BSEB Matric Persian (Optional) key terms

Prose writing that is not metrical verse. In this syllabus it covers the prescribed story and essay passages, whose meaning, theme and characters are examined.

The main idea or central thought a passage conveys as a whole, as distinct from details. Answers usually state it in one sentence and support it with evidence from the text.

Character portrayal: how an author reveals a person's traits through speech, action, reaction of others and description. Used when analysing figures in the prescribed prose lessons.

A moral lesson drawn from a story or event. Prescribed prose passages often end with a didactic point, and questions ask what lesson the reader should take.

The title of a lesson or passage. Explaining why a title is appropriate requires linking it to the central idea and chief events of the text.

A concise summary in one's own words, retaining the main points in logical order and omitting minor detail. Frequently required for prescribed prose lessons.

Verse composed in metre and rhyme. The prescribed poetry portion is analysed for theme, imagery, diction and the poet's purpose.

The metrical pattern of a Persian verse line, built from repeated prosodic feet. Identifying metre helps explain rhythm and detect textual corruption.

The rhyming element repeated at the end of verse lines before the radif. It creates sound pattern and binds the couplets of a ghazal together.

A word or phrase repeated identically after the qafiya at the end of each verse line. Its repetition often carries the poem's emotional key.

Simile: likening one thing to another through an explicit comparison, in Persian usually with words such as مانند، چون or مثل. It has two sides and a shared quality.

Metaphor: using a word for something other than its literal sense because of a resemblance, without an explicit comparison word. The borrowed term stands directly for the intended idea.

Figurative transfer of a word from its literal meaning to a related one, where the connection is not resemblance but association, as calling a crown the kingdom.

An indirect expression whose intended meaning is understood but not literally stated, such as describing a generous person by open hands. It differs from metaphor in keeping the literal sense possible.

A rhetorical figure or literary device, such as tazmin, iham or tajnis, used to ornament verse. Naming the device and explaining its effect is a standard poetry question.

The opening couplet of a ghazal or qasida, in which both lines carry the qafiya and radif. It sets the theme and tone of the poem.

A single line or hemistich of verse; a couplet (بیت) consists of two misra's. Verse analysis often quotes one misra' as evidence.

The noun class in Persian grammar: words naming persons, places, things or abstract ideas. It is distinguished from verbs and particles by its behaviour in the sentence.

The verb: a word expressing an action or state together with tense, person and number. Persian verbs carry these markers in their endings and prefixes.

A particle or function word such as را، از، به، که, which links other words and carries grammatical rather than lexical meaning.

The infinitive, the citation form of a Persian verb, normally ending in ـدن or ـتن. Its stem supplies the past and present forms used to build all tenses.

A verb stem. The past stem is taken from the infinitive minus its ending, while the present stem must be learned and forms the basis of present and subjunctive tenses.

A pronoun such as من، تو، او، ما، شما، ایشان, standing in place of a noun. Pronoun choice also signals politeness level in Persian.

The ezafe construction, an unstressed -e- linking a noun to a following modifier or possessor, as in کتابِ خوب or درِ خانه. It marks description and possession without a separate word.

A compound or syntactic group of two or more words functioning as a unit, such as a compound noun or an izafat phrase. Parsing such groups is a common grammar exercise.

A sentence: a complete utterance with a subject and predicate. Persian sentences are classified as nominal (starting with a noun) or verbal (starting with a verb).

The predicate element in a nominal sentence, the word or phrase stated about the subject, often linked by an enclitic copula such as است or بود.

Translation, rendered here between Persian and Hindi or Urdu. Accuracy of sense, grammar and register matters more than word-for-word correspondence.

A set technical expression whose meaning is fixed by usage in a subject or craft. It must be translated by its accepted equivalent, not literally.

An idiom: a fixed phrase whose overall meaning cannot be worked out from the individual words, such as دست و پا گم کردن. It is translated as a whole unit.

Vocabulary, the stock of words a learner commands. The syllabus expects knowledge of prescribed word lists with correct spelling and meaning.

A synonym: a word with a meaning close to another, such as دلیر and بہادر. Synonyms are tested by matching or substitution in sentences.

An antonym: a word opposite in meaning to another, such as روشن and تاریک. Antonym pairs are a standard vocabulary item in the paper.

Composition writing: a connected Persian essay on a given topic, organised with an introduction, developed body and conclusion in simple correct prose.

An application or formal request letter in Persian, opening with an address and salutation, stating the request with reasons, and closing with thanks and signature.

A formal opening formula in Persian letters, roughly 'I beg to state', used to introduce the body of an application or petition respectfully.

Orthography and spelling. Correct use of letters that sound alike, such as س، ص، ث or ز، ذ، ض، ظ, is tested through dictation and correction exercises.

Pronunciation. Candidates are expected to read aloud prescribed texts with correct sounds, including distinctions between long and short vowels and between ق and ک.

A short vowel mark written above or below a consonant: زبر, زیر and پیش, corresponding to a, e and o. Correct vowelling fixes both pronunciation and meaning.