Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation (Chai & Conversation)

In this episode, we dive into an enriching conversation with Samira Mohieddin, discussing her experiences growing up in a Persian family that migrated to Canada. We unpack the challenges and dynamics of navigating multiple cultures, languages, and political climates.

Highlights:

• Samira reflects on her sudden rise in Instagram followers and the oddity of newfound attention.
• A mention of Ari's project, Water Well, and its resonance post-George Floyd protests.
• Samira shares her early life in Tehran and the subsequent move to Canada when she was just four years old. The move was prompted not by choice but by necessity due to political upheavals.
• We learn about the initial struggles of adapting to a new country, including linguistic hurdles. Her family was a blend of French, English, and Persian speakers.
• Samira candidly discusses her experiences in Persian school, a journey filled with mischief, laughter, and some rebellious moments.
• A poignant memory of the aftermath of the Iran hostage crisis is recounted, showcasing the profound impact of geopolitics on immigrant families.

This episode offers a deep dive into the lived experience of an Iranian-Canadian, illustrating the power of personal stories in bridging cultural gaps and dispelling misunderstandings. Join us for an intimate journey of laughter, nostalgia, and reflection.

In this second part of the poetry lesson for Rudaki's poem shād zee, we go over the entire poem line by line, phrase by phrase so you can get a full grasp of the vocabulary in the poem. You'll then have a full understanding of how to use the vocabulary in everyday conversation.

In this lesson, we introduce one of the greats of Persian Sufi poetry, Omar Khayyam. Khayyam was a 12th century poet and a true renaissance man- in addition to being one of the most well known Iranian poets, he was also a famed mathematician and astronomer. This shouldn't be surprising, however, as these disciplines greatly informed one another.This poem, which we are calling khosh bāsh, or 'be glad', is one of my favorites, and something I consider a sort of mantra in life. In it, he reminds us that life is fleeting, that we all will eventually die, and therefore, now that we are here, we should be glad.

Lesson 28 teaches how to talk about habitual actions.

Melody Moezzi is most recently author of the book The Rumi Prescription, in which she talks about how the poetry of Rumi became a lifeline for her, helping her to gain wisdom and insight in the face of a creative and spiritual roadblock with the help of her father, a lifelong fan of Rumi’s poetry. We covered so much in our Growing Up Irooni interview, from the controversy of Coleman Barks and why Melody is actually a big fan of his work, to learning Persian poetry in its original language, to becoming an artist in a culture that isn’t always the most hospitable to being an artist as a profession, to discussing mental health in a culture that isn’t always the most hospital to talking about mental health, and so much more. 

Links:

• The Rumi Prescription book at Book Shop
• Melody Moezzi Instagram
• Melody Moezzi Twitter

In this episode of Growing Up Neem-Rooni, Leyla talks with Representative Yassamin Ansari, the youngest member of Congress and the first Iranian-American Democrat to be elected. From growing up in a mostly white Arizona suburb to representing her diverse district in Washington, D.C., Yassamin shares her story of identity, community, and public service.

We talk about her family's immigration journey, what it was like growing up Persian in Arizona, the political awakenings that shaped her career, and the urgent fights she’s now taking on—climate change, immigration justice, labor rights, and Iranian-American visibility. She also opens up about the personal weight of carrying a diaspora story into the halls of power, and why this moment in American politics requires all of us to show up, speak out, and organize.

🟢 Topics covered include:

• Her upbringing in Arizona and the influence of her Iranian family
• Why she got into politics, and how the first Trump presidency galvanized her
• Her work on Iranian-American Heritage Month and immigration reform
• The erosion of climate policy and the importance of mass mobilization
• What gives her hope—and why we need to fight harder than ever

This week, we’re continuing with our kitchen Persian vocabulary, and learning practical conversations you would have in any household. In this lesson, we learn more vocabulary for how to talk about illnesses and pain. In addition, we learn words for more parts of the body.

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, you learn how to talk about your job, say where you work, and whether or not you like your job. We learn vocabulary for a long list of jobs, including: student engineer lawyer writer architect accountant cook waiter dentist pilot artist We then learn how to combine these words into the phrase saying what we do and asking others what they do for a living. Again, very useful phrases for making casual conversation with others to get to know them better. We also learn how to say whether or not we like our jobs, and to ask others if they like their jobs as well. We then learn the vocabulary for different places you could work. These include:

• Restaurant
• Hospital
• Factory
• Office

Not all people work, however. So we also learn the following Persian phrases:

• I work
• I don't work
• I am jobless
• I am retired  

In this special shabé shehr episode, we are joined by Alan Eyre, the first (and last) ever Persian language spokesperson for the U.S. State Department. Alan has a little book with lines of his favorite Persian poetry, and he shares one of those poems with us in this episode.

In this lesson, we talk about one of the most important concepts when it comes to learning about Persian culture- the concept of tārof. Tārof is basically the code of etiquette Iranians use in all social situations, and it's quite culturally pervasive. While western culture also has rules of engaging with others, Persians take it to a whole new level. For someone unfamiliar with the concept, sometimes the behavior of Iranians may seem a bit strange, but once these few simple rules are learned, a lot of cultural misunderstanding can be avoided.

