MSBSHSE Syllabus for Class 12 Persian

1. What the Class 12 Persian Syllabus Covers

The Class 12 Persian syllabus is a language paper, not a literature-heavy paper. It is built around four skill areas, and every question in your exam comes from one of them: prose (nasr, the reading passages), poetry (nazm, the prescribed verses), grammar (qawaid, the rules of the language) and writing skills (likhai, where you produce your own sentences and paragraphs). If you can name which of these four areas a question belongs to, you already know how to prepare for it.

Persian is offered as a language subject under the HSC General subject list, which means it sits alongside other language options rather than the core subjects. The subject code printed on your hall ticket and in the board's subject list is the one to quote in all official forms [verify].

The prescribed textbook is the state board's Persian textbook for Standard XII [verify the exact title and edition year printed on your copy]. Your school distributes this book, and the lesson list inside it is the same list the board expects you to study. Do not substitute a market guide for the textbook: the exam is set from the prescribed book, and the exercises at the end of each lesson show you the question style.

The official syllabus PDF is hosted on the board's website. This page explains what that syllabus contains and how to work through it, but the PDF remains the final authority. If your school notice and this page ever differ, follow the PDF. The paper is a single written exam [verify whether any internal or oral assessment is prescribed for Persian this session]; your school will confirm the internal component, if any, at the start of the year.

Once you know the four areas, the next useful step is to see the paper structure they feed into. Our Maharashtra Board Class 12 exam pattern and marking scheme hub explains how language papers are marked, and the Class 12 Persian sample papers page shows the question types in practice.

2. How to Download the Official Persian Syllabus PDF

The syllabus PDF is a short document, but finding it on the board site takes a little patience because the site is large. Follow this route:

1. Open the official state board website.
2. Go to the Subjects and Syllabus section.
3. Choose HSC General Subject Codes and Syllabus.
4. Look for the language subject entry and open the PDF that lists Persian.

Language subjects are sometimes grouped under a separate heading, or bundled into one combined PDF with the other languages, so use your browser's find option (Ctrl+F) and search for "Persian" on the page before concluding the file is missing [verify].

Once the PDF opens, check five things in this order. First, the subject code, so you can match it with your hall ticket. Second, the lesson list, which is your revision checklist. Third, the grammar topics named in the syllabus. Fourth, the marks split across sections. Fifth, any note about internal assessment or oral marks [verify]. If any of these is missing from the PDF, ask your Persian teacher, because schools receive the same document.

Save the PDF to your phone or laptop the day you download it. Board sites slow down badly close to exam time, and you do not want to depend on a live connection for a document you need every week. Print one copy as well: this is the same PDF your school uses to build its annual teaching plan, so your teacher's lesson sequence and your copy will match. After you have the syllabus in hand, the Class 12 Persian sample papers page shows how those lessons actually appear as questions.

3. Syllabus Structure: Prose, Poetry, Grammar and Writing Skills

The Persian paper is not one long test of memory. It is four smaller tests sitting inside one paper, and each one rewards a different habit. Prose rewards careful reading. Poetry rewards clear explanation. Grammar rewards drill. Writing rewards structure. If you prepare all four the same way, you will do well in one and lose marks in the other three.

3.1 Prose (Nasr)

Nasr means prose, the plain-text lessons in your textbook. Questions here usually come in three shapes: comprehension (a passage followed by questions on what it says), short answers on the lesson content, and vocabulary items such as matching a Persian word to its meaning or filling a blank with the right word [verify]. A typical question reads: "Why did the writer leave his village?" and carries two or three marks, given for the correct reason stated in the lesson, not for extra sentences around it.

3.2 Poetry (Nazm)

Nazm means poetry. The usual tasks are explaining given lines in your own words, stating the central idea (markazi khayal) of the poem, writing a short note on the poet, and identifying figures of speech such as simile (tashbih) or metaphor (isti'ara) [verify]. In an explanation question, examiners look for the meaning of the lines, not a copy of the lines themselves. A common mistake is writing "the poet says the flower is beautiful" without saying what the flower stands for. The fix: after each stanza, write one sentence beginning "This means that…".

3.3 Grammar (Qawaid)

Qawaid means grammar, and this is the most predictable part of the paper. The recurring item types are verb conjugation (putting a verb into the correct person and tense), sentence transformation (changing a sentence from past to present, or positive to negative), fill-in-the-blanks, choosing the correct form of the word in brackets, and translating short sentences [verify]. Grammar marks are easy to protect because the same rules repeat every year. Worked example: given "man be madrase raftam" (I went to school), a transformation question may ask you to make it present, and the answer changes only the verb to "mi-ravam", leaving the rest of the sentence untouched.

