What it means
کبوتر با کبوتر، باز با باز (kabutar bâ kabutar, bâz bâ bâz) means “doves with doves, hawks with hawks.” Iranians say it when they notice people of similar nature finding each other.
How to use it
- کبوتر با کبوتر، باز با باز (kabutar bâ kabutar, bâz bâ bâz) “Doves with doves, hawks with hawks”
- دیدی؟ کبوتر با کبوتر (didi? kabutar bâ kabutar) “See? Doves with doves”
- کبوتر با کبوتر، باز با باز، کند همجنس با همجنس پرواز (kabutar bâ kabutar, bâz bâ bâz, konad hamjens bâ hamjens parvâz) “Same flies with same” (full couplet)
The literal meaning
کبوتر (kabutar) is a dove, gentle and ground-feeding. باز (bâz) is a hawk, predator. Each species flies with its own; you don’t see a dove circling with a hawk.
The figurative meaning
People of similar character (kind with kind, sharp with sharp, ambitious with ambitious) gravitate to each other. Tell me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.
When you’d say it
A mother watching her daughter introduce a new fiancé says it approvingly to her sister, noting that the young couple share the same gentle, bookish manner.
Cultural note
The full couplet is from a classical Persian poem and shows up in Saadi-era moral literature. It cuts both ways: praise (“good people gather”) and warning (“watch the company your son keeps”). Mothers especially use it to comment on prospective in-laws, often gently steering matchmaking conversations at family dinners.
References
ZabanYar is a Persian app built for heritage learners, the people who can speak a little but want to read, write, and really get it. Free early access at launch.
Join the waitlist →