Background: Lauren was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Her parents are both Persian Jews, and Lauren considers herself Persian as well. Lauren does not know how to write the curse in the original Farsi. The pronunciation is based on how Lauren said the phrase during our interview, keeping in mind that she is not a native Farsi speaker. Her first language was English and she also learned Hebrew growing up, and while she understands Farsi her speaking capabilities are, in her own words, limited.

Context: I called Lauren on the phone since she attends university in Florida and recorded our conversation. I have transcribed what she said over the phone below. She was sharing with me her favorite Persian curse words and phrases. She had just shared her favorite, which is published under the title “Farsi Curse #1” as well as a more offensive curse that is published as “Farsi Curse #2”.

The phrase: khag tu sar

How it is pronounced: kh-oh-g too sahr

“Our final curse word is khag tu sar. It basically means throw dirt on your head. I don’t know the correct grammatical terms for it but I’m pretty sure you can use it universally, not sure if its a gender related term. I learned this word from my parents when I was very young but I never used it until I was a sophomore in high school. Now its just a part of my language. People use it in many ways, but I use it almost like “kill me now” or “oh no”. I think its supposed to be said to put people down if they’re being annoying. Most people use it in the sense of “kill me” or “oh god”, like khag tu sar!”