What it means
کلاغ (kalâgh) is the everyday Persian word for crow, the large, intelligent black bird familiar in both urban and rural Iran. The word is native to Iranian and has no Middle Persian attestation, though cognates survive across related Iranian languages including Baluchi kalág, Mazanderani kalâj, and Gilaki kəlâč. Its origin is likely onomatopoeic, reflecting the crow’s characteristic harsh call; a possible distant connection to the Proto-Indo-European root *ḱer- (which also underlies Latin corvus and Greek korax) has been suggested by some linguists, though this remains debated. The word زاغ (zâgh) is a literary or poetic synonym, but کلاغ is the universal spoken form.
How to use it
- کلاغها رو بام نشستن. (Kalâghâ ru-ye bâm neshastân.) “The crows sat on the roof.”
- یه کلاغ نونم رو برد. (Ye kalâgh nunam-o bord.) “A crow took my bread.”
- کلاغ خیلی باهوشه. (Kalâgh kheili bâhush-e.) “The crow is very intelligent.”
- صدای کلاغ از صبح در میآد. (Sedâ-ye kalâgh az sobh dar mi-âd.) “The crow’s sound starts from morning.”
Cultural note
کلاغ is one of the most culturally present birds in Persian tradition. The folk saying “کلاغ آمد خبر بدی آورد” (kalâgh âmad khabar-e badi âvord, “the crow came and brought bad news”) reflects a long-held association between crows and ill tidings. Yet Persian children’s stories often portray the crow differently: the classic tale کلاغ سیاه (the black crow) uses the bird as an everyman figure. Crows are year-round residents in virtually every Iranian city, making them one of the most commonly encountered wild animals in daily life.