A Dialogue between Leyla and Her Mother

Leyla: So, as you know, we're in the dialogue series of Chai and Conversation.

Matt: As always, go to www.chaiandconversation.com to get previous lesson and more information on the program.

Leyla: In lesson 31, we listened to a dialogue between me and Matt, and in this we covered the past tense. In lesson 32, we listened to a dialogue between me and my aunt, and in this dialogue we focused on the future tense. In this lesson, we will listen to a conversation between me and my mother. This lesson won't have a particular focus in terms of tenses. Rather, it will have general conversational vocabulary and skills that we need to learn. Ok, let's get right to it!

'boogh boogh'

-Salam leyla jan!! beeya beboosamet

Leyla: Mach mach

Matt: Khayli delam vasat tang shodeh bood!

Leyla: Man ham hameentor!

Matt: Rah chetor bood?

Leyla: Khayli tool kesheed.

Matt: Chetor?

Leyla: Too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood.

Matt: Ay vay, bad joor bood.

Leyla: Na, beh estelah 'fender bender' bood

Matt: 'Fender bender' yanee chee?

Leyla: Khob, yanee jozee bood

Matt: Khob, khoda ra shokr.

Leyla: Maman joon eenja hastan?

Matt: Hanooz nayoomadan. Emshab meeyan keh ba ham sham bokhoreem.

Leyla: Too khooneh ya beeroon?

Matt: Na azizam, khooneh sham meekhoreem- maman joon sham dorost kardan.

Leyla: Cheghadr aali.

Matt: Khob, beeya too ba ham yek chai bokhoreem

Leyla: Bah bah, alan cheghadr chai meechasbeh!

Matt: Ok, as we've said in the previous lessons, it's completely all right if you don't understand all of the conversation. Hopefully you were able to pick out bits and pieces of it. Let's go back through it and listen in detail. Let's listen to the beginning of the conversation again.

'boogh boogh'

-Salam leyla jan!! beeya beboosamet

Mach mach

Leyla: Ok, so perhaps you've learned this phrase from Ladan before. We certainly covered the word boos in the Valentine's episode of Chai and Conversation. Do you remember what it means Matt?

Matt: It means 'kiss'

Leyla: That's right. So my mother tells me 'beeya beboosamet'. This basically means 'Come, so I can kiss you.' 'Beeya beboosamet'

Matt: 'Beeya beboosamet'

Leyla: So, this might sound like an unusual greeting, but generally, Iranians greet each other with kisses on the cheek. You might have seen this in European cultures or Latin cultures. Every culture has its own customs of how to greet people, or how many cheeks you have to kiss when you meet someone. In Iranian culture, it varies. Some people will give one kiss on each cheek, and some people will give three kisses- one side, then the other, and then the first side again. It's also tricky in Iranian culture because with more conservative people, men and women won't kiss, but with others, they will. But men will always kiss other men in greeting, and women will always kiss other women in greeting. I'm sure you've experienced this before when greeting your wife's friends and family, right Matt?

Matt: Oh yeah.

Leyla: Ok, so one more time, beeya beboosamet

Matt: Beeya beboosamet

Leyla: Or, come here and let me kiss you. Ok, let's move on to the next two sentences:

Khayli delam barat tang shodeh bood!

Man ham hameentor!

Leyla: Ok, so this phrase is very important, you will hear it often. Delam barat tang shodeh bood.

Matt: Delam barat tang shodeh bood

Leyla: So literally, this means 'my heart had become very tight for you'. But, it's just an idiom that means 'I missed you'. To put this in the present tense we say

Matt: 'delam barat tang shodeh'

Matt: Delam barat tang shodeh'

Leyla: This is a very common phrase. So my heart has become tight for you- delam barat tang shodeh

Matt: Delam barat tang shodeh.

Leyla: And when I heard this phrase, I answered back 'man ham hameentor!' This means 'me also!'. So 'man ham hameentor'

Matt: 'man ham hameentor'

Leyla: This phrase can be used in other contexts as well. For example, if someone says 'man bastani doost daram' which means 'I like ice cream', you could reply 'man ham hameentor' which means me also. So I also like ice cream. So Matt, I'll say 'I like ice cream' and you say 'Me too'. 'Man bastani doost daram.

