Work and Career

Overview of Work and Career in Persian

Talking about work and career in Persian often combines vocabulary for jobs, workplaces, responsibilities, and opinions about your professional life. At B1 level, you move beyond simply saying “I am a teacher” and start to describe what you do, where you work, your work history, and your plans or wishes for your career.

In this chapter you will learn key words and useful sentence patterns to talk about your job, your workplace, your working conditions, and your career path. You will see both formal and informal options where they are common in real life.

Example:
man mo'allem hastam.
من معلّم هستم.
“I am a teacher.”

man mohandesam.
من مهندسَم.
“I am an engineer.”

Both are correct. The shorter form is more common in everyday speech.

Talking About Your Job and Profession

To say what your job is, you mainly need the verb “to be” which you already know, and a list of job titles. At B1 level you should be comfortable with several common profession words and with simple descriptions of what you actually do.

Basic pattern:
man + job title + hastam.
من + شغل / عنوان شغل + هستم.

Some common job titles:

man mohandes hastam.
من مهندس هستم.
“I am an engineer.”

man mo'allem-e zabân-e fârsi hastam.
من معلّمِ زبانِ فارسی هستم.
“I am a Persian teacher.”

u parastâr ast.
او پرستار است.
“He / she is a nurse.”

u doktor-e dandan ast.
او دکترِ دندان است.
“He / she is a dentist.”

mâ pedar-am kârgar ast.
ما / پدرم کارگر است.
“My father is a worker / laborer.”

If you prefer the more natural spoken style, you can attach the “to be” ending directly to the job word:

man mohandesam.
من مهندسَم.
“I am an engineer.”

u parastâre.
او پرستاره.
“He / she is a nurse.”

Note that Persian does not add “a” before the job, so you do not say “yek mohandes” unless you want to emphasize “one single engineer.”

You can also say that you do not have a job or that you are a student:

man bikhodam kâr nadâram.
من فعلاً کار ندارم.
“Right now I do not have a job.”

man dâneshju hastam.
من دانشجو هستم.
“I am a university student.”

To say “I work as …” you can use the preposition “be onvân-e” (as) or a simple structure with the verb “kâr kardan” (to work):

man be onvân-e mohandes kâr mikonam.
من به عنوانِ مهندس کار می‌کنم.
“I work as an engineer.”

man tu-ye yek bank kâr mikonam.
من تویِ یک بانک کار می‌کنم.
“I work in a bank.”

Workplaces and Types of Work

To describe where you work, you need place words and a few common nouns. At B1 you should start combining your job with the type of organization or location.

Some useful workplace words:

edâre
اداره
“office” / “government office”

sherkat
شرکت
“company”

kârkhune
کارخونه / کارخانه
“factory”

bank
بانک
“bank”

madrese
مدرسه
“school”

dânešgâh
دانشگاه
“university”

magâze
مغازه
“shop, store”

Most often you use the verb “kâr kardan” with these:

man dar yek sherkat kâr mikonam.
من در یک شرکت کار می‌کنم.
“I work in a company.”

u dar edâre-ye dolati kâr mikone.
او در اداره‌ی دولتی کار می‌کنه.
“He / she works in a government office.”

man tu-ye kârkhune kâr mikonam.
من تویِ کارخونه کار می‌کنم.
“I work in a factory.”

To say what kind of work you do, you can use words like “daftari” (office work), “dasti” (manual work), “pârt-taym” (part-time), “purnegâr” etc. At B1 it is enough to know a few of them:

kâr-e daftari
کارِ دفتری
“office work”

kâr-e dasti
کارِ دستی
“manual work”

kâr-e pârt-taym
کارِ پارت‌تایم
“part-time work”

kâr-e purnegâr (purnegâr = full-time in informal borrowing is less fixed, but you will hear kâr-e purnegâr or kâr-e purnovqat) is less standard; the quite common expression is:

kâr-e purnaghshe / full-time: “kâr-e purnegâr / purnovqat” is understood; at this level focus instead on “purnovqat”:

kâr-e purnovqat
کارِ پُر‌وقت
“full-time work”

Use them in simple sentences:

man kâr-e daftari mikonam.
من کارِ دفتری می‌کنم.
“I do office work.”

u kâr-e dasti mikone.
او کارِ دستی می‌کنه.
“He / she does manual work.”

man kâr-e pârt-taym dâram.
من کارِ پارت‌تایم دارم.
“I have a part-time job.”

