به هر کجا که روی آسمان همین رنگ است

What it means

به هر کجا که روی آسمان همین رنگ است (be har kojâ ke ravi âsemân hamin rang ast) means “wherever you go, the sky is the same color.” People say it when someone thinks moving will fix what’s broken inside.

How to use it

• فرار نکن، به هر کجا روی آسمان همین رنگه (farâr nakon, be har kojâ ravi âsemân hamin range) “Don’t run, the sky is the same everywhere”
• رفتم خارج، دیدم آسمان همین رنگ است (raftam khârej, didam âsemân hamin rang ast) “I went abroad and found the sky was the same”
• به هر کجا که روی، آسمان همین رنگ است (be har kojâ ke ravi âsemân hamin rang ast) “Wherever you go, the sky is the same”

The literal meaning

The sky over Tehran, Tabriz, Toronto, and Tokyo is the same blue. Geography changes; the dome above does not.

The figurative meaning

Human nature is the same wherever you land. Bosses are bosses, families are families, trouble travels in your suitcase. Don’t expect a new city to do the work of self-change.

When you’d say it

An uncle who emigrated to Germany twenty years ago says it to a young nephew dreaming that moving to Vancouver will solve his unhappiness.

Cultural note

This proverb has gained sharp new weight in the Iranian diaspora era. Returning relatives who lived abroad use it to comfort younger ones who think emigration is a clean exit. It’s a quiet correction to the مهاجرت (mohâjerat) fantasy: the sky is the same; only the work of changing yourself moves with you.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab