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I spent my first week at an Iranian company in Tehran nodding along in meetings, understanding maybe 40% of what was being said. Not because my Farsi was bad. my conversational Persian was fine. The problem was that nobody in a boardroom talks the way your friends talk over kabab. Business Farsi is its own dialect, packed with Persian business vocabulary that textbooks skip entirely.
This list is the one I wish someone had handed me before that first جلسه. jalase. meeting. Fifty terms, organized by the situations where you’ll actually need them. Each one comes with the Persian script, transliteration, and a real example sentence so you can see how it works in context.
If you’re working with Iranian companies, doing business in Iran or Afghanistan, or just want to sound like you belong in the room, these are the words that matter.
Meeting & Presentation Vocabulary
Meetings in Iran run differently than what you’re used to. There’s more small talk, more tea, more hierarchy. But the vocabulary is consistent, and once you’ve got these down, you’ll follow 80% of any standard business meeting.
جلسه. jalase. meeting
جلسه ساعت ده شروع میشه.. Jalase sâ’at-e dah shoru’ mishe.. “The meeting starts at ten.”
گزارش. gozâresh. report
گزارش ماهانه رو آماده کردید؟. Gozâresh-e mâhâne ro âmâde kardid?. “Have you prepared the monthly report?”
دستور جلسه. dastur-e jalase. agenda
دستور جلسه رو قبلاً فرستادم.. Dastur-e jalase ro ghablan ferestâdam.. “I sent the agenda earlier.”
ارائه. erâ’e. presentation
ارائه شما عالی بود.. Erâ’e-ye shomâ âli bud.. “Your presentation was excellent.”
صورتجلسه. surat-jalase. minutes (of a meeting)
لطفاً صورتجلسه رو بفرستید.. Lotfan surat-jalase ro befrestid.. “Please send the meeting minutes.”
تصمیمگیری. tasmim-giri. decision-making
تصمیمگیری نهایی با مدیرعامل هست.. Tasmim-giri-ye nahâ’i bâ modir-e âmel hast.. “The final decision is with the CEO.”
پیشنهاد. pishnehâd. proposal / suggestion
پیشنهاد شما منطقی به نظر میرسه.. Pishnehâd-e shomâ manteghi be nazar mirese.. “Your proposal seems logical.”
همفکری. ham-fekri. brainstorming / consultation
بیایید یه جلسه همفکری بذاریم.. Biâyid ye jalase ham-fekri bezârim.. “Let’s set up a brainstorming session.”
If you’re preparing for your first business meeting in Farsi, knowing these terms is half the battle. The other half is understanding how Iranian business culture actually works.
Finance & Accounting Vocabulary
Money talk in Farsi gets technical fast. Iranian companies still use a lot of Arabic-origin words in their financial vocabulary. the same way English finance borrows from Latin. Here are the core terms.
بودجه. budje. budget
بودجه امسال کافی نیست.. Budje-ye emsâl kâfi nist.. “This year’s budget isn’t enough.”
سود. sud. profit
سود خالص ده درصد بوده.. Sud-e khâles dah darsad bude.. “The net profit was ten percent.”
زیان. ziyân. loss
شرکت سه سال پشت سر هم زیان داده.. Sherkat se sâl posht-e sar-e ham ziyân dâde.. “The company has posted losses three years in a row.”
حساب. hesâb. account
پول رو به حساب شرکت واریز کنید.. Pul ro be hesâb-e sherkat vâriz konid.. “Deposit the money into the company account.”
فاکتور. fâktor. invoice
فاکتور رو تا آخر هفته بفرستید.. Fâktor ro tâ âkhar-e hafte befrestid.. “Send the invoice by end of the week.”
مالیات. mâliyât. tax
مالیات بر ارزش افزوده نُه درصده.. Mâliyât bar arzesh-e afzude noh darsade.. “The value-added tax is nine percent.”
سرمایهگذاری. sarmâye-gozâri. investment
سرمایهگذاری خارجی کاهش پیدا کرده.. Sarmâye-gozâri-ye khâreji kâhesh peydâ karde.. “Foreign investment has decreased.”
درآمد. darâmad. revenue / income
درآمد فصل اول بالاتر از انتظار بود.. Darâmad-e fasl-e avval bâlâtar az entezâr bud.. “First quarter revenue was higher than expected.”
هزینه. hazine. cost / expense
هزینهها باید کاهش پیدا کنه.. Hazine-hâ bâyad kâhesh peydâ kone.. “Costs need to come down.”
Human Resources Vocabulary
HR in Iran carries a different weight than in Western companies. The boss often makes hiring and firing decisions directly, and حقوق. hoquq. salary. is one of the most sensitive topics you can bring up. Here’s the vocabulary you need.
استخدام. estekhdâm. hiring / employment
شرکت داره ده نفر استخدام میکنه.. Sherkat dâre dah nafar estekhdâm mikone.. “The company is hiring ten people.”
اخراج. ekhrâj. firing / dismissal
اخراج بدون دلیل قانونی مشکلساز میشه.. Ekhrâj bedun-e dalil-e ghânuni moshkel-sâz mishe.. “Firing without legal grounds causes problems.”
حقوق. hoquq. salary
حقوقش ماهی بیست میلیون تومنه.. Hoquqesh mâhi bist milyun tumane.. “Their salary is twenty million toman per month.”
مرخصی. morakhasi. leave / time off
میخوام مرخصی بگیرم.. Mikham morakhasi begiram.. “I want to take time off.”
رزومه. rezume. résumé / CV
رزومهتون رو ایمیل کنید.. Rezume-tun ro imeil konid.. “Email your CV.”
مصاحبه. mosâhebe. interview
مصاحبه ساعت سه هست.. Mosâhebe sâ’at-e se hast.. “The interview is at three.”
قرارداد کار. gharârdâd-e kâr. employment contract
قرارداد کار یک سالهست.. Gharârdâd-e kâr yek sâlast.. “The employment contract is for one year.”
بیمه. bime. insurance
بیمه تأمین اجتماعی شامل همه کارمنداست.. Bime-ye ta’min-e ejtemâ’i shâmel-e hame kârmandâst.. “Social security insurance covers all employees.”
ارتقا. ertegâ. promotion
بعد از دو سال ارتقا گرفت.. Ba’d az do sâl ertegâ gereft.. “They got promoted after two years.”
Knowing how to write a proper formal email in Farsi is just as important as knowing these terms. especially when you’re communicating with HR departments.
Operations & Project Management
This is the vocabulary that keeps Iranian businesses running day-to-day. Project management in Iran tends to be less structured than what you might be used to in Western companies. deadlines are treated as suggestions more often than hard rules. But the vocabulary is precise.
پروژه. poruzhe. project
پروژه جدید از ماه بعد شروع میشه.. Poruzhe-ye jadid az mâh-e ba’d shoru’ mishe.. “The new project starts next month.”
مهلت. mohlat. deadline
مهلت تحویل پروژه فردا تمومه.. Mohlat-e tahvil-e poruzhe fardâ tamume.. “The project delivery deadline is tomorrow.”
قرارداد. gharârdâd. contract
قرارداد رو امضا کردید؟. Gharârdâd ro emzâ kardid?. “Did you sign the contract?”
تحویل. tahvil. delivery / handover
تحویل کالا با تأخیر انجام شد.. Tahvil-e kâlâ bâ ta’khir anjâm shod.. “Delivery of goods was delayed.”
تأمینکننده. ta’min-konande. supplier
تأمینکننده جدید پیدا کردیم.. Ta’min-konande-ye jadid peydâ kardim.. “We found a new supplier.”
بهرهوری. bahre-vari. productivity
بهرهوری تیم پایین اومده.. Bahre-vari-ye tim pâyin umade.. “The team’s productivity has dropped.”
کنترل کیفیت. kontrol-e keyfiyat. quality control
کنترل کیفیت باید دقیقتر بشه.. Kontrol-e keyfiyat bâyad daghigh-tar beshe.. “Quality control needs to be more precise.”
مدیریت. modiriyat. management
مدیریت شرکت تغییر کرده.. Modiriyat-e sherkat taghyir karde.. “The company’s management has changed.”
Communication & Correspondence
Even in 2026, Iranian businesses mix formal written Persian with casual spoken Farsi in ways that can confuse outsiders. Your emails will be formal. Your WhatsApp messages to the same person will be colloquial. Knowing both registers for these terms is critical.