LINKS: 

• We also explored this concept in our popular Youtube video, which you can see here.
• In addition, Leyla was interviewed for PRI's The World about the concept- check it out on their webpage.
• Or checkout her interview with the LA Times, where again she championed the cause. 

Respect is a big deal in Persian culture- respect for your family, respect for elders, among other things. We've learned about tārof- but this type of etiquette is just one aspect of showing respect for others. In this lesson, we learn other ways respect is demonstrated in the Persian culture.

In this new series, we watch clips chosen by Yara Elmjouie from the movie A Separation.  To WATCH this lesson (highly recommended!), check it out on our website.

In this lesson, we'll go over the first part of the poem bani ādam and learn the individual words and phrases of this section of the poem.

Hollay Ghadery is is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions (2021) and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box, came out Radiant Press in 2023 and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, is scheduled for release with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is also a book publicist and the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. 

I read Hollay’s memoir Fuse back when it came out in 2021, and I couldn’t believe how applicable the things she wrote about were for my audience- for biracial or bicultural Iranians raised in the west grappling with issues of identity, of all the difficulties and joys of being raised with all these identities, of the dark sides of it, and the beautiful sides as well. I’m so excited for y’all to hear our conversation, and of course for you to experience this book, as I hope you all do.

Related Links:

• Hollay’s memoir Fuse
• Hollay on instagram

From the very beginning of this current stage of the conflict, after the horrific events of October 7th, the first person I turned to for an understanding of what was happening was Noam Shuster-Eliassi. I’d been following her for a long time because of her comedy about Israel and Palestine. 

I had so many questions to ask her, and was so incredibly grateful that she took the time to speak to me. There are no easy answers, and I will let the interview speak for itself. I thank you for taking the time to listen. 

Related Links

• Noam’s speech from 2015
• Noam’s instagram page
• Standing Together- a grassroots Jewish-Arab movement fighting for peace, equality and social justice in Israel/Palestine. 

This lesson covers a section of the poem Conquest of the Garden, or Fathé Bāgh, by Forough Farrokhzad. This portion of the poem is:

همه میترسندهمه میترسند، اما من و توبه چراغ و آب و آینه پیوستیمو نترسیدیم
hamé meetarsandhamé meetarsandamā man o tōbé cherāgh o āb o āyeené payvasteemva natarseedeem
Everyone is afraideveryone is afraid, but you and Ijoined with the lampand water and mirror and we were not afraid.

The Youtube video which claims to be Forough Farrokhzad reading the poem is linked here.

In this section of the poem, Forough brings up an important custom in Iranian weddings.

Nixta Taqueria is an award winning taqueria in Austin coowned by today's Growing Up Irooni guest Sara Mardanbigi. She owns it together with her husband Edgar Rico, who she recently took on a month long trip to Iran. We talked about her upbringing in Arkansas, what led her to create such a unique business, and about her recent trip to Iran, amidst the women, life, freedom movement. 

Related Links:

• Priya Krishna's NYT article about Sara and Nixta
• Follow Nixta on Instagram

In this lesson, we go over the first half of Ahmad Shamlou's poem, Rāz.

In this Persian / Farsi lesson, we go over vocabulary needed to talk about the home. In Persian, house is called 'khooné' (in written Persian, it's khāné). Different rooms in the house include: 

• room - otāgh
• bedroom - otāgh khāb
• bathroom - dast shoowee or toowālet
• dining room - āshpaz khooné
• living room - sālon. 

We also go over vocabulary for common parts of a house, like doors, windows, ceilings and floors, and furniture and popular items inside each of these rooms of the house.

Kaveh Akbar is the Iranian-American author of the critically acclaimed and heavily lauded novel Martyr! In our long-awaited conversation we dive deep into the themes of his powerful book, Martyr, which explores the human cost of so-called “collateral damage” and the real-world trauma often reduced to mere statistics in Western media. I had so much I wanted to ask Kaveh about the deeply personal and timely relevance of his work, especially in light of ongoing global events. 

Check out the full episode, and let me know what you think!

Related Links:

Kaveh's webpage
Kaveh on Instagram

Lesson 36 features a conversation between Leyla and her Aunt Farnoosh. Aunt Farnoosh describes her trip to Cancun.

In this lesson, we're going to go over the final part of the poem beshnō een nay by Rumi. We will go over the Persian words and phrases learned in this part of the poem.

In this part 2 episode of Hafez's beautiful poem payāmé naseem, we look at the individual words and phrases in the first two lines of the poem, and learn how to use the words and phrases in current Persian conversation.

In Lesson 49, we learn to talk about simple daily routines. These include things like eating breakfast, going to work, having meals, and resting.

In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we learn how to talk about love and friendship. We learn common terms of endearment, how to compliment a loved one, and how to talk about your marital status. We also learn how to say 'I love you' in Farsi, which might be a bit more complicated than you would think. There's not a direct translation of 'I love you.' Rather, you could say 'I am in love with you' (man āsheghetam), or 'I like you' (doostet dāram) which often gets used in the place of 'I love you'. The most common term of endearment in the Persian language is jān or joon (either one works). This is often said after a loved one's name. For instance, if you are talking to your friend named Sarah, you could call them 'Sarah joon' to show them that you really care for them. You could also use it to call a family member. For instance, the word for maternal uncle in Persian is dāyee. Uncles are often called 'dāyee joon' meaning dear uncle.

