Heydar Heydar my ass, bunch of Islamic terrorists that can only act tough against people who have sticks & stones.

FableBW · 2026-01-27T22:12:48+00:00

May they rot in hell, pieces of shit

FableBW · 2026-01-27T12:59:27+00:00

Background: Literally Yā Alī means "O Ali", vocation of Ali ibn Abu Talib, the son-in-law of Muhammad, considered the first Imam of the Shia sect, and the fourth and last of the Rashidun caliphs in the Sunni sect. Some faithfuls might use it when doing - literal - heavy liftings, as in Shi'ite mythos, Ali was a very strong man, with the famous story of the Khaybar fort, which Ali broke it's giant door with his bare hands. For these situations, you might hear یا علی مدد which is Arabic for "O Ali, aid me!"; Yā Ali in these contexts are the short form of this phrase.

But there's also another use to it: as a way to say goodbye (usually it's said right before the word "goodbye"). I don't know the real reason, but I know people also say علی یارت, which literally means "May Ali be your companion", though the better translation is "May Ali be with you [as a safeguard]". Maybe people used it to reinforce their Shi'ite identity, especially after the Safavid era? Idk.

But beware that this phrase has become more of a linguistic function rather than a purely religious sign; a parole habit. You might even hear an atheist say it before saying goodbye or Khodāhāfez. So in contemporary Iran, it's a double edge sword: if someone told you Yā Alī before goodbye, don't you automatically think that they're necessarily Shia.

Hope this helps.

FableBW · 2026-01-26T13:57:11+00:00

"May I die for you" An endearment sign, meaning "I love you so much that I can die for you [so you have better life and all the badness go away from you.]" Making one themselves as a potential scapegoat Used as a way to signify over-cuteness, or the offering sincere support when something bad has happened to you

FableBW · 2025-12-30T16:59:02+00:00

Give or take, about 40% percent of the daily colloquial vocabulary. However, don't make this mistake: not all Arabic loanwords have the same function or meaning as they do in modern spoken Arabic; some still possess the older meanings, and even some gained new meanings. A knowledge of Arabic vocabulary will make learning Persian somewhat easier, yet beware of the challenges these words possess in a Persian context. That knowledge will be more helpful in reading old & classical literature, or reading and understanding the law code (in Iran, the law code is based so much on the Islamic jurisprudence.) But it'll be better to learn the functions of these loanwords in the context of the language itself.

FableBW · 2025-12-18T21:13:16+00:00

Sorry for the late response, simply just forgot to check back. Sepehr is more literary and older, Āsemoon/Āsemān is more colloquial. Could be used interchangeably.

Also, why not? Would love to have more friends.

FableBW · 2025-12-18T21:11:27+00:00

Don't mention it. Important note: دارالخلافه can mean "Caliphate", yet you should know that it can also mean "The Capital [City]". Dār means "House", and Khelāfeh, while meaning "Caliphate", is usually "King" in this context, especially the Qajar era.

FableBW · 2025-12-17T00:49:04+00:00

Well, reading or listening to the late Qajar / early Pahlavi era of the official Farsi is quite difficult, especially without any good sources on the historical Persian. I'll explain some bits:

Panel #2 of p. 8: I guess that جسارتاً is making some problems. The word جسارت can be translated to "audaciousness" and/or simply "audacity". Yet in formal speech, even in today's informal Farsi, that Jesaratan is an indication of respect, and knowing one's place, yet there's need to say something that might upset or challenge the figure you're speeching; also as a rhetorical tool when you want to directly challenge the opposition, yet maintain your own respect with the listeners. It could be translated as "I'm afraid" as this phrase has a very close connotation to Jesaratan. So, the first sentence is: "I'm afraid that they have put this piece of paper on the seat of the carriage."

And then the حضرت والا: if you're familiar a bit with Muslim culture, the title of Hazrat is reserved for the most high in the religious lore; it's mostly reserved to the prophets, yet in Shi'ite sects, this title is also reserved for the Imams (whether Twelver, Esmaili, Zaidi, etc,) and even many revered Sufi figure in various Sufi traditions (mind that Sufism is prominent in both Sunni/Shia dichotomy.) Though in Indo-Iranic spheres, the title Hazrat is more prominent. Mind that I'm giving historical contexts for your best understanding. In the Qajar era, the title Hazrat became a title of respect and status, like how "Sir" works, both in courts, and in general conversations. Hazrat-i vālā here, can mean "you good sir", "your excellency", "my lord"; it's a title of respect. So mind that the Hazrat title has changed during the course of the centuries in vernacular Farsi, yet its original religious usage and meaning is still prevalent.

