Learn Farsi: طوطی‌ها گران هستند، در عوض همدم‌های خوبی هستند. - Parrots are expensive; on the other hand, they are good companions.

The phrase dar avaz literally translates to 'in exchange' or 'in compensation'. In Farsi, it is used as a contrastive coordinator to show a direct trade-off or a silver lining. In this sentence, the high cost of the parrots is 'compensated' by the fact that they are good companions.

What is the literal meaning of the word hamdam (companion)?

It is a beautiful compound word made of ham (same, together) and dam (breath). Literally meaning 'sharing the same breath', a hamdam refers to a very close friend, confidant, or constant companion.

Why is the letter ی (ye) written in the middle of hamdam-hâ-ye?

This represents the ezâfe, which is the grammatical link between a noun and its adjective. Usually, the ezâfe is just a short 'e' sound that isn't written. However, because the plural suffix -hâ ends in a long vowel, you must insert the consonant ye (ی) to connect it smoothly to the following words.

Since parrots are living creatures, shouldn't their plural form use the animate suffix -ân instead of -hâ?

While -ân (which becomes -yân after a vowel, like tuti-yân) is the traditional plural suffix for living beings, modern Farsi strongly prefers -hâ for almost everything in everyday speech and writing. Using tuti-hâ is perfectly correct and sounds much more natural here.