If you've been anywhere near Instagram in the last couple years, you will have come across Payam (also known as Peter) Banifaz's amazing videos depicting growing up in an Iranian American household with a very Iranian father. The father familiar is extremely relatable to a lot of us who grew up in immigrant households- he talks about where the idea came from and how it's developed over the pandemic period. Also, he talks about his journey from studying to potentially become a lawyer, to breaking it to his family that he was going into acting instead- spoiler alert: the conversation was not easy.

Related Links:

• Payam Banifaz on instagram 

I’m so excited to share with you all my conversation with Emmy award nominated actor Arian Moayed- he really needs no introduction, but you probably have seen him as Stewy on Succession, Kian on love life, lawyer Todd on Inventing Anna, or in the new Ms. Marvel series- really, he’s been everywhere it seems the past couple of years. But, as you’ll hear in the interview, his current success is the result of a couple decades of passionate work- I came away from this conversation with an incredible amount of inspiration and excitement for the future- both for the future of theater as a force of positive change, and for the future of the Iranian diaspora in general. Also, I learned that Arian and I share the same mantra as the basis for our work- he for his project Waterwell theater, and me for Chai and Conversation- we get into that in detail in the conversation. Super excited for you all to hear this episode, enjoy!

Related Links:

• Waterwell theater webpage
• Waterwell theater instagram
• Arian Moayed instagram

Continuing with the theme of hosting and being hosted, the theme of this Persian / Farsi lesson is a visit to the in-laws on a Saturday afternoon. We follow Matt on a hypothetical visit to his in-laws house, and a potential conversation as they try to serve him food. We also talk about formal speech- as we've said before, Persian culture errs on the side of formality, especially when talking to elders. Because there's an informal and formal way of addressing 'you', it's very important to choose the correct form, especially when dealing with the in-laws. For this reason, we'll go over how to ask questions in a formal way, and speaking respectfully. This will get you a lot of points with you Iranian in-laws. We also go over how to talk about whether or not we are hungry or thirsty, because as you may know, Iranians LOVE to feed people and often will not take 'no' for an answer.

KEY CONCEPTS: 

• More about the formal and informal forms of 'you'
• Formal phrases to use with in-laws
• How to 'tarof' by asking someone to 'help themselves' or say 'please'
• Talking about hunger or thirst

This is a vocabulary sprint, which means you can listen to the lesson no matter where you are in the learning process. It's just a way to get a number of vocabulary words in your tool belt.In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we learn the words for different animals. We'll first go over animals covered in the book 'Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, which you can see translated into Persian in this blog post. We then go over a series of other animals, and other words and phrases associated with animals. Enjoy!

In this introductory lesson to Sohrab Sepehri's beautiful poem dar golestāné, we're joined by musician Fared Shafinury to talk about the general theme and meaning behind this poem. 

Lesson 35 features a dialogue between Leyla and her uncle.

In this dialogue, we ask Matt and Ladan what they've been up to the past few months. We get to hear how Matt's been doing in med school, and we also hear some really exciting information that Ladan reveals.

Tehran Von Ghasri is a half African American, half Iranian comedian who reads and speaks Farsi fluently. Originally, I wanted to interview Tehran to ask him about being raised in a half Iranian family and how his father managed to keep him interested in the Persian language and culture. However, our interview took place a couple weeks after the Black Lives Matter movement erupted in the United States and all over the world following the death of Geroge Floyd. I had a lot of questions about his unique perspective of being half black and half Iranian, and particularly about the role of Iranian Americans in this movement. I learned so much from our conversation and hope that you will too.

"Finding Joonam: A Dialogue with Filmmaker Sierra Urrich" - Immerse yourself in a candid and emotive conversation with Sierra Urrich, the talented director behind the striking documentary, 'Joonam'. In this episode, Sierra shares her heartfelt experiences of creating the film and navigating her Iranian identity through the process. She provides us with an intimate glimpse into her journey, spanning from her childhood in Vermont to her connections with Iran, sparked by the stories, culture, and heritage shared by her mother and grandmother. We discuss the complexities of learning Persian, the multifaceted portrait of three generations of women against Iran's cultural backdrop, and the powerful reactions to the brave protests happening in Iran. This dialogue will undoubtedly resonate with anyone who has ever sought to understand their roots, grappled with their identity, or felt the echoes of a diasporic existence. Tune in for an enriching exploration of heritage, identity, and the extraordinary potency of storytelling.

Related Links:

• Joonam screening in NYC, July 27, RSVP here
• Joonam on instagram

In this lesson, Leyla and her husband Chris go over how to talk about emotions in the Persian language. This lesson is part of the vocabulary sprint series, so they go over several vocabulary words around the theme of feelings and emotions. In Farsi, emotions are called ehsāsat. We learn a few of the common emotions, such as being happy, sad, calm, depressed, nervous, etc. In addition, we learn the word hāl, which means something along the lines of 'being.' So when we ask 'hālet chetoré', which means 'How are you?', you are asking something along the lines of 'How is your state of being.'