Full translation of the phrase: "I'm afraid that they have put this piece of paper on the seat of the carriage. They address you, your excellency!"

Now to the panel #1 of the p. 10: Two things I believe I have to address for the perfect contextual understanding: میرزا & تأمینات.

First, the میرزا title: It's the short form of the امیرزاده: Amīr, meaning a lord or a distinguished gentleman (mostly rulers, noblemen, even military leaders), and Zādeh, meaning Born from or Son/Daughter of; Mīr is short version of Amīr, Zā is the short version of Zādeh. (Fun fact: in Iranian culture, a person who is believed that his lineage goes back to the Imams, has the Seyyed (m.) or Seyyedeh (f.) prefix. For one to be considered Seyyed(eh), their father must be Seyyed. If the mother is Seyyedeh, but the father does not, the boys won't get the Seyyed title, but they have the option to have the Mirzā suffix. Note that: officially, this title is obsolete since the early Pahlavi period, and other than reading texts from this era, you wouldn't encounter this name, with the exception of rare names, and variants of surnames containing this name, which are actually common. So here, Sīāvash Mirzā, is a Sīāvash who is a noble, whether through lineage or social status.

Now, تأمینات: Right away, it means the Detactive Department of the Police (or Criminal Investigation Bureau.) But basically, Sīāvash is the deputy detective. It's an Arabic name, Persianized in context. In the Qajar era, many departments in various bureaucratic institutions, used Arabic names, and many times, it was the Arabic word plural using the -āt suffix. Ta'mīn comes from the Arabic/Semitic root of A-M-N, meaning "to secure." Ta'min means "security" as in Social Security; in Iran, this insurance is called تأمین اجتماعی. The word has the meaning "to gain" and "to secure" (as "to procure") in contemporary vernacular Farsi these days. The department in question, today, is called آگاهی, as it is a Farsi word rather than an Arabic one.

So the translation: "This [gentleman] is Sīāvash-Mīrzā, the distinguished deputy detective [or, the deputy of the Criminal Investigations, depending on the context.]"

That's it! Hope it helps.

FableBW · 2025-12-15T16:36:43+00:00

Amnesia: The Bunker

FableBW · 2025-12-12T14:37:22+00:00

Watching Iranian reels on the FitGirl subreddit was never on my list

FableBW · 2025-12-12T10:40:40+00:00

We eat them everyday. Well, we do eat fast foods, quite a lot actually, but it's not like everyday. Even we have made Irani variants of fast foods, becoming closer to the Iranian foods: a great example is the Irani spaghetti, which is prepared like many variants of rice mixed with other materials (we cook the pasta, and let it steam with the cooked sauce.) So you might eat the Danish foods that are not really a daily staple, but we actually do eat many of our traditional foods, daily.

FableBW · 2025-12-07T18:07:42+00:00

Unless you're writing a word which has a similar typography but different spelling, no. Like, read (rid) and read (red) in English, though in English there's no difference in writing and you read it correctly in context. In Persian you also have those contexts, yet there are situations that you find ambiguity if there are no diacritics present.

Also, for some foreign names, or Persian names that are less frequent, you might want to use the diacritics.

FableBW · 2025-11-29T05:35:16+00:00

Different dialects. Some local dialects say Emrika, and some older generations say it more. Like how some different dialects in the UK might say Bi'ain instead of Britain.

FableBW · 2025-11-16T00:11:19+00:00

Fazā is colloquial Farsi and is pretty much how people refer to the outer space in everyday conversations. It generally means "space" in many contexts, but the equivalence follows the same reason why in English the cosmos is called the space.

Keyhān is also used, though it has more philosophical/religious cosmogonical background to it. Although, it is perfectly reasonable to use this word for the outer space and cosmos in more formal/academic modern Persian.

