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Lesson Transcript

Salām be hamegi! Man Anita hastam. Hi everybody! I’m Anita
Welcome to PersianPod101.com’s “Persian in 3 minutes.” The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Persian.
In the last lesson, we learned how to introduce ourselves in Persian. In this lesson, you’re going to learn how to use good manners as you thank people. Let’s get started!
There are several ways to thank someone. The formal way is
Kheili mamnoon.
[slowly] Kheili mamnoon.
Mamnoon means “thank you.” And Kheili means “a lot.” So Kheili mamnoon is like saying “Thank you very much.”
Kheili mamnoon.
Now for the informal version: You could remove Kheili and just say "Mamnoon," but let me tell you something surprising: in Persian, we usually say merci, which is the French word for "thank you."
[slowly] Merci.
We don’t have time to discuss the origins of why we say merci in Persian, but it's an informal and relaxed way to say "Thanks!"
How should you respond when someone says “thank you”? There are basically two different ways to say “you’re welcome!”
The first is:
Khāhesh mikonam.
[slowly] Khāhesh mikonam.
Khāhesh mikonam literally means “please.” That's what it means in regular usage, but when used in this way it is the equivalent of saying “you're welcome.”
The other way to say “you’re welcome” is the expression...
qābeli nadāre.
[slowly] qābeli nadāre.
Literally, this phrase means "This worth is nothing." or "It was nothing," but it has become a common and polite way to respond to someone thanking you.
So when someone says merci to you, you can simply reply with:
Khāhesh mikonam or qābeli nadāre.
Now it’s time for Anita's Advice.
If Merci seems too casual, don’t worry too much about it! In Persian, Merci can be used with just about anyone, anywhere, and at any time!
Do you know what Khodāhāfez means? In our next Persian in 3 minutes lesson you’ll learn this and other greetings in Persian!
Khodāfez!

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