Speak / Lesson 38
Dialogue in a Store While Buying Jewelry
This dialogue teaches you vocabulary to use in stores while buying things such as jewelry.
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Download lesson MP3GREETINGS:
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 and welcome to yet another episode of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation!
Matt: We’re so glad you’ve joined us!
Leyla: A couple of big announcements before we get on with the program. First, our website is being completely redesigned from head to toe, and will be launching soon
Matt: You can find that as always at www.chaiandconversation.com, with CHAI spelled CHAI
Leyla: And we are adding to our Chai and Conversation learning system with some new exciting additions. We’re launching a new podcast soon-‐ it will either be called one minute Persian or three minute Persian, and it will consist of short weekly conversations that will help keep your conversational Persian fresh and your vocabulary growing.
Matt: In addition, we’ve heard from a lot of you that you would like to learn some about Persian script. I know I definitely do-‐ we are adding a writing program to Chai and conversation soon as well.
Leyla: Stay tuned for more updates on that. If you’d like to be first to know about our website launch and new podcasts, please add us on facebook at www.facebook.com/learnpersian. There, you’ll be able to sign up for our mailing list, and get the latest news about what we’re up to.
Matt: If you don’t have facebook, send an email to Leylā@chaiandconversation.com, and let her know you’d like to be part of the mailing list!
Leyla: Or just send me an email saying hello. We love to hear from listeners, and would love to hear what you think of the program! Ok, apologies for the long intro, we’re just so excited about all the new changes coming up. And for now, Matt, are you ready to begin the program?
Matt: Ready!
Leyla: Great, then let’s begin to learn Persian with Chai and Conversation.
Leyla: As you know, we are well into the our dialogue series. We heard a lot of suggestions from you, our listeners, about what kinds of dialogues you would like to learn about. One popular suggestion was a dialogue in a store that involves a transaction. So without further ado, let’s listen to a conversation between a woman wanting to buy a piece of jewelry-‐ a common thing to buy in Iran, and a shopkeeper.
Mazerat meekhām. Een dast band chand-é?
Een dastband see sad dolareh.
See sad dolār? Benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh. Cheezeh deegé-yee nadareen?
Baleh. Een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Baleh. valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?
Albateh.
Aha, baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh.
Barayeh khodetoon meekhayn?
Na, barayeh dokhtaram. Hameen gardanband aaleeyeh. Befarmayeen, een ham deveest dolār naghd.
Albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
khāhesh meekonam. Befarmayeen.
Leyla: Ok, so as we do every time with these dialogues, we are going to listen to the conversation line by line together and figure out its meaning. First two lines:
Mazerat meekhām. Een dast band chandeh? Een dastband see sad dolareh.
Leyla: Ok, so first the woman said ‘mazerat meekham’. This is a common phrase to get someone’s attention, whether in a store or anywhere. It means ‘excuse me’, and can be used in the same way. For example, if you bump into someone, you could also say ‘mazerat meekhām.’ So let’s say it together-‐ mazerat meekhām
Matt: mazerat meekhām
Leyla: Next she asks ‘een dast band chandeh’. We’ve learned the word ‘chandeh’ in Unit 2. It means how much is it. Chandeh
Matt: Chandeh
Leyla: The word dast band means bracelet. Dast band
Matt: Dast band
Leyla: This is another example of two words together forming one concept. Do you remember what the word dast means Matt?
Matt: It means hand
Leyla: That’s right. And the word band means something like bind. So dast band, something that binds the hand. Dast band.
Matt: dast band
Leyla: So put together, een dast band chandeh?
Matt: Een dast band chandeh?
Leyla: Or, how much is this bracelet. So the seller replies:
Een dastband see sad dolareh.
Leyla: So do we remember the number see sad Matt?
Matt: It means three hundred.
Leyla: That’s right. So see sad dolareh, it is three hundred dollars. Een dastband see sad dolareh. So let’s listen to that again:
Mazerat meekhām. Een dast band chandeh? Een dastband see sad dolareh.
Leyla: Great. Now moving on to the next two sentences:
See sad dolār? Benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Leyla: The first sentence of this is easy-‐ see sad dolār? What does this mean Matt?
Matt: three hundred dollars?
