Lesson 37: A Dialogue in a Restaurant
Up until now, we’ve been listening to conversations between Leyla and various family members. In Lesson 37, we listen to a dialogue that takes place in a restaurant, first between a host and patrons, and then between a waitress and patrons. This should sound familiar to you, because much of this vocab was covered in unit 2. This will serve as a reminder and also present some new vocabulary for you to use when visiting a restaurant.
GREETINGS:
hello
سَلام
how are you?
چِطوری؟
Note: In Persian, as in many other languages, there is a formal and an informal way of speaking. We will be covering this in more detail in later lessons. For now, however, chetor-ee is the informal way of asking someone how they are, so it should only be used with people that you are familiar with. hālé shomā chetor-é is the formal expression for ‘how are you.’
Spelling note: In written Persian, words are not capitalized. For this reason, we do not capitalize Persian words written in phonetic English in the guides.
ANSWERS:
I’m well
خوبَم
Pronunciation tip: kh is one of two unique sounds in the Persian language that is not used in the English language. It should be repeated daily until mastered, as it is essential to successfully speak Persian. Listen to the podcast for more information on how to make the sound.
| Persian | English |
|---|---|
| salām | hello |
| chetor-ee | how are you? |
| khoobam | I’m well |
| merci | thank you |
| khayli | very |
| khayli khoobam | I’m very well |
| khoob neestam | I’m not well |
| man | me/I |
| bad neestam | I’m not bad |
| ālee | great |
| chetor-een? | how are you? (formal) |
| hālé shomā chetor-é? | how are you? (formal) |
| hālet chetor-é? | how are you? (informal) |
| khoob-ee? | are you well? (informal) |
| mamnoonam | thank you |
| chetor peesh meeré? | how’s it going? |
| ché khabar? | what’s the news? (what’s up?) |
| testeeeee |
Leyla: Hello everyone and welcome to learn Persian with Chai and Conversation.
Matt: If you’re new to the program, please check out our previous lessons at www.chaiandconversation.com, with CHAI spelled CHAI
Leyla: For the rest of you, you know that we are now well into the dialogue series in our program. Up until now, we’ve been listening to conversations between me and various family members. Today, we’re going to change it up a bit and go through a dialogue heard at a restaurant.
Matt: This should sound familiar to you, because much of this vocab was covered in unit 2.
Leyla: This will serve as a reminder and also present some new vocabulary for you to use when visiting a restaurant. But enough talking for now, Matt, are you ready to begin the lesson?
Matt: Ready
Leyla: Great, then let’s begin to learn Persian with Chai and Conversation.
Leyla: So we’re going to get right on with the dialogue and listen to the first two sentences.
Beh restooraneh shandeez khosh amadeen! Khayli mamnoon
Leyla: So first, someone who we assume to be the host says ‘beh restooraneh shandeez khosh amadeen.’ We learned the phrase khosh amadeen before- it means something along the lines of welcome. In fact, if you break down the word welcome, it’s two words- well and come. Khosh amadeen is literally just that- well come. Khosh amadeen
Matt: Khosh amadeen
Leyla: So beh restooraneh shandeez khosh amadeen means welcome to Shandeez restaurant. Beh restooraneh shandeez khosh amadeen
Matt: Beh restooraneh shandeez khosh amadeen.
Leyla: One note here, the reason the word restooran is possessive in this sentence is because you’re basically saying ‘the restaurant of Shandeez.’ Shandeez is the name of the restaurant. The host could have dropped the word restooran and just said ‘beh shandeez khosh amadeen.’ That would have been fine too. So, beh shandeez khosh amadeen.
Matt: Beh shandeez khosh amadeen
Leyla: And of course we have heard countless times, khayli mamnoon
Matt: Khayli mamnoon
Leyla: Or thank you very much. Next, the host asks:
Matt: Chand nafar hasteen? Do nafar
Leyla: Nafar is another word for person. Nafar
Matt: Nafar
Leyla: So chand nafar hasteen
Matt: Chand nafar hasteen
Leyla: Meaning ‘how many are you’. Chand nafar hasteen?
Matt: Chand nafar hasteen?
Leyla: Of course, since these people don’t know each other, the host is using formal speech. The reply is ‘do nafar’
Matt: Do nafar
Leyla: And what does this mean Matt?
Matt: It means two people.
Leyla: Right. The host has one more line, so let’s listen to that by itself.