Matt: 'Man ham hameentor'

Leyla: Now, tell me you like movies.

Matt: 'Man feelm doost daram'

'Leyla: Man ham hameentor.'

Matt: Ok great, I think we got the hang of it. Moving on, let's listen to the next couple of lines.

Leyla: Rah chetor bood?

Matt: Khayli tool kesheed.

Leyla: So, the word 'rah' means way. So the phrase 'rah chetor bood' means 'how was the way' or 'how was the road'. Rah chetor bood

Matt: Rah chetor bood

Leyla: And I answered back 'khayli tool kesheed'

Matt: Khayli tool kesheed

Leyla: This mean it took a very long time. 'khayli tool kesheed'

Matt: Khayli tool kesheed.

Leyla: Ok, moving on, the next couple of lines.

Chetor?

Too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood.

Leyla: Ok, so we know the word 'chetor' of course. We've covered it before. What does it mean?

Matt: 'How'

Leyla: Right, so in this context, it means 'how come'. Chetor?

Matt: Chetor?

Leyla: Ok, and I answered back

Matt: Too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood.

Leyla: Ok, so again we have the word rah. What did that mean?

Matt: The way

Leyla: Yes. Tasadof means accident. Tasadof

Matt: Tasadof

Leyla: Tasadof shodeh bood

Matt: Tasadof shodeh bood

Leyla: This means 'an accident had happened.' Tasadof shodeh bood

Matt: Tasadof shodeh bood.

Leyla: So too rah

Matt: Too rah

Leyla: Tasadof shodeh bood

Matt: Tasadof shodeh bood

Leyla: All together, this means, on the way, an accident had happened. Too rah tasadof shodeh bood

Matt: Too rah tasadof shodeh bood

Leyla: Ok, so now let's listen to the conversation up to this point and see if we got everything.

'boogh boogh'

-Salam leyla jan!! beeya beboosamet

Mach mach

Khayli delam barat tang shodeh bood!

Man ham hameentor!

Rah chetor bood?

Khayli tool kesheed.

Chetor?

Too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood.

Leyla: Ok, so let's go over a couple of these phrases one more time. Come here, let me kiss you is 'beeya beboosamet'

Matt: Beeya beboosamet

Leyla: And 'delam barat tang shodeh bood'

Matt: Delam barat tang shodeh bood

Leyla: I missed you. Delam barat tang shodeh bood

Matt: Delam barat tang shodeh bood

Leyla: Next, how was the road is 'rah chetor bood?'

Matt: 'Rah chetor bood'?

Leyla: Can you think of another way to answer Matt, besides the way we did answer? I'll ask, and you provide an answer. Rah chetor bood?

Matt: Khoob bood

Leyla: Ok, great, that's a very simple answer. Khoob bood, or 'it was good'. And now you ask me

Matt: Rah chetor bood?

Leyla: Bad nabood. So it wasn't bad. In the conversation, I answered 'khayli tool kesheed'

Matt: Khayli tool kesheed

Leyla: This means 'it took a very long time.' Khayli tool kesheed

Matt: Khayli tool kesheed

Leyla: And the reason it took a long time was 'too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood'

Matt: 'too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood

Leyla: Meaning

Matt: On the way, there was an accident

Leyla: Exactly, very good. Ok, let's listen to the next few lines.

Ay vay, bad joor bood?

Na, beh estelah 'fender bender' bood

Leyla: Ok, so first, the saying 'ay vay.' This is our version of 'oh no.' Ay vay

Matt: Ay vay

Leyla: So oh no. bad joor bood?

Matt: Bad joor bood?

Leyla: So we of course know the word 'bad', we've heard it so many times. It simply mean bad. So bad joor means 'bad way.' So bad joor bood quite simply means 'was it bad?' Bad joor bood?

Matt: Bad joor bood?

