Learn how to answer the question, "Smoking or non-Smoking?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| In the last lesson, we learned how to make a reservation in a restaurant. Now that you know how to get a table, you have another big issue to tackle. If you want to enjoy your meal, the smoking issue is very important. If you are a smoker in a non-smoking establishment or a non-smoker in a smoking establishment, this could ruin your meal. |
| In this lesson, we'll cover how to ask for a smoking or non-smoking table. |
| BODY |
| Let’s imagine first that you are a smoker. Before entering a restaurant, you need to ask, “Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?”: |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan azadeh? |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) be – bakh – shid, in - ja si – gar ke – shi – dan a – za - deh? |
| Once more: |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan azadeh? |
| Bebakhshid, as we have seen, means “Excuse me.” |
| (slow) Be – bakh - shid |
| Bebakhshid |
| We follow this with inja, which means “here.” |
| (slow) in - ja |
| inja |
| And then sigar, which means “cigarette”, followed by keshidan, which means “smoking”. |
| (slow) si – gar ke – shi - dan |
| Sigar keshidan |
| Next we have azadeh. This word usually means “free,” but here it means “is allowed?” |
| (slow) a – za – deh? |
| Azadeh? |
| Here’s the whole sentence: |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan azadeh? |
| (slow) be – bakh – shid, in - ja si – gar ke – shi – dan a – za - deh? |
| ・ |
| The answer to this question is very simple: baleh, azadeh which means “Yes, it is allowed”, or na, azad nist which means “No, it is not allowed”. |
| Let’s break those down: |
| (slow) ba – leh a – za - deh. |
| (slow) na a – zad – nist. |
| If the answer is “You are not allowed to smoke here,” the expression “I’m sorry” often comes before the negative answer: |
| Bebakhshid, mamnooeh. |
| ・ |
| Another way of asking is |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan mamnooeh? |
| This literally means “Excuse me, is smoking prohibited here?” You might want to ask it while pointing at specific tables or areas of the restaurant. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) be – bakh – shid, in - ja si – gar ke – shi – dan mam – noo - eh? |
| Once more at natural speed: |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan mamnooeh? |
| Inja, you’ll remember, means “here.” |
| Sigar keshidan literally means “to smoke a cigarette.” |
| (slow) si – gar ke – shi - dan |
| Sigar keshidan |
| Mamnooeh means “forbidden.” |
| (slow) mam – noo - eh |
| mamnooeh |
| The whole question is: |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan mamnooeh? |
| (slow) Be – bakh – shid, in - ja si – gar ke – shi – dan mam – noo - eh? |
| Once more: |
| Bebakhshid, inja sigar keshidan mamnooeh? |
| ・ |
| On some signs you will see the phrase Sigar keshidan mamnoo .This means “Smoking cigarettes is prohibited,” and you’ll see it beside the familiar image of a cigarette inside a red cancel sign. |
| ・ |
| Now let’s go over the possible answers to that question, “Is smoking prohibited in here?” If it’s a positive answer, you might hear |
| Baleh mamnooeh. |
| All we did was add the Persian word for “yes,” baleh, in front of the sentence. Because the question has a negative meaning—we’re asking whether smoking is prohibited—a “yes” answer will mean “Yes, it is prohibited”: |
| Baleh, mamnooeh. |
| If what you’re pointing at is a smoking table, you’ll hear |
| Na, inja mamnoo nist. |
| Let’s break that down: |
| (slow) na in - ja mam – noo nist. |
| The first word, na, means “no.” |
| (slow) na |
| na |
| The second word, inja, still means “here.” |
| (slow) in - ja |
| inja |
| The third word, mamnoo, means “forbidden.” |
| (slow) mam - noo |
| mamnoo |
| The fourth word, nist, means “is not.” |
| (slow) nist |
| nist |
| All together, it’s |
| (slow) na in - ja mam – noo nist. |
| Na, inja mamnoo nist. |
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