Talking with a Neighbor

Leyla: salām bé hamegee. Hello and welcome to lesson 68 of Learn Persian with Chai and Conversation. emrooz bā Vijay hastam. salām Vijay jān. 

Vijay: salām Leyla jān, hāletoon chetor-é? khaylee mamnoon, khoob hastam. shomā chetor-een? 

Leyla: khaylee khoob-am, mamnoon. And a funny thing about Vijay is that his last name is actually John. So it's confusing, but it can mean both a dear or just his last name. You're just calling him by his full name every time you talk to him. How did that happen, Vijay? 

Vijay: Oh, it's just because of our naming customs in the part of India that we're from. And, you know, because my family's Christian, so, yeah, we have, like, a patronymic system.

Leyla: Oh, gotcha, okay, so like John from the Bible? 

Vijay: Yeah, exactly. All of our traditional names are just like biblical names.

Leyla: Wow! Interesting, okay, well, you learn something new. But it works very well for our program, too. So as always, we're going to listen to the full dialogue in this. And this is actually from lesson one of Persian Conversation. But Vijay chose to put it a little bit later in the program. So we're going to ask him about that after we listen to it. 

mard: salām 

hamsãyé: salām, āghā keyvān, owzā' chetor-é? 

mard: bad neestam. yé modat naboodam haméyé gol-hā pazhmordé shodan 

hamsãyé: khob meegofteen man beheshoon āb meedādam deegé yādam raft. khānom baché-hā khoob-an? 

mard: sālām meeresoonan. man mozāhemetoon nemeesham. fe'lan bā ejāzatoon! 

hamsãyé: khāhesh meekonam. ghorbāné shomā 

Leyla: Okay. So first, tell us a little bit about this conversation and why you chose to put it here in the lessons. 

Vijay: Yeah, absolutely. This dialogue is about, is a dialogue between two neighbors, and they do use a few greeting-related phrases like salām, but they also use a phrase for how are you that we haven't seen before, and they use a number of tārof-related expressions. So we're getting a little bit back into tārof again, kind of a warm-up for our last two lessons in this series, where, you know, they use a lot more tārof and they're also talking a little bit about gardening. So there's a lot of things going on in this dialogue, even though it was the very first dialogue. So I decided to kind of put it until later so that, you know, you wouldn't all be just completely overwhelmed with a lot of new vocabulary right off the bat. I would, kind of, saving it for later. 

Leyla: Okay, perfect. And so one vocabulary word that doesn't come up in the actual dialogue, but I think is really, really important to learn is the word for neighbor. And that is the word hamsāyé

Vijay: hamsāyé 

Leyla: And I really think that this is one of the most beautiful words in the Persian language. And we've covered the word ham before. It means same or equal. And we said that when you connect it with other things, it means different things. For example, it could be mate. So in the last lesson we had hamkelās 

Vijay: hamkelās 

Leyla: Which meant classmate. We can have ham otaghee, for example. And that means roommate. So ham otaghee 

Vijay: ham otaghee 

Leyla: Or like a hamkār. Workmate. 

Vijay: hamkār

Leyla: Or that's kind of like office mate. So a lot of that. But in this case, instead of using such a literal word, you have the word sāyé, which means shade. So the person who shares a shade with you, that is your neighbor. hamsāyé 

Vijay: hamsāyé 

Leyla: And that's just such a beautiful concept. And I think that we see that in this dialogue as well of this person who is sharing the same shade with you, on the same planet with you, and a beautiful testament to what a neighbor could be. So, again, that word is hamsāyé 

Vijay: hamsāyé 

Leyla: And with that, let's listen to the beginning of this dialogue.

mard: salām 

Leyla: Okay. So again, as always, we begin with hello, salām. 

salām 

Leyla: And you've noticed, there are different words for salām in the Persian language. There's also the word dorood. 

Vijay: dorood

Leyla: And that is a really beautiful word because it's an ancient Persian word. salām is a loan word from Arabic. And so a lot of people push to use the word dorood now, but I will say that it's not very commonplace. It sounds a lot more formal. So I encourage people to use, you know, as many different words for hello as you can. You can't say hello enough so both words are very valid. But salām is a lot more common in conversational Persian. So salām

Vijay: salām 

Leyla: And we see that in all of these dialogues, they start with salām.

hamsayé: salām, āghā keyvān, owzā' chetor-é? 

Leyla: Okay, he goes salām, āghā keyvān, āghā mean sir keyvān, so he's being playful here. He's being formal, but also playful because he's using the first, his first name keyvān. But he's calling him Mr. Keyvan. Mr. Keyvan. āghā keyvān.

Vijay: āghā keyvān 

Leyla: So this is kind of playful, but also showing respect. So salām, āghā keyvān 

salām, āghā keyvān 

Leyla: So I often use this with my kids too, like I'll say āghā Caspian, Mr. Caspian, you know, it's just a sweet way to refer to someone. And then he says owzā' chetor-é? 