Leyla: So ay vay, bad joor bood? Means 'Oh no, was it bad?' Ay vay, bad joor bood?

Matt: Ay vay, bad joor bood?

Leyla: And the answer was

Matt: Na, beh estelah 'fender bender' bood

Leyla: This is a kind of funny statement. Estelah means a saying. Estelah

Matt: Estelah

Leyla: So 'beh estelah' can't be exactly translated, but in this context, I'm saying 'It can be referred to as a 'fender bender'. In other words, I'm saying 'it was what you'd call a fender bender'. Because the word fender bender is a foreign saying I'm using, I'm trying to make it clear that this is a saying that phrase someone might use to describe the accident. So 'beh estelah 'fender bender' bood'

Matt: Beh estelah fender bender bood

Leyla: So 'it's what you'd call a fender bender.' Beh estelah fender bender bood

Matt: Beh estelah fender bender bood.

Leyla: Ok, great. So again, let's listen to these two sentences.

Ay vay, bad joor bood?

Na, beh estelah 'fender bender' bood

Leyla: So, was it bad? No, it was what you'd call a fender bender. Ok, moving on to the next two sentences:

'Fender bender' cheeyeh?

Khob, yanee jozee bood

Leyla: Ok, so I used a foreign phrase fender bender, and my mom obviously asks 'fender bender cheeyeh?'

Matt: Fender bender cheeyeh?

Leyla: Which means-

Matt: What is a fender bender?

Leyla: To which I answer:

Matt: Khob, yanee jozee bood

Leyla: Ok, the word jozee means 'trivial' or 'insignificant'. The word yanee means 'it means.' So I'm saying 'Well, it means it was pretty insignificant'. Khob, yanee jozee bood

Matt: Khob, yanee jozee bood

Leyla: So, another way you could say 'what does fender bender mean' is 'fender bender yanee chee'

Matt: Fender bender yanee chee?

Leyla: And I could say 'yanee jozee bood'

Matt: Yanee jozee bood.

Leyla: In general, you can use the word yanee for any word you don't know. For example, say you hear an unfamiliar word. Like, the word tasadof that we learned before. If you wanted to ask 'what does tasodef mean' you could ask 'tasadof ya'nee chee?'

Matt: Tasadof ya'nee chee

Leyla: And I could give you more details as to what the word tasadof means. In this case, when my mom asked what an English word means, I explained in Farsi that a fender bender means a minor accident. Ok, moving on to the next couple sentences.

Khob, khoda ra shokr.

Maman joon eenja hastan?

Leyla: Ok, so this first sentence is something you'll hear often from Iranians. Khoda ra shokr

Matt: Khoda ra shokr

Leyla: It means thank god. Just like in English, it's not necessarily a religious saying. A lot of people who aren't religious will say 'thank god' as a matter of speech. Same with Persian- even if a person isn't religious, they will say khoda ra shokr. Khoda ra shokr

Matt: Khoda ra shokr.

Leyla: Next, maman joon eenja hastan? So first, maman joon is a way of saying 'grandmother.' It literally means 'mother dear'. Maman joon

Matt: Maman joon.

Leyla: Ok, so maman joon eenja hastan?

Matt: Maman joon eenja hastan?

Leyla: And you should be able to understand this full sentence. What does it mean?

Matt: It means 'Is maman joon here'

Leyla: Exactly, that's right. Ok, moving on to the next two sentences:

Matt: Hanooz nayoomadan. Emshab meeyan keh ba ham sham bokhoreem.

Leyla: Ok so first, the word, nayoomadan. Do you remember what this means? We covered it in unit 2.

Matt: It means did not come.

Leyla: Right, she did not come. Hanooz nayoomadan. The word hanooz means yet. So this means she didn't come yet. Hanooz nayoomadan

Matt: Hanooz nayoomadan.

Leyla: And then, Emshab meeyan keh ba ham sham bokhoreem.

Leyla: This should be pretty clear too. Emshab meeyan

Matt: Emshab meeyan

Leyla: This means she will come tonight. Emshab meeyan

Matt: Emshab meeyan

Leyla: Keh ba ham sham bokhoreem

Matt: Keh ba ham sham bokhoreem.

