utterance_src: اگه پول نباشه مشلکی نیست. اصلا قابل شما ره نداره!

context: Speaker: Seller to any buyer who might have bought groceries from the shop.

literal_render: If you have no money, it is totally fine. My grocery is not worth you.

intent_render: Unless you are really going some unprecendent financial burden, which if true we could talk about more, I expect to get the agree upon price. -- This is a first no among grocery shops in Kabul.

pragmatic_note: If read literally, it come across as the seller just handing back the money! However, that is just ritualistic politeness and the seller still does expect to get the full price of the good.

phenomenon: taarof: ritual waiver of payment

tranche: seed


utterance_src:
- یک پیاله چای بنوشید.
- نه تشکر تازه صبحانه خوردم.

context: The host of a shop is speaking to a client who has come to their shop and is offering them tea.

literal_render:
- Please have a cup of tea.
- No thanks I just had breakfast.

intent_render:
- Please have a cup of tea
- I really appreciate your offer. Could you insist one more time for me to get a pass at the ritualistic process of interaction and then finally accept your offer.

pragmatic_note: The no thanks I had breakfast part, which even if it might empirically be true, is still a first 'no'. The speaker should insist.

phenomenon: taarof: first refusal & re-offer


utterance_src: ده ای روزها یک مقدار دستم تنگ شده. اگه پیشت کدام مبلغ از همو بیست هزاری که دو ماه پیش داده بودم باشه خیلی عالی میشه.

context: Cousin is speaker to another cousin and asking for if they could get a repayment for the 20k Afghani loan that they paid to them earlier.

literal_render: In these days, my hands have become a bit tight. It would be great if you had some amount from the 20000 Afghanis I had lent you earlier.

intent_render: I need the money that I had lent you two months ago. Could you please repay me the 20k amount?

pragmatic_note: Here the ask has been turned from a question into a sentence that states the hope of the lender. However, the ask is best considered an explicit request for the total repayment of the money.

phenomenon: kin taarof over money


utterance_src: ان‌شاءالله ببینیم که خدا چه میخواهه.

context: A group of elders is asking their district mayor if they could enforce a policy and ask for resources from the government to solve the lack of drinking water issues in their neighborhood.

literal_render: God willing, we will see what God wants.

intent_render: I don't think I can or am willing to focus on this task at hand.

pragmatic_note: Inshallah is used in many ways, in the US and among Western muslims it is considered as an expression of hope for something to happen. However, given the tone, it also usually means that the person speaking won't personally take responsibility to do anything and leave it to some other force to take a stab at it.

phenomenon: inshallah-deferral


utterance_src: من بازار ره میگردم باز دوباره خدمت تان میایم.

context: Customer is talking to a fabric seller after asking for the price and quality of the fabric.

literal_render: I will wander around the bazaar and come back to you.

intent_render: I think I won't buy the fabric.

pragmatic_note: Taken at its face value it seems like the customer is making a promise - namely that they will be back. However, this is an easy way for the customer to not buy the good, without making the social interaction awkward from within the social framework that has already been set up.

phenomenon: polite exit formula


utterance_src: اصلا قابل شما ره نداره.

context: A tailor is presenting a custom-made dress to their client.

literal_render: It is not at all worthy of you.

intent_render: Mild self-deprecation intending to tell the client that they are worthy of great things.

pragmatic_note: If read literally, the text sounds too deprecative. However, it is meant to actually be a compliment to the buyer of the dress.

phenomenon: shekasteh-nafsi


utterance_src: شرمنده تان استم خلیفه. رویم سیاه. پول تان ره تا هفته دیگه جور میکنم.

context: A customer who has borrowed money almost a year ago now is talking to their lender in their shop.

literal_render: I am ashamed of being in your presence Khalifa, (Caliph). My face is black. I will surely prepare your money until next week.

intent_render: I am sorry and I have some feelings of guilt for not having paid your money until now. I will do my best to do it soon. Khalifa here is a common phrase you would call anyone, like people calling each other "cuh" in the US or "mate".

pragmatic_note: The first two sentences don't translate well in English because they're more of phrases than formal language.

phenomenon: ru-siyahi / sharmandegi


utterance_src: کاکا جان حرف تان روی دیده. هرچند من یک گفتنی کوچک داشتم.

context: Niece is talking to his uncle and is thinking of phrasing a disagreement about the uncle's proposal that involves some requests from the niece's parents and siblings.

literal_render: Dear uncle, your words' place are on my two eyes. However, I had a small thing I would like to add.

intent_render: Dear uncle, although I have complete request for you and would like to accept your proposal, I do have some objections that I would like to raise first.

pragmatic_note: If read literally it could come across as adding more context or note, and not as a sort of disagreement that the niece is trying to present.

phenomenon: arz / deference to elders


utterance_src: چه قابل دارد؟ از خود شماست، ببرید.

context: Speaker: carpet seller, about fifty, in a city bazaar. Listener: a first-time customer who has just agreed a price for a small rug. The customer takes out money and the seller waves it away with this phrase.

literal_render: What worth does it have? It's yours — just take it.

intent_render: Please, don't mention it — you're most welcome. (Ritual waiver: payment at the agreed price is still fully expected; the customer should insist.)

pragmatic_note: A buyer who takes the waiver literally and walks out without paying has, in the seller's eyes, stolen the rug.

tranche: lit

phenomenon: taarof: ritual refusal of payment (qabel nadara)


utterance_src: نه تشکر، زحمت نکشید، همین حالا چای خوردم.