Beseeyar aali. Befarmayeen een taraf
Leyla: So, first the phrase beseeyar aali. Aali we’ve heard before, it means great. Aali
Matt: Aali
Leyla: Beseeyar means ‘extremely’. Beseeyar
Matt: Beseeyar
Leyla: So extremely great, is what this host says. Beseeyar aali
Matt: Beseeyar aali
Leyla: Beseeyar can be used with other words as well. For example, very good would be beseeyar khoob
Matt: Beseeyar khoob
Leyla: Or extremely bad would be:
Matt: Beseeyar bad
Leyla: Exactly. So then the host says ‘befarmeeyeen een taraf’. We’ve covered this before. Taraf is the word for way. So the host is saying ‘please come this way. Befarmayeen een taraf
Matt: Befarmayeen een taraf
Leyla: Great, now let’s listen to the next two lines of conversation, now at the table:
Salam. Man niloufar hastam. Emshab az shoma pazeerayee meekonam. Noosheedanee chee mayl dareen?
Man doogh meekham.
Leyla: So first, we hear the lines
Salam. Man niloufar hastam.
Leyla: This is very simple, and means
Matt: Hello, I am Niloufar
Leyla: Exactly. Then she says
Matt: Emshab az shoma pazeerayee meekonam.
Leyla: So this is a bit more complicated. The word pazeerayee is one we’ve covered before. It means to serve. Pazeerayee
Matt: Pazeerayee
Leyla: So she says az shoma pazeerayee meekonam, meaning, I will be serving you. Az shoma pazeerayee meekonam
Matt: Az shoma pazeerayee meekonam
Leyla: And of course we know the word emshab. It means
Matt: Tonight
Leyla: So all together, it’s emshab az shoma pazeerayee meekonam
Matt: Emshab az shoma pazeerayee meekonam
Leyla: Then she asks:
Noosheedanee chee mayl dareen?
Leyla: We’ve covered the word noosheedanee before. It means drink. Noosheedanee
Matt: Noosheedanee
Leyla: The full sentence means what drink would you like? Noosheedanee chee mayl dareen?
Matt: Noosheedanee chee mayl dareen?
Leyla: Perfect. So the reply is:
Man doogh meekham.
Leyla: Doogh is the very popular Persian yogurt drink. Doogh
Matt: Doogh
Leyla: So man doogh meekham
Matt: Man doogh meekham
Leyla: I’d want doogh
Next two sentences:
Man ab bedooneh yakh meekham.
Chashm. Alan bar meegardam.
Leyla: So first, man ab bedooneh yakh meekham. Perhaps you’ll remember this from the previous lesson. Ab bedooneh yakh is water without ice. So Man ab bedooneh yakh meekham. I want water without ice. Man ab bedooneh yakh meekham
Matt: Man ab bedooneh yakh meekham
Leyla: The waitress replies:
Chashm. Alan bar meegardam.
Leyla: Chashm means ok. Chashm
Matt: Chashm
Leyla: And then she says ‘I’ll be right back’ or alan bar meegardam
Matt: Alan bar meegardam
Leyla: So as we always do at the half point of every conversation, which we are at right now, let’s listen to the entire conversation up to this point to see how much we understand:
Next two sentences:
Befarmayeen. Een doog, een ham ab bedooneh yakh. Ghaza chee mayl dareen?
Man hanooz nemeedooneem. Shoma chee tarjee meedeen?
Leyla: So after the waitress has been gone for a minute, she comes back and says:
Befarmayeen. Een doog, een ham ab bedooneh yakh.
Leyla: Befarmayeen in this case means ‘here you go’. So befarmayeen, een doogh, een ham ba bedooneh yakh. What does all this mean Matt?
Matt: Here you go, here’s doogh and here’s water without ice.
Leyla: Exactly perfect. Let’s say the full thing. Befarmayeen. Een doogh
Matt: Befarmayeen, een doogh
Leyla: Een ham ab bedooneh yakh
Matt: Een ham ab bedooneh yakh Next she says
Ghaza chee mayl dareen?
Leyla: When she wanted to ask what they wanted to drink, she asked ‘noosheedanee chee mayl dareen.’ Noosheedanee is the word for drink. So ghaza is the word for food. What does this sentence mean?
Matt: What would you like to eat? Ghaza chee mayl dareen Ghaza chee mayl dareen Next sentence:
Man hanooz nemeedooneem. Shoma chee tarjee meedeen?
