What it means
نخبازی (nakh-bâzi) is the informal, colloquial name for string games played with a loop of thread, most commonly what English speakers call cat’s cradle. The compound joins نخ (nakh), thread or string, with بازی (bâzi), game or play, both of which are native Persian words. The word is used colloquially and is the term children and parents would reach for naturally. A more formal description might be بازی با نخ (bâzi bâ nakh), literally playing with string, but نخبازی is the living everyday form.
How to use it
- وقتی بچه بودم نخبازی بلد بودم. (vaqti bache budam nakh-bâzi balad budam.) “When I was a child I knew how to play cat’s cradle.”
- بیا نخبازی کنیم. (biâ nakh-bâzi konim.) “Come, let’s play string games.”
- نخبازی یه بازی سنتی بچههاست. (nakh-bâzi ye bâzi-ye sonnati-ye bachehâst.) “Cat’s cradle is a traditional children’s game.”
- مامانم نخبازی یادم داد. (mâmânam nakh-bâzi yâdam dâd.) “My mom taught me cat’s cradle.”
Cultural note
String games have been played by children across Iran for generations, typically using a loop of thin cotton thread shared between two players who pass and transform the figure from hand to hand. Like many traditional children’s games, نخبازی requires no equipment beyond a short piece of thread, which made it a common pastime in both rural and urban settings before the spread of digital entertainment. The game appears across many cultures worldwide under different names, but in Iran it has been transmitted as an informal oral tradition with no fixed ruleset.