When talking to someone in something other than your native language, it sometimes helps to know what other languages they speak. This not only helps you to learn more about a person, but can also potentially give you insight into other things you have in common with them. In this Persian / Farsi lesson, we learn how to talk about the languages we can speak, learn the words for different languages, and learn to speak about the proficiency with with we speak certain languages. Also, importantly, we learn how to tell people to slow down if they're speaking too fast for us to understand.

KEY CONCEPTS:

• Telling others which languages we can speak
• Telling others the proficiency with which we can speak those languages
• The names for different popular languages
• Ask others to slow down when speaking
• Ask others how to say something in Persian

In this discussion on Hafez's barafshān, we go over the fifth and sixth line of the poem.

In this lesson, we're going to go over the first four lines of the poem beshnō een nay, (also known as beshnō az nay- we explain this in the lesson) and learn the vocabulary and phrases associated with the poem. We also learn other vocabulary words related to the ones learned in this part of the poem. Translation by Persian Poetics.

This Raising Neem-Roonis interview features Shabnam Rezaei, cofounder of Big Bad Boo, an animation studio featuring cartoons with multicultural themes and diverse languages. Shabnam is the mother of two Neem-Rooni daughters, and the only one of our interviewees that managed to keep her children speaking fluent Persian despite growing up in New York City and having a non-Iranian father. Listen to find ot how she did it!

Lesson 23 goes over the simple past tense, including how to talk about what you did over the last weekend.

In this shabé shehr episode, we go over the poem khoshā emshō by the poet Baba Taher with special guest Yara Elmjouie. This poem is about enjoying the night, and the company of the night- it's short, simple and sweet, and reminds you to take pleasure in the joy of living.

In this episode of Growing Up Irooni, host Leyla interviews Farnoosh Torabi, renowned podcast host and author of the book "A Healthy State of Panic." Leyla and Farnoosh delve into the world of finances, personal development, and the positive aspects of fear. Farnoosh shares her insights on fear and how it can be a powerful force in our lives when understood and harnessed correctly.

Related Links:

• Podcast Website: www.chaiandconversation.com
• Book Mentioned: "A Healthy State of Panic" by Farnoosh Torabi
• Farnoosh Torabi's Podcast: "So Money with Farnoosh Torabi"
• Farnoosh Torabi's instagram

In this lesson, we watch a clip of the movie A Separation by Asghar Farahadi in which Nader and Razieh have a conversation about the potential for her husband to come work for Nader. We're joined in this episode by friend of the show, Yara Elmjouie.

In this lesson, we’re going to listen to two people deciding what they’re going to do one evening. They go through a variety of options, including going to the cinema, getting Chinese food, and making food at home. Listen to find out what they ultimately decide.

Lesson 21 is the first lesson in Unit 3 of Chai and Conversation! In this unit, we will be going over the fundamentals of grammar of the Persian language. This entire lesson is devoted to the verb ‘to be,’ and its many different forms.

In this lesson, we learn more about how to talk about daily routines, especially routines associated with waking up and going to bed.

In this lesson, we go over the following lines of the poem aybé rendān makon by Hafez:

همه کس طالبِ یارند چه هشیار و چه مست
hamé kas tālebé yārand ché hoshyār o ché mast

همه جا خانهٔ عشق است چه مسجد چه کِنِشت
hamé jā khāna-yé ʿeshgh ast ché masjed ché kenest

In this lesson, we build on the last lesson, and learn how to greet people during different times of the day, several forms of the word goodbye, and how to introduce yourself in the Persian language. 

Raising Neem-Roonis is our podcast series about the joys and challenges of raising half Iranian children, specifically when it comes to passing along language and culture. Our first interview the series is with actress turned cookbook author Naz Deravian, author of the fantastic cookbook Bottom of the Pot. In addition to her fantastic recipes, her book is full of anecdotes and examples of incorporating her American husband and Neem-Rooni children into the Persian cooking process. After being enamored with her writing style and recipes for over a year, I had so many questions for her about her views on the role of culture in her family.

In this lesson, we build on Lesson 42, and learn how to talk about wants. For instance, 'I want to go to the cinema.' In addition, we learn some special verbs that allow us to construct additional subjunctive sentences. These special verbs include 'must', 'might', 'it's possible', and 'it's better'.

In this lesson, we continue our study of Ahmad Shamlou's poem, Rāz. We learn the words and phrases in the second half of the poem.

In this lesson, we cover a topic you will hopefully not have to use too often- the topic of not feeling too well. We'll learn how to express that you're not feeling well, how to ask others how they are feeling, and how to talk about pain that you have. Also, we will learn the Persian words for several parts of the body.  

 In this lesson, we go over the following lines of the poem:   

chon āghebaté kāré jahān neestee hast
چون عاقِبَتِ کارِ جَهان نیستی اَست
Since the end of the affairs of the world is nothingness

engār ké neestee, chō hastee, khosh bāsh
اِنگار کِه نیستی، چو هَستی خوش باش
suppose that you are not,  but while you are, be happy

After you've listened to this lesson, we would love to see videos of you reciting this poem in a beautiful location- please send your videos to leyla@chaiandconversation.com

Andak Andak, a poem by Rumi, and song by Shahram Nazeri, is a wonderful one to listen to about the concept of hastee and neestee. 