Talking About Work Schedule and Conditions

At B1, you should be able to say when you work, how many hours, and basic information about your working conditions. The details of time expressions are in other chapters, but here are some work-specific patterns.

To speak about working hours:

sâ'at-e kâr
ساعتِ کار
“working hours”

man ruze-hâ-ye hafte az sâ'at-e hâft tâ se kâr mikonam.
من روزهای هفته از ساعتِ هفت تا سه کار می‌کنم.
“I work on weekdays from seven to three.”

man haft-e sâ'at dar ruz kâr mikonam.
من هشت ساعت در روز کار می‌کنم.
“I work eight hours a day.”

To talk about full-time or part-time:

man full-time kâr mikonam.
من فول‌تایم کار می‌کنم.
“I work full-time.”

u pârt-taym kâr mikone.
او پارت‌تایم کار می‌کنه.
“He / she works part-time.”

You can also talk about shift work:

kâr-e shift-i
کارِ شیفتی
“shift work”

man kâr-e shift-i dâram.
من کارِ شیفتی دارم.
“I do shift work.”

To talk about working from home, you can use “dûr-kâr” (remote work) or just “az khune kâr mikonam”:

man az khune kâr mikonam.
من از خونه کار می‌کنم.
“I work from home.”

mâ dârîm kâr-e dûr-kâr.
ما داریم کارِ دُورکار.
“We have remote work.”

Responsibilities and Daily Tasks at Work

Beyond job titles, you should be able to say what you actually do every day. Basic verbs from earlier levels can be combined with work-related nouns to describe your tasks.

Some core verbs for work:

kâr kardan
کار کردن
“to work”

modiriyat kardan
مدیریت کردن
“to manage”

tarmim kardan
تعمیر کردن
“to repair”

dars dâdan
درس دادن
“to teach, to give lessons”

forush kardan
فروش کردن
“to sell”

tarâhi kardan
طراحی کردن
“to design”

neveshtan
نوشتن
“to write”

zan zadan / tamâs gereftan
زنگ زدن / تماس گرفتن
“to call / to contact”

For example:

man dar bank kâr mikonam. moshtari râ komak mikonam va form-hâ râ por mikonam.
من در بانک کار می‌کنم. مشتری را کمک می‌کنم و فرم‌ها را پُر می‌کنم.
“I work in a bank. I help customers and fill in forms.”

u mashin-hâ râ tarmim mikone.
او ماشین‌ها را تعمیر می‌کنه.
“He / she repairs cars.”

man bache-hâ râ dars midam.
من بچه‌ها را درس می‌دم.
“I teach children.”

u barq râ tarâhi mikone.
او برق را طراحی می‌کنه.
“He / she designs electrical systems.”

You can link actions using “va” (and), “hamchenin” (also), or simple sentences one after another.

To say “my responsibilities” use “mas'uliyat-hâ-ye man”:

mas'uliyat-hâ-ye man tavzi'-e kâlâ va forush be moshtari-hâst.
مسئولیت‌هایِ من توزیعِ کالا و فروش به مشتری‌هاست.
“My responsibilities are distribution of goods and selling to customers.”

Describing Your Workplace and Work Environment

You may want to say if your workplace is big or small, private or governmental, modern or old. Here you use adjectives you already know with work-related nouns.

Some useful descriptions:

sherkat-e bozorg
شرکتِ بزرگ
“big company”

sherkat-e kuchik
شرکتِ کوچک
“small company”

sherkat-e khosusi
شرکتِ خصوصی
“private company”

sherkat-e dolati
شرکتِ دولتی
“state company”

edâre-ye jadid / ghadimi
اداره‌ی جدید / قدیمی
“new / old office”

mahol-e kâr
محیطِ کار
“work environment”

To describe:

man dar yek sherkat-e khosusi-ye bozorg kâr mikonam.
من در یک شرکتِ خصوصیِ بزرگ کار می‌کنم.
“I work in a big private company.”

mahol-e kâr-e mâ khub va samimi-e.
محیطِ کارِ ما خوب و صمیمیه.
“Our work environment is good and friendly.”

edâre-ye mâ kâmelan modern-e.
اداره‌ی ما کاملاً مدرنه.
“Our office is completely modern.”

You can add details like “por ser o sadda” (noisy), “âram” (quiet), “por-estres” (stressful):

mahol-e kâr-e mâ kheili por-estres-e.
محیطِ کارِ ما خیلی پُر استرسه.
“Our work environment is very stressful.”

edâre ârame va kâr âsune.
اداره آرومه و کار آسونه.
“The office is calm and the work is easy.”