3.4 Writing Skills (Likhai)

Likhai means writing. Formats likely to appear are letter writing (informal to a friend or relative, or a formal application), a paragraph or short essay on a familiar topic, and dialogue writing or picture description [verify]. A letter needs an opening line, two or three body points and a closing line; a paragraph needs a topic sentence, three supporting sentences and a concluding sentence. Examiners check correct script, correct verb endings and content that actually answers the topic. Long introductions with little content lose marks.

Use the lesson list below as a checklist. Tick a lesson only when you can summarise it in three sentences without opening the book. The exact titles and numbering for the current session should be matched with your textbook and the official syllabus PDF [verify].

Once you can tick every row, move to the Class 12 Persian sample papers and previous year question papers page and see how these lessons are actually framed as questions. For the marks each of the four parts carries, the exam pattern and marking scheme hub explains the split.

4. Paper Pattern and Marks Distribution for the Persian Paper

The Persian paper follows the same broad design as other HSC language papers. Questions move from small to large: objective or very short answer items first, then short answers, then long answers, with grammar items and writing skills spread through the paper [verify]. Knowing this order matters, because it tells you which questions to attempt first and which ones need planning.

The written paper is of 100 marks with 3 hours allowed, unless the current year's circular says otherwise [verify]. The table below shows the usual section-wise split. Treat the figures as a working guide for planning your revision, not as final: confirm them from the current year's board circular or the preface of your prescribed textbook [verify].

Now separate the paper into two kinds of questions. Knowledge-based questions test what you remember from the lessons: who did what, why a character acted a certain way, what a poem's central idea is. Application questions test whether you can use the language: change a verb's tense, write a letter, translate a sentence. Most students lose marks in the second group, not the first. They can retell a lesson but cannot put "raftam" into the present tense under pressure, or they write a letter with correct ideas but wrong verb endings.

A typical example makes the difference clear. A question like "What did the traveller see on the road?" carries two marks, and you get both by stating the two things named in the lesson. A grammar question like "Change u be bazar raft into the present tense" also carries two marks, but here the answer is either right or wrong: u be bazar mi-ravad. There is no partial credit for a close attempt. That is why grammar deserves daily drill rather than last-week reading.

On internal assessment, some language subjects carry oral or internal marks decided by the school, while others are assessed purely through the written paper [verify]. Ask your Persian teacher directly whether your school conducts an oral test or internal project for this subject, and how those marks are recorded, because this detail is usually announced at school level rather than in the syllabus PDF [verify].

For the exact section-wise split used in the current session, see the Maharashtra Board Class 12 exam pattern and marking scheme hub, and once you know the split, test yourself against real question formats on the Class 12 Persian sample papers and previous year question papers page.

5. Grammar Checklist for Class 12 Persian

Grammar (qawaid) is the part of the Persian paper where marks are most predictable. The lesson content changes with the question paper, but the grammar item types repeat year after year. If you can handle the seven areas below without hesitation, you protect a large block of marks before you even open the lesson chapters.

Here is what each area actually demands of you, in plain terms:

• Present, past and future verb forms. You should be able to take a sentence in one tense and rewrite it in another, changing only the verb and keeping everything else intact. Example: u be bazar raft (he went to the market) becomes u be bazar mi-ravad (he goes to the market).
• Subject-verb agreement. You should be able to spot when the verb ending does not match the subject and correct it, especially when the subject is plural.
• Pronouns. You should be able to replace a repeated noun with the correct pronoun, and to tell separate pronouns from the endings attached to verbs.
• Prepositions. You should be able to choose the right preposition for place, direction and time rather than translating the preposition from your own language.
• Plurals. You should be able to form the plural of a given noun and use it correctly with the matching verb form.
• Question formation. You should be able to turn a statement into a question using the correct question word and word order.
• Correct form of the word. You should be able to pick the right form of a word given in brackets so that the sentence reads correctly.

Use this table as a working checklist. Tick a row only when you can do the practice task without looking at your notes.

The single biggest grammar mistake is translating word by word from Marathi, Hindi or English into Persian. Persian word order is not the same as your first language, and a sentence built by stacking translated words in your own language's order reads wrong even when every individual word is correct. The fix is to learn whole sentence patterns, not isolated words: memorise "subject + object + verb" as a frame and fit new words into it. When you write a grammar answer, read it back and ask whether it sounds like a sentence from your textbook.