context: Speaker: a wholesale buyer visiting a supplier's office for the first time this season. Listener: the supplier, who has just offered tea. This is the buyer's response to the first offer.

literal_render: No thanks, don't trouble yourself, I just had tea.

intent_render: Oh, please don't go to any trouble. (A ritual first refusal: the host is expected to insist, and the guest will then accept.)

pragmatic_note: If the host's side reads the refusal as final and cancels the tea, the meeting starts cold and the buyer feels slighted.

phenomenon: taarof: ritual first refusal and re-offer of hospitality


utterance_src: این حرف‌ها چیست؟ میان ما پول جای ندارد.

context: Speaker: an uncle who lent money to his nephew's shop. Listener: the nephew, who has just tried to hand back the first repayment at a family gathering. They work in the same bazaar.

literal_render: What is this talk? Money has no place between us.

intent_render: Come now, no need for that between family. (Ritual refusal: the nephew must insist two or three times; the repayment is still owed and expected.)

pragmatic_note: If the nephew takes the refusal at face value and stops repaying, the debt silently poisons the family relationship.

phenomenon: taarof: ritual refusal of repayment among kin


utterance_src: وظیفه‌ام بود، پول نمی‌گیرم.

context: Speaker: a young porter who carried a merchant's goods across the bazaar. Listener: the merchant, holding out a tip. The porter pushes the money back with this phrase.

literal_render: It was my duty, I won't take money.

intent_render: It was nothing, really — I couldn't. (Ritual refusal of a tip: the merchant should press it into his hand once or twice more, and he will accept.)

pragmatic_note: A foreign reader who pockets the tip after one refusal shortchanges a worker who was being polite, not declining income.

phenomenon: taarof: ritual refusal of payment for service


utterance_src: کار ما قابل شما نیست، یک چیز ناچیز است؛ امید که بد نشده باشد.

context: Speaker: a tailor delivering a finished wedding suit he is proud of. Listener: the groom's father, a long-time customer, opening the package in the shop.

literal_render: Our work is not worthy of you, it is a trifling thing; I hope it hasn't turned out badly.

intent_render: I hope it pleases you — we did our best for you. (Formulaic self-deprecation: the tailor is proudly presenting good work and inviting a compliment, not admitting defects.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally, the maker appears to confess poor quality, and the customer may reject the goods or demand a discount.

phenomenon: self-deprecation not to be believed (shekasteh-nafsi)


utterance_src: صاحب اختیارید، هر چه شما بگویید.

context: Speaker: a fabric seller mid-bargain. Listener: a regular customer who has just named a low price. The seller says this while folding the fabric, clearly not yet agreeing.

literal_render: You have the authority — whatever you say.

intent_render: You're too kind — but let's be fair to us both. (Deference formula in bargaining: it concedes face, not the price; a fair counteroffer is still expected.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally the seller has accepted any price the customer names, which inverts an ongoing negotiation into a closed deal.

validator_note: Added 'صاحب اختیارید' instead of 'اختیار دارید' since the former is a more common saying in the Dari dialect.

phenomenon: bargaining politeness: deference formula (ekhtiar darid)

draft_flag: Check whether 'اختیار دارید' alone reads Iranian; Dari speakers may prefer 'صاحب‌اختیار هستید'.


utterance_src: ان‌شاءالله ببینیم خدا چه می‌خواهد؛ خبرتان می‌کنیم.

context: Speaker: a dried-fruit supplier who cannot fill a large rush order. Listener: a new export buyer pressing for double the usual volume before the holidays. Spoken at the end of the meeting.

literal_render: God willing, let us see what God wants; we will inform you.

intent_render: We'll see — I wouldn't count on it. (A polite, face-saving refusal: no commitment is being made and none should be planned for.)

pragmatic_note: If the buyer books shipping against this 'we will inform you', the soft no becomes a supply-chain failure.

phenomenon: indirect refusal via inshallah-deferral


utterance_src: فکرهایم را می‌کنم، باز خدمت می‌رسم.

context: Speaker: a customer at the door of a gemstone shop after an hour of viewing. Listener: the shopkeeper, who has offered his final price. The customer leaves with this phrase.

literal_render: I will do my thinking and will come to your service again.

intent_render: Let me think it over — thank you for your time. (Polite exit: this is almost always a final no; the shopkeeper should not hold the stone.)

pragmatic_note: A seller who reserves the goods on the strength of this phrase loses other buyers waiting on a customer who is not coming back.

phenomenon: indirect refusal: polite exit formula

draft_flag: Dari naturalness of 'فکرهایم را می‌کنم' — Iranian would be 'فکرهامو می‌کنم'; confirm register.


utterance_src: باشد، ببینیم چه می‌شود.

context: Speaker: a shop owner responding to his cousin's proposal to invest in expanding the shop. Listener: the cousin, who has laid out the plan over dinner. The owner has doubts he will not state openly at the table.

literal_render: Okay, let's see what happens.

intent_render: We'll see. (Non-committal deferral functioning as a soft refusal: the cousin should read this as reluctance, not as agreement in principle.)

pragmatic_note: The English 'okay' makes it sound like consent, so the cousin may start spending against a partnership that was never agreed.

phenomenon: indirect refusal: bashad-deferral among kin


utterance_src: به خدا شرمنده‌ام، رویم سیاه است؛ تا آخر هفته پول‌تان را می‌رسانم.

context: Speaker: a shopkeeper behind on payment to his wholesaler of ten years. Listener: the wholesaler, who has come in person to ask about the balance. Spoken quietly at the back of the shop.

