Technology and Media

Overview of Technology and Media in Everyday Persian

In modern Persian, you will hear many words related to phones, the internet, social networks, and different types of media. Some are originally Persian, and many are borrowed from English or French but pronounced with a Persian accent. In this chapter we focus on the most common words and phrases so that you can talk about technology and media in everyday life at a B1 level.

Remember that in everyday speech Iranians often mix English tech words with Persian grammar. You will learn how to recognize and use these in natural sentences.

Devices and Basic Tech Vocabulary

To talk about technology you first need the names of common devices. Many of these words are very frequent in daily life in Iran.

Mobile phones are central to modern communication. The most common word is “mobile” in different forms:

You can say:
“mobile” موبایل
or “cell phone” تلفن همراه

Computer also has two common words:
“computer” کامپیوتر
“laptop” لپ‌تاپ

“Tablet” تبلت is used almost exactly like English in pronunciation.

The word for “device” in general is “ دستگاه” or more casually “ وسیله”.

For example:
کامپیوترَم خرابه.
My computer is broken.

موبایلِت کجاست؟
Where is your mobile?

Another very common word is “internet” اینترنت and “Wi‑Fi” وای‌فای. You will also hear “modem” مودِم.

Many people talk about “application” or “app” as:
برنامه
or
اَپ
or
اَپلیکِیشن

For “charger” people say “شارژَر” or more Persian “شارژِر موبایل” or “شارژِر لپ‌تاپ”.

To talk about battery you say “باتِری” and everyone understands:
باتریِ موبایلم زود خالی میشه.
My phone’s battery runs out quickly.

Using the Internet and Social Media

In everyday life you often talk about connecting to the internet, sending messages, and using apps and social networks. The central verb is “to connect” وصل شدن.

Important nouns:
اینترنت internet
وای‌فای Wi‑Fi
دیتا mobile data
اینستاگرام Instagram
واتس‌اَپ WhatsApp
تلگرام Telegram
پیام message
گروه group
کانال channel
پیج page (for social media)
اکانت account

Useful verbs:
آنلاین شدن to go online
دانلود کردن to download
آپلود کردن to upload
سرچ کردن to search
چَت کردن to chat
پیام دادن to send a message
فوروُرد کردن to forward
جواب دادن to answer, reply
عضو شدن to become a member
فالو کردن to follow
لایک کردن to like (a post)

Notice that many verbs are a combination of an English word plus the Persian verb “کردن” to do. This is an example of compound verbs that you already know from another chapter, but now you see them in the tech context.

Examples:
من هر روز اینستاگرام چِک می‌کنم.
I check Instagram every day.

تو کدوم کانال‌ها عضو هستی؟
Which channels are you a member of?

این فایلو برای من فوروُرد می‌کنی؟
Can you forward this file for me?

من و دوستام تو واتس‌اَپ یه گروه داریم.
My friends and I have a group on WhatsApp.

اگه اینترنت وصل بشه، فایل رو دانلود می‌کنم.
If the internet connects, I will download the file.

Talking about Media: TV, Radio, and News

Media in Persian can be said as “رسانه” in general. “Mass media” is “رسانه‌های جمعی” but in daily talk people usually name each medium directly.

TV and radio:
تلویزیون television
رادیو radio
فیلم film, movie
سِریال series
اخبار news
برنامه program, show
کانال channel, both TV and messaging apps
شبکه network, TV channel

Reading and news:
روزنامه newspaper
مجله magazine
مقاله article
خبر news item
خبرگزاری news agency
سایت site, website
سایتِ خبری news website

You can combine these with common verbs like:
تماشا کردن to watch
دیدن to see
گوش دادن (به) to listen (to)
خوندن to read
دنبال کردن to follow
چِک کردن to check

Examples:
من شب‌ها اخبار تلویزیون رو تماشا می‌کنم.
At night I watch the TV news.

معمولاً خبرها رو تو اینترنت می‌خونم.
I usually read the news on the internet.

چه سریال‌هایی نگاه می‌کنی؟
Which series do you watch?

من این شبکه رو دوست ندارم.
I do not like this channel / network.

Describing Online Habits and Frequency

You already know adverbs of time and frequency from another chapter. Now apply them to technology and media.

Key phrases:
هر روز every day
تقریباً هر روز almost every day
گاهی وقتا sometimes
معمولاً usually
کمتر rarely, less often
اصلاً ... نمی‌... not at all

Combine them with verbs like “آنلاین شدن”, “چِک کردن”, “استفاده کردن” to talk about your habits.

Examples:
من هر روز چند بار ایمیلم رو چِک می‌کنم.
I check my email several times every day.

معمولاً شبها آنلاین می‌شم.
I usually go online at night.

