چله

/ chele /

noun · 40-day cycle, winter solstice

Meaning

معنی

The چله tradition is pre-Islamic, going back to Zoroastrian time-keeping. The number 40 has spiritual weight in Persian culture, also marking 40-day periods of mourning, post-natal recovery, and spiritual retreat (چله‌نشینی, chele-neshini, the Sufi 40-day seclusion). The چله بزرگ runs from the Yaldâ solstice through the deepest cold; the چله کوچک takes you to the threshold of spring. Iranians watch for the moment ساعت چله می‌رود (the chele departs), a folk turning-point toward warmer days.

How it's used

Chele has two regional emphases. In Tehran and most of central Iran, Chelle-ye Bozorg (the great chelle, first 40 days of winter) and Chelle-ye Kuchak (small chelle, next 20 days) are observed as a folk weather calendar more than as a celebration. In Azerbaijani-speaking Tabriz and the northwest, the term shab-e chelle merges with Yalda (the longest night) as a single major holiday. In Khorasan, certain dishes (ash-e chelle) are eaten on specific dates in the cycle. Diaspora communities rarely observe chele as a calendar marker, though they may use the word in poetry references.

In a sentence

مثال

چله بزرگ

chele-ye bozorg

the big chele, the first 40 days

The company it keeps

هم‌نشین‌ها

You rarely meet a word alone — here it is, at work beside others.

یلدا

yaldâ

the longest night, winter solstice

چله‌نشینی

chele-neshini

40-day spiritual retreat

زمستان

zemestân

winter

شب یلدا

shab-e yaldâ

Yaldâ Night

In its constellation

در پیوند

No word stands alone. Follow a thread to the words it lives beside — hover to read one, click to open it.

See it in the whole constellation →

چلهchele

زمستانzemestân اربعینarba'in دیdey نمکnamak یلداyaldâ شب یلداshab-e yaldâ

چلهchele

keeps company with ۶ words