literal_render: By God I am ashamed, my face is black; I will deliver your money by the end of the week.

intent_render: I'm deeply sorry — I've failed you on this, and you'll have your money by the end of the week. (The shame formula signals the promise is binding and the relationship matters.)

pragmatic_note: Literal 'my face is black' reads bizarre or worse in English, and dropping the shame formula strips the promise of its binding weight.

phenomenon: obligation framing: ritualized shame before a creditor (ru-siyahi)


utterance_src: دست شما درد نکند، ما نمک‌گیر شما شدیم.

context: Speaker: a trader whose partner covered a customs fee for him without being asked. Listener: that partner, on the phone the next day. They have traded together for three years.

literal_render: May your hand not hurt; we have become caught by your salt.

intent_render: Thank you — truly, we're in your debt now. (The salt idiom creates a standing obligation of loyalty and reciprocity, not a casual thanks.)

pragmatic_note: If the obligation dimension is deleted, the partner's later expectation of reciprocity looks like it comes from nowhere.

phenomenon: obligation framing: namak-gir (bound by salt)


utterance_src: من در خدمتم؛ هر امری داشته باشید، دریغ نمی‌کنم.

context: Speaker: a mid-level supplier closing a deal with a larger distributor. Listener: the distributor's owner, older and better established. Spoken while shaking hands at the end of the meeting.

literal_render: I am at your service; whatever order you have, I will not withhold.

intent_render: It's been a pleasure — anything you need, don't hesitate. (Formal courtesy: goodwill and availability, not servitude or an open-ended commitment.)

pragmatic_note: Rendered literally it reads obsequious or like a contractual blank check, distorting a standard courtesy between unequal partners.

phenomenon: obligation framing: self-lowering service formula (bande dar khedmatam)


utterance_src: کاکا جان، هر چه شما صلاح می‌بینید؛ فقط اگر اجازه باشد، یک عرض کوچک داشتم.

context: Speaker: the youngest partner in a family import business. Listener: his father's elder brother, who has just decided to take a large loan for the business. The others at the table have said nothing.

literal_render: Dear uncle, whatever you see fit; only, if permitted, I had one small petition.

intent_render: Uncle, of course it's your decision — but with respect, I have serious concerns I need to raise. (Maximal deference packaging a real objection; the 'small petition' is anything but small.)

pragmatic_note: If the deference is read literally, a substantive objection to a risky loan disappears into politeness.

phenomenon: deference to elders: objection wrapped in petition formula (arz)

draft_flag: کاکا is Dari (paternal uncle); Iranian Farsi would be عمو — item is Dari-register by design.


utterance_src: شما بزرگ ما هستید، اختیار با شماست.

context: Speaker: a shopkeeper in a dispute with a neighboring shopkeeper over a shared storeroom, addressing the elder trader both sides asked to mediate. Spoken in front of the other party.

literal_render: You are our elder; the authority is with you.

intent_render: We respect you and will hear your judgment. (Ceremonial deference to a mediator: it grants face and a hearing, not unconditional surrender of the claim.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally it converts a courtesy owed to a mediator into a binding waiver of the speaker's position.

phenomenon: deference to elders in dispute mediation


utterance_src: Hi Ahmad — just a reminder that the invoice is now two weeks overdue. Please arrange payment by Friday.

context: Speaker: a young export manager writing from abroad. Listener: an elder Afghan wholesaler, a partner of eight years who has always eventually paid. The manager wants payment without damaging the relationship.

literal_render: سلام احمد — فقط یادآوری می‌کنم که بل فعلا دو هفته ناوقت شده است. لطفاً تا روز جمعه مبلغ را ترتیب کنید.

intent_render: سلام و احترامات خدمت شما احمد گرامی. ببخشید که مزاحم می‌شوم؛ اگر زحمت نباشد، مبلغ آن بل را که دو هفته پیش تاریخش تیر شده، تا روز جمعه ترتیب کنید. تشکر از شما.

pragmatic_note: The blunt rendering reads as a public accusation of bad faith to an elder; the firm-but-honorific version gets paid without burning eight years of trust.

phenomenon: register: dunning an elder partner without face loss

draft_flag: Check my Dari renders for naturalness (بل for invoice, ناوقت) — please correct wording at Gate A.


utterance_src: We should definitely grab tea sometime!

context: Speaker: an American buyer wrapping up a first trade-show conversation. Listener: an Afghan rug exporter. The American means it as a friendly goodbye, not a concrete plan.

literal_render: حتماً باید یک وقتی با همدیگه چای بخوریم!

intent_render: از آشنایی با شما خوشحال شدم؛ امید است باز همصحبت شویم. (تعارف از شخص آمریکایی. نه دعوت واقعی برای نوشیدن چای.)

pragmatic_note: Rendered literally it lands as a real invitation, and the exporter may wait for a tea that was never planned — American ritual politeness inverted into commitment.

phenomenon: reverse taarof: American ritual invitation read literally

draft_flag: Intent render includes a parenthetical gloss; decide at Gate A whether glosses are allowed in reference renders.


utterance_src: Let me think it over and I'll circle back to you next week.

context: Speaker: a European distributor who has decided against an Afghan saffron supplier's offer but avoids saying no directly. Listener: the supplier, who invested weeks preparing samples. Written at the end of an email.

literal_render: بگذارید فکرهای خوده بکنم. هفتهٔ آینده دوباره با شما تماس می‌گیرم.

