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 پرداخت، 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 یک ترتیبی بفرمایید 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 ممنونیم. 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. راستش در محموله آخر تقریبا یک سوم کارتن‌ها در راه صدمه دیده بود؛ میفهمیم که راه دور است، مگر 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. (تعارف خداحافظی آمریکایی است، نه وعده واقعی نان چاشت.)

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 بعدا 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: راستش 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 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: تشکر بزرگ 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