متأسفانه نه
“متأسفانه نه” (mâtââssâfâne ne) — I am afraid not in Persian. Phrase, level B1. Literally "regrettably, no": a refusal here is softened with sympathy. A bare no sounds sharp; with the regret word — it is a pity, but no. I am afraid not, this week I am busy, says the example. In a live sentence: “متأسفانه نه، این هفته پرم” — I am afraid not, this week I am busy. Written with the characters م, ت, أ, س, ف, ا, ن, ه, ن, ه.
In short
| Written in Persian | متأسفانه نه |
| Read in Latin letters | mâtââssâfâne ne |
| Translation | I am afraid not |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "regrettably, no": a refusal here is softened with sympathy. A bare no sounds sharp; with the regret word — it is a pity, but no. I am afraid not, this week I am busy, says the example
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.
- متأسفانه نه، این هفته پرمmâtââssâfâne ne, in hâfte pâramI am afraid not, this week I am busy
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 “I am afraid not” in Persian?
«متأسفانه نه», read “mâtââssâfâne ne”. In a live sentence: “متأسفانه نه، این هفته پرم” — I am afraid not, this week I am busy. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters م, ت, أ, س, ف, ا, ن, ه, ن, ه.
How is “متأسفانه نه” written in Latin letters?
mâtââssâfâne ne. 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 "regrettably, no": a refusal here is softened with sympathy. A bare no sounds sharp; with the regret word — it is a pity, but no. I am afraid not, this week I am busy, says the example. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.