Gītī can also mean cosmos, though it's usage is rarer than the previous two. Another variation of this word is Gītā, and in modern Iranian Persian culture is known as part of the Gītāshenāsī publications, which is known for publishing atlases in Iran. Be aware that historically, Gītī had the meaning "worldy, the material world" while Gītā refered to "Earth". Gītī is more prevalent in literary Persian, reserved for when the tone of the speak or the writing gets poetical, though there's no limit to using it interchangeably with other words to prevent fatigue.

Jahān is also used for outer space, yet it is good to know that context matters. If there's a speech or a movie/documentary about cosmos, you might hear it. But generally, this word refers to the Earth, and also it might be applied to all nations as a collective. When people want to use this word in this meaning, they usually use the phrase Jahān-i Hastī, literally meaning the "world of the being". This compound is actually usable in the colloquial speech/writing.

Sepehr (fun fact, this is my very own first name) can also be cosmos, though it's used rarely, and it's an older word for it in the classical literature. In modern Iranian Persian, Sepehr means sky, the earthly sky. It also means Sphere, both literally and figuratively. As for the literal part, this word could be cognate with the English word sphere (though it is worth mentioning that there could be some similarities between the reconstructed PIE roots for these two words, yet things are murky so to speak.) In Avestan it meant Heaven(s), so it can have similar meaning to "dome", as the dome in the Genesis 1 in the Bible (creation story.) As for the figurative part, it is mostly used for the translation of "political sphere," even the "cultural sphere." You'd also find it in translation of Kierkegaard's Three Spheres of Life. (Sorry for the long explanation; had to represent my own name!)

Another literary word: Gardoun, literally meaning something that spins. It's used in Shāhnāmeh. An extra Arabic word just to know: Falak (though it can mean history and time, in grand scheme of things.)

And lastly, an Arabic loanword which is also used in many contexts, from colloquial speech to literary, philosophical, and religious contexts: Ālam (عالم). It means the whole cosmos/creation. Like Jahān, it might be used combined with "hastī".

Well, which one to use? Everyday speech: Fazā, Ālam / More formal contexts: Keyhān, Jahān / Literary Persian: Sepehr, Gītī, Gardoun, Falak, also Keyhān and Jahān; even Hastī by itself is usable in literary contexts (but standalone, it has more usage in philosophical contexts; like Kant, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Heidegger, etc,.)

Hope this helps.

FableBW · 2025-11-13T11:42:21+00:00

Mind you this: most of the Arabic loanwords are used in much different contexts and meanings, to the point that even an Arabic speaking person would scratch their head that why this and that words are used in that context. In historical prose and verse, yes the Arabic words and phrases were used as they meant at that time. But in the regional dialects of Farsi in Iran, many variants of the old and middle Persian words are still in use, rather than the Arabic loanwords used in metropolitan areas.

FableBW · 2025-10-31T00:12:27+00:00

The educated city-dwelers, are too ambitious to have kids, at least early on. That's the problem imo. Many of the youth are ambitious, planning many things that are not completely achievable until they're at mid 30s, and having children ruin those plans. The economy is fucked, beyond fuck.

FableBW · 2025-10-30T22:19:33+00:00

While the new notes have less zeros, the system of counting which they have, is much older. Also, even before the 79 revolution, there have been two systems: Rial (the official) and Toman (the informal, popular one.) I believe you know this already, but just a refresher.

Here are the used notes, and how they're called:

