Education and Studies

Studying and Education in Persian

In this chapter you learn how to talk about school, university, and studying in everyday Persian. At B1 level you already know present and past tenses, simple descriptions, and daily vocabulary. Now you will connect these tools to speak about your educational background, your current studies, and your plans.

Talking about School and University

In Persian, “education” is usually expressed with the word “study” or “learning,” not by a direct equivalent of “education” in every sentence.

The most common word for “study” in general is “tahsil” and for “education” in a school sense is “āmūzesh”.

“School” is “madrase,” and “university” is “dāneshgāh.”

You can say:
Man dar Irān tahsil kardam.
“I studied in Iran.”

Dar dāneshgāh tehrān tahsil mikonam.
“I study at the University of Tehran.”

To say “at school” and “at university” you normally use “dar” plus the noun.
Dar madrase dars mikhanam.
“I study at school.”

To say “in primary school,” “in high school,” and so on, you add the level before “madrase.”

madrase-ye ebtedāyi = primary / elementary school
dāvirestān = high school (general word, also “madrase-ye motavasete” in more formal use)
pish-dāneshgāhi = pre-university (older system, still widely used in speech)

For “university” you can add the city or a name:
dāneshgāh-e tehrān = University of Tehran
dāneshgāh-e azād = Azad University

To say “I go to school” you can say:
Man be madrase miravam.
“I go to school.”

For “I am in high school” speakers often say:
Man dār-e dāvirestān hastam.
Literally, “I am at high school.”

Fields of Study and Majors

To talk about your field of study, use “reshte” which means “field, major, discipline.”

Reshte-ye man mohandesi-ye bargh ast.
“My major is electrical engineering.”

Reshte-ye shomā chist?
“What is your major?”

You can combine different fields with “reshte-ye” plus the field:

reshte-ye zabānhā-ye khāreji = foreign languages
reshte-ye riyāzi = mathematics (as a school subject)
reshte-ye honar = art (as a field)
reshte-ye tibb = medicine
reshte-ye qānūn / hoqūq = law

If you want to say “I study X” as a major, you can use the verb “khandan” with the object:
Man riyāzi mikhanam.
“I study mathematics.”

In university context, many speakers also use “motāle'e kardan” for “to study,” but “khandan” is more colloquial.

For “science,” “science subjects,” you often hear “olūm” or “reshte-ye olūm.”
olūm-e ensāni = humanities
olūm-e tajrobi = natural sciences
olūm-e fanni va mohandesi = technical and engineering sciences

Describing Levels and Degrees

To talk about educational levels you have several common words.

For general “degree” or “academic level” use “maghta'.”
maghta'-ye lisāns = bachelor level
maghta'-ye ārshad = master level
maghta'-ye doktora = doctorate level

The common names of degrees are:
diplom = high school diploma
kārshenāsi (lisāns) = bachelor degree
kārshenāsi-ye ārshad (ārshad) = master degree
doktora = doctorate, PhD

You can say:
Man lisāns-e zist-shenāsi dāram.
“I have a Bachelor in biology.”

U doktora-ye falsafe dārad.
“He / she has a PhD in philosophy.”

To describe your current level as a student, you can say:
Man dāneshjū-ye ārshad hastam.
“I am a master’s student.”

U dāneshjū-ye doktora ast.
“He / she is a PhD student.”

For school grades and levels, speakers use “pāye” or “sāl.”
Man pāye-ye sevvom-e dabestān hastam.
“I am in the third year of primary school.”

In everyday speech people more often say:
Man sāle sevvom-e dabestān-am.
“I am in third year of elementary school.”

Studying, Classes, and Subjects

The central verb for “to study” is “khandan.”

I am studying means:
Daram dars mikhanam.
“I am studying (lessons).”

You already know present continuous, so here you combine “dāshtan” plus “mi-” verb:
Man dāshtam dars mikhandam.
“I was studying.”

To say “lesson” or “subject,” you use “dars.”
dars-e zaban-e fārsi = Persian language lesson
dars-e tārikh = history class
dars-e fizik = physics class

To say “class” as in class session you often hear “kellās” or “kelas” in speech, borrowed from European languages.
Man kellās dāram.
“I have class.”

If you want to say “today we have no class” you can say:
Emruz kellās nadārim.
“Today we do not have class.”

To say “to attend a class” you can literally say “go to class.”
Be kellās miravam.
“I go to class.”

The general word for “course” at university is also often “dars” or “kellās.” Another word is “dore,” which describes a whole program or training period, like “language course” or “training course.”
dore-ye zabān-e fārsi = Persian language course

Talking about Exams, Grades, and Homework

In everyday student life, you often speak about exams, grades, and homework.

“Exam” is “emtehān” or “āzmūn” (more formal).
Emruz emtehān dāram.
“Today I have an exam.”

Fardā emtehān-e zaban dāram.
“Tomorrow I have a language exam.”

To say “to pass an exam,” you can use “ghabūl shodan.”
Man dar emtehān ghabūl shodam.
“I passed the exam.”

To say “to fail an exam,” you can use “rad shodan.”
Mote'asefāne rad shodam.
“Unfortunately I failed.”

“Grade” or “mark” is “nomre.”
Nomre-ye man bist shod.
“My grade became twenty.”
In Iranian schools the top grade is usually 20.

To ask “What was your grade?” you say:
Nomre-ye to chand shod?
“What grade did you get?”

“Homework” is “tamarin” or “taklif.”
Tamarin-e xānegi = homework
Shab taklif dāram.
“I have homework tonight.”

Teachers often say:
Tamarin-hā-ro anjām bedahid.
“Do the exercises.”

Students can say:
Tamarin-am ro anjām nadādam.
“I did not do my homework.”

