Questions & Answers about مدیر خیلی سختگیره.
Why is there an extra letter ه at the end of سختگیره?
This is the spoken Farsi shortcut for است (is). In colloquial Tehrani, when the word before the verb ends in a consonant (like the r in سختگیر), the verb shrinks down and attaches as the suffix ـه.
Is the ه at the end of سختگیره pronounced as an h sound?
No, when used as the colloquial suffix meaning is, ـه is always pronounced as a short -e vowel sound. The whole word is pronounced sakht-gire.
I recognize سخت as hard. Where does the گیر part come from?
گیر is the present stem of the verb گرفتن (to take or get). So a سختگیر is literally someone who takes things hard or holds firmly, which is how Farsi builds the compound adjective for strict.
Would people still understand me if I used the full verb and said مدیر خیلی سختگیر است?
Absolutely, but it will sound quite formal, as if you are reading from a book or a news report. In everyday conversation, native speakers almost always use the reduced ـه suffix shown here.