Talking About Salary, Benefits, and Job Satisfaction

At B1 you usually want to express if you are happy with your job or not and talk about money in a simple way. The details of numbers were covered earlier, so here the focus is on expressions.

Important words:

hoghoogh
حقوق
“salary”

dastmozd
دستمزد
“wage”

pul
پول
“money”

bime
بیمه
“insurance”

mâhâne
ماهانه
“monthly”

râzi budan
راضی بودن
“to be satisfied”

pishraft
پیشرفت
“progress”

You usually combine the verb “dâshtan” (to have) with “hoghoogh” or “bime”:

man hoghoogh-e khubi dâram.
من حقوقِ خوبی دارم.
“I have a good salary.”

u bime-ye pezeshki nadâre.
او بیمه‌ی پزشکی نداره.
“He / she does not have medical insurance.”

To say how often you receive salary:

man mâhâne hoghoogh migiram.
من ماهانه حقوق می‌گیرم.
“I get paid monthly.”

To say that you like or do not like your job, you can use “dust dâshtan” and “râzi budan”:

man az kâr-am râzi-am.
من از کارم راضیم.
“I am satisfied with my job.”

man kâr-am râ dust dâram, vali hoghoogh kam-e.
من کارم را دوست دارم، ولی حقوق کمِه.
“I like my job, but the salary is low.”

u az shoghl-esh râzi nist.
او از شغلش راضی نیست.
“He / she is not satisfied with his / her job.”

To say that something is good or bad for your future:

in kâr barâ-ye âyande-ye man khube.
این کار برایِ آینده‌ی من خوبه.
“This job is good for my future.”

hoghoogh-e kam barâ-ye pishraft-e man bad-e.
حقوقِ کم برایِ پیشرفتِ من بده.
“Low salary is bad for my progress.”

Work Experience and CV-style Sentences

At B1, you should be able to describe your work history in simple past and present, especially when talking about a CV or interview. The detailed grammar of past tense is covered elsewhere, so here we focus on typical patterns and vocabulary.

Useful words:

tajrobeh-ye kâr
تجربه‌ی کار
“work experience”

sâbeqe-ye kâr
سابقه‌ی کار
“work background / years of experience”

rezume
رزومه
“CV, résumé”

sâl
سال
“year”

sal-hâ-ye pish
سال‌های پیش
“years ago”

Use simple past of “kâr kardan” for past jobs:

man se sâl dar yek magâze kâr mikardam.
من سه سال در یک مغازه کار می‌کردم.
“I worked in a shop for three years.”

gabl-an dar edâre-ye dolati kâr mikardam.
قبلاً در اداره‌ی دولتی کار می‌کردم.
“Before, I worked in a government office.”

To say “I have two years of work experience”:

man do sâl tajrobeh-ye kâr dâram.
من دو سال تجربه‌ی کار دارم.
“I have two years of work experience.”

For CV style:

man be onvân-e forushande dar yek forushgâh kâr kardam.
من به عنوانِ فروشنده در یک فروشگاه کار کردم.
“I worked as a salesperson in a store.”

sâbeqe-ye kâr-e man dar hesâbdâri panj sâl-e.
سابقه‌ی کارِ من در حسابداری پنج ساله.
“My work experience in accounting is five years.”

You can connect your studies and your job:

man lisâns-e mohandesi dâram va alân mohandes-e sakhtemân-i hastam.
من لیسانسِ مهندسی دارم و الآن مهندسِ ساختمانی هستم.
“I have a bachelor’s degree in engineering and now I am a civil engineer.”

Job Search, Interviews, and Career Plans

B1 learners should know basic vocabulary to talk about looking for a job, going to interviews, and planning their career. The detailed language of future expressions is in another chapter, so we only show typical patterns here.

Key vocabulary:

kâr peydâ kardan
کار پیدا کردن
“to find a job”

donbâl-e kâr gashtan
دنبالِ کار گشتن
“to look for a job”

estekhâbd shodan
استخدام شدن
“to be hired”

form por kardan
فرم پُر کردن
“to fill in a form”

mosâhebe-ye kâr
مصاحبه‌ی کار
“job interview”

residegi be darkhâst
رسیدگی به درخواست
“processing the application”

When looking for work:

man donbâl-e kâr hastam.
من دنبالِ کار هستم.
“I am looking for a job.”

u mikhâd kâr-e jadid peydâ kone.
او می‌خواد کارِ جدید پیدا کنه.
“He / she wants to find a new job.”