For “assignment” or “project” you can use “pāroje,” a borrowed word, or “kār-e darsi.”
Pāroje-ye daneshgāhi = university project

School Life and Schedule

To talk about daily school or university life, you use time expressions plus words for lesson and class.

Man har ruz az sā'at-e haft tā do madrase hastam.
“Every day from seven to two I am at school.”

Dars sā'at-e hasht shoru' mishavad.
“Class starts at eight o’clock.”

Kellās sā'at-e dah tamām mishavad.
“Class finishes at ten.”

To say “break” you use “tanafoss.”
Zang-e tanafoss = break bell
Miyāne-ye do dars tanafoss dārim.
“We have a break between two classes.”

For “semester” you can say “tarm.”
In tarm dars-hā-ye sakhti dāram.
“This semester I have difficult courses.”

“Year” in the school context is like before, “sāl.”
Sāl-e dovvom-e dāneshgāh-am.
“I am in my second year at university.”

Teachers, Students, and Roles

The basic word for “teacher” is “mo'allem,” especially at school level. At university you usually say “ostād” for “professor, lecturer.”

Mo'allem-e man kheili mehrabān ast.
“My teacher is very kind.”

Ostād-e riyāzi kheili sakhtgir ast.
“The math professor is very strict.”

“Student” in school context is often “dāneshāmuz.” At university you say “dāneshjū.”

Man dāneshjū-ye zist-shenāsi hastam.
“I am a biology student.”

Madrase se sad dāneshāmuz dārad.
“The school has three hundred students.”

To say “classmate” you can use “ham-kellāsi” or “ham-kelāsi.”
Ham-kellāsi-hā-yam ro dust dāram.
“I like my classmates.”

For “school principal” you say “modir-e madrase.”

Talking about Learning and Skills

To describe learning in general, you use verbs like “yād gereftan” (to learn) and “yād dādan” (to teach).

Man zabān-e fārsi yād migiram.
“I am learning Persian.”

Man be u englisi yād midaham.
“I teach him / her English.”

For “to improve” a skill you can use “behtar shodan.”
Zabān-e fārsi-am dāre behtar mishavad.
“My Persian is getting better.”

If you want to talk about “study skills,” or “learning style,” you often use “ravesh-e yād-giri” (method of learning).

Ravesh-e yād-giri-ye to chist?
“What is your learning method?”

To say “to practice,” you can say “tamrin kardan.”
Bāyad bishtar tamrin konam.
“I must practice more.”

For “experience” in learning, use “tajrobe.”
Man tajrobe-ye ziad dar yād-giri-ye zabān dāram.
“I have lots of experience in language learning.”

Expressing Opinions about Studies

At B1 level you should be able to give simple opinions about school and university.

To say “I like / do not like a subject,” you combine “dust dāshtan” with the name of the subject.

Man fizik ro dust dāram.
“I like physics.”

Man tārikh ro dust nadāram.
“I do not like history.”

To say “useful” and “useless,” use “mofid” and “bichare / biahmiyat” depending on context.
In dars kheili mofid ast.
“This lesson is very useful.”

Some speakers say:
Be nazar-e man kelās kheili khaste-konande ast.
“In my opinion the class is very tiring.”

You can express difficulty with “sakht” and “āsān.”
Riyāzi barā-ye man sakht ast.
“Math is difficult for me.”

Zabān-e fārsi kheili jaleb ast.
“Persian is very interesting.”

For “boring” you say “hālesh badi ast” in colloquial or simply “hālkes-kon” or “hesl-suz,” but more neutral is “khast-konande.”
Kelās kheili khast-konande bud.
“The class was very tiring / boring.”

To say something is important you use “mohem.”
Ta'lim va tarbiat kheili mohem ast.
“Education and upbringing are very important.”

Talking about Past and Future Studies

At this level you already know simple past and future expressions, so you can describe your educational history and plans.

To talk about past schooling:
Man dar shahr-e khodam madrase raftam.
“I went to school in my own city.”

Man fanni o herfei khāndam.
“I studied vocational training.”

To talk about completed degrees:
Man dar sāl-e do hezār va bist lisāns gereftam.
“I got my bachelor’s degree in 2020.”

U diplom-esh ro dar Tehrān gereft.
“He / she got his / her diploma in Tehran.”

For future plans, you can use present with a future meaning or the constructions you already know from “future expressions.”

Mikhāham dar khārej tahsil konam.
“I want to study abroad.”

Ghasd dāram doktora begiram.
“I intend to get a PhD.”

Qarar ast sāle badi dāneshgāh beravam.
“It is planned that I go to university next year.”

To say “I am planning to change my major,” you can say:
Dāram barnāme rizi mikonam ke reshte-am ro avaz konam.
“I am planning to change my major.”

Everyday Conversations about Education

Here are some useful everyday questions and answers about studies.

Shomā kojā dars mikhanid?
“Where do you study?”

Dar dāneshgāh-e Tehrān dars mikhanam.
“I study at the University of Tehran.”

Che reshte-i mikhanid?
“What is your major?”

Reshte-ye man eqtesād ast.
“My major is economics.”

Maghta'-et chist?
“What is your level (degree)?”

Kārshenāsi-ye ārshad hastam.
“I am a master’s student.”

Mota'valled-e chand hastid va sāle chand dāneshgāh raftid?
“When were you born and in what year did you go to university?”
(Here native speakers combine age and education in biographies.)

Che felan barnāme-i barā-ye āyande-ye tahsilat-et dāri?
“What plans do you have for your future studies?”

Mikhāham bā'd az lisāns, ārshad bekhānam.
“After my bachelor’s, I want to do a master’s.”

Vocabulary list for this chapter