UPMSP Intermediate Persian flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Ezafe construction

An unstressed -e- linking a noun to a following modifier: kitab-e surkh (red book), shahr-e Shiraz. Chains are read left to right, each ezafe attaching to the preceding head noun.

Object marker -ra

Suffix را marking a definite direct object: man kitab-ra khandam (I read the book). It is not a preposition and should not be translated as 'to' in modern usage.

Present vs past stem

Every Persian verb has two stems. kardan gives kon- (present) and kard- (past); raftan gives rav- and raft-. Subjunctive and imperative forms build on the present stem.

Plural markers -ha and -an

-ha is the default plural, used for inanimates. -an marks animate plurals, especially body parts and class terms: mardan (men), chashman (eyes). Arabic broken plurals appear in formal prose.

Comparative -tar and -tarin

-tar forms the comparative and -tarin the superlative: bozorg-tar (bigger), bozorg-tarin (biggest). The word for 'than' is az, as in az u bozorgtar ast.

Past participle formation

Past stem plus -e: karde, rafte, neveshte. Combined with forms of budan it builds perfect tenses: karde ast (has done), karde bud (had done).

Persian compound verbs

Verbs built from a noun or adjective plus a light verb such as kardan, shodan, dadan, zadan, khordan. Meaning sits in the noun: yad kardan means to remember, not to do memory.

Subjunctive after modals

Words of obligation, possibility, and volition take the present subjunctive, usually with be-: bayad be-ravam (I must go), momken ast biyayad (he may come).

Tashrih of a verse

Verse explanation in four ordered steps: literal outer meaning, inner meaning, central idea, and the poetic device used. This order matches the marking scheme for nazm answers.

Radif and qafiya

Qafiya is the rhyme sound at line-end; radif is a repeated word or phrase following it across the poem. Identifying radif correctly is a frequent one-mark item.

Tashbih and isti'ara

Tashbih is explicit simile with a stated point of resemblance (wajh-i shabahat). Isti'ara is metaphor, where the comparison is implied and one term is suppressed.

Talmi' device

A brief allusion to a Qur'anic story, prophet, or legend that the reader is expected to recognise, such as Yusuf and Zulaykha or the flood of Nuh.

Iham device

Double entendre: a word deliberately chosen because it carries two meanings at once, both of which make sense in the line. Common in Hafiz and Sa'ib.

Ghazal zahir and batin

Ghazal vocabulary works on two levels: the outward (beloved, wine, garden) and the inward (God, divine love, spiritual intoxication). Sufi readings are expected for Hafiz and Rumi.

Masnavi rhyme scheme

Masnavi rhymes internally in couplets, aa bb cc, allowing long narrative poems such as Rumi's Masnavi and Nizami's Khamsa. It contrasts with the mono-rhyme qasida and ghazal.

Rubai and qit'a forms

Rubai has four half-lines rhyming aaba or aaaa. Qit'a is a short occasional poem, usually without a matla', often didactic or satirical. Naming the form answers genre items.

Bahr (poetic metre)

The quantitative metre of a verse, built from short and long syllables. Intermediate items usually require naming the bahr family: Hazaj, Ramal, Mutaqarib, Khafif.

Nasir Khusraw

Eleventh-century Persian poet, philosopher, and traveller, author of the Safarnama, a travelogue prized as classical Persian prose. Associated with Ismaili thought and didactic poetry.

Saj' (rhymed prose)

Ornate classical prose with rhyming, rhythmically parallel clause endings, common in Gulistan and Chahar Maqala. Paraphrase it into plain declarative sentences rather than copying the rhythm.

Hikayat versus pand-nama

Hikayat is narrative prose asking who, what, and why. Pand-nama and akhlaq literature are didactic prose asking what rule of conduct is taught. Identify the type before answering.

Three-part character answer

For prose character questions give the name, the role in the narrative, and the moral lesson the figure embodies. A bare name without role or lesson earns no credit.

Theme statement format

State the theme as an abstract noun phrase such as generosity or hypocrisy of the pious, then attach one textual proof. A plot summary is not a theme and scores low.

Literal then implied meaning

For 'what does the author mean' items, give the sentence's literal sense first, then the implied moral. Both layers are rewarded in prescribed prose comprehension.

Persian-to-Hindi gender

Persian has no grammatical gender; Hindi does. Assign gender from the Hindi noun equivalent, never from the Persian word's ending or the speaker's gender.

Idiom replacement rule

Idioms are replaced, not literalised. Dast-e man be doman-at means 'I am at your mercy', not 'my hand is at your skirt'. Literal renderings lose translation marks.

Persian passive formation

Past stem plus -e plus shodan: neveshte shod (was written), kushte shod (was killed). Use the target passive only if the target language tolerates it; otherwise use an active clause.

Clause-by-clause translation

Translate one clause at a time rather than word by word. Persian SOV maps directly onto Hindi SOV, but English requires reordering subject, verb, and object.

Unseen passage three passes

Read once for gist, once marking unknown words, once to answer. Answers must come from the text; outside knowledge is not credited on comprehension items.

Vocabulary from morphology

Decode unknown words by affix: be- (without), na- (negation), ham- (co-), -i (abstract noun), -gar (agent), -mand (possessor). Farhangmand thus means cultured.

Common unseen-passage vocabulary

High-frequency items: farhang (culture), taraqqi (progress), iqtisad (economy), Danishgah (university), tahsil (education), azadi (freedom), ijtima'i (social).

Hindi formal letter layout

Sender address, date, receiver address, vishay (subject line), salutation Mahoday or Mahodaya, body, signature. The subject line is mandatory in the UPMSP format.

Persian letter frame

Open with ba'd az salam va arz-e dusti and close with ba tashakkor-e faravan, arz-e adab mikonam. Place and date sit at the top right, signature at the end.