What it means
گیر دادی (gir dâdi) is a pure-Persian colloquial phrase that means ‘you are being a pest,’ ‘you are nitpicking,’ or ‘you keep nagging.’ It is built from گیر (gir), meaning a snag, a catch, or being stuck, and دادی (dâdi), the second-person past tense of دادن (dâdan, to give). The literal image is of ‘giving a snag’ to someone, that is, hooking onto them and not letting go. In practice it is directed at someone who will not drop a topic, keeps pointing out flaws, or is pestering the speaker over something minor. The full verb گیر دادن (gir dâdan) is the base form, and it can be conjugated for any subject. A close synonym is اذیت کردن (aziyyat kardan), though گیر دادی feels more pointed and less formal.
How to use it
- ولم کن، چرا اینقدر گیر میدی؟ (volam kon, cherâ inqadr gir midi?) ‘Leave me alone, why do you keep nagging?’
- گیر دادی به این یه کلمه، بذار بریم. (gir dâdi be in ye kalame, bezâr berim.) ‘You are hung up on this one word, let it go and let us move on.’
- هر بار که پست میذارم گیر میده. (har bâr ke post mizâram gir mide.) ‘Every time I post something, he has a problem with it.’
- گیر ندی، میدونم چیکار میکنم. (gir nadi, midunam chikâr mikonam.) ‘Do not nitpick, I know what I am doing.’
Cultural note
گیر دادن is a versatile verb in spoken Persian that covers everything from a parent nagging a child about homework to an online commenter who will not stop poking holes in a post. On social media, گیر دادی often appears in reply threads where someone has been repeatedly challenged or corrected. It carries a mild accusation, suggesting the other person is being unreasonable or obsessive rather than genuinely helpful. The image of getting snagged, of something catching and refusing to release, is a natural metaphor that resonates widely in everyday Iranian speech.