Convenience Store

1. این مغازه تا چه ساعتی باز است؟

   In maghāze tā che sā'ati bāz ast?

   Until what time is this shop open?

   Usage

   A "baqqali" is the small owner-run grocery on an Iranian street corner, while a "supermarket" is a slightly larger shop — but almost none are open 24 hours. Most shut around 10pm, and many stay closed until midday on Friday, the Iranian weekend

   Grammar Note

   Persian word order is subject-object-verb, so the copula "ast" always comes last. In speech "ast" contracts to "-e", and the form you will actually hear most is "ta sa'at chand baze?"

2. نوشیدنی خنک دارید؟

   Nushidani-ye khonak dārid?

   Do you have any chilled drinks?

   Usage

   Fridges in small Iranian shops are limited, so the same product often sits both on the shelf and in the chiller. Summer temperatures in Tehran and Yazd top 40C, so it is worth asking first. "Dugh", the salty yoghurt drink, is always taken cold

   Grammar Note

   Persian links a noun to its adjective with the "ezafe", an unwritten short vowel -e: "nushidani khonak" is read "nushidani-ye khonak". The ezafe is the backbone of Persian noun phrases

3. کارت بانکی ایرانی ندارم، نقدی می‌دهم

   Kārt-e bānki-ye irāni nadāram, naqdi midaham

   I don't have an Iranian bank card, so I'll pay cash

   Usage

   Because of international sanctions, no foreign-issued Visa, Mastercard or JCB works anywhere in Iran, and you cannot withdraw from ATMs either. Only domestic bank cards function, so travellers must bring cash to exchange on arrival or buy a local tourist prepaid card

   Grammar Note

   Verbs are negated with the prefix "na-": "daram" (I have) becomes "nadaram". The "mi-" on "midaham" marks present or habitual aspect and is written with a zero-width non-joiner between it and the stem, per Persian orthography

4. نان تازه دارید؟

   Nān-e tāze dārid?

   Do you have fresh bread?

   Usage

   Bread in Iran is baked at a dedicated "nanvai" and a grocery only stocks what it has bought in. "Sangak" is the long flatbread baked on hot pebbles, "barbari" is the thicker breakfast loaf and "lavash" the thin sheet. Naming the type you want gets you there faster

   Grammar Note

   Again the ezafe links the two words: "nan-e taze". "Taze" also works adverbially for "just now" — "taze reside" means "just arrived / freshly delivered"

5. نیم کیلو کافی است

   Nim kilu kāfi ast

   Half a kilo is enough

   Usage

   Nuts, dried fruit, sugar and rice are sold loose in an Iranian grocery, with the owner scooping the amount you name onto the scale. Iranian pistachios and saffron rock sugar ("nabat") are sold the same way. This phrase stops him at a traveller-sized quantity

   Grammar Note

   "Nim" is the native Persian word for half and is more everyday than the Arabic-derived "nesf". "Yek kilu-o nim" is one and a half kilos, and "rob'" is a quarter

6. شارژ ایرانسل دارید؟

   Shārzh-e irānsel dārid?

   Do you sell Irancell top-up credit?

   Usage

   Iran's two main mobile operators are Irancell and Hamrah-e Aval, and even tiny shops sell scratch cards for both. Tourist SIMs are bought at the airport or an operator branch, but topping one up afterwards is quickest at the corner shop

   Grammar Note

   The letter "zh" in "sharzh" is one of the four letters Persian added to the Arabic script (p, ch, zh, g) and sounds like the French j. Arabic lacks this sound, so the letter appears mostly in loanwords

7. پول خرد ندارم، اشکالی ندارد؟

   Pul-e khord nadāram, eshkāli nadārad?

   I don't have small change — is that all right?

   Usage

   High inflation has all but removed coins from circulation in Iran; everyday payment is by banknote or bank card. Exchange bureaus hand over large denominations, and a small shop may not be able to break them. Flagging it up front lets the owner find another way

   Grammar Note

   "Khord" means fine or broken up; joined to "pul" (money) by the ezafe it gives "small money", i.e. change. "Eshkali nadarad" is a fixed phrase meaning "there is no problem"; said with rising intonation it becomes the question "is that OK?"

8. تاریخ انقضای این چه زمانی است؟

   Tārikh-e enqezā-ye in che zamāni ast?

   What is the expiry date on this?

   Usage

   Iranian food labels print "tarikh-e towlid" (production date) beside "tarikh-e enqeza" (expiry). Dates are usually in the Iranian solar Hijri calendar rather than the Gregorian one — 1403/05/20, for instance, falls in August 2024 — and the digits are Persian numerals

   Grammar Note

   "Tarikh-e enqeza-ye in" chains two ezafes: date + expiry + this, giving "the expiry date of this". When a word ends in a vowel, the ezafe is written with an added "y", hence "enqeza-ye"

9. آب معدنی کجاست؟

   Āb-e ma'dani kojāst?

