What it means
پشم نریختن (pashm narikhtan) combines پشم (pashm, “wool, body hair”) and نریختن (narikhtan, “not to shed, not to drop”). The image is of an animal that does not shed a single hair in response to a threat: completely unbothered. In everyday speech it means to not care at all, to be entirely indifferent. It is colloquial and direct, sitting somewhere between casual and mildly crude. A softer synonym is برایش مهم نبودن (barâyeš mohem nabudan, “it not mattering to them”); a stronger one is گوزیدن به چیزی (a more explicit expression best saved for informal company).
How to use it
- به حرفاشون پشم نمیریزم. (be harfâšun pashm nemirizam.) “I don’t give a damn about what they say.”
- اون به نظر بقیه پشم نمیریزه. (un be nazar baqiye pashm nemirize.) “She doesn’t care one bit what others think.”
- به این قوانین پشم نریخت و هر کاری دلش خواست کرد. (be in qavânin pashm narikht o har kâri delaš khâst kard.) “He didn’t give a damn about these rules and did whatever he pleased.”
- من به انتقادهای بیاساس پشم نمیریزم. (man be enteghaad-hâye bi-asâs pashm nemirizam.) “I don’t lose any sleep over baseless criticism.”
Cultural note
The expression belongs firmly to informal spoken Persian and would sound jarring in a formal or written context. Its directness makes it emphatic: the speaker is not just saying they are unworried, they are signaling that the subject does not even register on their radar. Young Iranians use it freely in conversation and on social media, often with a tone of defiance or humor.