Azizan
Feelings in Persian: 10 words for kids
Happy is khoshhal, sad is ghamgin, angry is asabani, tired is khasteh and hungry is gorosneh. Children often feel big things before they have words for them, and a few Persian words let a grandparent ask how they are. Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves reading Persian children's stories; this page is a short word list for parents and grandparents.
Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.
Ten feeling words
| English | Persian | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| Happy | خوشحال | khoshhal |
| Sad | غمگین | ghamgin |
| Angry | عصبانی | asabani |
| Scared | ترسیده | tarsideh |
| Tired | خسته | khasteh |
| Hungry | گرسنه | gorosneh |
| Thirsty | تشنه | teshneh |
| Sleepy | خوابالو | khabalu |
| Surprised | متعجب | mote'ajjeb |
| Love (noun) | عشق / دوستداشتن | eshgh / dust dashtan |
Pronunciation is approximate and written for English speakers; accents vary, so ask your relatives how they say them.
Two things worth knowing
- To say how you feel, Persian usually adds am (I am) after the word: khasteh-am, I am tired.
- For "I love you" in a family, many people say dustet daram; eshgh is stronger and is often used for romantic love, so ask your relatives which they use.
Easy ways to practise
- Bedtime check-in: ask "khasteh-i?" (are you tired?) and let the child answer yes or no.
- Story faces: pause on a picture and ask whether the character looks khoshhal or ghamgin.
- Video call: a grandparent asks how the child feels today, and the child picks one of the words.
We have not found a study showing which method works best for heritage-language children, so treat these as ideas to try rather than a programme.
Feelings and family stories
On Azizan, relatives record themselves reading Persian stories page by page, so the child hears familiar voices. See how to record a story video for grandchildren.
Related guides
- Home and house words in Persian for kids
- Greetings and polite words in Persian
- Body parts in Persian for kids
- Vehicles in Persian for kids
Questions
How do you say happy in Persian?
Happy is خوشحال (khoshhal).
How do you say I am tired in Persian?
خستهام (khasteh-am).
Do I need to read Persian to teach these words?
No. The pronunciation guide is enough to start, and a relative can say the words on video.
Open Azizan — record a story for your childUpdated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard
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