Making Requests

Softening Your Persian: How to Make Requests

In this chapter you learn how to ask people to do things for you in simple, polite Persian. You already know basic present tense and some common verbs, so here we will focus on the typical patterns for requests and the most useful phrases.

Remember that detailed grammar of the present tense is covered in other chapters. Here we only use it to build natural-sounding requests.

Using "please": لطفاً (lotfan)

The easiest way to make something sound like a request and not an order is to add لطفاً "please".

You can put لطفاً at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Both are correct and common.

Examples:

1. لطفاً آهسته‌تر صحبت کنید.
   "Please speak more slowly."
2. دوباره بگویید، لطفاً.
   "Say it again, please."
3. لطفاً در را ببندید.
   "Please close the door."
4. یک لحظه صبر کنید، لطفاً.
   "Wait a moment, please."

In spoken informal Persian, people often drop لطفاً in friendly situations, but for now you should use it often to sound polite.

Using "can you": می‌تونی / می‌تونید … ؟

A very common and friendly way to ask for something is to say "Can you …?" in Persian.

In informal speech:

می‌تونی … ؟
mi tuni … ?
"Can you … ?"

In polite or plural form:

می‌تونید … ؟
mi tunid … ?
"Can you (formal / you all) … ?"

You put the verb in the present stem after this, usually at the end of the sentence.

Examples, informal:

1. می‌تونی کمکم کنی؟
   "Can you help me?"
2. می‌تونی یه کم آهسته‌تر حرف بزنی؟
   "Can you speak a bit more slowly?"
3. می‌تونی اینو ترجمه کنی؟
   "Can you translate this?"

Polite / formal:

1. می‌تونید این فرم رو پُر کنید، لطفاً؟
   "Can you fill out this form, please?"
2. می‌تونید آدرس رو دوباره بگید؟
   "Can you say the address again?"
3. می‌تونید در رو باز کنید، لطفاً؟
   "Can you open the door, please?"

You can add لطفاً at the beginning or end to sound even more polite:

لطفاً می‌تونید یه بار دیگه تکرار کنید؟
"Could you please repeat one more time?"

Using "would you mind": ممکنه … ؟

Another very polite way to ask for something is to start with:

ممکنه … ؟
momkene … ?
"Is it possible … ?" or "Would you mind … ?"

This sounds softer and more careful. It is common with strangers and in formal situations.

Structure:

ممکنه + جملهٔ فعلی در زمان حال
"momkene" + a sentence with present tense verb

Examples:

1. ممکنه پنجره رو باز کنید؟
   "Would you mind opening the window?"
2. ممکنه یه کم بلندتر صحبت کنید؟
   "Would you mind speaking a bit louder?"
3. ممکنه آدرستون رو بنویسید، لطفاً؟
   "Would you mind writing your address, please?"
4. ممکنه کمکم کنید؟
   "Would you mind helping me?"

You can combine ممکنه with لطفاً:

ممکنه، لطفاً، اینو دوباره بگید؟
"Would you, please, say this again?"

Using "please give me": لطفاً … بدین / بده

For many everyday requests, especially with things, you say "Give me …, please."

The basic structure is:

[object] + رو + لطفاً + بدین / بده

بدین (bedin) is the polite / plural form: "give (you, formal)".
بده (bede) is informal singular: "give (you, informal)".

Examples, informal:

1. آب رو بده، لطفاً.
   "Give me the water, please."
2. اون کتاب رو بده من.
   "Give me that book."
3. یه خودکار بهم بده، لطفاً.
   "Give me a pen, please."

Polite:

1. لطفاً منوچیت بدین.
   Note: Correct example: لطفاً منوچیت بدین is not meaningful. Use:
   لطفاً منوچیت رو بدین. (as a name of a snack)
   "Please give me the 'Monochit' (snack)."

Better simple examples:

2. لطفاً منو منو بدین.
   This is confusing. Instead use:

لطفاً منو بدین. = "Please give me the menu."

Let's give clear, simple polite examples:

1. منو رو لطفاً بدین.
   "Please give me the menu."
2. لطفاً قبض رو بدین.
   "Please give me the bill, please."
3. یه لیوان آب، لطفاً بدین.
   "Please give me a glass of water."
4. لطفاً پاسپورتم رو بدین.
   "Please give me my passport."

In speech people often move لطفاً:

یه لیوان آب بدین، لطفاً.
"Give me a glass of water, please."

