Learn Farsi: امروز پنجشنبه است، فردا جمعه است.

امروز پنجشنبه است، فردا جمعه است.emrooz panjshanbe ast, fardâ jom'e ast.

Today is Thursday, tomorrow is Friday.

Breakdown of امروز پنجشنبه است، فردا جمعه است.

Questions & Answers about امروز پنجشنبه است، فردا جمعه است.

I know پنج means 'five'. Why is there a 'five' in the word for Thursday (پنجشنبه)?

In Farsi, the days of the week start on Saturday, which is called شنبه. The following days are simply numbered! Sunday is 'day one' (یکشنبه), Monday is 'day two' (دوشنبه), and so on. Thursday is the fifth day of the Farsi week, so it translates to 'day five' or پنجشنبه.

If the days are numbered, why doesn't Friday (جمعه) have a number in its name?

Friday is the official weekend and day of rest in Iran, so it has a special name instead of a number. The word جمعه comes from Arabic and refers to the day of gathering. It breaks the regular number pattern you see from Sunday to Thursday.

Why does the verb است (is) come at the end of each phrase?

Farsi sentence structure is different from English. It usually follows a Subject-Object-Verb pattern, meaning the action or verb is almost always the very last word in the sentence. Instead of saying 'Today is Thursday', Farsi naturally says 'Today Thursday is' (امروز پنجشنبه است).

Would I pronounce است exactly as written in everyday conversation?

In formal writing or clear speech, yes. However, in casual, spoken Farsi, the word است (ast) usually gets shortened. It often blends into the previous word as an 'e' or 'st' sound. For example, people will commonly pronounce the first part of this sentence as 'emrooz panjshanbas' or simply 'emrooz panjshanbe'.