Lesson 34 features a dialogue in Persian (Farsi) between Leyla and her grandmother.

In this lesson, we go over one of Rumi's most famous poems, beshnō een nay, which means ‘listen to the reed flute,' with our friend Muhammad Ali of Persian Poetics. We go over the essence and meaning behind the poem, and analyze it line by line using Muhammad Ali's English translation. Beshnō een nay is the first poem in Rumi's Masnavi, and is a common poem for Iranians to have memorized. The major theme of the poem is that of separation, either from a specific place or from the divine, and the return to the ‘self,' whatever that may be. 

(Originally published May 12th 2020) In this Raising Neem-Roonis edition of Chai and Conversation, we talk to author, commentator, producer, professor, and many other hat-wearer Iranian-American Reza Aslan about passing on the Persian culture and language to the next generation. Reza has four neem-Roonis of his own, and talks about the challenges of teaching them the Persian language, but also why it is absolutely imperative to do so.

This is the introduction to our shabé shehr (night of poetry) series, where we go over short selections of poems in Persian, and their overall meanings in English. In this episode, we're joined by Yara Elmjouie to talk about a poem by Rudaki about living in the moment.

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, you learn to talk about your likes and dislikes. Also, we will be learning the Persian sound ‘gh’. There are two sounds in the Persian language that you don't hear in English. The first is the sound 'kh' heard in words such as 'khoobam'- we went over this in Lesson 1. The second is the sound 'gh' which we'll be going over in this lesson. We learn it specifically to learn the word for music, or museeghee in Persian. The phrases covered in this lesson will allow you to say whether or not you: like your job like chocolate like nature like sports like music Or, whether you like specific figures such as Charlie Chaplin. In order to learn how to say that you like a specific person, we have to learn about the 'direct object marker', the sound rā which has no direct translation in the English language. We also go over talking about what you like to do. The phrases we learn with regard to this are: 

• I like to watch movies
• I like to read books
• I like to exercise
• I like to eat chocolate
• I like to learn Persian

We also learn to speak about these in the negative sense, and say that we don't like to do certain things.

In this lesson, we go over the last two lines of the poem aybé rendān makon by Hafez. The lines are as follows: 

حافظا روزِ اجل گر به کف آری جامی
hāfezā roozé ajal gar bé kaf āree jāmee
Oh Hafez, if you have a chalice in your hand when you die

یک سر از کویِ خرابات بَرَندَت به بهشت
yek sar az koo-yé kharābāt barandat bé behesht
They’ll take you directly from the winehouse street to heaven

In this second part of the Persian language/Farsi lesson on Khayām's Khosh Bash we go over the following section of the poem, along with all the vocabulary and phrases associated with the words learned:

خیام اگر ز باده مستی خوش باشبا ماهرخی اگر نشستی خوش باش
khayām, agar zé bādé mastee, khosh bāshbā māh rokhee agar neshastee, khosh bāsh  
Edward Fitzgerald translation: Khayyam, if you are drunk with wine, be happy.If you have sat with a beloved who has a face like the moon, be happy.

My name is Leyla Shams, host of the Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation podcast. Today’s interview is with Mohammad Ali, better known as Persian poetics on both Instagram and twitter. He went viral just a few months ago on a twitter thread where he talked about the bestselling poetry book in the English language, a translation of Rumi’s poems by Coleman Barks. In the thread, he went through a details look at Coleman Bark’s translations, and revealed that Barks doesn’t even know the Persian language- so how is he translating Rumi? Since the thread went viral, Mohammad Ali has picked up the pace of his own more accurate translations of Rumi and other Persian poetry. He has a lot of other wonderful poetry content that we’ll talk about in this interview. His own personal story is very interesting too, of how he was born in Detroit and grew up there as well, but became enamored by Iranian culture and eventually the language and of course, the poetry.  Find Persian Poetics on Instagram and on Twitter.

Lesson 31 features a dialogue in Persian (Farsi) between Matt and Leyla. This lesson begins a very special unit of Chai and Conversation! We're going to take all the vocabulary, phrases, and grammar rules we've learned in the first three units, and combine them in short and simple dialogues.

Azadeh Shams is a toy designer living in Milan, Italy. She specializes in creating toys for children bilingual in both Persian and English. She has also become an internationally known expert on raising bilingual children, frequently appearing on the massively popular Man o To network. I became familiar with her work on Instagram, where she frequently posts videos on how to raise bilingual children, and often teaches by providing scenarios and offering multiple choice answers of how to deal with challenging situations.

I learned an incredible amount from Azadeh- she has such a respectful approach to raising children, one that I think would lead to the kindest and most sustainable way of passing on language learning. Because in the end, language is all about love and understanding- so it makes sense to use a gentle approach in passing on a language rather than an overtly forceful one. Azadeh is also graceful in answering questions not as a person who claims to be an expert, but as someone with a particular point of view. I hope you enjoy the interview- I learned so much from her!