Leyla: So the first sentence is man hanooz nemeedoonam. Nemeedoonam means I don’t know. Nemeedoonam
Matt: Nemeedoonam
Leyla: Hanooz means still. Hanooz
Matt: Hanooz
Leyla: So put together, it means I still don’t know. Man hanooz nemeedoonam
Matt: Man hanooz nemeedoonam
Leyla: Next,
Shoma chee tarjee meedeen?
Leyla: Tarjee is the word for prefer. Tarjee dadan is the infinitive of the verb to prefer. So it’s ‘shoma chee tarjee meedeen’
Matt: Shoma chee tarjee meedeen
Leyla: Meaning what do you prefer. So she’s asking the waitress for her recommendation. Let’s listen to the next two sentences to hear the waitresses reply:
fesenjoonemoon aaliyeh.
Pass baramoon fesenjoon beeyareen.
Leyla: So the waitress says ‘fesenjoonemoon aaliyeh.’ Fesenjoon is a very delicious Persian stew made with pomegranate paste. So fesenjoonemoon adds a possessive ending on the fesenjoon, so our fesenjoon, meaning the restaurants fesenjoon. Fesenjoonemoon aaliyeh.
Matt: Fesenjoonemoon aaliyeh.
Leyla: So our fesenjoon is great. Fesenjoonemoon aaliyeh
Matt: Fesenjoonemoon aaliyeh
Leyla: So then the patron replies:
Pass baramoon fesenjoon beeyareen.
Leyla: The word baramoon is an important one. It means ‘for us’. Baramoon
Matt: Baramoon
Leyla: Let’s go over the conjugations of this word, because it is an important one that you will use over and over again. For me is ‘baram’
Matt: Baram
Leyla: For you informal is barat
Matt: Barat
Leyla: For him or her is barash
Matt: Barash
Leyla: For us is baramoon
Matt: Baramoon
Leyla: For you formal is baratoon
Matt: Baratoon
Leyla: And for them is barashoon
Matt: Barashoon
Leyla: So then, beeyareen is bring. Baramoon fesenjoon beeyareen
Matt: Baramoon fesenjoon beeyareen
Leyla: Bring us fesenjoon. So what if you were just one person and you wanted to say bring me fesenjoon? You would say baram fesenjoon bayareen
Matt: Baram fesenjoon beeyareen.
Leyla: Or what if you are ordering for your sister, and you want to say ‘bring her fesenjoon?’ You would say ‘barash fesenjoon beeyareen.
Matt: Barash fesenjoon beeyareen.
Leyla: Next two sentences of the conversation:
Beseeyar aali.
Een ham fesenjoon. Cheeze digari baratoon biaram?
Leyla: So first the waitress says ‘beseeyar aali.’ We covered this just a few minutes ago. Matt, do you remember what it means?
Matt: It’s means very well
Leyla: Exactly. So then supposedly the waitress leaves and then comes back and says:
Matt: Een ham fesenjoon.
Leyla: Een ham fesenjoon meaning something along the lines of and here’s fesenjoon. Een ham fesenjoon
Matt: Een ham fesenjoon.
Leyla: Finally, she says Cheeze digari baratoon
Matt: biaram?
Leyla: Digari means other. Digari
Matt: Digari.
Leyla: Sometimes you will hear it pronounced as deegeyee. Deegeyee
Matt: Deegeyee
Leyla: So cheese digari baratoon biaram? Should I bring you anything else. Cheeze deegari baratoon biaram
Matt: Cheeze deegari baratoon biaram
Leyla: Ok great- now the last two sentences of the conversation.
Na, khayli mamnoon, feylan hameen khoobeh. Noosheh jan.
Leyla: Ok, so ‘na, khayli mamnoon’ means no thank you
exactly. the word ‘feylan’ we’ve learned before- it means ‘for now’. feylan
Matt: feylan
Leyla: So feylan hameen khoobeh means for now, this is good. feylan hameen khoobeh
Matt: feylan hameen khoobeh
Leyla: so the whole thing together is ‘na, khayli mamnoon. feylan hameen khoobeh’. so no thanks- for now this is fine.
And in the end, the waiter says ‘noosheh jan’ which is basically like ‘bon appetit’. Noosheh jan
Matt: noosheh jan
Leyla: And that brings us to the end of lesson 37!
Matt: Thank you so much for listening!
Leyla: As always, our bonus materials and previous lessons can be found at www.chaiandconversation.com with chai spelled CHAI.
Matt: and for now- khodahafez from leyla and beh omeedeh deedar from matt