Leyla: So that we can have dinner together. Ok, next part.

Too khooneh ya beeroon?

Na azizam, maman joon sham dorost kardan.

Leyla: Ok, so the word beeroon means outside. Beeroon

Matt: Beeroon.

Leyla: So I asked 'too khooneh ya beeroon'. What does this mean?

Matt: In the house or out?

Leyla: Exactly, so are we dining at home or out. Too khooneh ya beeroon?

Matt: Too khooneh ya beeroon.

Leyla: To which my mom replied, na azizam, maman joon sham dorost kardan. Let's repeat this- na azizam

Matt: Na azizam

Leyla: No dear. Maman joon sham dorost kardan

Matt: Maman joon sham dorost kardan.

Leyla: Meaning maman joon made dinner.

Now the last part:

Cheghadr aali.

Khob, beeya too ba ham yek chai bokhoreem

Bah bah, cheghadr chai meechasbeh hala!

Leyla: Ok, the first sentence began with 'khob, beeya too'. This means ok, come inside. Khob, beeya too

Matt: Khob beeya too

Leyla: Next, 'ba ham yek chai bokhoreem

Matt: Ba ham yek chai bokhoreem

Leyla: You should be able to understand this part. What does it mean?

Matt: Together let's have a tea.

Leyla: Right, so that's a literal translation. Let's have tea together. Ba ham ye chai bokhoreem

Matt: Ba ham yek chai bokhoreem.

Leyla: Ok, so the full sentence is 'khob, beeya too ba ham yek chai bokhoreem'

Matt: Khob, beeya too ba ham yek chai bokhoreem'.

Leyla: And finally the last sentence

Matt: Bah bah, cheghadr chai meechasbeh hala!

Leyla: Ok bah bah is the term used in the Persian language to signify something delicious. Bah bah

Matt: Bah bah

Leyla: It can also be a general term of delight. Kind of like mmmm in English. Bah bah. Next, cheghadr chai meechasbeh hala. So this is another idiom. Meechasbeh means it sticks. So when you want to say something sounds really good right now, like, it'll really hit the spot, you say 'meechasbeh'. Meechasbeh

Matt: Meechasbeh.

Leyla: So chai meechasbeh

Matt: Chai meechasbeh

Leyla: Meaning, tea will really hit the spot. Do you remember what the word hala means? We've covered it before

Matt: It means 'now'

Leyla: That's right. So 'bah bah cheghadr chai meechasbeh hala' means 'mmm, how much tea would hit the spot right now. 'cheghadr chai meechasbeh hala'

Matt: Cheghadr chai meechasbeh hala

Leyla: Ok, now we've covered the entire dialogue. Let's listen to the entire thing one more time with our new knowledge:

'boogh boogh'

-Salam leyla jan!! beeya beboosamet

Mach mach

Khayli delam barat tang shodeh bood!

Man ham hameentor!

Rah chetor bood?

Khayli tool kesheed.

Chetor?

Too rah yek tasadof shodeh bood.

Ay vay, bad joor bood?

Na, beh estelah 'fender bender' bood

'Fender bender' yanee chee?

Khob, yanee jozee bood

Khob, khoda ra shokr.

Maman joon eenja hastan?

Hanooz nayoomadan. Emshab meeyan keh ba ham sham bokhoreem.

Too khooneh ya beeroon?

Na azizam, maman joon sham dorost kardan.

Cheghadr aali.

Khob, beeya too ba ham yek chai bokhoreem

Bah bah, alan cheghadr chai meechasbeh!

Leyla: And that brings us to the end of lesson 31! The bonus materials for the dialogue series include the entire dialogue line by line so that you can listen to it over and over again until you understand it completely

Matt: The bonus materials, as well as all the previous lessons, can be found at www.chaiandconversation.com, with chai spelled CHAI.

Leyla: Until next week, khodahafez from Leyla

Matt: And beh omeedeh deedar from Matt.