intent_render: متاسفانه فعلاً برای ما مقدور نیست؛ اگر وضع تغییر کرد، خودم خدمت‌تان تماس می‌گیرم. (جواب نرمِ رد است، نه وعدهٔ جدی پیگیری.)

pragmatic_note: The literal render carries a promise of follow-up the writer never intended, so the supplier holds stock and waits for a call that will not come.

phenomenon: Western soft-no ('circle back') rendered as commitment

draft_flag: Debatable whether the intent render should make the refusal this explicit — flagging for your call.


utterance_src: Thanks so much for sorting out the shipment — we owe you one!

context: Speaker: a British importer whose Afghan partner spent a day fixing a customs problem for him. Listener: that partner. Sent as a quick text message.

literal_render: خیلی تشکر که مشکل محموله را حل کردید — یکی قرضدار شما شدیم!

intent_render: دست شما درد نکند، واقعاً زحمت کشیدید؛ این لطف‌تان را فراموش نمی‌کنیم و امید که جبران کنیم.

pragmatic_note: The casual register undersells a real favor and the literal 'owe you one' reads like an odd money debt; the gratitude-and-reciprocity formula is what maintains the partnership.

phenomenon: gratitude/obligation formula required where English is casual


utterance_src: Unfortunately we're going to have to pass on this offer.

context: Speaker: a procurement lead at a foreign firm rejecting a bid. Listener: an Afghan supplier, older than the writer, who mobilized family connections to prepare the bid. First line of an email.

literal_render: متأسفانه مجبور هستیم از این پیشنهاد بگذریم.

intent_render: از زحمات و پیشنهاد خوب‌تان صمیمانه تشکر می‌کنیم. این بار شرایط ما اجازه نداد و امیدواریم در فرصت دیگری افتخار همکاری با شما را داشته باشیم.

pragmatic_note: A bare refusal to an elder who spent social capital reads as disrespect; the softened render refuses just as clearly while returning face.

phenomenon: face-preserving refusal expected in Persian business register


utterance_src: That's very kind of you, but I really can't accept this — company policy doesn't allow gifts.

context: Speaker: a foreign inspector offered a box of saffron by a factory owner at the end of a site visit. Listener: the owner, for whom the gift is hospitality, not a bribe. The refusal is real and final, not politeness.

literal_render: خیلی لطف دارید، اما واقعاً نمی‌توانم قبول کنم — مقررات شرکت اجازهٔ هدیه را نمی‌دهد.

intent_render: از لطف و مهمان‌نوازی شما از صمیم قلب قدردان هستم، اما عذر دارم که مقررات شرکت ما به هیچ صورت اجازهٔ گرفتن هدیه را نمی‌دهد. لطفا این حرفم را تعارف نگیرید چون عذرم واقعی است.

pragmatic_note: A polite-sounding refusal is heard as the ritual first 'no', so the owner will insist and re-gift; the translation must mark the refusal as genuinely final without insult.

phenomenon: real refusal that must not be heard as taarof

draft_flag: The added sentence 'این را تعارف نگیرید' is an interpretive addition — flagging for your judgment.


utterance_src: چی پیسه خیر است جان برادر؟ موتر از خود ماست، اصلا قابل شما ره نداره!

context: Speaker: a mechanic who has just finished repairing a taxi's brakes. Listener: the taxi driver, a repeat customer, holding out the payment. The bill was agreed that morning.

literal_render: What money, dear brother? The car is ours — it's not worthy of you at all!

intent_render: Oh, don't mention the money — you're most welcome. (Ritual waiver: the driver must insist and pay the agreed amount; the mechanic fully expects it.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally the repair was free, and a driver who leaves without paying has cheated the mechanic in everyone's eyes.

tranche: synth

phenomenon: taarof: ritual waiver of payment


utterance_src: قابل نداره، از باغ خود ماست؛ ببرید خانه، نوش جان کنید.

context: Speaker: a pomegranate seller at a roadside stall. Listener: a passing customer who has picked out two kilos and asked the price. First interaction between them.

literal_render: It has no worth, it's from our own orchard; take it home and enjoy.

intent_render: You're most welcome — it's from our own orchard. (Politeness formula: the customer should press for the price and pay it; nothing is being given free.)

pragmatic_note: A literal reading turns a price-question courtesy into a gift, and walking off without paying would be theft, not acceptance.


utterance_src: نان خورده آمدیم، زحمت نکشید؛ شما به کار تان برسید.

context: Speaker: a kishmish (raisin) buyer arriving at a wholesaler's depot around midday. Listener: the wholesaler, who has just told his helper to bring lunch for the guest. First visit of the season.

literal_render: We came having eaten; don't trouble yourself — attend to your work.

intent_render: Please don't go to any trouble on my account. (Ritual first refusal of hospitality: the host is expected to insist, and the guest will then join the meal.)

pragmatic_note: If the host's side takes the refusal as final and sends the food back, the buyer is left slighted and the season starts on a cold footing.

phenomenon: taarof: first refusal & re-offer of hospitality


utterance_src: ای گپا چیست؟ میان خود ما حساب و کتاب نمیشه.

context: Speaker: a shopkeeper whose brother-in-law rents the shop next door from him. Listener: the brother-in-law, trying to hand over this month's rent at a family dinner.

literal_render: What is this talk? Between us there is no accounting and bookkeeping.

intent_render: Come now — no need for that between family. (Ritual deflection: the rent is still owed; the brother-in-law must insist two or three times until it is accepted.)