Keep a separate thin notebook for grammar alone. Write one rule per page, followed by one example sentence you have made up yourself. A rule you have used in your own sentence sticks far better than a rule copied from the book. Revise this notebook twice a week, and before the exam read only the rules you have marked as shaky. For extra practice in the exact question formats used in the paper, work through the Class 12 Persian sample papers and previous year question papers.

6. Lesson-Wise Study Guidance

Most students read a Persian lesson once, decide they "know" it, and then discover in the exam that they cannot answer a question on it. The problem is not effort, it is the method. A single reading gives you recognition, not recall. You need three passes over each lesson, and each pass has a different job.

Pass 1: read for meaning

Read the whole prose lesson without stopping at unknown words. Your only aim is to know what happens or what is being explained. Close the book and tell the story or argument to yourself in one or two sentences. If you cannot, read it again. This pass builds the base for long answers and central idea questions.

Pass 2: read for vocabulary

Now go line by line and mark every word you could not translate on the first pass. Put those words into a one-page vocabulary list for that lesson, with three columns: the Persian word, its meaning, and one sentence of your own that uses it. A word copied with its meaning is forgotten in a week. A word you have used in a sentence of your own stays. The same list serves you in comprehension, fill-in-the-blanks and translation questions.

Pass 3: read for possible questions

Read with a pen and mark the lines that could become a question: a character's decision, a turning point, a line that states the message of the lesson. Write two or three likely questions in the margin. This is the pass that turns reading into exam preparation.

For poetry, do not memorise explanations from a guide. Write the central idea in two lines of your own words, then write a short explanation of each stanza, again in your own words. Examiners reward a clear explanation of what the lines mean over a memorised paragraph that does not fit the question asked. If you can explain a stanza simply, you can answer any wording of the question.

Long-answer questions usually come from lessons with a strong character, a clear theme, or an explicit moral or message [verify]. Lessons that are descriptive or informational tend to produce short-answer and vocabulary questions. Use the table below to plan revision instead of revising everything the same way.

Fill the lesson names from your prescribed textbook into this table in pencil, because the list must match the edition your school is using [verify]. For ready-made chapter summaries and answers to check your own work against, use the Class 12 Persian textbook solutions chapter-wise page.

7. Writing Skills: What to Practise and How to Score

The writing section (likhai) is where prepared students gain marks quickly and unprepared students lose them quietly. The formats that usually appear are an informal letter to a friend or relative, a formal application (leave, fee concession, or a request to a principal), a short paragraph on a familiar topic, and translation of a short passage from Persian to English or Marathi, or the reverse [verify]. Check your textbook's writing exercises to confirm which of these your edition actually practises [verify].

Every format can be built from the same skeleton: one opening line, two or three body points, one closing line. For an informal letter, the opening names the reason for writing ("I am writing to tell you about..."), the body gives the news or request in two or three sentences, and the closing asks about the reader's wellbeing. For a formal application, the opening states the purpose in one sentence, the body gives the facts (dates, reason, request), and the closing thanks the reader and signs off. For a paragraph, the first sentence states the topic, the next two or three give examples or reasons, and the last sentence rounds it off.

Examiners in a language paper look for three things: correct script (letters joined properly, right to left), correct verb endings, and content that actually answers the question. They do not reward difficult vocabulary used wrongly. A simple sentence with the right verb ending scores more than a complicated sentence with a broken one.

Run a weekly cycle: one letter, one paragraph and one translation passage, each timed at 15 minutes. Write without a dictionary first, then correct using your textbook. Over twelve weeks that is twelve letters, twelve paragraphs and twelve translations, which is more practice than most students do in the whole year.

One mistake costs marks again and again: students write two or three lines of long introduction before reaching the actual content. In a 15-mark writing question, a long opening with a thin body reads as padding. Start with the purpose in the first line, then spend your words on the body points. If you want a general method for planning and structuring answers in any language paper, see How to write answers in language papers, and for timed practice material use the Class 12 Persian sample papers page.

8. Script and Vocabulary Expectations

Persian is written from right to left, and most letters change shape depending on whether they sit at the start, middle, end or alone. That joining rule is where most script marks are lost. Writing slowly and joining each letter correctly earns more than filling the page quickly with broken forms. In the exam, a word with a wrongly joined letter is read as a spelling error even if the meaning was right.

Vocabulary in a language paper is not random. The same word fields come back: family, school, daily routine, travel, health and festivals [verify]. Check your textbook's exercises to confirm which of these your edition actually uses. Learn words in these groups rather than alphabetically, because the exam asks them in context, not in isolation.