To say you applied for a job:

man barâ-ye in shoghl darkhâst dâdam.
من برایِ این شغل درخواست دادم.
“I applied for this job.”

To talk about interviews:

man emruz mosâhebe-ye kâr dâshtam.
من امروز مصاحبه‌ی کار داشتم.
“Today I had a job interview.”

fardâ barâ-ye mosâhebe miram.
فردا برایِ مصاحبه می‌رم.
“Tomorrow I am going for an interview.”

If you get the job:

man dâr-am estekhâbd misham.
من دارم استخدام می‌شم.
“I am being hired / I am getting a job.”

To express career plans, we use simple future expressions with “mikhâm” or “ghasd dâram”:

mikhâm dar yek sherkat-e beynolmelali kâr konam.
می‌خوام در یک شرکتِ بین‌المللی کار کنم.
“I want to work in an international company.”

ghasd dâram shoghl-am râ avaz konam.
قصد دارم شغلم را عوض کنم.
“I plan to change my job.”

dar âyande mikhâm modir besham.
در آینده می‌خوام مدیر بشم.
“In the future I want to become a manager.”

Expressing Opinions About Work–Life Balance

At this level you should also share simple opinions about work–life balance, stress, and free time, which connects the topic of work with everyday life.

Useful words and expressions:

ta'dol-e kâr va zendegi
تعادلِ کار و زندگی
“work–life balance”

vaght-e âzâd
وقتِ آزاد
“free time”

esteres
استرس
“stress”

feshâr-e kâr
فشارِ کار
“work pressure”

To speak about balance:

ta'dol-e kâr va zendegi barâ-ye man mohem-e.
تعادلِ کار و زندگی برایِ من مهمه.
“Work–life balance is important for me.”

man kâr-e ziâd dâram va vaght-e âzâd kam-e.
من کارِ زیاد دارم و وقتِ آزاد کمِه.
“I have a lot of work and little free time.”

If your job is stressful:

kâr-am kheili por-esteres-e.
کارم خیلی پُر استرسه.
“My job is very stressful.”

feshâr-e kâr ziâd-e, vali kâr-am râ dust dâram.
فشارِ کار زیاده، ولی کارم را دوست دارم.
“The work pressure is high, but I like my job.”

To say your job is easy or hard:

kâr-e man sakht nist, ammâ khaste-konande-e.
کارِ من سخت نیست، امّا خسته‌کننده‌س.
“My work is not hard, but it is tiring.”

kâr-e u kheili sakht-e va sâ'at-e kâr tulâni-e.
کارِ او خیلی سخته و ساعتِ کار طولانیه.
“His / her work is very hard and the working hours are long.”

Short Dialogues About Work and Career

Here are a couple of short dialogues that bring the vocabulary together. They show common questions and answers about work.

Dialogue 1: Asking about someone’s job

A: shoghl-et chi-e?
A: شغلت چیه؟
“What is your job?”

B: man mohandes-e kâmputer-am. dar yek sherkat-e khosusi kâr mikonam.
B: من مهندسِ کامپیوترم. در یک شرکتِ خصوصی کار می‌کنم.
“I am a computer engineer. I work in a private company.”

A: sâ'at-e kâr-et chejoriye?
A: ساعتِ کارت چجوریه؟
“What are your working hours like?”

B: ruze-hâ-ye shanbe tâ panjshanbe, az noh tâ panj.
B: روزهای شنبه تا پنجشنبه، از نه تا پنج.
“From Saturday to Thursday, from nine to five.”

Dialogue 2: Talking about job satisfaction

A: az kâr-et râzi hasti?
A: از کارت راضی هستی؟
“Are you satisfied with your job?”

B: bâzi vaght-hâ. mahol-e kâr khube, ammâ hoghoogh ziâd nist.
B: بعضی وقت‌ها. محیطِ کار خوبه، امّا حقوق زیاد نیست.
“Sometimes. The work environment is good, but the salary is not high.”

A: mikhâ-i kâr-et râ avaz koni?
A: می‌خوای کارت را عوض کنی؟
“Do you want to change your job?”

B: bale, dar âyande mikhâm dar yek sherkat-e beynolmelali kâr konam.
B: بله، در آینده می‌خوام در یک شرکتِ بین‌المللی کار کنم.
“Yes, in the future I want to work in an international company.”

Vocabulary List for This Section