What it means
خر تو خر (khar tu khar) literally “donkey in donkey” or “donkey upon donkey.” Figuratively, it means complete chaos, a lawless mess, a situation where no one is in charge and everyone is doing whatever they want.
How to use it
- اونجا خر تو خره (unjâ khar tu khar-e) “That place is total chaos”
- کلاس خر تو خر شد (kelâs khar tu khar shod) “The class became a free-for-all”
- تو این مملکت خر تو خره (tu in mamlekat khar tu khar-e) “In this country it’s pure chaos”
The literal meaning
A pile of donkeys jostling and stepping on each other. No herder, no order, no direction. The image is rural and visceral, every Iranian recognizes it.
The figurative meaning
An office with no leadership, traffic with no rules, a meeting where everyone talks at once, a country whose institutions have collapsed. Strong word, used when the speaker is genuinely fed up.
When you’d say it
You walk into a government office at 11am and find no clerks at the windows, applicants shouting at each other, papers everywhere. You mutter: خر تو خره اینجا.
Cultural note
This phrase shows up in political grumbling, traffic complaints, and any commentary on broken systems. It’s not vulgar exactly, but it’s blunt. Older relatives and educated speakers might soften it to هرج و مرج (harj-o-marj) “anarchy” in formal contexts.
References
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