What it means
کفتار (kaftâr) means hyena, referring to the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) and occasionally the spotted hyena in imported usage. The word is native Persian, descending from Middle Persian kaftār, with no Arabic or Turkic root. In everyday speech, کفتار carries a strongly negative connotation: calling someone کفتار is a serious insult, implying they are a scavenger, a coward, or someone who profits from others’ misfortune. A near synonym in the sense of insult is شغال (shaqâl, jackal), though the two animals are distinct. In strictly zoological contexts the word is neutral, but in daily conversation the figurative use is far more common.
How to use it
- کفتار در مناطق کویری ایران دیده میشه. (kaftâr dar manâteq-e kaviri-ye Irân dide mishe.) “Hyenas are spotted in Iran’s desert regions.”
- کفتار لاشهخوره، خودش شکار نمیکنه. (kaftâr lâshe-khore, khodesh shekâr nemikone.) “The hyena is a carrion-eater, it doesn’t hunt for itself.”
- این آدمها مثل کفتار دور مشکلات ما جمع شدن. (in âdam-hâ mesl-e kaftâr dor-e moshkelât-e mâ jam’ shodan.) “These people gathered around our problems like hyenas.”
- صدای کفتار توی شب ترسناکه. (sedâye kaftâr tu-ye shab tarsanâk-e.) “The hyena’s sound at night is frightening.”
Cultural note
The striped hyena lives across Iran’s arid zones, from the Zagros foothills to the eastern deserts. In Persian folklore and proverbs, the کفتار represents opportunism, greed, and moral cowardice, roles it shares with the jackal (شغال) across Middle Eastern traditions. Persian proverbs warn against associating with people compared to hyenas, and the word appears in classical literature as a byword for the lowest sort of scavenger. Despite this cultural stigma, the striped hyena is actually a shy and largely solitary animal, quite different from the aggressive spotted hyena familiar from African wildlife documentaries.