من تلویزیون کمتر نگاه می‌کنم، بیشتر تو اینترنت می‌چرخم.
I watch TV less, I browse more on the internet.

اصلاً رادیو گوش نمی‌دم.
I do not listen to radio at all.

“تو اینترنت چرخیدن” is an informal expression for “to surf the internet”:
تو اینترنت می‌چرخم.
I surf / browse on the internet.

Expressing Opinions about Technology and Media

At B1 you can give simple opinions and reasons. This connects with the “Expressing Opinions” and “Reasons and Consequences” chapters, but here the focus is on tech and media vocabulary.

Useful opinion words:
فکر می‌کنم ... I think ...
به نظرم ... In my opinion ...
جالبه interesting
خوبه good
بدِه bad
مهمه important
خطرناکِه dangerous
معتادکننده است addictive
مفیده useful
مضرّه harmful

You can talk about social media, TV, games, or the internet itself:
شبکه‌های اجتماعی social networks
رسانه‌های اجتماعی social media
بازیِ کامپیوتری computer game
بازیِ آنلاین online game
حریمِ خصوصی privacy

Examples:
به نظرم اینترنت خیلی مفیده، ولی می‌تونه مضر هم باشه.
In my opinion the internet is very useful, but it can also be harmful.

فکر می‌کنم شبکه‌های اجتماعی معتادکننده‌ان.
I think social networks are addictive.

تلویزیون برنامه‌های خوب هم داره، ولی بیشترش تبلیغه.
TV also has good programs, but most of it is advertising.

Irritation or criticism:
حوصله ندارم. I do not have patience / I am not in the mood.
رو مغزه. It is annoying (literally: it is on the brain).
مثلاً: این همه تبلیغ رو مغزه.
All these ads are annoying.

Talking about Problems with Technology

In real life you need to say when something does not work. Some very frequent words and phrases:

خراب broken, not working
قطع off, disconnected
کند slow
سریع fast
ویروس virus
هَنگ کردن to freeze, hang
کرَش کردن to crash
پشتیبانی support, technical support

Useful patterns:
اینترنت قَطعه.
The internet is down.

سرعَتِ اینترنت خیلی کُنده.
The internet speed is very slow.

کامپیوتَرَم هَنگ کرده.
My computer is frozen.

موبایلم ویروس گرفته.
My phone got a virus.

این برنامه مدام کِرَش می‌کنه.
This program keeps crashing.

To ask for help, you can use:
می‌تونی درستش کنی؟
Can you fix it?

باید زنگ بزنم به پشتیبانی.
I must call support.

If you want to say “I cannot connect”:
به اینترنت وصل نمی‌شه.
It does not connect to the internet.

یا:
به وای‌فای وصل نمی‌شن.
They do not connect to Wi‑Fi.

Media Content: Videos, Photos, and Files

A big part of daily digital life is sharing content. Some basic words:

ویدیو video
کلیپ clip
صَدا sound, audio
عکس photo, picture
فایل file
لینک link
داکومِنت / فایلِ متنی document, text file
صَفحه page, screen
پُست post
استوری story (on Instagram and similar apps)

Key verbs:
فرستادن / ارسال کردن to send
گرفتن to receive, to get
سیو کردن to save
باز کردن to open
بستن to close
کلیک کردن to click
اسکرین‌شات گرفتن to take a screenshot

Examples:
لینکِ ویدیو رو برام می‌فرستی؟
Will you send me the video link?

این عکسا رو کجا سیو کردی؟
Where did you save these photos?

پُستِ آخرتو دیدم، خیلی جالب بود.
I saw your last post, it was very interesting.

یه اسکرین‌شات بگیر و برام بفرست.
Take a screenshot and send it to me.

Online Communication and Etiquette

In Persian, online communication keeps many politeness rules from spoken language, especially in more formal messages. However among friends it can be very short and direct.

Common message phrases:
سلام سلام hi hi / hi
خوبی؟ Are you well?
چطوری؟ How are you?
ممنون، مرسی thanks
لطفاً please (also used in chats)
مرسی که جواب دادی. Thank you for answering.
ببخشید دیر جواب دادم. Sorry I answered late.

To say “to call” using internet apps:
زنگ زدن to call
تماس گرفتن to call
تماسِ صوتی voice call
تماسِ تصویری video call

Examples:
می‌تونیم تماسِ تصویری بگیریم؟
Can we make a video call?

الان نمی‌تونم جواب بدم، بعداً زنگ می‌زنم.
I cannot answer now, I will call later.

سوتی دادن is slang for making a mistake or sending something wrong, for example a wrong message:
سوتی دادم، پیامو تو گروهِ اشتباه فرستادم.
I messed up, I sent the message to the wrong group.

Vocabulary Table

Below is a table of the main words and phrases used in this chapter.