What it means
کوچهپسکوچه (kuche-pas-kuche) describes the backstreets or winding alleyways of a city: a network of narrow lanes where one alley leads behind and into another. Both elements are native Persian: کوچه (kuche), a word recorded in the Dehkhoda dictionary for a narrow residential lane, and پس (pas), meaning behind or after. The reduplication creates a vivid sense of depth and maze-like layering. The word is distinctly colloquial and carries warmth rather than danger in most contexts. A simpler contrast would be خیابان (khiyâbân), a proper street or avenue.
How to use it
- ما تو کوچهپسکوچههای بازار گم شدیم. (mâ tu kuche-pas-kuche-hâ-ye bâzâr gom shodim.) “We got lost in the backstreets of the bazaar.”
- بچهها تو کوچهپسکوچههای محل بازی میکردن. (bachehâ tu kuche-pas-kuche-hâ-ye mahal bâzi mikardan.) “The kids used to play in the alleyways of the neighborhood.”
- فقط کسی که اینجا بزرگ شده کوچهپسکوچه رو بلده. (faghat kasi ke injâ bozorg shode kuche-pas-kuche ro balde.) “Only someone who grew up here knows the backstreets.”
- یه کافه خوب پیدا کردیم تو کوچهپسکوچههای شمیران. (ye kâfe khub peydâ kardim tu kuche-pas-kuche-hâ-ye Shamirân.) “We found a good cafe tucked in the backstreets of Shemiran.”
Cultural note
The کوچهپسکوچه is central to Iranian urban memory: the old residential quarters of cities like Isfahan, Yazd, and the older neighborhoods of Tehran were built around a labyrinth of narrow alleys designed to create shade, slow wind, and maintain privacy for households inside. These lanes are too narrow for cars and preserve a pedestrian scale that broader streets erase. In literature and film, the کوچهپسکوچه often stands for the authentic, unhurried side of Iranian city life, the world behind the main boulevard.