گربه

What it means

گربه (gorbe) means “cat.” Pure Persian, A1 priority, gendered female by default in many idioms (the typical cat in a Persian saying is a she). The plural is گربه‌ها (gorbe-hâ), and the diminutive گربه‌کوچولو (gorbe-kuchulu) is what you call a kitten in baby talk.

Persian also has a Tehrani slang word پیشی (pishi), the cute baby-talk version (“kitty”), used the way English uses “kitty.”

How to use it

• یک گربه سیاه (yek gorbe-ye siyâh) “a black cat”
• گربه‌ام را گم کرده‌ام (gorbe-am râ gom karde-am) “I’ve lost my cat”
• گربه میو میو می‌کند (gorbe miyo miyo mikonad) “the cat is meowing”
• گربه ولگرد (gorbe-ye velgard) “stray cat”
• غذای گربه (ghazâ-ye gorbe) “cat food”

Cats in Iranian life

Iranian cats sit in a comfortable middle. Most religious objections to indoor pets focus on dogs, not cats; the prophet Muhammad’s reported affection for cats has given them broad cultural acceptance in Muslim Iranian households. You’ll find cats in courtyards, on apartment balconies, and curled on shop counters across the country. Tehran has a visible street-cat population, and animal welfare organizations have grown in the past decade.

The Persian cat (گربه ایرانی, gorbe-ye irâni) is a recognized breed worldwide, with the long fur and flat face. Iran is its name-source, though the breed sold in Western pet stores has been heavily reshaped by Western breeders.

The dead-cat saying

One Persian phrase worth knowing: گربه مرده (gorbe-ye morde), literally “a dead cat.” It describes someone who pretends to be weak, helpless, or harmless to manipulate sympathy. “خودش را گربه مرده می‌کند” (khod-ash râ gorbe-ye morde mikonad) means “he’s playing the dead cat,” acting pitiful so others will give in. The image is brutal but precise: a cat that goes limp to escape a fight.

The phrase comes up in family conflicts, office politics, and arguments where one person is deploying weakness as a weapon. Calling someone gorbe-ye morde is a direct accusation of bad faith.

Mnemonic

GORBE → گربه. Picture a Persian cat (the breed) curled on a Kashan rug, fur the color of saffron, watching you with both eyes closed.