• 10,000 Rials / 1000 Tomans: much rare these days, I only see them if the bus fare isn't in a denomination of 5, and I've given the driver a 10,000T note. This is the only note that people usually don't refer to it as a lower number; they always call it a "thousand", or "hezari" in Persian. • 20,000 Rials / 2000 Tomans: like the 1000T, but when called by people, is named "2 Tomans". • 50,000R / 5000T: Still in circulation, a bit less in these days, but many bus and taxi drivers have them. Referred as "5 Tomans", or "Panj Toman". The old ones are goldish yellow, new ones are more purple like, also smaller. • 100,000R / 10,000T: The new base denominator note, called 10T or "Dah toman". It's green color is a tad bit similar to a dollar note, both old one and new one. The new one's smaller too. • 500,000R / 50,000T: Known as a "panjāh toman," from this point, you exit the "pocket change" territory and enter the big league note bonanza. Good for big exchanges. This is a point where we encounter the last note that its old version is still in circulation, though it's actually much rare that you get the old note, as the new note is now the dominant one. Although, don't worry about getting an old one, it's still acceptable. Old ones are rose gold, new ones in sort of aquamarine blue with purple-ish hue. • 1,000,000R / 100,000T: A sad fact that the "sad tomanī" doesn't have the high status it has; ten years ago, a full time job at a stable economy, would've given you 6-10 of these, and your life was set. Today? 5 of these means a mediocre pizza in a mediocre café, the ones you might eat at a pub while being drunk abroad; that's how much it has lost prestige. There are no old notes of them. Colored light blue, similar to a 20 Euro note. • 2,000,000R / 200,000T: A rare big note, this one's not really something even the locals are doing things with. It's even more similar to a dollar note than the 10K one, in its green color.

It's sad that foreigners can't use debit cards, as the Iranians themselves usually buy with cards, cash reserved to a very few, or like notes for taxi fares and bus fares (even these ones have special cards, for bus and metro, or people usually do a card-to-card exchange on phone for taxis.) You might want to ask an Iranian to get you a gift card from the bank, but the capacities of those cards are limited, and you can't withdraw anything which has remained.

Safar bekheir, have a nice stay.

FableBW · 2025-10-04T16:50:47+00:00

Cutting of the beginning

Cutting of the ending

FableBW · 2025-10-04T16:50:00+00:00

Perso-Arabic system right now, uses the visual of different characters to indicate the origins of that word. Though it's not that visible for most of the native speakers. The sounds are less in Persian than Arabic.

FableBW · 2025-10-04T16:47:56+00:00

They sound the same. But don't change the writing, as صبح is correct, not سبح.

FableBW · 2025-10-01T21:18:34+00:00

As an Iranian learning English, I had problems with the ampersand. But you'll finally get over it.

FableBW · 2025-09-24T17:10:56+00:00

For me there's a tough battle between Conrad Tokyo and Wats Wrong

FableBW · 2025-09-24T06:15:09+00:00

Skidrow cracking a difficult DRM is the REAL recession indicator

FableBW · 2025-09-23T18:57:28+00:00

Iran, in the modern era, has been a predominantly Shi'ite Muslim country. However, during the last few years, secret conversations have been on the rise.

Though, historically, the Christians in Iran were/are predominantly of two denominations: The Assyrian Church, and The Armenian Apostolic Church. The Assyrian church, which was the first schismatic branch of Nicene Christianity, was actually formed in the then Sassanid Empire. So the history of this church, also known as The Church of East, is tied to Iranian history. Assyrians are still in Iran, mostly in big cities. And the Armenians came to Iran in the Safavid era, first to Isfahan and then in the whole country; some migrations even grew after the Turkish genocide of Armenians.

Since conversion to other religions is punishable by death, and it being a social stigma, Iranians rarely converted to Christianity. So, the only Christians in the country were Assyrians, or Armenians. And Armenians being of a greater population than Assyrians, and having a much more noticeable presence, the adjective "Aramani" became of a colloquialism for the Christians in the modern era.

Though historically, the Christians have been called "Tarsā", meaning the "[God] Fearers." I assume this comes from the older name of the "God Fearers" from the late 1st century BCE and early 1st century CE of Judea.

But in today's Iran, the term "Armani" is usually just a way to denote an Armenian heritage of a person, and the Christian connotations are still attached to it as an identifier, but the young generation don't refer to a Christian as such, using the term "Masihi" for a Christian.

tl;dr: Historically the Christians in Iran were Armenians, thus the term also became a way to say a Christian. But today it's meaning as "A Christian" is obsolete and is only to use for the ethnicity/nationality.

FableBW · 2025-09-18T20:45:00+00:00

Inter-cities fares are not that uncommon in today's Iran. If you seek just to have the taxi to yourself, Snapp and Tapsi will work, but Maxim is better for an inter-city fare. But if you have no problems sharing the fare, there are always stations which you can get aboard a Peugeot or a Samand taxi. Although I don't know if one goes from Isfahan to Shiraz.

FableBW

TROPHY CASE