An echo question repeats all or part of a previous utterance to check what was heard, identify one unclear constituent, or express surprise: با کی صحبت کردی؟ “You spoke with whom?” A clarification question instead reformulates the problem explicitly: منظورتان کدام نسخه است؟ “Which version do you mean?”
Persian is especially economical in repair. A speaker can say bare چی؟ “What?”, repeat the focused phrase with rising intonation, or preserve the original clause and replace only the uncertain material with کی، چی، کدام، کجا, or چند. English speakers should not add do or invert the clause.
A repair map
| Repair need | Common Persian form | Register and effect |
|---|---|---|
| the whole utterance was not heard | چی؟ | informal; can sound abrupt |
| one constituent was unclear | با کی؟ / کدام نسخه؟ / ساعت چند؟ | neutral focused echo |
| a full clause needs confirmation | گفتی فردا میآیی؟ | neutral echo or incredulity |
| the intended reference is unclear | منظورتان ... است؟ | polite or formal clarification |
| polite request for repetition | ببخشید، چه فرمودید؟ | polite careful speech |
The shortest form repairs the smallest problem. If only a date was unclear, repeating the entire conversation is unnecessary; if the whole utterance was lost, a single in-place question word may not identify what needs repair.
Focused echo: replace the uncertain constituent
Suppose someone says با مهتاب صحبت کردم “I spoke with Mahtab,” but the name is unclear. Persian keeps the preposition and verb frame and replaces مهتاب with کی: با کی صحبت کردی؟ The wh-phrase remains where the answer belongs.
— فایل را برای مهتاب فرستادم. — برای کی فرستادی؟
— fâyl râ barâ-ye Mahtâb ferestâdam. — barâ-ye ki ferestâdi?
— I sent the file to Mahtab. — Who did you send it to? (neutral conversation; recipient repair)
— جلسه را به شنبه منتقل کردند. — به چه روزی؟
— jalase râ be shanbe montaqel kardand. — be che ruzi?
— They moved the meeting to Saturday. — What day? (neutral standard; focused date echo)
— باید طبقهی هفتم پیاده شوید. — طبقهی چندم؟
— bâyad tabaqe-ye haftom piyâde shavid. — tabaqe-ye chandom?
— You need to get off on the seventh floor. — Which floor? (polite neutral exchange; numeral repair)
The response can repeat only the focused phrase because the surrounding proposition remains active in the conversation. A rise on the echoed phrase signals that it is a request, not an assertion.
Full-clause echoes
A speaker may repeat most of the proposition when several details need confirmation or when the information itself is surprising. Person and deixis normally adjust to the new speaker’s viewpoint.
— فردا ساعت شش راه میافتم. — گفتی ساعت شش راه میافتی؟
— fardâ sâ'at-e shesh râh mi-oftam. — gofti sâ'at-e shesh râh mi-ofti?
— I’m leaving at six tomorrow. — Did you say you’re leaving at six? (neutral conversation; full time confirmation)
گفتی همهی کار را تا فردا تمام میکنی؟
gofti hame-ye kâr râ tâ fardâ tamâm mi-koni?
Did you say you’ll finish all the work by tomorrow? (neutral conversation; surprise or incredulity)
شما واقعا این مسیر را پیاده آمدهاید؟
shomâ vâqe'an in masir râ piyâde âmade-id?
Have you really come all this way on foot? (polite neutral speech; incredulous echo)
Incredulity is not a special verb form. Words such as واقعا, repetition, stress, and a marked contour show that the speaker heard the claim but finds it surprising. The same written question could be a calm confirmation in a different context.
The speaker’s viewpoint matters. After من ساعت شش میآیم, the addressee normally asks تو ساعت شش میآیی؟, changing first person to second person. Verbatim repetition is possible as theatrical quotation or strong disbelief, but it is not the default neutral repair.
Bare چی؟ and requests for repetition
Bare چی؟ can mean “What?” or “What did you say?” when an utterance was not heard. It is frequent (informal) but may sound impatient with a stranger, elder, client, or superior.
— فردا دفتر بسته است. — چی؟ صدات رو نشنیدم.
— fardâ daftar baste ast. — chi? sedâ-t ro na-shenidam.
— The office is closed tomorrow. — What? I didn’t hear you. (informal, regional: Tehran)
ببخشید، چه فرمودید؟ ارتباط قطع شد.
be-bakhshid, che farmudid? ertebât qat' shod.
Excuse me, what did you say? The connection dropped. (polite careful speech)
ممکنه لطفا شماره رو یک بار دیگه بگید؟
momken-e lotfan shomâre ro yek bâr-e dige be-gid?
Could you please say the number one more time? (polite, informal, regional: Tehran)
The longer request identifies the repair action and softens it. چه فرمودید؟ uses honorific فرمودن (polite/formal); everyday چی گفتی؟ is suitable among familiars. This social distinction is real even though both ask for the same missing speech content.
چی, چه, کی, and کدام
Conversational چی stands alone as “what?” or replaces a nonhuman complement: چی گفتی؟ Careful چه can stand in چه گفتید؟, but it especially appears before a noun: چه شمارهای؟، چه روزی؟. کی can mean either “who?” or “when?”; context and its syntactic frame resolve the ambiguity.