   Where is the mineral water?

   Usage

   Tap water is considered drinkable in many Iranian cities, but travellers usually stick to bottled "ab-e ma'dani". Shops are cramped and stock is piled high, so asking the owner beats hunting for it. Public chilled-water fountains ("absardkon") are also common on the street

   Grammar Note

   "Kojast" is "koja" (where) fused with the copula "ast". Persian leaves question words in place without reordering the sentence, so there is no subject-verb inversion as in English

10. این قیمت به تومان است یا ریال؟

    In qeymat be tomān ast yā riyāl?

    Is this price in tomans or rials?

    Usage

    Iran's official currency is the rial, yet everyday speech and price tags almost always use tomans — one toman equals ten rials, so misreading by one digit means a tenfold error. Small shops often have handwritten tags, which is where travellers get confused most

    Grammar Note

    "Ya" means "or" and lets you frame a question with two alternatives. In speech owners drop zeros — "si toman" may actually mean thirty thousand tomans — so having the figure written down is safest

11. کیسه دارید؟

    Kise dārid?

    Do you have a bag?

    Usage

    Small Iranian shops usually hand over a thin plastic bag free of charge, doubling it up if the load is heavy. Locals shopping at markets tend to bring a cloth bag. Besides "kise" you will hear "naylon" and "plastik"

    Grammar Note

    "Darid" is the second-person plural of "dashtan" (to have), but Persian uses the plural for any single stranger as a mark of respect. The singular "dari" is reserved for close friends and juniors

12. چیز دیگری نمی‌خواهید؟

    Chiz-e digari nemikhāhid?

    Is there nothing else you'd like?

    Usage

    Said by staff. Persian politeness prefers the negative question form — "you don't want anything else?" — as it sounds less pushy than a direct offer. If you are done, answer "na, mamnun" (no, thank you)

    Grammar Note

    When the negative "na-" meets the present marker "mi-", they merge into "nemi-" with the vowel shifting to e. The same applies in "nemikhaham" (I don't want)

13. کارت خارجی قبول نمی‌کنیم، فقط نقدی

    Kārt-e khāreji qabul nemikonim, faqat naqdi

    We don't accept foreign cards — cash only

    Usage

    Said by staff. Sanctions leave the shop no choice — its terminal simply is not connected to any international network. Plan to carry enough cash for each day, and break it into small notes at your hotel or an exchange office

    Grammar Note

    "Qabul kardan" is a compound verb: the noun "qabul" (acceptance) plus "kardan" (to do). Most Persian verbs are built this way, and negation attaches to the "kardan" half — "qabul nemikonim"

14. خرد ندارم، به جایش آدامس بدهم؟

    Khord nadāram, be jā-yash ādāms bedaham?

    I have no change — shall I give you gum instead?

    Usage

    Said by staff. With coins effectively out of circulation, handing back the odd small change as chewing gum or sweets is standard practice in Iranian corner shops. You can decline, but accepting with a smile fits the mood better

    Grammar Note

    "Bedaham" is the subjunctive, used for offers and suggestions, marked by the prefix "be-". The "-ash" in "be jayash" is the third-person singular possessive suffix, meaning "its"

15. قیمت‌ها به تومان است

    Qeymat-hā be tomān ast

    The prices are in tomans

    Usage

    Said by staff. When a traveller stares at all those zeros, the owner will clarify the unit. A toman figure is one tenth of the rial amount, so cross-check it against the denomination printed on the notes in your wallet, which may be in rials

    Grammar Note

    "-ha" is the general plural suffix, used for animate and inanimate nouns alike; in speech it often shortens to "-a", giving "qeymata". Nouns referring to people can also take the alternative plural "-an"

16. قابلی ندارد

    Qābeli nadārad

    It's nothing — please don't worry about paying

    Usage

    Said by staff. This is classic "ta'arof", the Iranian ritual of polite refusal — literally "it has no worth". The owner does not actually mean it is free: you are expected to insist two or three times with "khahesh mikonam, cheqadr shod?" (how much is it?) and then pay. Walking out would be rude

    Grammar Note

    The indefinite suffix "-i" on "qabel" gives "qabeli", roughly "any worth to speak of". Other ta'arof formulas include "cheshm" (literally "eye", meaning "certainly") and "mokhlesam" ("I am your devoted servant") — none of them is meant literally

17. کارتخوان خراب است

    Kārtkhān kharāb ast

    The card reader is broken

    Usage

    Said by staff. Iranian corner shops typically have a single fixed card reader, and if it fails or loses signal the shop is cash-only for the day. Locals may be given the owner's account number for a card-to-card transfer, but that route is closed to travellers

    Grammar Note

    "Kartkhan" compounds "kart" (card) with "khan", the present stem of "khandan" (to read). This "-khan" pattern also produces "avazkhan" (singer) and is a standard way Persian builds compound nouns

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