Azizan
Jobs and the people who help, in Persian for kids (with pronunciation)
The people a young child meets every day have short, warm Persian names: a doctor is doktor (دکتر), a nurse is parastar (پرستار), a teacher is mo'allem (معلم), a driver is ranandeh (راننده), a cook is ashpaz (آشپز) and a firefighter is atash-neshan (آتش‌نشان). These are the 'people who help us' words a toddler points at in picture books and on the street, so naming them in Persian turns an ordinary walk into gentle language practice. Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves reading illustrated Persian stories in their own voice; it has Persian stories only and no app-store listing yet, and this page is simply a free word list for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad.
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.
The words, and how to say them
| English | Persian | Say it like | Where your child meets them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor | دکتر | dok-TOR | At the clinic when they are poorly. The formal word is پزشک (pe-ZESHK). |
| Nurse | پرستار | pa-ras-TAAR | Beside the doctor, with the plaster and the kind voice. |
| Teacher | معلم | mo-al-LEM | At nursery or school. A school teacher is also آموزگار. |
| Driver | راننده | raa-nan-DEH | The bus or taxi that takes the family around. |
| Cook / chef | آشپز | AASH-paz | In the kitchen. The head chef is سرآشپز (sar-AASH-paz). |
| Firefighter | آتش‌نشان | aa-tash-ne-SHAAN | On the big red fire engine. |
| Police officer | پلیس | po-LEES | Directing the cars and keeping the street safe. |
| Baker | نانوا | nun-VAA | The shop where the warm bread smells so good. |
| Pilot | خلبان | kha-la-BAAN | Flying the plane when you travel. |
| Farmer | کشاورز | ke-shaa-VARZ | On the farm with the animals and the crops. |
| Vet | دامپزشک | daam-pe-ZESHK | The animal doctor, for a pet or at the zoo. |
| Postman | پستچی | post-CHEE | Bringing letters and parcels to the door. |
| Painter | نقاش | nagh-GHAASH | Painting pictures, or the walls of a house. |
| Builder | بنّا | ban-NAA | Building houses with bricks and stone. |
| Shopkeeper | مغازه‌دار | ma-ghaa-ze-DAAR | Behind the counter at the corner shop. |
Spoken Persian often softens these words a little, and some families use other names (a police officer is also افسر پلیس, a doctor's formal word is پزشک). We give the everyday Tehrani form here; the word your own relatives use is the right one for your child.
Turning the words into play
Small children learn a job word when it is attached to a real person doing a real thing, not from a list. A few easy ways:
- Name people on a walk. Point and say it once: "اون آقا رانندهست" (that man is a driver), "اون خانم دکتره" (that lady is a doctor).
- Play pretend. With toys or dolls, take turns being the دکتر, the آشپز and the آتش‌نشان. The child hears the word and acts it out.
- Use picture books. On a "people who help us" page, touch each person and say the Persian name once. Do not turn it into a test.
- Let relatives name their own job. On a video call, ask grandma or an uncle to say what they do: "من معلمم" (I'm a teacher). A word in a loved voice sticks faster.
Keep the words warm
A child keeps the words they hear from people they love, not the words they are drilled on. Keep it short, repeat it naturally, and let the people around the child do the real teaching. For more everyday Persian your child meets first, see animals in Persian, family words in Persian and colours in Persian.
Related guides
Questions
How do you say doctor in Persian?
In everyday speech, دکتر (doktor). The more formal word is پزشک (pezeshk); both mean a medical doctor, and a child will hear دکتر most often.
What is the Persian word for teacher?
معلم (mo'allem) is the everyday word. A primary-school teacher is also called آموزگار, and a university teacher استاد.
Does Persian have one word for cook and chef?
The everyday word آشپز (ashpaz) covers anyone who cooks. The head chef in a restaurant is سرآشپز (sar-ashpaz).
How can I teach these job words to a toddler?
Attach each word to a real person: name drivers and shopkeepers on a walk, play pretend doctor and firefighter, point at picture books, and let relatives say their own job on a video call.
Is this pronunciation Iranian or Afghan Persian?
It is everyday (Tehrani) Iranian Persian. Dari in Afghanistan and Tajik differ a little in accent and some words; follow the variety your own family speaks.
Open Azizan — record a story for your childUpdated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard
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