Holidays

Holidays

Holidays are one of the topics you will be asked to talk and write about: where you go, how you get there, and what you do. Persian is written right to left, and the letters join up. Every word below is shown with its script, a transliteration in brackets to help you say it, and the English meaning.

Key words (1)

Start with four holiday words:

Match each word to its meaning

What darya means in Persian

What does the Persian word دریا (darya) mean?

• the sea
• summer
• a trip, a journey
• holidays

Key words (2)

Now four more words you need for a holiday:

Match each word to its meaning

Getting there

Select the TWO Persian words that are ways of travelling.

• هواپیما (havapeyma)
• قطار (ghatar)
• چمدان (chamedan)
• کوه (kuh)

Choose the Persian word

In Persian, the word for 'the sea' is _____, and the word for 'summer' is _____.

Four letters Arabic does not have

Persian uses the Arabic alphabet plus four extra letters for sounds Arabic does not have: پ (p), چ (ch), ژ (zh) and گ (g). You have already met two of them: چمدان (chamedan), a suitcase, and پدر (pedar), father. Spotting one of these four letters tells you at once that you are reading Persian and not Arabic. Watch out for borrowed words too: هتل (hotel) is exactly what it sounds like.

Which letter?

The word چمدان (chamedan) begins with چ. What does that letter tell you?

• It is one of the four letters Persian adds to the Arabic alphabet
• It marks the word as a plural
• It shows the word is written left to right
• It is a letter Persian borrowed from English

Places and transport

Holiday words fall into two groups. Sorting them this way makes them easier to recall, and adds two more words: جزیره (jazire), an island, and فرودگاه (forudgah), the airport.

Planning a holiday

Plan a summer holiday using the words you have learned.

• You want to spend the summer somewhere you can swim. Which place do you choose?
• The coast you have chosen is on an island, so you go to the airport. How do you travel?
• You are packing the night before. Which word describes what you pack your clothes in?

One more

The Persian word for 'a suitcase' is _____, the word for 'a mountain' is _____, and the word for 'an island' is _____.

Your turn: write in Persian

Write two or three sentences IN PERSIAN about a holiday. Write in Persian script - the transliteration in brackets is a reading aid only.

• Name where you go: دریا (darya - the sea), کوه (kuh - mountain) or جزیره (jazire - an island)
• Name how you travel: هواپیما (havapeyma - aeroplane) or قطار (ghatar - train)
• Name the season or the break: تابستان (tabestan - summer), تعطیلات (tatilat - the holidays) or سفر (safar - a journey)
• Say what you like with دوست دارم (dust daram - I like): دریا دوست دارم (darya dust daram - I like the sea)