What it means
نفسنفس زدن (nafas-nafas zadan) is a colloquial verb meaning “to pant” or “to be out of breath.” It describes the quick, heavy breathing you do after running, climbing stairs, or any hard physical effort. It is a mixed compound: نفس (nafas), “breath,” is an Arabic loanword, while زدن (zadan), “to hit or strike,” is the native Persian light verb that turns it into an action. The reduplicated نفسنفس imitates the repeated gasping. A close relative is نفسنفس افتادن (nafas-nafas oftadan), with much the same meaning, while نفستنگی (nafas-tangi) is the more clinical “shortness of breath.”
How to use it
- تا رسیدم بالا داشتم نفسنفس میزدم. (ta residam bala dashtam nafas-nafas mizadam.) “By the time I got to the top, I was panting.”
- سگه بعد از دویدن نفسنفس میزنه. (sage ba’d az davidan nafas-nafas mizane.) “The dog pants after running.”
- چرا نفسنفس میزنی؟ دویدی؟ (chera nafas-nafas mizani? davidi?) “Why are you out of breath? Did you run?”
- اینقدر تند راه رفتیم که افتادم به نفسنفس زدن. (inghadr tond rah raftim ke oftadam be nafas-nafas zadan.) “We walked so fast that I started panting.”
Cultural note
In everyday Persian, نفس (nafas) carries warmth well beyond the lungs. The same word appears in نفسم (nafasam), “my breath,” used as a tender term of endearment for a loved one, and in نفس راحت کشیدن (nafas-e rahat keshidan), “to breathe a sigh of relief,” for the moment a worry finally lifts. When someone climbs the stairs of an old apartment building with no elevator and arrives نفسنفسزنان (nafas-nafas-zanan), “panting,” it is a familiar image in Iranian city life. The verb is neutral and common in speech, used as easily for a tired child as for an exhausted runner.