pragmatic_note: Taking the deflection at face value and keeping the rent quietly converts a courtesy into an unpaid debt that will strain the marriage ties around it.

phenomenon: kin taarof over money


utterance_src: استاد، وظیفیم بود؛ از شما پیسه نمیگیرم.

context: Speaker: a young apprentice who stayed late to finish polishing an order of copper pots. Listener: the workshop master, offering him extra money for the overtime.

literal_render: Master, it was my duty; I won't take money from you.

intent_render: It was nothing, master — I couldn't. (Ritual refusal of extra pay: the master should press it into his hand once or twice more, and he will accept.)

pragmatic_note: A master who pockets the money after one refusal shortchanges a junior who was showing respect, not declining income.

phenomenon: taarof: ritual refusal of payment for service


utterance_src: کار ما قابل ای خانه نیست؛ یک چیز ناچیز جور کدیم، امید که بد نشده باشه.

context: Speaker: a carpenter delivering a bridal bedroom set he spent a month on. Listener: the bride's father, a respected trader, inspecting the furniture at delivery.

literal_render: Our work is not worthy of this house; we made a trifling thing, hope it hasn't turned out badly.

intent_render: I hope it pleases you — we did our very best for your family. (Formulaic self-deprecation: he is proudly presenting good work and inviting a compliment, not admitting defects.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally the maker seems to confess shoddy work, inviting the customer to reject the set or demand a discount.

phenomenon: shekasteh-nafsi


utterance_src: صاحب اختیارید، هر چی شما بگویید؛ مگر انصاف هم خوب چیز است.

context: Speaker: a saffron seller mid-bargain in his shop. Listener: a restaurant owner who buys monthly and has just named a price well under the going rate.

literal_render: You have the authority, whatever you say; but fairness is also a good thing.

intent_render: You're too kind — but let's be fair to us both. (Deference formula plus a nudge: it concedes face, not the price; a better counteroffer is expected.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally the seller has both accepted any price and accused the buyer of unfairness, when in the room it is one smooth bargaining move.

phenomenon: deference formula in bargaining


utterance_src: چیزی نیست، یک نان خشک است؛ قابل شما ره نداره.

context: Speaker: a trader hosting a potential partner for dinner at his home, gesturing at a full spread of qabuli palaw, kebabs and fruit. Listener: the guest, seeing the table for the first time.

literal_render: It's nothing, it's a piece of dry bread; it's not worthy of you.

intent_render: Please, it's just a simple meal — you honor us. (Ritual minimizing of a lavish table: the host is proud of the spread and the guest should praise it.)

pragmatic_note: A literal reader hears the host apologize for serving dry bread, inverting a proud display of hospitality into poverty or insult.

phenomenon: shekasteh-nafsi over hospitality


utterance_src: ان‌شاءالله ببینیم؛ اگر خدا خواست، تا جمعه میرسانیم.

context: Speaker: a transporter asked to move a container of tiles over a mountain pass before Friday. Listener: the building-materials trader who needs them for a buyer. The transporter knows the road and the timing are both doubtful.

literal_render: God willing, we shall see; if God wills, we will deliver it by Friday.

intent_render: We'll see — I can't promise Friday, and you shouldn't count on it. (The inshallah-deferral here signals no commitment is being made.)

pragmatic_note: If the trader promises his own buyer Friday delivery on the strength of this sentence, a polite hedge becomes a broken contract downstream.

phenomenon: inshallah-deferral


utterance_src: یک چکر بازار ره میزنم، باز خدمت تان میایم.

context: Speaker: a customer in a gemstone shop who has heard the final price for a lapis ring. Listener: the shopkeeper. The customer is already moving toward the door.

literal_render: I will take a stroll around the bazaar, then I will come to your service again.

intent_render: Let me look around — thank you for your time. (Polite exit: this is almost always a final no; the shopkeeper should not hold the ring.)

pragmatic_note: A seller who reserves the ring on this promise turns away real buyers for a customer who is not coming back.

phenomenon: polite exit formula


utterance_src: باشه، ببینیم چی میشه؛ عجله نکنیم.

context: Speaker: the senior partner in a dried-fruit export firm, responding to his junior partner's plan to rent a second warehouse this season. Listener: the junior partner, who has already scouted the building.

literal_render: Okay, let's see what happens; let's not hurry.

intent_render: Let's hold off — I'm not persuaded. (A deferral functioning as a soft refusal: the junior should read reluctance, not agreement in principle.)

pragmatic_note: The English 'okay' reads as consent, and the junior may sign a lease against a partnership decision that was never made.

phenomenon: bashad-deferral


utterance_src: فکرهایمه میکنم؛ اگر قسمت بود، فردا میایم.

context: Speaker: a customer at an electronics shop after an hour of comparing two televisions and hearing the last price. Listener: the shopkeeper, who has offered to set one aside.

literal_render: I will do my thinking; if it is fate, I will come tomorrow.

intent_render: Let me think it over — thanks for your time. (The fate-hedge makes this a soft no; the shopkeeper should not set the television aside.)

pragmatic_note: Read as a promise to return, it costs the seller a real sale while he holds stock for a customer whose 'fate' has already decided.

phenomenon: polite exit with fate-hedge (qismat)


utterance_src: حاجی صاحب شرمنده استم، رویم سیاه؛ تا آخر ماه کرایه ره پوره میکنم.

context: Speaker: a tenant shopkeeper two months behind on rent for his stall. Listener: the elderly market landlord, addressed by the honorific Haji Sahib, who has come by the stall to ask.

