نذر
Nazr is a votive vow, a promise to God to give something (usually food) if a wish is granted. The food distributed afterward is called nazri.
Glossary
قدرشناس
Qadr-shenâs describes someone who recognizes worth and shows gratitude. It is the adjective Iranians use for an employee, friend, or child who knows what they have been given.
ناموس
Nâmus is honor as the protected sacred boundary around family, especially female kin. It is the THING protected, where gheyrat is the protective impulse that guards it.
جوانمردی
Javânmardi is the abstract code of chivalric generosity, the unwritten ethics of the luti. It is what makes a man pay your bill, defend a stranger, and refuse a reward.
دلداری
Deldâri is the act of comforting someone in grief or distress, literally heart-keeping. It is what you do at funerals, after breakups, and when a friend’s parent is in hospital.
حوصله
Hosele is patience as mental bandwidth, the inner capacity to deal with anything right now. When an Iranian says hosele nadâram, they mean their mood-energy is empty.
رودرواسی
Ru-darbâyesti is the social embarrassment that makes you say yes when you mean no, accept tea you don’t want, agree to a favor that drains you. It’s the friction Iranians feel when refusing would seem rude.
مهماننوازی
Mehmân-navâzi means hospitality, literally “guest-cherishing.” It’s not just a social nicety in Iran but a moral duty: feed the guest, serve them tea, refuse their offers to help, never let them leave hungry.
احترام
Ehterâm means respect, especially the kind shown through deference, formal speech, and physical gesture. It’s how Iranians publicly mark hierarchy, age, and social standing.
ادب
Adab means proper conduct, refined manners, etiquette. It’s a foundational Iranian virtue covering how you sit, speak, eat, treat elders, and carry yourself in public. The opposite of crude.