What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of beh man (to me), zang (bell/ring) and bezan (strike/hit).
Which one should you use?
While beh man zang bezan is the grammatically standard form, in everyday spoken conversation, you will much more commonly hear the contraction بهم زنگ بزن. Additionally, بهم زنگ بده is an informal expression used in spoken language that means "give me a call".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
به من زنگ بزن is an informal way to say "call me". For formal situations, use به من زنگ بزنید. To be even more polite and formal, you can say لطفا به من زنگ بزنید.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the request polite or to address more than one person, change the verb ending from bezan to bezanid, resulting in به من زنگ بزنید. In spoken Persian, the preposition beh and the pronoun man are often contracted into behem, resulting in بهم زنگ بزن.
How do you pronounce it?
beh man zang bezan
Did you know?
- In Persian, the word زنگ is a homonym that can also mean 'rust'.
- While زنگ means 'bell' in the context of calling, it also historically referred to people of East African descent in Middle Persian.
Examples in context
- به من زنگ بزن!Call me!This example shows how to use the phrase به من زنگ بزن as an imperative command.Tatoeba #866470 by ghasemkiani, translation #434344 by lukaszpp
- بعد از جلسه به من زنگ بزن.ba'd az jalase be man zang bezan.Call me after the meeting.
- اگر کاری داشتی به من زنگ بزن.agar kari dashti be man zang bezan.Call me if you need anything.
Example conversation
Maryam and Reza are talking on the phone before Reza leaves for a trip.
- مریم Maryamرضا، وقتی رسیدی به من زنگ بزن.Reza, vaghti residi be man zang bezan.Reza, call me when you arrive.
- رضا Rezaحتماً مریم، حتماً به تو زنگ می‌زنم.Hatman Maryam, hatman be to zang mizanam.Sure Maryam, I will definitely call you.
- مریم Maryamخیلی ممنون، مراقب خودت باش.Kheyli mamnun, moraghebe khodet bash.Thank you so much, take care of yourself.
- رضا Rezaمرسی، فعلاً خداحافظ.Merci, fe'lan khodahafez.Thanks, goodbye for now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries به, زنگ, من, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