Leyla: That’s right in question form. So she’s asking 300 dollars? See sad dolār?
Matt: See sad dolār?
Leyla: And then she says ‘benazar zeeyād meeyād.’ So this full phrase means something along the lines of, it seems to be too much’. The word benazar broken down means to the mind. Be nazar-‐ nazar means mind or opinion. Benazar
Matt: Benazar
Leyla: So to say in my opinion, you’d say benazaram
Matt: benazaram
Leyla: zeeyād of course means a lot or too much. Zeeyad
Matt: Zeeyad
Leyla: So benazar zeeyād meeyād
Matt: benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Leyla: And like I said benazaram means in my opinion, so she could have said benazaram zeeyād meeyād
Matt: benazaram zeeyād meeyād
Leyla: Meaning in my opinion, it seems too much. Instead she said ‘benazar zeeyād meeyad’ which has the same meaning but is a bit more general. So more like ‘it seems too much in one’s opinion’ as opposed to it seems too much in my opinion. One more time ‘benazar zeeyād meeyād
Matt: benazar zeeyād meeyād. So the seller replies:
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Leyla: talā is a VERY important word in Persian-‐ it means gold. Gold is very important in Iranian culture. Often, talā is given as a gift, because it’s seen as a gift that keeps on giving-‐ not only can it be used for decoration, practically, but it also rises in value. So talayeh 22 means 22 carat gold. Iranians very seldom buy anything less than 22 carat gold, and often have 24 carat. So he says ‘khob, talayeh 22-‐eh’ saying Well, it is 22 carat gold. Khob, talayeh 22eh
Matt: Khob, talayeh 22eh.
Leyla: He then goes on to say that
alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Leyla: To start, what does ‘alan’ mean?
Matt: It means now
Leyla: So alān, ghaymateh talā khaylee balaast. To know what this means, first we have to know the word ‘ghaymat’. It means ‘price’. ghaymat
Matt: ghaymat
Leyla: And balaa means high or up. So alān ghaymateh talā khaylee ballast-‐ right now the price of gold is high. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee ballast
Matt: alān ghaymateh talā khaylee balaast Let’s listen to it again:
See sad dolār? Benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Leyla: Ok, moving on to the next two sentences:
Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh.
Baleh, meefahmam. Khob, een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Leyla: Ok so now she says ‘Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh’
First, what does ‘dorosteh’ mean?
Matt: It means it’s right
Leyla: Exactly. Dorosteh Dorosteh and then ‘valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh.’ We learned the word geroon a long long time ago. Remember Matt?
Matt: Yes, it means expensive.
Leyla: yes, geroon
Matt: geroon
Leyla: And just as a refresher, the word ‘arzoon’ means inexpensive. Arzoon
Matt: Arzoon
Leyla: So valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh means ‘but for me, it’s very expensive.’ valee barayeh man
Matt: valee barayeh man
Leyla: meaning but for me. khaylee gerooneh
Matt: khaylee gerooneh
Leyla: It’s very expensive. So all together, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh
Matt: valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh.
Leyla: Then the shopkeeper says
“Baleh, meefahmam. Khob, een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.”
Leyla: So first, ‘baleh meefahmam’. Meefahmam means I understand. Meefahmam
Matt: Meefahmam
Leyla: The next sentence is:
Khob, een gardanband deeveest dolareh.
Leyla: So the word dastband means bracelet-‐ gardanband has the same ‘band’ word in it, but gardan means neck. So what do you supposed gardanband means Matt?
Matt: necklace?
Leyla: That’s right. So een gardanband deeveest dolareh-‐ what does this mean Matt?
Matt: It means this necklace is 200 dollars
Leyla: That’s right! So ‘een gardanband deeveest dolareh’ Een gardanband deeveest dolareh
Leyla: Then he says
‘Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.”
Leyla: Most of the words in there are familiar-‐ what does zeeba mean Matt, we learned it in our Valentines episode
Matt: It means beautiful
Leyla: that’s right. een ham khaylee zeeb-āst, means
Matt: This is also very beautiful
Leyla: That’s right. Een ham khaylee zeeb-āst een ham khaylee zeeb-āst
Leyla: That leaves the word ‘meebeeneen’. This means ‘you see’. Meebeeneen
Matt: Meebeeneen
Leyla: So meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst meebeeneen, een Matt: ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Leyla: So you see, this is also very beautiful. Meebeeneen een ham khaylee zeeb-āst
Matt: mebeeneeneen een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Leyla: So let’s listen to those two sentences again:
Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh.
