Breakdown of انگار میزبان نه باادب است و نه مهماننواز.
و
and
بودنbudan
to be
باادبbâ'adab
polite
مهماننوازmehmân-navâz
hospitable
نهna
nor
میزبانmizbân
host
انگارangâr
as if, it seems
Questions & Answers about انگار میزبان نه باادب است و نه مهماننواز.
Why do we use the indicative verb ast here instead of the subjunctive after engâr?
Engâr means 'it seems' or 'as if'. When it introduces a strong assumption or an observation of something real—like deducing from the host's actual behavior that they are rude—Farsi uses the indicative. If the sentence was describing a purely hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situation ('He acted as if he were the host'), you would use the subjunctive.
Why is the verb affirmative (ast) when the sentence has a negative meaning ('neither... nor')?
In Farsi, when you use the na ... va na ... (neither ... nor ...) structure, the verb must remain in the affirmative. English does the same thing ('is neither... nor...'). Using a negative verb like nist here would be grammatically incorrect and would create a double negative.
Why is the verb ast placed in the middle of the sentence rather than at the very end?
When using na ... va na ... to list adjectives, you can place the verb at the very end (na bâ-adab va na mehmân-navâz ast). However, placing the verb right after the first item is incredibly common and often sounds more natural and emphatic in spoken Farsi. It gives the sentence a conversational rhythm, similar to saying 'he is neither polite, nor hospitable.'
How is the word mehmân-navâz formed?
It is a compound of mehmân (guest) and navâz, the present stem of the verb navâkhtan. While you may know navâkhtan as 'to play a musical instrument', its older root meaning is 'to caress' or 'to treat with kindness'. Therefore, a mehmân-navâz is literally a 'guest-cherisher'—someone who is hospitable.
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