What it means
پریدن از جوی (paridan az juy) means to jump over a ditch, to leap across a channel or gap. پریدن (paridan) is the native Persian verb “to jump, to fly, to leap,” and جوی (juy) means a water channel, irrigation ditch, or small stream, also pure Persian. The phrase describes a literal jump over a narrow waterway or gap in the ground. It is also the first half of one of the most quoted Persian proverbs about ambition and overreach, which gives it cultural weight beyond its physical meaning. A close synonym for the physical act is از روی… پریدن (az ruy-e… paridan), leaping over something.
How to use it
- از اون جوی پریدم و پام خیس نشد. (Az oon juy paridam va pâm khis nashod.) “I jumped over that ditch and my foot didn’t get wet.”
- بچهها از روی جوی میپریدن. (Bachehâ az ruy-e juy miparidan.) “The kids were jumping over the stream.”
- جوی باریکه، راحت میشه ازش پرید. (Juy bârike, râhat mishe azash parid.) “The ditch is narrow, you can easily jump over it.”
- سعی کرد از جوی بپره ولی نتونست. (Sa’y kard az juy bepare vali natunest.) “He tried to jump the ditch but couldn’t.”
Cultural note
The phrase is inseparable from the Persian proverb کسی که از جوی نپرد از رودخانه هم نمیپرد (kasi ke az juy napare az rudkhâne ham nemipare), meaning roughly “one who cannot jump a ditch will not jump a river either.” It advises starting small before attempting the great. Traditional Persian agricultural life depended on a network of juy irrigation channels, so jumping them was a real and daily physical act, which is why the image took root in proverb and poetry. Today the proverb is cited in motivational speeches, coaching contexts, and parenting advice.