Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation

Latest Episodes:

Interview | Adib Khorram on Growing Up Neem-Rooni May 18, 2020

Show notes

In this conversation with Adib Khorram, young adult fiction writer, we get to hear about the experiences of growing up as a neem-Rooni. Adib was raised in Kansas City, Missouri by an Iranian father and American mother. He didn't grow up speaking the language, but grew up infused in the culture, which he learned to appreciate after going off to college. He had some great insight and wisdom to share about passing on Iranian language and culture to the next generation.

Interview | Maz Jobrani on Raising Neem-Roonis May 04, 2020

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In this Raising Neem-Roonis interview, we talk to the most well known Iranian-American comedian, Maz Jobrani. Maz is the father of two half Iranian, half Indian children, ages 9 and 11. He gives advice for those with young children, and shares experiences of people he's met at comedy shows that successfully have held on to their Persian language skills. He also talks about the importance of culture when raising children, and gives advice on how to attract trolls on Twitter.

Speak Lesson 65 | Food (Vocabulary Sprint) Apr 30, 2020

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In this vocabulary sprint lesson, Leyla and her husband Chris go over Persian/ Farsi vocabulary associated with food. Food is an important topic of conversation in Persian culture, as Iranians have a rich history of gathering and celebrating food. In this lesson, we go over different important dishes in Persian culture, such as ghormé sabzi, fesenjoon, and kabob. In addition, we learn the words for different mealtimes. These are:

Breakfast - sobhāné
Lunch - nāhar
Afternoon snack - asrooné
Dinner - shām

In addition, we talk about drinks, and different parts of a meal such as appetizers and desserts. There are so many topics to cover about Persian food, so in this lesson, we try to get you started with a good selection of vocabulary.

Interview | Arash Karami on Raising Neem-Roonis Apr 27, 2020

Show notes

In this second Raising Neem-Roonis interview, we talk to Arash Karami, contributor to Al-Monitor and commentator on Iranian politics. We talk about the challenges of passing on the Persian language and culture to the next generation. You can find Arash on Twitter at @thekarami, where he consistently posts about current Iranian politics, and plenty of dad jokes as well. For more interviews, and lesson on conversational Persian, check out our website at www.chaiandconversation.com

Interview | Naz Deravian on Raising Neem-Roonis Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

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.

Speak Lesson 64 | Transportation (Vocabulary Sprint) Mar 31, 2020

Show notes

In this Persian/ Farsi lesson, Leyla and her husband Chris go over different vocabulary associated with the topic of transportation, which we are referring to as 'coming and going'- raft ō āmad. We discuss different modes of transportation including:

Bicycle - docharkhé
Car - māsheen
Bus - otoboos
Taxi - tāxee Metro - metrõ
Airplane - havāpaymā
Motorcycle - motorcyclet

We also go over the vocabulary for walking and getting around in general. This lesson is part of our Persian/ Farsi vocabulary sprint series, so we focus on transportation as a theme and learn as many words around the topic as we can.

Speak Lesson 63 | Time and Date (Vocabulary Sprint) Feb 29, 2020

Show notes

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we go over common vocabulary words for the time and date. This includes the words for the seasons, and the words for the days of the week. The days of the week in Persian are:

Monday doshambé دوشَنبه
Tuesday seshambé سِهشَنبه
Wednesday chārshambé چِهار شَنبِه
Thursday panjshambé پَنج شَنبِه
Friday jom'é جُمعِه
Saturday shambé شَنبِه
Sunday yekshambé یِک شَنبِه

Poetry | Omar Khayyam's khosh bāsh Part 3 Feb 10, 2019

Show notes

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.

Poetry | Omar Khayyam's khosh bāsh Part 2 Feb 03, 2019

Show notes

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.

Speak Lesson 62 | Colors (Vocabulary Sprint) Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

In this Persian (Farsi) lesson, we go over the most common colors in the Persian language, as well as some incidental vocabulary associated with the colors. This is a vocabulary sprint, meaning you can listen to it no matter what level you are in the Persian language. These lessons are meant to provide you with a group of common vocabulary quickly. The most common colors in the Persian language include:

brown ghahveyee قَهوِه ای
red ghermez sorkh قِرمِز سُرخ
yellow zard زَرد
green sabz سَبز
purple banafsh بَنَفش
white sefeed سِفید
black seeyāh meshkee سیاه مِشکی
gold talā طَلایی
orange nāranjee نارَنجی
gray khākestaree خاکِستَری
pink sooratee صورَتی
silver noghreyee نُقرِه ای

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