literal_render: Haji Sahib I am ashamed, my face is black; I will complete the rent by the end of the month.

intent_render: Haji Sahib, I'm deeply sorry — I've fallen short, and you will have the rent in full by month's end. (The shame formula marks the promise as binding and the relationship as valued.)

pragmatic_note: Literal 'my face is black' reads bizarre or racialized in English, and stripping the shame formula reduces a binding, face-staking promise to a casual IOU.

phenomenon: ru-siyahi / sharmandegi


utterance_src: دست تان درد نکنه؛ نمک‌گیر شما شدیم، ای خوبی تان فراموش ما نمیشه.

context: Speaker: a carpet exporter whose money changer quietly covered a transfer shortfall so a shipment could clear. Listener: the money changer (sarraf), on the phone the next morning. They have worked together for years.

literal_render: May your hand not hurt; we have become caught by your salt, this goodness of yours will not be forgotten by us.

intent_render: Thank you — truly, we're in your debt and won't forget this. (The salt idiom creates a standing obligation of loyalty and reciprocity, not a casual thanks.)

pragmatic_note: If the obligation dimension is deleted in translation, the money changer's later call on that debt will look to outsiders like an unprompted demand.

phenomenon: namak-gir


utterance_src: ما در خدمت استیم؛ هر امری که داشته باشید، دریغ نمیکنیم.

context: Speaker: a pharmaceutical wholesaler closing his first supply deal with a large hospital buyer, older and better connected than him. Spoken while walking the buyer to his car.

literal_render: We are in service; whatever order you may have, we will not withhold.

intent_render: It's been a pleasure — anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. (Formal courtesy of availability and goodwill, not an open-ended contractual commitment.)

pragmatic_note: Rendered literally it reads as servility or a blank-check promise, distorting a standard closing courtesy between unequal partners.

phenomenon: service formula (dar khedmat)


utterance_src: پدر جان، حرف تان سر چشم؛ فقط اگر اجازه بتید، یک عرض کوچک دارم.

context: Speaker: a son who works in his father's cloth shop. Listener: his father, who has just announced he will clear the winter stock at a loss to a single buyer. The son thinks the sale is a serious mistake.

literal_render: Dear father, your words are upon my eyes; only if you permit, I have one small petition.

intent_render: Father, of course it's your decision — but with respect, I have real concerns I need to raise. (Maximal deference packaging a substantive objection; the 'small petition' is not small.)

pragmatic_note: If the deference is read literally, a serious objection to selling at a loss disappears into filial politeness.

phenomenon: arz / deference to elders


utterance_src: شما کلان ما استید، اختیار تان است؛ هر فیصله که کنید سر ما قبول است.

context: Speaker: one of two shopkeepers in a dispute over a shared electricity line, addressing the elder trader both sides asked to mediate. Spoken in front of the other party and onlookers.

literal_render: You are our elder, the authority is yours; whatever decision you make is accepted upon us.

intent_render: We respect you and will honor your judgment. (Ceremonial deference to a mediator: it grants face and a fair hearing, not a blind pre-commitment to any outcome.)

pragmatic_note: Read literally it converts a courtesy owed to a mediator into a binding waiver of the speaker's side of the dispute.

phenomenon: deference to elder mediator


utterance_src: ببخشید که مداخله میکنم، شما خود تان بهتر میفهمید؛ مگر ای نرخ گمانم کمی بلند رفته.

context: Speaker: a long-time employee at a construction-materials store. Listener: the owner, his senior by twenty years, who has just quoted a price to a contractor that the employee knows is above the market and may lose the customer.

literal_render: Forgive me for interfering, you yourself understand better; but this rate, I think, has gone a bit high.

intent_render: With respect — I think this quote will lose us the customer. (The apology-and-deference wrapper is the licensed way for a junior to flag a real business problem.)

pragmatic_note: Flattened in translation, a necessary correction reads as timid muttering, and the warning inside it is easy to miss entirely.

phenomenon: junior correcting a senior


utterance_src: Second reminder: your account is now 45 days past due. We will pause further shipments until payment is received.

context: Speaker: an accounts manager at a foreign trading company. Listener: an elder Afghan dried-fruit wholesaler, a profitable partner of six years who has always paid, though slowly. The company wants payment without losing him.

literal_render: یادآوری دوم: حساب شما فعلا ۴۵ روز ناوقت شده است. تا رسیدن مبلغ، ارسال محموله‌های بعدی را متوقف میکنیم.

intent_render: سلام و احترامات خدمت شما. ببخشید که باز مزاحم میشوم؛ حساب قبلی ما حالا ۴۵ روز شده و دفتر ما تا تصفیه آن اجازه ارسال محموله نو را نمیدهد. اگر زحمت نباشد لطفا مبلغ را پرداخت کنید که کار هر دو طرف پیش برود. تشکر از شما.

pragmatic_note: The blunt version reads as a public accusation and ultimatum to an elder; the honorific version delivers the same stop-shipment fact while leaving his face — and six years of trade — intact.

phenomenon: dunning an elder partner without face loss

draft_flag: Please check my Dari renders for naturalness at Gate A.


utterance_src: Please send the signed contract by Monday, or we'll have to move forward with another supplier.

context: Speaker: a young procurement officer abroad. Listener: an older Afghan marble supplier who hosted the officer's team generously during their site visit. The deadline is real.

literal_render: لطفا قرارداد امضا شده را تا دوشنبه بفرستید، ورنه مجبور میشویم با تهیه‌کننده دیگری پیش برویم.