"I want" vs "I would like": می‌خوام / می‌خواستم

Saying "I want" can sound direct in many situations. In Persian that is:

می‌خوام …
mi kham …
"I want …"

For a softer, more polite version in many daily situations, Persian uses a past form:

می‌خواستم …
mi khastam …
Literally "I wanted ..." but used like "I would like …"

Examples, direct:

1. من آب می‌خوام.
   "I want water."
2. یه قهوه می‌خوام.
   "I want a coffee."

Politer:

1. من یه قهوه می‌خواستم.
   "I would like a coffee."
2. من یه اتاق یک‌نفره می‌خواستم.
   "I would like a single room."
3. من بلیط تهران می‌خواستم.
   "I would like a ticket to Tehran."

You can combine with لطفاً:

من یه چای، لطفاً، می‌خواستم.
"I would like a tea, please."

"Could you tell me / show me": می‌تونید … رو بگید / نشون بدید؟

Very useful request patterns for information are:

می‌تونید … رو بگید؟
"Can you tell (me) … ?"

می‌تونید … رو نشون بدید؟
"Can you show (me) … ?"

Examples:

1. می‌تونید قیمت رو بگید، لطفاً؟
   "Could you tell me the price, please?"
2. می‌تونید ساعت رو بگید؟
   "Could you tell me the time?"
3. می‌تونید راهِ مترو رو نشون بدید؟
   "Could you show me the way to the metro?"
4. می‌تونید روی نقشه نشون بدید؟
   "Could you show (it) on the map?"

You can replace می‌تونید with ممکنه to be extra polite:

1. ممکنه قیمت رو بگید؟
   "Would you mind telling me the price?"
2. ممکنه راهِ بیمارستان رو نشون بدید؟
   "Would you mind showing me the way to the hospital?"

Very short everyday requests

Some very short Persian phrases are used all the time as requests. On their own they already sound like friendly requests.

ببخشید
bebakhshid
"Excuse me / I am sorry."
Used to get attention or before you ask something.

Examples:

1. ببخشید، ساعت چنده؟
   "Excuse me, what time is it?"
2. ببخشید، شما فارسی صحبت می‌کنید؟
   "Excuse me, do you speak Persian?"
3. ببخشید، می‌تونید کمک کنید؟
   "Excuse me, can you help?"

Another useful word:

ممکنه؟
momkene?
Literally "Is it possible?"
You can say this alone after your gesture or explanation, but for beginners it is better to use full sentences like we practiced.

Also very common are:

یک لحظه
yek lahze
"One moment" but as a request: "Could you wait / stop a moment?"

For example:

یه لحظه صبر کنید، لطفاً.
"Wait a moment, please."

Saying yes or no to requests

When someone asks you for something, you can answer simply.

To accept:

بله
bale
"Yes."

حتماً
hātman
"Of course / certainly."

چشم
chashm
Literally "eye". Means "sure", "I will do it." Very common and polite.

Examples:

1. می‌تونید در رو باز کنید؟
   بله، حتماً.
   "Can you open the door?"
   "Yes, of course."
2. لطفاً آرومتر صحبت کنید.
   چشم.
   "Please speak more quietly."
   "Sure."

To refuse politely:

مجلسی:

متأسفم، نمی‌تونم.
"Sorry, I cannot."

ببخشید، الان نمی‌شه.
"Sorry, it is not possible now."

Use ببخشید at the beginning to sound softer:

ببخشید، نمی‌تونم.
"Sorry, I cannot."

Short practice examples

Here are some typical request sentences that you will meet in everyday life. Read them and try to feel the patterns.

1. ببخشید، می‌تونید یه عکس از ما بگیرید؟
   "Excuse me, can you take a photo of us?"
2. لطفاً می‌تونید در رو ببندید؟
   "Could you please close the door?"
3. ممکنه یکم آرومتر حرف بزنید؟
   "Would you mind speaking a bit more quietly?"
4. من یه بلیط مشهد می‌خواستم، لطفاً.
   "I would like a ticket to Mashhad, please."
5. یه لیوان آب، لطفاً.
   "A glass of water, please."
6. می‌تونید آدرسو روی کاغذ بنویسید؟
   "Can you write the address on paper?"
7. لطفاً منتظر بمونید.
   "Please wait."
8. می‌تونید این کلمه رو برام تلفظ کنید؟
   "Can you pronounce this word for me?"
9. ممکنه پنجره رو ببندید؟
   "Would you mind closing the window?"
10. ببخشید، می‌تونید دوباره بگید؟
    "Excuse me, can you say it again?"

Try to identify: where is لطفاً, where is می‌تونید, where is ممکنه, and how the verb appears at the end.

Vocabulary list for this section