— کی رسید؟ — منظورت چه کسیه یا چه زمانی؟
— ki resid? — manzur-at che kasi-ye yâ che zamâni?
— Ki resid? — Do you mean who arrived, or when did they arrive? (informal clarification of ambiguous کی)
منظورتان کدام نسخهی گزارش است؟
manzur-etân kodâm noskhe-ye gozâresh ast?
Which version of the report do you mean? (polite formal-neutral clarification)
کدام is appropriate when several identifiable versions compete. چی؟ would merely ask what was said or what thing is meant. The finer distinctions among owner, person, and set selection appear on Questioning Possession and Identity.
Reformulating with منظورتان
منظورت چیست؟ / منظورتان چیست؟ asks “What do you mean?” A more focused pattern places the proposed interpretation before the copula: منظورتان نسخهی چاپی است؟ “Do you mean the printed version?” This is a yes-no clarification, not a wh-question.
منظورتان ورودی شمالی است یا ورودی اصلی؟
manzur-etân vorudi-ye shomâli ast yâ vorudi-ye asli?
Do you mean the north entrance or the main entrance? (polite formal-neutral; explicit alternatives)
یعنی باید هر دو فرم را دوباره پر کنم؟
ya'ni bâyad har do form râ do-bâre por konam?
Do you mean I have to fill out both forms again? (neutral conversation; reformulating an inference)
یعنی ...؟ presents the listener with the consequence the speaker inferred. It is efficient but can sound challenging if the reformulation is extreme. اگر درست متوجه شده باشم ... “if I have understood correctly…” is a more cautious formal frame (formal).
آیا and word order
Formal آیا introduces a yes-no question; it does not combine with an in-place repair word such as چی or کدام. آیا چی گفتید؟ is therefore not a standard information question. Casual repair also has no need for آیا: a rising گفتی فردا؟ is complete.
Persian allows focused fronting, so a fronted wh-phrase is not automatically ungrammatical. The reliable principle is narrower: neutral echo questions preserve the old frame and replace the unclear constituent where it occurred. Fronting adds discourse focus and should be motivated, not copied from English question syntax.
A short repair sequence
— نسخهی دوم را برای آقای حیدری بفرستید. — ببخشید، کدام نسخه را برای چه کسی بفرستم؟ — نسخهی دوم را برای آقای حیدری. — متوجه شدم، ممنون.
— noskhe-ye dovvom râ barâ-ye âghâ-ye Heydari be-ferestid. — be-bakhshid, kodâm noskhe râ barâ-ye che kasi be-ferestam? — noskhe-ye dovvom râ barâ-ye âghâ-ye Heydari. — motavajjeh shodam, mamnun.
— Send the second copy to Mr. Heydari. — Excuse me, which copy should I send to whom? — The second copy to Mr. Heydari. — Understood, thank you. (polite workplace repair)
Common Mistakes
1. Adding English auxiliary inversion
❌ چه میکنید شما گفتید؟
Incorrect — کردن cannot serve as English-style ‘did’ in a Persian echo question.
✅ ببخشید، شما چه گفتید؟
be-bakhshid, shomâ che goftid?
Excuse me, what did you say?
2. Detaching کدام from the noun it selects
❌ کدام شما نسخه را فرستادید؟
Incorrect for ‘Which version did you send?’ — کدام directly precedes نسخه.
✅ شما کدام نسخهی فرم را فرستادید؟
shomâ kodâm noskhe-ye form râ ferestâdid?
Which version of the form did you send?
3. Combining آیا with an information-repair word
❌ آیا چی گفتید؟
Incorrect standard construction — آیا introduces a yes-no question, while چی asks for missing information.
✅ چی گفتید؟ صدا برای یک لحظه قطع شد.
chi goftid? sedâ barâ-ye yek lahze qat' shod.
What did you say? The sound cut out for a moment.
4. Inverting the copula in a منظورتان clarification
❌ منظورتان است کدام نسخه؟
Incorrect neutral word order — the selected predicate precedes the copula.
✅ منظورتان نسخهی بدون امضا است؟
manzur-etân noskhe-ye bedun-e emzâ ast?
Do you mean the unsigned copy?
Key Takeaways
- Echo questions preserve the active clause frame and replace the unclear material in its answer slot.
- Bare چی؟ is efficient but informal; polite repair uses ببخشید, چه فرمودید؟, or an explicit repetition request.
- Full-clause repetition can check hearing or express incredulity; person and deictic forms normally adjust to the new speaker.
- Use چه کسی / چه زمانی to disambiguate کی, and کدام when selecting from a known set.
- Persian repair questions require neither English-style auxiliary inversion nor formal آیا.
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Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Questioning Possession and IdentityA2 — Ask whose something is, who someone is, and which person or item is intended using مال کی، کیست، چه کسی, and کدام.
- Negative Questions and AnswersA2 — Form Persian negative questions, recognize their expectations, and answer them unambiguously with نه، چرا, and an explicit repeated verb.
- Question Tags نه؟، مگه نه؟، درسته؟B1 — Use Persian question tags to seek confirmation, show stance, and manage agreement without copying English auxiliary-based tags.
- Relative-Clause AttachmentB1 — Attach Persian که clauses to their antecedents and track gaps, resumptive forms, and را across simple and structurally heavy noun phrases.