A workable routine is ten new words a day, written in three columns: Persian word, meaning, and one short sentence using it. Keep Sunday for revision only, no new words. Ten words a day is about 300 words in a month, which covers most of the recurring fields comfortably.

Vocabulary marks do not sit in one question. They appear in matching columns, fill-in-the-blanks, and translation passages. A student who knows the lesson words picks up marks in three or four places from the same preparation, which makes this the highest-return work in the paper.

Read the prescribed lessons aloud for five minutes daily. Reading aloud forces you to recognise joined letter forms at speed and fixes the shape of common words in memory, so you spend less time decoding during the exam. If a lesson feels heavy, read only the prose paragraphs you find hardest and follow along with the Class 12 Persian textbook solutions when a line does not make sense.

9. A 12-Week Preparation Plan

Twelve weeks is enough time for Persian if you divide the work by skill instead of by mood. The plan below assumes roughly one hour a day on weekdays and a longer block on Sunday. Each block has one measurable target, so at the end of the week you know whether you are on track or behind.

Weeks 1 to 4: prose and the vocabulary notebook. Finish every prose (nasr) lesson in the textbook. Do not read a lesson once and move on; use the three-pass method from the previous section. Alongside, start the vocabulary notebook, ten words a day, taken from the lessons you have just read. In grammar, begin with the present tense only: how the verb changes with each subject. By the end of week 4 you should be able to summarise any prose lesson in three sentences without opening the book.

Weeks 5 to 8: poetry, remaining grammar and writing. Cover the poetry (nazm) lessons, writing the central idea and a line-by-line explanation of each stanza in your own words. Complete past and future tense grammar, then revise all three tenses together. Start the weekly writing cycle: one letter, one paragraph and one short translation passage, each timed at 15 minutes. Keep the vocabulary routine running, now drawing words from poetry as well.

Weeks 9 and 10: grammar revision and a full paper. Go through the grammar checklist and mark every topic you cannot handle without help. Solve one full sample paper in one sitting, with a clock, no notes and no phone. Mark it honestly and write every wrong answer into an error log with the rule or lesson it came from.

Weeks 11 and 12: consolidation. Revise lesson summaries only, not full lessons. Practise each writing format once more. Then redo the exact questions you got wrong in the sample paper. If you still get them wrong, that topic needs a fresh reading, not more practice papers.

If you fall behind, cut the vocabulary target first and protect the prose and grammar blocks. Vocabulary can be compressed into the last month; a half-read prose lesson cannot. For timed practice, use the Class 12 Persian sample papers and previous year question papers page, and check the paper structure against the exam pattern and marking scheme hub before your first full attempt.

10. Exam Strategy for the Persian Paper

Give the first five minutes to the question paper itself, not to writing. Read every question once and put a small pencil mark next to each one: "R" for a direct recall (a lesson question you can answer from memory) and "T" for one that needs thought (a grammar transformation, an unseen translation line, a writing topic). This single habit stops the most common exam-day problem, which is spending twenty minutes on a long-answer question that carries four marks while three easy grammar questions sit untouched at the back.

Answer grammar (qawaid) and objective questions first. They are short, they have a fixed correct answer, and finishing them early gives you a psychological cushion for the rest of the paper. A student who completes the grammar block in the first half hour usually writes better long answers than one who starts with prose and rushes the grammar at the end.

A working time split for a three-hour paper [verify]:

• 15 minutes: reading the paper and marking R and T questions
• 30 minutes: grammar and objective questions
• 60 minutes: short answers and long answers on prose and poetry
• 30 minutes: writing skills (letter, paragraph, translation)
• 15 minutes: revision and script check

Two habits protect marks that are otherwise lost for no reason. First, leave two blank lines between answers and number each answer exactly as the question paper does, for example "Q.4 (a)" rather than just "4a" or an unnumbered paragraph. Examiners mark against a scheme and an unnumbered answer can be missed. Second, treat the last five minutes as a script check, not a content check. Persian is written right to left and letters join differently depending on position in the word, so a hurried "ب" or "س" can change the word entirely. Read your own writing slowly and fix joined letters, missing dots and wrong endings. Spelling errors in the script cost marks in every section, including grammar and translation, so this five-minute pass is the cheapest mark-saving step in the whole exam.

If you finish early, do not leave. Go back to the T questions you marked and check whether your answer actually addresses what was asked. For example, if the question says "explain the central idea of the poem", a summary of the story in the poem will not earn full marks; the examiner wants the message, not the plot.