Baleh, meefahmam. Khob, een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Leyla: Let’s take a quick break here and go over all the new words we’ve learned, and then we’ll go back and listen to the first half of the conversation.
Mazerat meekhām. Dast band
Gardan band Ghaymat Meebeeneen
Leyla: So as you can see, all of these sentences were constructed of words we already knew! So let’s listen to the first half of the conversation again and see if we can understand everything.
Mazerat meekhām. Een dast band chand-é?
Een dastband see sad dolareh.
See sad dolār? Benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh. Cheezeh deegé-yee nadareen?
Baleh. Een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Leyla: Great, now let’s listen to the next two lines.
Baleh. valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?
Albateh.
Leyla: So the shopkeeper had shown a nice two hundered dollar necklace, and was telling the customer how beautiful it is. And she replies:
Baleh. valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?
Leyla: And you should know exactly what this means Matt.
Matt: It means yes, but is this also twenty two carat gold
Leyla: That’s right. Let’s repeat it ‘baleh, valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?’
Matt: Baleh, valee een ham talayeh 22 hast? Baleh, valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?
Leyla: And he replies ‘albateh’ which we’ve learned before means ‘certainly’. Albateh
Matt: Albateh
Leyla: Next two sentences:
Aha, baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh. Barayeh khodetoon meekhayn?
Leyla: So first sentence extremely easy. Aha, baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh. The sounds aha is used a lot, it means something like ‘Uh-‐huh’. What does the rest of the sentence mean Matt?
Matt: It means Yes, this necklace is very pretty.
Leyla: Yes, ghashang means beautiful or pretty. Ghashang
Matt: Ghashang
Leyla: It’s a little difficult to say. Baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh.
Matt: Baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh.
Leyla: So then the shopkeeper asks ‘barayeh khodetoon meekhayn?’ We haven’t learned the word khodetoon before. Khod means ‘self’ So khodetoon is the word for yourself, formal. Khodetoon
Matt: khodetoon
Leyla: Let’s learn a few other iterations of self. Khodam is myself. khodam
Matt: Khodam
Leyla: Yourself informal is khodet
Matt: khodet
Leyla: him or herself informal is khodesh
Matt: khodesh
Leyla: Ourselves is khodemoon
Matt: khodemoon
Leyla: yourself formal, which we just heard, is khodetoon
Matt: khodetoon
Leyla: and theirself, which we don’t have in English, but could also mean himself or herself in a formal sense is khodeshoon.
Matt: khodeshoon
Leyla: So hopefully you noticed that in this case, the third person also had a formal and informal form. If you’re talking about someone with whom you have an informal relationship, you say khodesh
Matt: khodesh
Leyla: While if you’re talking about someone with whom you have a formal relationship, you say khodeshoon
Matt: khodeshoon
Leyla: This can also be used to refer to several people. Ok, so the original question was Barayeh khodetoon meekhayn? So this means ‘do you want it for yourself?’ Barayeh is the word for for and meekhayn is you want. So barayeh khodetoon meekhayn
Barayeh khodetoon meekhayn Ok, next two sentences:
Na, barayeh dokhtaram. Hameen gardanband aaleeyeh. Befarmayeen, een ham deveest dolār naghd.
Albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
Leyla: So the first thing she replies is “Na, barayeh dokhtaram.” This means ‘no, for my daughter.’ Na barayeh dokhtaram.
Matt: Na barayeh dokhtaram.
Next sentence:
Hameen gardanband aaleeyeh.
Leyla: The word hameen is a bit difficult to translate, it means ‘this’, but more like a particular ‘this’. Hameen gardanband aleeyeh, this particular necklace is great.