intent_render: احترامات خدمت شما. از مهمان‌نوازی تان در سفر ما هنوز قدردان هستیم. دفتر ما برای نهایی شدن کار تا روز دوشنبه وقت دارد؛ اگر قرارداد امضا شده تا آن روز برسد، کار با خود شما پیش میرود، در غیر آن دست ما بسته میشود. امید که زحمت نشود.

pragmatic_note: The bare or-else reads as a threat that shames a generous host, while the softened version keeps the same hard deadline and consequence without severing the relationship.

phenomenon: hard deadline without face loss


utterance_src: Your last shipment had serious quality issues, a third of the boxes were damaged. We need this fixed before the next order.

context: Speaker: a warehouse manager at an importing firm. Listener: the elderly owner of a family packing workshop whose sons handled the shipment. The manager needs better packing, not a feud.

literal_render: محموله آخر شما مشکلات جدی کیفیت داشت؛ یک سوم کارتن‌ها شکسته بود. ضرورت داریم که این مشکل پیش از سفارش بعدی حل شود.

intent_render: احترامات خدمت شما. متاسفانه در محموله آخر تقریبا یک سوم کارتن‌ها در راه صدمه دیده بود؛ میفهمیم که راه دور است، ولی برای سفارش بعدی اگر بسته‌بندی کمی محکم‌تر شود، خاطر هر دو ما جمع میشود. به امید همکاری همیشگی.

pragmatic_note: A direct defect report to the family patriarch reads as a public shaming of his sons; the softened version gets the packing fixed while blaming the road, not the family.

phenomenon: complaint to elder without face loss


utterance_src: After reviewing all bids, we've decided to go with another supplier this season.

context: Speaker: a foreign procurement lead. Listener: an elder Afghan almond supplier who prepared his bid with help from his brothers and expected to win. First line of the rejection email.

literal_render: بعد از بررسی همه پیشنهادها، تصمیم گرفتیم که این فصل با تهیه‌کننده دیگری کار کنیم.

intent_render: از پیشنهاد خوب و زحمات شما و برادران تان صمیمانه تشکر میکنیم. این فصل شرایط ما طوری شد که با طرف دیگری پیش برویم، مگر کیفیت کار شما پیش ما معلوم است و امیدواریم در فصل آینده افتخار همکاری با شما را داشته باشیم.

pragmatic_note: The bare rejection reads as a verdict against the whole family's effort; the softened version refuses just as clearly while returning face and keeping the door open.

phenomenon: face-preserving refusal


utterance_src: Great meeting you. We should do lunch next time I'm in Dubai!

context: Speaker: an American buyer leaving a trade-fair booth. Listener: an Afghan carpet exporter based in Dubai. The American means it as a warm goodbye, with no concrete plan.

literal_render: از ملاقات با شما خوشحال شدم. دفعه بعد که دبی بودم، باید با هم نان چاشت بخوریم!

intent_render: از آشنایی با شما خوشحال شدم؛ امید است باز ببینمتان.

pragmatic_note: Rendered literally it becomes a standing lunch invitation, and the exporter may prepare hospitality and then read the silence afterward as an insult.

phenomenon: reverse taarof: ritual invitation


utterance_src: Sounds good. let's touch base soon and take it from there.

context: Speaker: a European importer ending a video call about a possible saffron order. Listener: the Afghan supplier on the call. The importer is lukewarm and has made no commitment.

literal_render: خوب است. به زودی در تماس میشویم و از همانجا پیش میبریم.

intent_render: خوب بود صحبت کردیم؛ اگر پیشرفتی بود، خودم خبر تان میکنم. (جمله‌بندی آمریکایی نشانه علاقه جدی نیست؛ وعده مشخصی داده نشده.)

pragmatic_note: The literal render manufactures a near-term follow-up and momentum that the speaker never committed to, so the supplier holds stock and waits.

phenomenon: noncommittal Western closing read as promise


utterance_src: Don't worry about the invoice for now. let's sort it out later this week.

context: Speaker: a British buyer whose Afghan supplier apologized that the invoice was delayed by a banking problem. Listener: the supplier. The buyer means the payment schedule slips a few days, nothing more.

literal_render: فعلا در فکر بل نباشید. همین هفته جورش میکنیم.

intent_render: پروا ندارد، چند روز این طرف آن طرف مشکلی نیست؛ در جریان همین هفته حسابش را برابر میکنیم. (پرداخت به جای خود باقی است، فقط چند روز پس شده.)

pragmatic_note: A literal 'don't think about the invoice' can be heard as the debt being waived or indefinitely deferred, inverting a small courtesy into a cancelled obligation.

phenomenon: casual deferral read as waiver


utterance_src: We'll keep your proposal on file and reach out if anything opens up.

context: Speaker: a foreign distributor declining an Afghan pine-nut exporter's partnership proposal without saying so. Listener: the exporter, who spent two weeks preparing samples and pricing. Closing line of an email.

literal_render: پیشنهاد شما را در دوسیه نگه میداریم و اگر فرصتی پیدا شد، با شما تماس میگیریم.

intent_render: متاسفانه فعلا جایی برای همکاری نداریم؛ اگر روزی شرایط تغییر کرد، خود ما خبر تان میکنیم. (این جمله در عرف تجارتی غرب یک جواب رد نرم است، نه وعده پیگیری.)

pragmatic_note: The on-file formula is a Western soft no, and a literal render leaves the exporter holding samples and hope for a call that is not coming.