11. Sample Papers and Previous Year Questions

Practice material for Persian comes from three places. First, the board's model paper section on the official website, which usually carries a specimen paper for language subjects [verify]. Second, the question bank printed at the back of your prescribed textbook, which follows the same format as the real paper. Third, the prelim papers your own school conducts before the board exam; ask your Persian teacher for last year's prelim paper, because schools often repeat the question style.

Solve at least three full papers before the exam, each in one sitting with a timer running and no textbook open. A paper solved in three relaxed sittings teaches you almost nothing about exam speed. If you cannot find three full Persian papers, combine sources: one model paper, one school prelim and one paper built from the textbook exercises.

Keep an error log from the first paper onwards. Divide a notebook page into three columns: question number, what went wrong, and the fix. A typical entry reads "Q.3(b): used past tense where the sentence needed present, revise present tense endings." After three papers, patterns appear, and you will usually find that two or three grammar areas cause most of your lost marks. Revise only those before the next paper.

Previous year Persian papers are not published every year the way major subjects are [verify], so do not wait for a ten-year archive that may not exist. Treat sample papers and textbook exercises as your main practice source. Even when the full paper is unavailable, practise the writing section alone: take a letter or paragraph topic from any sample paper and write it in 15 minutes. You can find more practice sets on our Class 12 Persian sample papers and previous year question papers page, and check the overall structure on the exam pattern and marking scheme hub.

12. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Memorising answers without understanding the lesson. A student learns a ready-made answer on the theme of a prose lesson, then the paper asks the same idea in different words and the answer no longer fits. The fix is to write each answer in your own three or four sentences first, then compare with the textbook. If you can explain the lesson to a classmate without looking, you know it.

Ignoring grammar because it feels difficult. Grammar (qawaid) is the most predictable part of the paper: the same item types return each year, so the marks are the easiest to secure [verify]. Students who skip verb conjugation and sentence transformation lose marks they could have protected with two weeks of daily practice. Keep grammar in your weekly plan from the start, not the last month.

Writing vague poetry explanations. An answer that says "the poet describes the beauty of nature in a very nice way" earns little. Examiners want the lines explained directly: what the poet says, what image is used, and what it means. For every stanza (nazm), write one sentence on the literal meaning and one on the message.

Skipping vocabulary revision. A weak word bank hits you three times over: comprehension passages, translation, and fill-in-the-blanks all depend on it. Ten new words a day with Sunday revision covers this cheaply.

Not practising the script. Persian is written right to left, and letters change shape depending on position in the word. Under exam pressure, students who have not written by hand for months join letters wrongly, and spelling errors cost marks across sections. Write one paragraph by hand daily in the final month.

If answer structure is your weak point rather than content, read our guide on how to write answers in language papers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Persian offered as a subject in Maharashtra Board Class 12?

Yes. Persian is offered as a language subject under the HSC General subject list, so it sits beside other language options rather than the core subjects. Your school must actually teach it and enter you for it, so confirm with your class teacher that Persian is on your school's subject list before you choose it.

What is the subject code for Class 12 Persian in the Maharashtra state board?

The subject code is printed in the board's official subject list and on your hall ticket. Quote exactly that code in every form, including exam and scholarship applications. Codes differ between language subjects, so do not copy a code from another language. Check the current list on the board website [verify].

Which textbook is prescribed for Class 12 Persian?

The prescribed book is the state board's Persian textbook for Standard XII [verify the exact title and edition year printed on your copy]. Your school distributes it, and its lesson list is what the board expects you to study. Do not replace it with a market guide, because the paper is set from the prescribed book and its end-of-lesson exercises show the question style.

How are marks divided between the written paper and internal assessment in Persian?

Persian is examined mainly through a single written paper set from the prescribed textbook. Whether any internal or oral component applies to Persian this session is something your school will confirm at the start of the year [verify]. Ask for the split in writing, then plan revision around the written paper, since that carries the bulk of the marks.

Where can I download the official Class 12 Persian syllabus PDF?

The official syllabus PDF is hosted on the state board's website, usually under the HSC syllabus section. Download and save it, because it is the final authority: if your school notice and any other page differ, follow the PDF. Our page explains how to work through that syllabus, but it does not replace the PDF.

What grammar topics are tested in the Class 12 Persian paper?

Grammar (qawaid) is one of the four areas the paper is built on, along with prose, poetry and writing skills. The exact rules tested are the ones covered in your prescribed textbook lessons, so work through each lesson's grammar exercises. Those exercises match the exam's question style, and they show you precisely which rules to revise.