What it means
خزیدن (khazidan) means to crawl or to creep. It describes movement low to the ground, whether a baby crawling across the floor, a soldier creeping under cover, or an insect moving slowly across a surface. It is a pure Persian verb. It also carries a figurative sense of moving slowly and stealthily. A close synonym in colloquial speech is چهار دست و پا رفتن (chahar dast-o-paa raftan), meaning to go on all fours, which is more explicit about the four-limbed posture but less compact than خزیدن.
How to use it
- بچه داره رو زمین میخزه. (Bache daare roo zamin mikhaze.) “The baby is crawling on the floor.”
- از زیر سیم خاردار خزید. (Az zir-e sim-e khaardaar khazid.) “He crawled under the barbed wire.”
- سوسک آروم آروم داشت میخزید. (Susk aaroom aaroom daasht mikhazid.) “The cockroach was slowly creeping along.”
- مجبور شدیم بخزیم تا رد بشیم. (Majboor shodim bekhazim taa rad beshim.) “We had to crawl to get through.”
Cultural note
In Persian literature and idiom, خزیدن often appears in contexts that emphasize humility, stealth, or vulnerability, a person creeping away in shame, or a creature moving unseen. Classical poets occasionally use the image of creeping close to the earth as a metaphor for abasement before the divine. In everyday speech the verb is straightforward and practical, most often used to describe babies learning to move or adults navigating a tight or low space.