خفه

What it means

خفه (khafe) is a colloquial adjective and exclamation with two connected meanings. Physically, it describes being choked, suffocated, or stifled: a stuffy room can be خفه, a person being strangled is خفه شده. Socially, it is the blunt command to be quiet: خفه شو (khafe sho) means shut up and is decidedly impolite, carrying real aggression. The softer everyday word for be quiet is ساکت باش (sâket bâsh) or آروم باش (ârum bâsh). خفه کردن (khafe kardan) means to suffocate someone or to silence them, and the idiom خفه خون گرفتن (khafe khun gereftan) means to keep one’s mouth shut under pressure, to swallow one’s words and say nothing.

How to use it

• خفه شو! (khafe sho!) “Shut up!”
• اینجا خفه‌ست، پنجره رو وا کن (injâ khafe-st, panjare ro vâ kon) “It’s stuffy in here, open the window.”
• خفه‌ش کردن (khafe-sh kardan) “They silenced him.”
• خفه خون گرفت و چیزی نگفت (khafe khun gereft o chizi nagoft) “He kept his mouth shut and said nothing.”

Cultural note

خفه شو is considered genuinely rude in Persian and is not a phrase you would use lightly in polite company or toward elders. In contrast, the physical sense of خفه (stuffy, stifling) is completely neutral and common in everyday speech about crowded or poorly ventilated spaces. Understanding both uses is important for learners, because hearing خفه‌ست about a room is entirely different from hearing خفه شو directed at a person. The idiom خفه خون گرفتن is useful and culturally rich, describing the politically and socially common experience of being pressured into silence.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab