What it means
جیگرتو بخورم (jigareto bokhoram) is an idiom of extreme affection. Literally “I’ll eat your liver,” figuratively “I adore you, you’re so precious to me.”
Very colloquial. Reserved for parents to children, lovers, or close family.
How to use it
- جیگرتو بخورم چقدر نازی (jigareto bokhoram cheghadr nâzi) “I love you, you’re so cute”
- الهی جیگرتو بخورم (elâhi jigareto bokhoram) “Oh I adore you”
- قربون جیگرت برم (ghorbân-e jigaret beram) “I sacrifice myself for your liver” (related)
The literal meaning
Word for word: جیگر (jigar, liver) + ت (-et, your) + و (object marker) + بخورم (bokhoram, may I eat). “May I eat your liver.” In Persian folk physiology, the liver, not the heart, is the organ of love and life.
The figurative meaning
Speakers mean “you are so precious to me I would consume the most vital part of you,” or in everyday English, “I love you to bits, I adore you.” The intensity is the point.
When you’d say it
Your toddler nephew giggles in your lap and you squeeze him saying الهی جیگرتو بخورم.
Cultural note
Persian is full of liver-affection idioms: جیگرم (jigaram, my liver = my darling), جیگر طلا (jigar-talâ, gold-liver = sweetheart), قربون جیگرت. The liver is treated as the seat of vitality. Note: as Tehran slang, جیگر alone can also mean “hottie,” a separate register entirely.
References
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