What it means
دودکش (dud-kesh) means chimney, flue, or exhaust duct: any vertical shaft that draws smoke, combustion gases, or hot air out of a building. The word is a native Persian compound. دود (dud) means smoke, a word present in Old and Middle Persian. کش comes from the verb کشیدن (keshidan), to pull or draw, so دودکش literally means smoke-puller. The compound is transparent and productive: Iranians coin similar words using the same pattern, such as هواکش (havâ-kesh), fan or air vent. No Arabic or Turkic borrowing is involved.
How to use it
- دودکش شومینه باید هر سال تمیز بشه. (dud-kesh-e shumine bâyad har sâl tamiz beshe.) “The chimney of the fireplace should be cleaned every year.”
- دود از دودکش خونه بالا میرفت. (dud az dud-kesh-e khune bâlâ mi-raft.) “Smoke was rising from the chimney of the house.”
- دودکش کارخونه خیلی بلنده. (dud-kesh-e kârkhune kheyli bolande.) “The factory chimney is very tall.”
- دودکش گرفته، باید لولهکش بیاد. (dud-kesh gerefte, bâyad lule-kesh biyâd.) “The flue is blocked; a plumber needs to come.”
Cultural note
Traditional Iranian houses, particularly in colder regions like Tabriz, Isfahan, and the villages of the Alborz, relied on a central fireplace or korsi with a dedicated دودکش to manage smoke and heat during winter. The sight of دودکش rising above flat-roofed mud-brick houses is still associated with old neighborhood architecture in Persian visual memory. In modern urban buildings, the word extends to any exhaust shaft, including the ventilation ducts of boilers and industrial equipment. The poetic image of smoke curling upward through a دودکش also appears occasionally in contemporary Persian prose to signal domesticity and warmth.