Vijay: owzā' chetor-é? 

Leyla: And I think you're right. I don't think that we've ever covered this in Chai and Conversation before, but it is a very common way of asking how are things? owzā' means events or things that are happening. So how are things going? How are things? owzā' chetor-é? 

Vijay: owzā' chetor-é? 

Leyla: Great. And that's a very common way of saying how are things? So what's going on? How are things? owzā' chetor-é? 

Vijay: owzā' chetor-é? 

Leyla: Great. And then he answers. 

mard: bad neestam. yé modat naboodam haméyé gol-hā pazhmordé shodan. 

Leyla: Okay. So first he answers bad neestam bad neestam. But then he goes. So I'm not bad. bad neestam

Vijay: bad neestam 

Leyla: And he could, you know, he answers I'm not bad, but when he asks owzā' chetor-é? he could say owzā' bad neest. You could say things are not bad. That would have been a different way to answer. owzā' bad neest 

Vijay: owzā' bad neest 

Leyla: But he said bad neestam. I'm not bad because really he's not asking how are things? He's asking how are you? So bad neestam 

Vijay: bad neestam 

Leyla: And he goes yé modat naboodam. modat means a time, a measure of time. So yé modat, for a bit. yé modat 

Vijay: yé modat 

Leyla: A bit of time, naboodam, I wasn't here. naboodam.

Vijay: naboodam 

Leyla: Although it literally means I wasn't, but he just means I wasn't here, so he wasn't dead or something, but. yé modat naboodam 

Vijay: yé modat naboodam 

Leyla: And then he goes haméyé gol-hā pazhmordé shodan. So haméyé gol-hā. So gol is the word for flower. gol-hā means flowers. 

Vijay: gol-hā

Leyla: And then haméyé gol-hā. hamé means all. But then haméyé, when we add that ezãfé, it means all of the flowers. haméyé gol-hā 

Vijay: haméyé gol-hā 

Leyla: And then this wonderful word pazhmordé shodan. So pazhmordé means to become- 

Vijay: Wilted. 

Leyla: Wilted. But mordé means to die. So pazhmordé means like dead-like, like coming to, like dying. So pazhmordé shodan 

Vijay: pazhmordé shodan 

Leyla: But when we use it with plants, it means that they have become wilted. So they've like fallen over, they've become frail. They've become weak. So pazhmordé shodan 

Vijay: pazhmordé shodan 

Leyla: And you can use it for people too, you could say pazhmordé shodan meaning I have lost all my energy. I've become frail, I've become weak. So gol-hā pazhmordé shodan 

Vijay: gol-hā pazhmordé shodan

Leyla: So keyvān wasn't there for a while, and, since he wasn't there, all of the flowers became wilted. Okay, whose fault is that? Let's see. 

hamsāyé: khob meegofteen man beheshoon āb meedādam

Leyla: Yeah. So then the neighbor goes khob meegofteen man beheshoon āb meedādam. So khob means well, khob 

Vijay: khob

Leyla: And then meegofteen, you would have told. You would have said, meegofteen.

Vijay: meegofteen

Leyla: And that's formal. So āghā keyvān, even though he uses his first name, he's speaking to him in a formal way. meegofteen man 

Vijay: man 

Leyla: me, beheshoon, to them beheshoon 

Vijay: beheshoon 

Leyla: āb meedādam 

Vijay: āb meedādam

Leyla: āb is the word for water. meedādam means I would have given. So man beheshoon āb meedādam. I would have given them water. khob meegofteen 

Vijay: khob meegofteen 

Leyla: Well, you should have said. man beheshoon āb meedādam 

Vijay: man beheshoon āb meedādam 

Leyla: I to them water would give. And then he goes

mard: deegé yādam raft. khānom baché-hā khoob-an? 

Leyla: Okay. And then Keyvan, now having been accused, you know, it's his fault that his flowers have wilted because he didn't tell his neighbor. And then he goes, deegé yādam raft. Okay, first let's cover the easy part, which is yādam raft. yādam, from my memory, left. It means I forgot. yādam raft. 

Vijay: yādam raft 

Leyla: So from my memory, it went, I forgot. yādam raft 

Vijay: yādam raft 

Leyla: But then deegé is the untranslatable word. Okay, so you just have to learn this word in context. It could mean anyways, or for now, or to go with, or there's. So many different translations of it. And then in this case, deegé yādam raft, anyways, I forgot. It happened, I forgot, it just, this is the case. I forgot. If that kind of explains to you. 

Vijay: Yeah, I just translated it as oops. 

Leyla: Yes, that would be fine. But it's also used like, for example, you can say deegé nemee-āyee. You won't come. It's so hard to translate. There's just not a word for it. But it means, it's a continuation word like continuing here, it means anyways. Anyways, deegé yādam raft. Anyways, I forgot. 

