Taarof

T'aarof, ta'arof, or tarof (Persian:تعارف‎‎) is a Persian form of civility emphasizing both deference and social rank, similar to the Chinese art of etiquette, limao. The term encompasses a range of social behaviors; one example of taarof could be described as posing false invitations and promising future services or deeds to primarily strangers or distant relatives and expecting them not to take the offer and keep declining it. However, the closer two people get in a relationship, the less taarof appears in their behavior towards one another.