دست نزنید
“دست نزنید” (dast nânid) — do not touch in Persian. Phrase, level A2, topic — phrases that save you. Literally "do not strike the hand": dast nazanid. It is dangerous, says the example — so hands off. In a live sentence: “خطرناک است، دست نزنید” — It is dangerous, do not touch. Written with the characters د, س, ت, ن, ز, ن, ی, د. One of 17 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | دست نزنید |
| Read in Latin letters | dast nânid |
| Translation | do not touch |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "do not strike the hand": dast nazanid. It is dangerous, says the example — so hands off
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- خطرناک است، دست نزنیدkhatarnak ast, dast nânidIt is dangerous, do not touch
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- نفهمیدمnafahmidamI did not understandOne word carrying subject, tense and negation: na- went inside as -e-. The verb fahmidan, to understand, is the same root as the name Firdausi built verses on
- دوبارهdâbâresay it againAn adverb doing a whole command: dobare, lotfan — again, please. Do is "two" and bar is "a time, an occasion", so the word is literally "a second time"
- آهستهترâhestetarslowerThe comparative is -tar glued on, no extra word: aheste slow, aheste-tar slower. The same handle works on any adjective
- انگلیسی حرف میزنید؟anglesi harf mi-zânid؟do you speak English?Literally "English speech do-you-strike?" The verb kardan, to do, builds half the spoken language: harf zadan is to talk
- کمک!kâmak!help!The shout and the noun of help in one syllable. Komak!, komak! — said twice, as in the example
- گم شدهامgâm shâdeamI am lostGom is lostness, shodeam — I have become. The state is phrased as "become", not "am": exactly the pattern of sir shodam
- کار نمیکندkâr nemi-kânadit does not workLiterally "it does not do work" — the verdict on lifts and lamps alike. The negative builds inside the verb
- صبر کنیدsâbr kânidplease waitSabr is patience; konid does it politely — plural you. Sabr konid, lotfan: wait, please
- نمیتونم باز کنمnemi-tunam bâz kânamI cannot open itCannot + open + do: negatives and compounds stack in one line. Darb nemitunam baz konam — the stuck door
- اورژانسârzhansambulanceThe emergency service — orjoons, a word born from French urgence. Orjoons miayad: the ambulance is coming
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “do not touch” in Persian?
Literally "do not strike the hand": dast nazanid. It is dangerous, says the example — so hands off
- How do you say “it does not work” in Persian?
Literally "it does not do work" — the verdict on lifts and lamps alike. The negative builds inside the verb
- How do you say “slower” in Persian?
The comparative is -tar glued on, no extra word: aheste slow, aheste-tar slower. The same handle works on any adjective
- How do you say “ambulance” in Persian?
The emergency service — orjoons, a word born from French urgence. Orjoons miayad: the ambulance is coming
- How do you say “I am lost” in Persian?
Gom is lostness, shodeam — I have become. The state is phrased as "become", not "am": exactly the pattern of sir shodam
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “do not touch” in Persian?
«دست نزنید», read “dast nânid”. In a live sentence: “خطرناک است، دست نزنید” — It is dangerous, do not touch. Phrase, level A2, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters د, س, ت, ن, ز, ن, ی, د.
How is “دست نزنید” written in Latin letters?
dast nânid. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally "do not strike the hand": dast nazanid. It is dangerous, says the example — so hands off. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.