What it means
دورو (doru) is a colloquial Persian adjective that means two-faced or hypocritical. It is a native Persian compound: do (دو, two) plus ru (رو, face or side), literally “two-faced.” The word describes someone whose outward friendliness masks private hostility or scheming. A close synonym is منافق (monâfeq, hypocrite), which carries a heavier religious tone; دورو is the everyday, street-level insult. The opposite is رک (rok, blunt and honest).
How to use it
- این آدم دوروئه، جلوت میخنده، پشتت بد میگه. (in âdam duruye, jelowt mikhande, poshtat bad mige.) “This person is two-faced, they smile to your face and badmouth you behind your back.”
- از آدمهای دورو بیزارم. (az âdamhâye doru bizâram.) “I can’t stand two-faced people.”
- باهاش احتیاط کن، خیلی دوروئه. (bâhâsh ehtiyât kon, kheyli duruye.) “Be careful with him, he’s very two-faced.”
- نمیدونستم اینقدر دوروئه تا اون روز. (nemidunestam inqadr duruye tâ un ruz.) “I didn’t know he was this two-faced until that day.”
Cultural note
In Iranian social culture, where the art of taarof (تعارف) requires polite performance in public, the line between courtesy and دورویی (dorui, two-facedness) is sometimes thin. Calling someone دورو is a serious accusation: it means their politeness is not taarof but deception. The word appears frequently in Iranian cinema and pop culture to describe manipulative characters, and it is one of the stronger character insults in everyday Persian.