یه روز دو تا تنبل میرن بانک میزنن، اولی میگه بیا پولا رو بشمریم.
A short Persian joke about two lazy bank robbers, line by line with spoken and written forms, key words, the punchline explained and a quiz.
A Persian joke about two lazy robbers
This joke belongs to a family of Persian jokes about lazy people, تنبل‌ها (tanbal-hâ). It is told in fast colloquial Persian, so it is a good way to practice verb endings that change in speech. Two lazy men rob a bank, and the punchline shows just how lazy they are.
How to study a joke: read the Persian line by line with the pronunciation, then cover the English and retell the joke aloud in your own words. A joke is a good test of listening, because if you understand the punchline, you understood the grammar too.
The joke, line by line
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| یه روز دو تا تنبل میرن بانک میزنن. | /ye ruz do tâ tanbal miran bânk mizanan./ | One day two lazy guys go and rob a bank. |
| اولی میگه: بیا پولا رو بشمریم. | /avvali mige: biyâ pulâ ro beshmorim./ | The first one says, "Come on, let's count the money." |
| دومی میگه: ولش کن، فردا رادیو میگه! | /dovvomi mige: velesh kon, fardâ râdiyo mige!/ | The second one says, "Forget it, the radio will say tomorrow." |
Why it is funny
After a robbery the news usually reports how much money was stolen. The second robber is so lazy that he would rather wait a whole day and hear the amount on the radio than count the money he is holding. The joke turns the news report, which is bad news for robbers, into a free counting service.
Spoken vs written forms
| Spoken / Written | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| یه / یک | /ye / yek/ | one, a |
| میرن / می‌روند | /miran / miravand/ | they go |
| میزنن / می‌زنند | /mizanan / mizanand/ | they hit; here: they rob |
| پولا / پول‌ها | /pulâ / pul-hâ/ | the money (plural form, "the bills") |
| رو / را | /ro / râ/ | object marker |
| بشمریم / بشماریم | /beshmorim / beshmârim/ | let's count |
| ولش کن / رهایش کن | /velesh kon / rahâyash kon/ | forget it, let it go |
| میگه / خواهد گفت | /mige / khâhad goft/ | will say (spoken present used for the future) |
Grammar notes
- بانک زدن (bânk zadan), literally "to hit a bank", is the everyday way to say "to rob a bank". The verb زدن (zadan) has many meanings, and context decides which one is meant.
- اولی (avvali) and دومی (dovvomi) mean "the first one" and "the second one". Adding ی (-i) to an ordinal number turns it into a pronoun.
- دو تا (do tâ), "two", uses the counting word تا (tâ), which is very common in speech between a number and a noun.
- فردا رادیو میگه: spoken Persian normally uses the present tense for the future when a time word like فردا (fardâ), "tomorrow", makes the meaning clear.
- بیا (biyâ), "come", followed by a subjunctive verb (بشمریم) is the usual way to say "let's …".
Glossary
| Persian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| تنبل | /tanbal/ | lazy, a lazy person |
| بانک | /bânk/ | bank |
| شمردن | /shemordan/ | to count |
| رادیو | /râdiyo/ | radio |
| ول کردن | /vel kardan/ | to let go, to drop (spoken) |
- Laugh and Learn Persian: all jokes
- Joke 1: Memory Loss
- Joke 3: Biology Class
- Joke 4: Snake in Love
- Joke 5: Let's Pray
Practice
-
What does "bânk zadan" mean? بانک زدن
Show answer
to rob a bank
-
Give the written form: میرن
Show answer
miravand, "they go" می‌روند
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How do you say "Let's count the money" in spoken Persian?
Show answer
biyâ pulâ ro beshmorim. بیا پولا رو بشمریم.
-
Why doesn't the second robber want to count the money?
Show answer
He is too lazy; he will wait for the radio news to report how much was stolen.
More jokes: Laugh and Learn Persian.
دومی میگه: ولش کن فردا رادیو میگه!
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