Resource List

• Azi Toys- The place to find the toys and worksheets Azadeh has put together
• Azadeh Shams Instagram Page- Where Azadeh is most active- great content for parents of bilingual children
• Azadeh Shams YouTube Page- Videos of topics for parents raising bilingual children

In this lesson, we watch a clip of a heated conversation between Nader and Simin, the title characters of the movie. This is a fast paced conversation, and gives us a glimpse at a type of conversation we may not often be privy to in the Persian language. This is the final episode in our series on clips from the movie A Separation by Asghar Farahadi with guest Yara Elmjouie.

in this lesson, we are going to cover the concept of being hosted, either at someone's house or at an establishment. Iranians love to host people. For instance, when you visit someone of Persian decent at their home, they will most likely immediately offer you tea. So in this lesson we learn vocabulary that is associated with hosting or being hosted, including the names of different beverages, and how to offer things to guest or accept offerings.

KEY CONCEPTS: 

• Names of beverages you'll be offered in an Iranian household (hint, chāi is at the top of the list) 
• The names of alcoholic beverages 
• How to offer something when you are hosting 
• How to accept or decline an offer when being hosted 
• Some polite vocabulary such as thank you (merci) and please (lotfan)

In this episode, Leyla sits down with acclaimed filmmaker Jasmin Mozaffari to discuss her short film Motherland, a poignant exploration of cultural identity, family trauma, and resilience. Jasmin reflects on her upbringing as a neem-rooni (half-Iranian, half-Canadian) in post-9/11 North America, the generational trauma of Iranian immigrants, and how her father’s story during the Iran Hostage Crisis shaped her art. Together, they delve into themes of assimilation, cultural pride, and rediscovering one’s roots.

Jasmin also shares behind-the-scenes insights into Motherland—a film set in 1979 about an Iranian immigrant navigating love and hostility in America—and how the Woman, Life, Freedom movement has deepened her connection with the Iranian diaspora. Plus, learn about her exciting new projects and how she’s using storytelling to bridge generations and cultures.

• Watch Motherland on Vimeo (available until mid-January)
• Follow Motherland on Instagram for updates
• Connect with Jasmin on Instagram: @jasminmozaffari
• Visit Jasmin's website: jasminmozaffari.com

Lesson 56 covers language needed for talking on the phone, including etiquette used in greetings and saying goodbye on the phone.

In this lesson, we learn the Persian words for different types of transportation, including airplanes, cars, bicycles, and motorcyles.

In this lesson, we cover the words and phrases learned in the poem, and how to use them in everyday conversation.

Related links:
khosh bāsh by Khayyam

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we learn the words for members of your immediate family, and learn how to introduce your family members to other people. We finish off the lesson by learning how to introduce the names of your family members to others. We begin by learning the vocabulary words for several key members of the family in Persian. As you know, family is very important in the Persian culture, so these vocabulary words wll be more useful to you than you could imagine. The words learned in this part of the lesson include:

• brother
• sister
• mother
• father
• daughter
• son
• husband
• wife   

In the Persian culture, family is extremely important, and there are many many more words for specific family members than there are in English. For this reason, we'll leave the vocabulary words (yes, there are multiple multiple words) for cousin, aunt and uncle to a different lesson. We also learn how to talk about a direct relative of yours by saying phrases such as:

• my mother
• my son
• my daughter
• This is my ____________

We finish off the lesson by learning how to introduce the names of family members.

In this Growing Up Irooni we talk to Omid Roustaei, better known as the Caspian Chef. In this conversation, we discuss the process of coming to the United States on his own and figuring out his own path for assimilating into American culture as a means of survival. Omid has has a very rich and varied path, first studying biotech engineering, and then becoming a personal chef and yoga teacher, to pursuing a career in psychotherapy, to returning to cooking and his Iranian roots only in the past few years.This was one of the most fascinating conversations I've had- and we really go into some territory that I think will resonate with so many of us- life is certainly not linear, and we can see that in Omid's story. We talk about career and pursuing your dreams- he first went down the ‘traditional Iranian path' of becoming a biotech engineer and worked in that field for a while, before pivoting to the perhaps more American notion of pursuing his passion- cooking and psychotherapy. We also talked about the process of assimilation as a coping mechanism- what it means to arrive in a country and need to fit in. And finally, what led Omid back to the path of rediscovering his Iranian roots- from cooking Persian food, to becoming reacquainted with the Persian language, and to ultimately seek out and become part of the Iranian diaspora community again.I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did!

Related links:

• The Caspian Chef blog
• Ghormeh Sabzi blog post
• The Caspian Chef instagram page
• My Persian Corner instagram page
• English with Bardia instagram page
• Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali

Salām, and welcome to the first-ever Persian (Farsi) language lesson of Chai and Conversation! In this lesson, we learn one of the most important things in any language – how to greet people and ask them how they are doing- in Persian! We also learn a few simple ways to reply when asked how we're doing. In addition, there's a short introduction to the teacher, Leyla Shams, and the student, Matt Bourneuf. If you're new here, you can find out more about our comprehensive language learning program here.

Lesson 30 is a review of all that we learned in Unit 3!

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we go over vocabulary associated with the most important Persian holiday, Nowruz. We'll learn about the haft seen table, and the items associated with the haft seen table. In addition, we'll learn a few different ways to wish people a happy Nowruz holiday, including 'aidé shomā mobārak' and 'nowruz mobārak'. Also, check out our Complete Guide to Living Your Best Nowruz for day to day instructions on how to have the best Nowruz ever!