Hameen gardanband aleeyeh Hameen gardanband aaleeyeh
Leyla: Then she says ‘befarmāyeen, een ham deeveest dolār naghd.’ We’ve learned befarmāyeen before-‐ in the contexts we’ve learned it in before, it means something along the lines of go ahead. In this case, it means ‘here you go’. Befarmayeen
Matt: befarmāyeen
Leyla: Een ham deeveest dolār naghd. The word naghd means cash. Naghd
Matt: naghd
Leyla: So een ham deeveest dolār naghd means and this is 200 dollars cash. een ham deeveest dolār naghd
Matt: een ham deeveest nolar naghd
Leyla: And now the last two sentences: Albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
khāhesh meekonam. Befarmayeen.
Leyla: So this first sentence represents one of the most important concepts in Iranian culture, tārof. If you’ve been listening to this podcast, you’ll have heard me talk about tārof many times. We’ve even made a video of it-‐ it’s on youtube if you have a chance to check it out. So let’s listen to the first sentence:
Albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
Leyla: So in Iran, and in many Persian stores in the US, shopkeepers are obliged to say this. So tārof is the code of etiquette in Iranian culture and can sometimes be a bit extreme. In this case, ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh is a phrase that means ‘it is not worthy of you’. So, what the shopkeeper is trying to say with this phrase is that you as a person are much more worthy than having to give money for an object. So he is saying you are worth more than the money, if that makes sense. In this way, he’s trying to be respectful of the shopper, to say that this isn’t just a financial transaction. Bascially, he is refusing to accept your money. Now, it is never ever the case that he doesn’t actually want your money, so you have to keep insisting that he takes it. It’s a very different system than in the US, so you just have to get used to it. So again, this phrase is ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
Matt: Ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh
Leyla: And the word albateh we’ve learned before means ‘of course’ Albateh
Matt: Albateh
Leyla: albateh, ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh Great, so then she says
khāhesh meekonam. Befarmayeen.
Leyla: So khāhesh meekonam we’ve learned before to mean you’re welcome. In this context, it means more like ‘no problem’ or ‘please’. khāhesh meekonam
Matt: khāhesh meekonam
Leyla: Literally it means ‘I ask of you’, and has many contexts in which it’s used. So khāhesh meekonam
Matt: khāhesh meekonam
Leyla: And finally, the word befarmāyeen, which we’ve learned so many times, and in this context means ‘please go ahead’. khāhesh meekonam
Matt: khāhesh meekonam
Leyla: Ok, great. Let’s go over our latest tārof phrase one more time ‘ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh’
Matt: ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh
Leyla: And now let’s listen to the entire conversation one more time:
Mazerat meekhām. Een dast band chand-é?
Een dastband see sad dolareh.
See sad dolār? Benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh. Cheezeh deegé-yee nadareen?
Baleh. Een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Baleh. valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?
Albateh.
Aha, baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh.
Barayeh khodetoon meekhayn?
Na, barayeh dokhtaram. Hameen gardanband aaleeyeh. Befarmayeen, een ham deveest dolār naghd.
Albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
khāhesh meekonam. Befarmayeen.
Mazerat meekhām. Een dast band chand-é?
Een dastband see sad dolareh.
See sad dolār? Benazar zeeyād meeyād.
Khob, talayeh 22-‐eh. alān ghaymateh talā khaylee bālā-st.
Dorosteh, valee barayeh man khaylee gerooneh. Cheezeh deegé-yee nadareen?
Baleh. Een gardanband deeveest dolareh. Meebeeneen, een ham khaylee zeeb-āst.
Baleh. valee een ham talayeh 22 hast?
Albateh.
Aha, baleh, een gardanband khaylee ghashangeh.
Barayeh khodetoon meekhayn?
Na, barayeh dokhtaram. Hameen gardanband aaleeyeh. Befarmayeen, een ham deveest dolār naghd.
Albateh ghabeleh shomā ro nadareh.
Leyla: And that brings us to the end of lesson 38!
Leyla: Thank you so much for joining us for yet another episode of Chai and Conversation!
Matt: Only two more dialogues left to go.
Leyla: As always, listen to the previous episodes on our website at www.chaiandconversation.com
Matt: And be sure to check out bonus materials for this lesson, which include all the dialogues such that you can listen to them line by line.
Leyla: Well… khodāhāfez for now, from Leylā and ta dafeyeh baad, Matt: from Matt!