Learn how to ask for the bill at a restaurant
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| In the last lesson, we learned how to get a waiter’s attention and order food and drinks at a restaurant. Once you have the beverages and entrées you ordered, you can enjoy the mouthwatering meal. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Normally, when the waiter sees that you have finished, he or she will come to your table and kindly ask, “Would you like anything else?” In Persian this is |
| Chize digeii meil darid? |
| Let’s break that down: |
| (slow) Chi – ze di – ge – ii meil da - rid? |
| Once again: |
| Chize digeii meil darid? |
| Here digeii means “else” and Chize means “something,” So chize digeii altogether means “anything else.” |
| (slow) Chi – ze di – ge – ii |
| Chize digeii |
| Meil darid means “Would you like.” |
| (slow) meil da - rid |
| Meil darid |
| You are sure to hear this from waiters in restaurants or cafés. |
| Again, the whole question is |
| Chize digeii meil darid? |
| ・ |
| Unless you’re still hungry—which is very unlikely after a Persian meal—you can say “No, thanks”: |
| Na, moteshakkeram. |
| (slow) na mo – te – sha – kke - ram. |
| You may recall that na means “no” and moteshakkeram means “thanks.” |
| Na, moteshakkeram. |
| ・ |
| In some restaurants in Iran, the waiters ask if you want coffee or tea at the end of the meal. No doubt you’ll hear |
| Chaii ya ghahve meil darid? |
| Which means something like: “Would you like to have a tea or coffee?” |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) cha – ii - ya - ghah – ve meil da - rid? |
| And again at natural speed: |
| Chaii ya ghahve meil darid? |
| Chaii means “tea.” |
| (slow) Cha - ii |
| Chaii |
| Next is ya, which is the Persian word for “or” |
| (slow) ya |
| ya |
| Then, we have the noun Ghahve, the Persian word for “coffee.” |
| (slow) ghah - ve |
| ghahve |
| Then again we have Meil darid which means “Would you like.” |
| (slow) meil da - rid |
| Meil darid |
| All together, the question is |
| Chaii ya ghahve meil darid? |
| If you prefer coffee, answer |
| Ghahve, lotfan. |
| (slow) Ghah – ve lot - fan. |
| Gahhve, lotfan. |
| Or if you want tea, say |
| Chaii, lotfan. |
| (slow) cha – ii lot - fan. |
| Chaii, lotfan. |
| ・ |
| When you’re ready to leave, you’ll want to ask for the check. In Persian this is |
| Soorathesaab, lotfan. |
| Let’s break it down: |
| (slow) Soo - rat - he – saab lot - fan. |
| Once more: |
| Soorathesaab, lotfan. |
| The first word, soorathesab, means “the bill.” |
| And by now you’re no stranger to lotfan |
| (“please”). |
| Here’s the whole sentence: |
| Soorathesaab, lotfan. |
| And now you’re ready to go! |
Comments
Hide