In the last lesson of this series, we talk about the importance of poetry in Persian culture, and talk about why we're learning this magical language in the first place. To find out more about Persian miniatures, check out the wikipedia page!

In this lesson, we go over the following lines of the poem payāmé naseem by Hafez:

جدا شد یار شیرینت کنون تنها نشین ای شمع
jodā shod yāré sheereenat konoon tanhā nesheen ay sha'am
که حکم آسمان این است اگر سازی و گر سوزی
ké hokmé āsemān een ast agar sāzee ō gar soozee

In this lesson about clips from the movie A Separation by Asghar Farahadi, we watch a conversation between Nader and Hojjat, Razieh's husband, about potential work Hojjat will be doing for Nader. We're joined in this episode by friend of the show, Yara Elmjouie.

In the Persian language, there are two different ways of saying 'you'- a formal version (shomā), and an informal version (tō). In this lesson, we learn both forms, and learn when it's appropriate to use them. For instance, when you're talking to a close friend or a family member close to your age, you would use the informal you, tō. When speaking with someone older than you, or someone you should show respect for, you use the formal version, shomā. Iranian culture places a high value on respect, so when in doubt, err on the side of formality. In the podcast, we talk more about this so that you are confident with your choice of which to use. In addition to the different forms of you, we go over some questions you can ask using the formal or information versions of you. These include:

• And you?
• What is your name?

Another wonderful topic of conversation and good way to get to know others is by asking them where they're from. This is a great topic of conversation no matter where in the world you are. We'll learn the formal and informal way of asking. The phrases learned in this section include:

• Where are you from? (informal)
• Where are you from? (formal)
• I am from ________

We also learn a list of countries and how to say them in the Persian language. The countries learned in this lesson include:

• Iran (pronounced ee-rān)
• the United States
• Spain
• England
• Germany
• France
• Mexico

We also include several other countries in the bonus vocabulary.

This lesson teaches the simple subjunctive, which will allow you to take definite sentences like 'I am going to the movies tonight' to less definite ones like 'I could go to the movies tonight'.

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we review all past lesson materials. You'll have a chance to test out your comprehension of the vocabulary learned, and see if you're able to use the words and phrases in the correct context.We also learn the words needed to answer simple questions in the Persian language- essential when having any casual conversation! These words are:

• Yes (balé)
• Yeah- more informal (āré)
• No (na)

Then we learn how to say where we live (and if it’s different than where we are from), and how to answer some simple questions. The phrases in this section include:

• I am from ___________
• I am not from _________
• I live in ______________
• Where do you live?
• I am from _______________ but now I live in ______________

As always, we'll go over several potential conversations you could have using just this vocabulary.In addition, we learn that in the Persian language, it's not necessary to state the subject in the sentence. The subject is understood based on how you conjugate the verb in the sentence. For instance, instead of saying 'man az Iran hastam' (meaning I am from Iran), you could simply say 'az Iran hastam'. The listener can tell from the conjugation of the word 'hastam' that the sentence is referring to the first person singular, so you can drop man (meaning I). 

Lesson 26 teaches prepositions.

The Real Tara joon is a social media content creator, which is not our general interviewee target. But, she has amassed a massive following on Tiktok, with almost 1 million followers, and even though she just started on Instagram, she has over 200 thousand followers there as well. Her videos really resonate with people from all over the world, but here’s the interesting thing- she’s Iranian, with an accent, and is a proud Muslim that wears hijab. The thing that stood out to me is that most of her followers are not Iranian or Muslim, and most of her fans don’t even comment on the fact that she’s an Iranian muslim scarved woman- they just focus on her comedy, and relatable stories about her husband and things like eating snacks. If you scroll through her comments enough though, you’ll see some really hateful ones- and most of them are from… Iranians (and more specifically Iranian women). So I really wanted to talk to her and see what her take was on this- where she came from, how she started, and her relationship to Iranians and the diaspora. She was actually a bit hesitant to talk to me at first, saying that having her on the podcast would be controversial for me, and likely to bring some unwanted attention, to which I thought- let’s bring it on! We talk about a ton of topics on this conversation, and really dive deep into what it means to be an Iranian woman living in the US, and being different than the LA stereotype we have of Iranian women. I know there will be lots of opinions on this conversation, but I hope you’ll listen to it with an open mind- and with that, here’s the Real Tara joon, on Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation.

Related Links:

• the Real Tara Joon Tik Tok
• the Real Tara Joon Instagram
• the Real Tara Joon Youtube video 

In this Persian / Farsi, we go beyond numbers one through twenty and learn how to say ALL the numbers. In addition, we learn the Persian words for the months of the year, the days of the week, and seasons. This is a very vocabulary rich lesson, so it might take some practice to get all the words commited to memory!

KEY CONCEPTS:

• All numbers and how to put them together
• The Persian days of the week
• The months of the Western calendar
• The seasons
• Ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.)
• How to say the date

Welcome to lesson 32, the second in our dialogues series. In this lesson, we'll be hearing a dialogue with an actual native speaker of the Persian language. That's right: we'll be listening to a conversation in Persian (Farsi) that Leyla had with her aunt!  Afterwards, Matt and Leyla will go over the vocabulary and phrases used in the dialogue.

