st. /
I think Iranian food is very tasty.

من موافق نیستم، چون خیلی چربه.
/ man movâfeq nistam, chon xeyli charb-e. /
I do not agree, because it is very oily.

About work or study:

فکر می‌کنم این کار سخت ولی جالبه.
/ fekr mikonam in kâr saxt vali jâleb-e. /
I think this job is difficult but interesting.

به نظر من این دانشگاه خوبه چون استادهاش قوی‌ان.
/ be nazar-e man in dânešgâh xub-e, chon ostâd-hâš qavi-an. /
In my opinion this university is good because its professors are strong.

You can reuse these patterns with different adjectives and nouns to express many different opinions.

Using “In My Opinion” vs “For Me”

Sometimes you want to clearly show that something is only your personal taste, not a general fact. Persian has two slightly different phrases:

• به نظر من /be nazar-e man/ in my opinion
• برای من /barâye man/ for me

The second one is closer to “for me, personally” and often appears with adjectives of feeling or importance.

Examples:

برای من خانواده خیلی مهمه.
/ barâye man xânevâde xeyli mohemm-e. /
For me, family is very important.

برای من این موضوع جدی نیست.
/ barâye man in mozdu’ jedi nist. /
For me, this issue is not serious.

به نظر من این موضوع جدیه.
/ be nazar-e man in mozdu’ jedi-e. /
In my opinion this issue is serious.

The first sentence emphasizes your personal priorities. The second sentence sounds more like a general judgment.

Combining Opinion Phrases

At this level you should start to combine opinion markers to sound more nuanced. Here are some typical combinations:

من شخصا فکر می‌کنم که …
/ man šaxsan fekr mikonam ke … /
Personally I think that …

راستش، به‌نظرم …
/ râsteš, be nazaram … /
Honestly, I think …

به نظر من، به‌خصوص توی شهرهای بزرگ، …
/ be nazar-e man, be-xosus tu-ye šahr-hâ-ye bozorg, … /
In my opinion, especially in big cities, …

من کاملا با تو موافقم، چون …
/ man kâmelan bâ to movâfeq-am, chon … /
I completely agree with you, because …

These combinations help you build longer, more natural-sounding opinion statements while still using clear and simple grammar.

Vocabulary Table