ریختن

What it means

ریختن (rikhtan) is a pure Persian verb with a wide range of meanings all built around the idea of something flowing, falling, or being released. Its core sense is to pour: چای ریختن (châi rikhtan) means to pour tea. From there it extends to to spill, to shed tears (اشک ریختن, ashk rikhtan), and to collapse or fall down (دیوار ریخت, divâr rikht, the wall collapsed). One of its most culturally loaded uses is آبرو ریختن (âbru rikhtan), literally to pour out someone’s honour, meaning to humiliate or to cause someone to lose face, a very serious act in Iranian social life. The present stem is ریز (riz), giving forms like می‌ریزم (mirizam, I pour), ریختم (rikhtam, I poured), and بریز (beriz, pour it).

How to use it

• چای بریز (châi beriz) “Pour the tea.”
• آب ریختم رو لباسم (âb rikhtam ru lebâsam) “I spilled water on my clothes.”
• اشک ریخت (ashk rikht) “She shed tears.”
• آبروم رو نریز (âbru-am ro nariz) “Don’t ruin my reputation / Don’t embarrass me.”

Cultural note

Of all the compound verbs built from ریختن, آبرو ریختن carries the heaviest social charge. آبرو (âbru) is a person’s honour, dignity, and social standing, something that can be poured away and lost. In a culture where reputation and the judgement of others carry considerable weight, warning someone نریز (nariz, don’t pour it away) is a serious appeal. The image of honour as something liquid that can spill is one of the vivid metaphors embedded in everyday Persian speech.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab