Some quotes from Ecclesiastes in Persian/Farsi (کتاب جامعه) plus grammar explanations

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I often use Ecclesiastes to learn the basics of languages, and Persian is no exception. Here are some very short parts of the book with transliteration and explanations of vocab and grammar. I'm still barely past the basics though so watch out for mistakes.

• 1:16
• با خود فکر کردم
• bâ khod fekr kardam

"I thought to myself", lit. "I thought with myself". bâ = with, khod = self, fekr kardan = to think, remove -an for past tense stem, then add -am for I, giving fekr kardam = I thought.

Turkish cognate is fikir (thought).

• 2:15
• پس به خود گفتم
• pas be khod goftam

"Then I said to myself". pas = then, be = to, khod = self, goftan = to say, remove -an for past tense stem, then add -am for I, giving goftam = I said.

• Chap. 3 introductory sentence (not part of actual text)
• برای هر چیز زمانی هست
• barâye har chîz zamânî hast

"For every thing there is a time". barâye = for, har = every, chîz = thing, zamân = time, plus -î to mean "some time" (i.e. indetermined, like man vs. some man), hast = there is.

Turkish cognates are her (har, every) and zaman (time).

• 4:8
• مردی بود که تنها زندگی می کرد؛ نه پسری داشت و نه برادری
• mardi bud ke tanhâ zendegi mikard; na pesarî dâsht va na barâdarî

"There was a man, who lived alone; he had no son nor brother." mard = man, mardi = some man, bud = there was, ke = that, tanhâ = alone, zendegi mikard = had lived alone, formed from zendegi kardan (to live) plus past tense stem with mi- prefix, na = no, pesar = son, pesarî = some son, dâsht = he/she/it had, formed from dâshtan minus -an giving past tense stem, va = and, barâdar = brother, barâdarî = some brother.

Turkish cognates are tenha, ve.

• 4:9
• دو نفر از یک نفر بهتر ند
• do nafar az yek nafar behtar-and

"Two people are better than one person." do = two, nafar = counter for people, az = than, yek = one, behtar = better, -and = short form of hastand (they are).

Turkish cognates: some compound words formed with yek.

• 4:17
• اما کسی که تنهاست چطور می تواند خود را گرم کند؟
• ammâ kas-îke tanhâ-st chetour mitavânad khod râ garm konad?

"But how can a person who is alone make himself warm?" ammâ = but, kas = person, -ike = that, tanhâ = alone, ast = is (ast blends into â becoming -st), chetour = how, mitavânad = he/she/it can, formed from present stem tavân of verb tavânestan plus present tense prefix mi- and -ad for third person, khod = self, râ = accusative, garm = warm, konad = do, thus "to warm"; this is present stem of kardan (to do), becoming kon- plus third person -ad.

Turkish cognates are ama, kes (= kas), tenha again.