لطفا آب بده.

Please give (me) water.

Breakdown of لطفا آب بده.

• لطفا: please
• آب: water
• دادن: to give

Questions & Answers about لطفا آب بده.

How do I pronounce لطفا آب بده?

A common transliteration is lotfan âb bede (also written lotfân).

• لطفا: roughly lot-FAN (the final -an can sound like -on/-un depending on the speaker)
• آب: âb (a long aa sound, like father without the f)
• بده: be-DEH (short e sounds)

In fast speech it may sound like lotfanâb bede with words running together.

Why is it written لطفا without the diacritic/mark—shouldn’t it be لطفاً?

Both are used in everyday writing:

• لطفاً is the more “proper” spelling (with the tanvīn mark اً).
• لطفا is extremely common in informal typing and texting, and many people omit the mark.

They’re read the same in normal speech.

What verb is بده and what form is it?

بده is the informal singular imperative of the verb دادن (to give).

• Infinitive: دادن
• Present stem: ده-
• Imperative (informal): بده = give!

So the structure is basically: (please) + water + give!

Is this sentence informal? How do I make it more formal/polite?

Yes—بده is informal (used with friends, family, children, or someone you address as تو).

More formal options:

• لطفاً آب بدید. (polite plural/you-form; very common)
• لطف می‌کنید آب بدید؟ (even softer, like “Could you please give water?”)
• ممکنه لطفاً آب بدید؟ (very polite)

Who is being asked—where is the word for you?

Persian imperatives usually don’t need an explicit subject. The subject you is understood from the verb form.

• بده implies you (informal singular).
• بدید implies you (polite/formal) or you all.

If you really want to say it, you can add it for emphasis:

• تو لطفاً آب بده. (informal, can sound pushy depending on tone)
• شما لطفاً آب بدید. (polite)

Why isn’t there a word for me (like “give me water”)?

Persian often leaves the indirect object implicit when it’s obvious from context. If you want to specify:

• لطفاً به من آب بده. = please give me water.
• لطفاً یه کم آب به من بده. = please give me a little water.

You can also use an enclitic pronoun in some structures, but with آب بده the clear, natural way is به من.

Should there be را after آب?

را (the direct-object marker) is often omitted in casual speech, especially in short requests. Both can work:

• لطفاً آب بده. (very natural in conversation)
• لطفاً آب را بده. (more explicit; can sound more formal or emphatic)

In everyday spoken Persian, the version without را is common.

Could آب بده mean “water (the plant)” instead of “give water”?

Yes, depending on context.

• آب بده can mean give (someone) water.
• It can also mean water it (i.e., give water to a plant).

If you want to be unambiguous about watering a plant, you can say:

• به گلدون آب بده. = water the flowerpot/plant. Or to be unambiguous about giving a person water:
• به من آب بده. = give me water.

What’s the difference between placing لطفاً at the beginning vs the end?

Both are fine and common:

• لطفاً آب بده.
• آب بده، لطفاً.

Beginning position is the most neutral. Ending position can feel a bit more like an afterthought in English (“…please”), and tone/intonation matters.

How would I say “Please don’t give (any) water”?

Use the negative imperative:

• Informal: لطفاً آب نده.
• Formal/polite: لطفاً آب ندید.

If you want “don’t give me water” explicitly:

• لطفاً به من آب نده.

Can I use this as a question instead of a command?

If you want it to sound less like an order, Persian often uses a present tense question:

• Informal: لطفاً آب می‌دی؟ = will you give (me) water, please?
• Formal: لطفاً آب می‌دید؟ / لطفاً آب می‌دیدین؟ (regional/formality varies)

Or the very common polite request form:

• لطف می‌کنید آب بدید؟