phenomenon: Western soft-no (on file)


utterance_src: I'll see what I can do.

context: Speaker: a freight forwarder asked by an Afghan exporter to find space on this week's fully booked cargo flight. Listener: the exporter, whose grapes will spoil if they miss the flight. The forwarder already knows the flight is full.

literal_render: میبینم که چه کرده میتوانم.

intent_render: امکانش بسیار کم است؛ بالای این پرواز حساب نکنید و چاره دیگری هم بسنجید. (این جمله در انگلیسی بیشتر یک رد ملایم است تا یک وعده.)

pragmatic_note: The English hedge is mostly a no, but its literal render sounds like an undertaking, so the exporter may bet perishable goods on a flight that is already full.

phenomenon: English hedge as soft refusal


utterance_src: Let me run it by my team and we'll get back to you.

context: Speaker: a chain-store buyer at an expo stand, handed a price list by an Afghan dried-fruit exporter. Listener: the exporter. The buyer has already decided the prices don't work but avoids refusing to his face.

literal_render: بگذارید با تیم خود مطرح کنم و دوباره با شما تماس میگیریم.

intent_render: تشکر از وقت تان؛ فکر نمیکنم این قیمت‌ها برای ما جور بیاید. اگر نظر تیم ما دیگر شد، خود ما تماس میگیریم. (در عرف نمایشگاه، این جمله معمولا رد مودبانه است.)

pragmatic_note: The team-check formula reads as a live process, so the exporter follows up for weeks against what was a polite refusal at the stand.

phenomenon: Western soft-no (run it by the team)


utterance_src: Huge thanks for covering us at customs yesterday. you're a lifesaver! Drinks on me next time.

context: Speaker: a British importer whose Afghan partner paid a customs storage fee out of pocket to stop a seizure. Listener: that partner, a practicing Muslim who does not drink. Sent as a quick text message.

literal_render: خیلی زیاد تشکر که دیروز در گمرک ما را پوشش دادید. شما نجات‌دهنده زندگی هستید! دفعه بعد نوشیدنی‌ها به حساب من.

intent_render: دست تان درد نکند، دیروز در گمرک حق بزرگی سر ما گذاشتید؛ این لطف تان فراموش ما نمیشود و ان‌شاءالله جبران میکنیم. دفعه بعد مهمان ما هستید.

pragmatic_note: Beyond the casual register underselling a real favor, the literal drinks-invitation lands as tone-deaf to a partner who doesn't drink; the reciprocity formula is what actually honors the debt.

phenomenon: gratitude formula required where English is casual


utterance_src: Much appreciated!

context: Speaker: a foreign wholesaler replying to an Afghan supplier who rebuilt and reshipped an entire damaged order at his own cost to keep the relationship. Listener: the supplier. This two-word reply is the entire message.

literal_render: بسیار قدردانی شد!

intent_render: دست شما درد نکند؛ میدانیم چه زحمتی کشیدید و این خوبی تان را به یاد داریم. امید که در فرصت خودش جبران کنیم.

pragmatic_note: A two-word thanks after a costly favor reads as dismissal of a debt the supplier expected to be acknowledged, quietly damaging a relationship he paid to protect.

phenomenon: acknowledging obligation, not just thanks


utterance_src: That's very generous, but we can't accept a discount on this one, our audit rules require we pay the listed price.

context: Speaker: a foreign NGO logistics officer buying blankets in bulk. Listener: the Afghan wholesaler, who has offered a goodwill discount and will read a polite refusal as the opening move of taarof. The refusal is real and final.

literal_render: بسیار سخاوتمندانه است، اما نمیتوانیم در این مورد تخفیف قبول کنیم. قوانین بازرسی ما ایجاب میکند قیمت ذکر شده را بپردازیم.

intent_render: لطف تان بسیار زیاد، مگر به راستی معذوریم؛ مقررات دفتر ما اجازه تخفیف را نمیدهد و باید عین نرخ ذکر شده را بپردازیم. این گپ ما را تعارف نگیرید، مجبوریت اداری است.

pragmatic_note: A politely worded refusal is heard as the ritual first no, so the wholesaler will insist and re-apply the discount; the render must mark the refusal as an administrative necessity, final and without insult.

phenomenon: real refusal that must not read as taarof


utterance_src: A polite request before Thursday's visit: please, no gifts or lunch for the inspection team. it puts us in a difficult position with our head office.

context: Speaker: a foreign quality-control coordinator writing ahead of a factory audit. Listener: the factory owner, whose hospitality to guests is a point of honor and who will instinctively read the request as modesty to be overridden.

literal_render: یک خواهش مودبانه پیش از بازدید پنجشنبه: لطفا برای تیم بازرسی هدیه یا نان چاشت نباشد. این کار ما را با دفتر مرکزی در موقعیت دشوار قرار میدهد.

intent_render: پیش از بازدید روز پنجشنبه یک خواهش صمیمانه داریم: میدانیم مهمان‌نوازی رسم بزرگ شماست و قدرش را میدانیم، مگر مقررات دفتر مرکزی ما پذیرفتن هدیه و دعوت را برای تیم بازرسی منع کرده است. این خواهش را تعارف نگیرید؛ اگر رعایت شود، بهترین لطف در حق خود تیم است.

pragmatic_note: Read as ritual modesty, the request will be lovingly violated with a full lunch spread, and the inspectors will have to refuse hospitality to the host's face on his own floor.

phenomenon: pre-empting hospitality that must actually be declined