خسته

خسته نباشید is one of the most distinctive features of Iranian conversation. The phrase is so embedded that signs in Iranian shops sometimes greet workers with "خسته نباشید" at shift change. Iranians say it to bus drivers, food delivery couriers, security guards, students after exams, and to anyone they see actively working. The proper response is سلامت باشید (salāmat bāshid, "may you be in health") or زنده باشی (zende bāshī, "may you live"). The phrase reflects a cultural pattern: Iranian politeness consistently addresses someone's effort or state, not just their identity. Where English says "thanks" once, Persian wraps acknowledgment, well-wishing, and farewell into a single phrase. The word خسته itself traces to Middle Persian "kasta" ("broken, exhausted"), surviving into modern Persian through everyday speech.