Salam! Hello and how are you

In this lesson

Every conversation in Tabriz starts with a greeting and a question about how you are. In this lesson you’ll learn to do both: the friendly way you’d talk to a cousin or a friend, and the polite way you’d use with a shopkeeper or an older relative.

How to read this guide. Every word is shown in the Persian-based script used in Iran, in Finglish (Persian-style Latin spelling, as Iranians use when texting) and in English. The consonants read as in Persian Finglish: sh, ch, j, zh, gh and kh, the throaty sound in Scottish loch. Azeri adds some vowels Persian lacks: ə is the “a” in cat, ı is a short “uh”, and ö and ü are rounded, as in German.

Key words and phrases

سلام	salam	hello
نئجه‌سن؟	nejəsən?	how are you? (informal)
نئجه‌سیز؟	nejəsiz?	how are you? (polite)
یاخشی‌یام	yakhshıyam	I’m well
ساغ اول	sagh ol	thanks (informal; literally “be healthy”)
ساغ اولون	sagh olun	thank you (polite)
چوخ ساغ اول	chokh sagh ol	thanks very much
پیس دئییلم	pis deyiləm	not bad
سن نئجه‌سن؟	sən nejəsən?	and how are you?
نه وار نه یوخ؟	nə var nə yokh?	what’s new?
هئچ زاد	hech zad	nothing much
خوش گلدین	khosh gəldin	welcome
گؤروشه‌ریک	görüshərik	see you
خداحافظ	khudahafiz	goodbye

For Persian speakers. Salam and khudahafiz are the same words you know from Persian, and you’ll hear plenty more Persian in everyday Tabrizi Azeri. But the grammar is completely different: Azeri adds endings to words rather than using separate little words.

Endings and vowel harmony

Look at nejəsən? and yakhshıyam. Azeri builds meaning with endings: -am / -əm means “I am”, and -san / -sən means “you are” when you’re talking to a friend. The polite “you are” is -sız / -siz, as in nejəsiz?.

Why two versions of each ending? Azeri has vowel harmony: the vowels in an ending match the vowels in the word. Words with “back” vowels (a, ı, o, u) take endings with back vowels; words with “front” vowels (ə, e, i, ö, ü) take front-vowel endings. You’ll pick up the pattern naturally; Unit 3 explains it fully.

Dialogue 1: Cousins in the street

Parham and Leyla are cousins who bump into each other near the Tabriz bazaar. They use informal Azeri.

Parham	سلام لیلا! نئجه‌سن؟	Salam Leyla! Nejəsən? Hi Leyla! How are you?
Leyla	سلام! ساغ اول، یاخشی‌یام. سن نئجه‌سن؟	Salam! Sagh ol, yakhshıyam. Sən nejəsən? Hi! Thanks, I’m well. How are you?
Parham	پیس دئییلم. نه وار نه یوخ؟	Pis deyiləm. Nə var nə yokh? Not bad. What’s new?
Leyla	هئچ زاد.	Hech zad. Nothing much.
Parham	یاخشی، گؤروشه‌ریک!	Yakhshı, görüshərik! OK, see you!
Leyla	خداحافظ!	Khudahafiz! Bye!

Dialogue 2: At the shop

A customer greets Hajı agha, the older man who runs the dried-fruit shop in the bazaar. She uses polite Azeri.

Customer	سلام حاجی آغا. نئجه‌سیز؟	Salam, Hajı agha. Nejəsiz? Hello, Haji Agha. How are you?
Hajı agha	سلام، خوش گلدیز! ساغ اولون، سیز نئجه‌سیز؟	Salam, khosh gəldiz! Sagh olun, siz nejəsiz? Hello, welcome! Thank you, how are you?
Customer	چوخ ساغ اولون، یاخشی‌یام.	Chokh sagh olun, yakhshıyam. Thank you very much, I’m well.

Culture note. Hajı agha is a respectful way to address an older man, especially a bazaar merchant. In Tabriz, as across Iran, it’s polite to ask after someone’s health before getting down to business.

Practice

Try each question, then open it to check your answer.

1. How do you ask an older shopkeeper how he is?
   
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   Nejəsiz? (نئجه‌سیز؟) Use the polite form with older people and strangers.

2. A friend asks Nə var nə yokh?. What’s a natural reply?
   
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   Hech zad: nothing much.

3. What does sagh ol literally mean?
   
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   Be healthy. It’s the everyday way to say thanks.

4. Why is it nejəsən but yakhshıyam?
   
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   Different endings: -sən means “you are”, -yam means “I am” (with -y- added after a vowel).

5. Translate: Thanks, I’m well.
   
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   Sagh ol, yakhshıyam. (ساغ اول، یاخشی‌یام)

Finished the lesson?

Next up: Lesson 2, What’s your name?. Unlock the full course with a free 14-day trial.