You say hello, and we Iranians say goodbye, goodbye, and goodbye. It is an almost ritualistic ending to any gathering and is a practice that you should definitely know about. In this episode we let you know how to delicately announce your departure, and how to respond when your host protests. This practice is so important that we’ve borrowed a term for it. We call this Irexit, which is short for, the Iranian exit. So, if you’re pushed for time when leaving an Iranian gathering, you’ll probably be asking, “how do I avoid a hard Irexit?”. Listen to this episode to learn more.

Questions that we also get answers to during this episode

  • How do I escape a pseudo “Iranian-hostage situation”?
  • What type of small-talk should be used with Iranians?
  • How much tea Iranians can drink in an evening?
  • Do Iranians have longer shoehorns?
  • What is Irexit, and how do I avoid a hard Irexit?

Thanks to those that helped with this episode

We would like to thank the contributors that helped us help you learn about Irexit. Thank you to our soft-Irexit proponents: Talieh, Nina, Arash, Behzad, Karim, Chris, Lars, un-named person and Giung.

Translations of Persian (Farsi) words during this episode

PersianEnglish translation
Ba ejaazeh maa mirim:“With your permission, we’re going”
Bemoon digeh:“Stay already!”
Khasteh shodim:“We got tired”
Nazdikam:“I’m near”
Khodaa Haafez:“May God be your protecter” – used as “goodbye”
Bebakhshid“Escuse me”
“a” appearing alone, will be pronounced as a short-a — double ‘aa’s are long, as used in the word “water”

Image credit: Iranian-flag coloured, striped pillow and bedsheets, by Ask An Iranian.