I’m so excited about sharing today’s interview with Zahra Tabatabai, the woman behind the Persian inspired beer brand Back Home Beer. You might have seen her instagram or Twitter profile by now- she boasts three different flavors of beer, named Sumac Gose, Persian Blue Lager, and New Day IPA. Although it was released less than a year ago in October 2021, her beers have had quite an impact and presence in the Iranian community- but despite the success of the social media platforms of Back Home Beer, Zahra is pretty private, so she doesn’t show up herself very often on her feeds. I was so curious to get to know more about her, and was so delighted by her charming personality. I’m sure you’ll enjoy getting to know her as much as I did- let’s listen to the interviewA quick note from Leyla here- we talk a lot in this episode about the poetry that Zahra has chosen for the Back Home Beer beer cans- that’s a big part of the design of the cans and the overall message she’s trying to convey with the beers. Poetry is such a big part of the Iranian culture, and that’s why we have a whole program devoted to it- our Poetry course is for complete beginners to the Persian language and for advanced speakers alike - we cover some of the greatest Persian poetry and through it learn how to use the words and phrases in the poems in conversation. You can check out the program and even sign up for a 30 day free trial to check out all the lessons on our website at www.chaiandconversation.com- enjoy!

Links:

• Back Home Beer Instagram
• Back Home Beer Twitter
• Back Home Beer Homepage

Bahador Alast is a mohandes, or engineer, by day, but he has over 278 thousand subscribers on Youtube following a niche that he’s been able to fulfill and thrive in so well- comparing languages to one another. His videos usually consist of two people from different cultural backgrounds with different native languages comparing certain words in their language with him moderating. They end up discovering similarities between seemingly disparate cultures that they were not even aware of, and often end up really bonding and having a wonderful time. The videos are so fun to watch, and take you on a journey into what unites us all even if it’s not obvious on the surface. I did a poll asking who I should interview for this series, and Bahador was the most requested guest! I learned so much about curiosity, languages, and being open minded from this conversation.

Related Links:

• Bahador Alast Youtube Channel
• Bahador Alast Instagram

In this follow up episode about Khayyam's poem rendee deedam, we go over the poem word by word, line by line, to understand each part individually. We'll also learn how to use the particular words and phrases in current conversation.

In this Persian/Farsi lesson, we learn all about how to describe things. We begin with the colors in the Persian language: 

• black seeyāh سیاه
• white sefeed سِفید
• red sorkh سُرخ ghermez قِرمِز
• orange nāranjee نارَنجی
• yellow zard زَرد
• green sabz سَبز
• blue ābee آبی
• purple banafsh بَنَفش
• brown ghahveyee قَهوِیی 

After that, we go over some common descriptive words, and use them to describe chickens specifically. The descriptive words we go over include:

• big
• small
• quick
• slow
• nice looking
• ugly
• expensive
• cheap

And more! We go over a dialogue in which we talk about expensive cars. 

In this lesson, we continue the study of Sohrab Sepehri's dar golestāné by learning more about the words and phrases in the middle section of our selection.

In this fourth part of the Persian language/Farsi lesson on Forough Farrokhzad's Fathé Bāgh, or Conquestion of the Garden, we go over the following section of the poem, along with all the vocabulary and phrases associated with the words learned:

و صمیمیت تن هامان، در طراریو درخشیدن عریانیمانمثل فلس ماهی‌ها در آبسخن از زندگی نقره‌ای آوازیستکه، سحر گاهان فوارهٔ کوچک میخواند
va sameemeeyaté tan hāman, dar tarāreeva derakhsheedané oryāneemānmeslé falsé māheehā dar ābsokhan az zendegeeyé noghreyeeyé āvāzeestke séhar gāhān favareyé koochak meekhānad 
and the intimacy of our bodies,and the glow of our nakedness like fish scales in the water.I am talking about the silvery life of a songwhich a small fountain sings at dawn.  

Lesson 33 features a dialogue in Persian (Farsi) between Leyla and her mother.  This lesson won't have a particular focus in terms of tenses. Rather, it will have general conversational vocabulary and skills that we need to learn.

Babak Tafreshi is an incredibly inspiring Iranian photographer, science journalist and amateur astronomer. He got his start photographing in Iran, but has since moved to the United States. He is the creator and director of The World At Night, an international program in which photographers from around the world capture images of night skies as seen above notable landmarks of the planet.

This dialogue teaches you vocabulary to use in stores while buying things such as jewelry.

In this lesson, we learn the langauge associated with one of the most important parts of Persian culture- food. We learn vocabulary for different Persian dishes, how to consume Persian food, and how to talk about it afterwards. This lesson might make you hungry, somake sure to have at least a little something to eat before listening to it! Also, here are some links to some of our favorite Perisan recipes and food blogs: 

• Najmieh Batmanglij's recipes are amazing
• Turmeric and Saffron is one of the best Persian food recipe blogs, with recipes for some of the foods we mentioned in the podcas
• Ariana Bundy has amazing videos with lots of delicious Persian recipes

In this third part of our discussion of Rumi's beshnō een nay, we go over the middle part of the poem, and learn the words and phrases associated with this part of the poem.