لطفا
“لطفا” (lâtfan) — please in Persian. Adverb, level A0, topic — polite words. Literally "out of kindness". It closes a request — cha, lotfan, tea please — and softens an offer the same way. In a live sentence: “چای, لطفا” — Tea, please. Written with the characters ل, ط, ف, ا. One of 8 words in the set “polite words” in the Persian course.
In short
| Written in Persian | لطفا |
| Read in Latin letters | lâtfan |
| Translation | please |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "out of kindness". It closes a request — cha, lotfan, tea please — and softens an offer the same way
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.
- چای, لطفاchay, lâtfanTea, please
Nearby words: polite words
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
- ممنونmemnunthank youLiterally "obliged" — the same word of courtesy some fairy tales borrow. The polite choice; the borrowed "mersi" is the street one
- خواهش میکنمkhâhesh mi-kânamyou are welcomeLiterally "I beg, I request". Answering thanks with "I beg" sounds grand in English and perfectly routine here
- شماshâmâyou (polite)The respectful you, and it serves one respected person too — the same move as French vous. Its verb goes plural
- ببخشیدbebakhshidexcuse meLiterally "may you be pardoned". It stops a stranger on the street, apologizes for a nudge and asks the time — one word for all three
- خسته نباشیدkhaste nebâshidthanks for your workLiterally "may you not be tired" — said to anyone who has been working: a shopkeeper, a bus driver, a whole office
- صبر کنیدsâbr kânidplease waitSabr is patience; konid does it politely — plural you. Sabr konid, lotfan: wait, please
- قابلی ندارهgâbeli nadâreno problemLiterally "it has no worth [as a favor]" — qabol means acceptance. The street answer to thanks, warmer than the formal one
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “polite words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “please” in Persian?
Literally "out of kindness". It closes a request — cha, lotfan, tea please — and softens an offer the same way
- How do you say “no problem” in Persian?
Literally "it has no worth [as a favor]" — qabol means acceptance. The street answer to thanks, warmer than the formal one
- How do you say “please wait” in Persian?
Sabr is patience; konid does it politely — plural you. Sabr konid, lotfan: wait, please
- How do you say “thanks for your work” in Persian?
Literally "may you not be tired" — said to anyone who has been working: a shopkeeper, a bus driver, a whole office
- How do you say “excuse me” in Persian?
Literally "may you be pardoned". It stops a stranger on the street, apologizes for a nudge and asks the time — one word for all three
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 “please” in Persian?
«لطفا», read “lâtfan”. In a live sentence: “چای, لطفا” — Tea, please. Adverb, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters ل, ط, ف, ا.
How is “لطفا” written in Latin letters?
lâtfan. 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 "out of kindness". It closes a request — cha, lotfan, tea please — and softens an offer the same way. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.