Vijay: deegé yādam raft.

Leyla: Yeah! Let's repeat it one more time. deegé yādam raft 

Vijay: deegé yādam raft 

Leyla: And then, because he was called out, he wants to change the subject. He goes, khānom baché-hā khoob-an? khānom means the lady. So the lady of the house, baché-hā, the children. khoob-an, are they good? So khānom 

Vijay: khānom 

Leyla: baché-hā 

Vijay: baché-hā 

Leyla: khoob-an? 

Vijay: khoob-an? 

Leyla: The wife and kids are good? khānom baché-hā khoob-an? 

Vijay: khānom baché-hā khoob-an? 

Leyla: And then he answers. 

hamsāyé: sālām meeresoonan. man mozāhemetoon nemeesham. fe'lan bā ejāzatoon! 

Leyla: Okay, so this is a lot of tārof here. First, he goes salām meeresoonan, which means they say their hellos. So if you ask about someone. He's asking, are the wife and kids good? I'm sure the kids are not like, how's the neighbor doing? But this is a form of tārof. You say oh, they've been thinking about you. They say their hello. sālām meeresoonan 

Vijay: sālām meeresoonan 

Leyla: And then he goes man mozāhemetoon nemeesham. This is another big, big tārof phrase. It just means you got to go. So you say I won't trouble you any more. mozāhem means to be in your way. I won't be in your way anymore, man mozāhemetoon nemeesham. I will not become a bother to you anymore. man mozāhemetoon nemeesham 

Vijay: man mozāhemetoon nemeesham 

Leyla: And then he goes fe'lan bā ejāzatoon! Which is another tārof phrase. ejāzé means permission, so fe'lan, for now, like goodbye for now. And then bā ejāzatoon, with your permission. So I'm not going to trouble you any further. With your permission, I'm going. fe'lan 

Vijay: fe'lan 

Leyla: bā ejāzatoon 

Vijay: bā ejāzatoon 

Leyla: And then he answers.

Vijay: khāhesh meekonam. ghorbāné shomā 

Leyla: Which is two other big tārof phrases. khāhesh meekonam means you're welcome. Please, like, no, you're no problem. Don't worry about it. khāhesh meekonam 

Vijay: khāhesh meekonam

Leyla: So often we translate this as just please. So please, khāhesh meekonam.

Vijay: khāhesh meekonam 

Leyla: And then ghorbāné shomā 

Vijay: ghorbāné shomā 

Leyla: Which, Vijay, I'll leave you the honor of translating this one. 

Vijay: Yeah. So literally it means, you know, your victim or like, you know, the victim of your sacrifice. Like I sacrificed myself to you, which is another, you know, classic tārof exaggerated way of just saying thank you basically. 

Leyla: I would sacrifice my way for you, which is a very normal way to say goodbye. 

Vijay: Yes, goodbye as well. 

Leyla: So these are two words that we often use for goodbye. Like fe'lan is one, for now, fe'lan bāejāzat… bā ejāzatoon like for now goodbye. And then ghorbāné shomā, another form of saying goodbye. Yes, I will sacrifice myself for you. I am your sacrifice. I am your slave. I am yours, whatever, so which is just a form of tārof to show that you respect the other person. All right. Okay. Well, any other observations before we listen to the whole thing again? 

Vijay: No, I think that's about it. I think, you know, pazhmordé, I think you could also think of it a little bit as maybe sort of like withered. So, you know, like, that's kind of getting into, you know, the connection with mordan like you're withering away or the plants are withering away. But yeah, in terms of plants in English, usually we just say wilted, but yeah. 

Leyla: Or like faded is a good word too, faded. Just becoming so like, getting closer to death, fading away. 

Vijay: Absolutely. Absolutely. 

Leyla: Your life force is fading away. All right. And with that, let's listen to the conversation again. And hopefully this time around, listen to the words, and hopefully you'll understand more of it. 

mard: salām 

hamsãyé: salām, āghā keyvān, owzā' chetor-é? 

mard: bad neestam. yé modat naboodam haméyé gol-hā pazhmordé shodan 

hamsãyé: khob meegofteen man beheshoon āb meedādam deegé yādam raft. khānom baché-hā khoob-an? 

mard: sālām meeresoonan. man mozāhemetoon nemeesham. fe'lan bā ejāzatoon! 

hamsãyé: khāhesh meekonam. ghorbāné shomā 

Leyla: All right. And that is the hamsāyés talking and exchanging pleasantries together. So with that, thank you so much Vijay jān for being with us. As always, you can go on to our website, see all of the lesson resources for this. Listen to it word by word, line by line until you can get this vocabulary down, it's really important vocabulary to have when we are having conversations with our friends, neighbors, doostān vā hamsāyégān. And that is it for this time. Until next time khodāhāfez from Leyla.

Vijay: And bé omeedé deedār from Vijay.