نامه. nâme. letter
نامه رسمی رو فردا ارسال میکنم.. Nâme-ye rasmi ro fardâ ersâl mikonam.. “I’ll send the formal letter tomorrow.”
ایمیل. imeil. email
ایمیل زدم ولی جواب نداد.. Imeil zadam vali javâb nadâd.. “I emailed but got no response.”
مکاتبه. mokâtebe. correspondence
تمام مکاتبات باید از طریق ایمیل رسمی باشه.. Tamâm-e mokâtebât bâyad az tarigh-e imeil-e rasmi bâshe.. “All correspondence must be through official email.”
ضمیمه. zamime. attachment
فایل ضمیمه رو باز کنید.. Fâyl-e zamime ro bâz konid.. “Open the attached file.”
پیگیری. peygiri. follow-up
پیگیری این موضوع با شماست.. Peygiri-ye in mowzu’ bâ shomâst.. “Following up on this matter is your responsibility.”
Titles & Hierarchy
Getting titles right in an Iranian office matters more than you think. Using the wrong level of formality with a manager can create an awkward situation fast. Here are the titles you’ll hear constantly.
مدیرعامل. modir-e âmel. CEO / managing director
مدیرعامل فردا میاد دفتر.. Modir-e âmel fardâ miyâd daftar.. “The CEO is coming to the office tomorrow.”
رئیس هیئت مدیره. ra’is-e hey’at-e modire. chairman of the board
رئیس هیئت مدیره تصمیم نهایی رو میگیره.. Ra’is-e hey’at-e modire tasmim-e nahâ’i ro migire.. “The chairman makes the final decision.”
معاون. mo’âven. deputy / vice president
معاون مالی در جلسه حضور داره.. Mo’âven-e mâli dar jalase hozur dâre.. “The finance VP is attending the meeting.”
کارمند. kârmand. employee / staff
کارمندا از تغییرات خبر ندارن.. Kârmandâ az taghyirât khabar nadâran.. “The employees don’t know about the changes.”
همکار. hamkâr. colleague
با همکارم در مورد پروژه صحبت کردم.. Bâ hamkâram dar mored-e poruzhe sohbat kardam.. “I talked to my colleague about the project.”
Understanding these word pairs. and how they combine in real sentences. is a skill that goes beyond individual terms. Check out Persian collocations for more on how Farsi words naturally cluster together.
Useful Business Phrases
Knowing individual words is one thing. Stringing them into the kinds of sentences you’ll actually hear in an Iranian office is another. Here are some of the most common business phrases, the ones that come up in every meeting, every email chain, every hallway conversation.
وقت ملاقات میخوام.. Vaght-e molâghât mikham.. “I’d like to schedule a meeting.”
نظر شما چیه؟. Nazar-e shomâ chiye?. “What’s your opinion?”
این موضوع رو بررسی میکنم.. In mowzu’ ro barresi mikonam.. “I’ll look into this matter.”
تا کِی وقت داریم؟. Tâ key vaght dârim?. “What’s our deadline?”
باید با مدیر هماهنگ کنم.. Bâyad bâ modir hamâhang konam.. “I need to coordinate with the manager.”
مشکلی پیش اومده.. Moshkeli pish umade.. “A problem has come up.”
پروژه طبق برنامه پیش میره.. Poruzhe tebgh-e barnâme pish mire.. “The project is on track.”
That last phrase. طبق برنامه. tebgh-e barnâme. "according to plan". is one you’ll hear constantly. It’s the Iranian office version of "all good." Sometimes it’s true. Sometimes it’s optimistic. Context will teach you which.
FAQ
Is business Persian different from everyday conversational Farsi?
Do I need to know formal written Persian for business in Iran?
What CEFR level do I need for business Farsi?
Are Farsi business terms the same in Iran and Afghanistan?
How can I practice Persian business vocabulary effectively?
Want to build your Farsi vocabulary faster? ZabanYar uses spaced repetition tuned for Persian. so business terms stick after days, not hours.
And if you want to practice this stuff with an actual person, I teach conversational and business Farsi on Preply. No textbook. Just real Persian, adapted to what you need.
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