Bedeutung
To spend time or resources on something useless or ineffective.
Kultureller Hintergrund
Watering trees is a sacred task in Iran's dry climate. The idiom turns this positive act into a negative one by focusing on the 'dead' target. Classical poets like Saadi often use metaphors of 'salt marshes' (shureh-zar) where no amount of water will make plants grow. In Iranian startup culture, 'Ab rikhtan' is used to describe failing to 'cut losses' on a bad feature. Parents often use this to warn children against bad friendships or useless hobbies.
Swap the Object
Don't just use 'water'. You can say 'pool' (money), 'omr' (life), or 'vaght' (time) to sound more like a native.
Don't be too literal
If you use this while someone is actually watering a plant, they might think you're telling them the plant is dead!
Bedeutung
To spend time or resources on something useless or ineffective.
Swap the Object
Don't just use 'water'. You can say 'pool' (money), 'omr' (life), or 'vaght' (time) to sound more like a native.
Don't be too literal
If you use this while someone is actually watering a plant, they might think you're telling them the plant is dead!
Use with 'Faghat'
Starting the sentence with 'In faghat...' (This is just...) makes the idiom sound more natural and emphatic.
Teste dich selbst
Fill in the missing word to complete the idiom.
تلاش برای تعمیر این رادیوی قدیمی، آب ریختن ____ چیزی است.
The correct preposition is 'pā-ye' (at the foot of).
Which situation best fits the idiom 'آب ریختن پای چیزی'?
کدام موقعیت برای این اصطلاح مناسب است؟
Investing in a bankrupt company is a waste of resources, which fits the idiom.
Complete the dialogue with the correct form of the idiom.
سارا: چرا هنوز داری روی این طرح قدیمی کار میکنی؟ علی: فکر میکنم شاید درست شود. سارا: نه علی، تو فقط داری وقتت را ...
The phrase 'vagtat rā pā-ye in kār mirizi' means 'you are pouring your time at the foot of this work'.
Match the resource being 'poured' to the context.
کدام منبع در کدام مورد هدر میرود؟
All these resources (life, money, energy) can be used with this idiom.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Visuelle Lernhilfen
Aufgabensammlung
4 Aufgabenتلاش برای تعمیر این رادیوی قدیمی، آب ریختن ____ چیزی است.
The correct preposition is 'pā-ye' (at the foot of).
کدام موقعیت برای این اصطلاح مناسب است؟
Investing in a bankrupt company is a waste of resources, which fits the idiom.
سارا: چرا هنوز داری روی این طرح قدیمی کار میکنی؟ علی: فکر میکنم شاید درست شود. سارا: نه علی، تو فقط داری وقتت را ...
The phrase 'vagtat rā pā-ye in kār mirizi' means 'you are pouring your time at the foot of this work'.
کدام منبع در کدام مورد هدر میرود؟
All these resources (life, money, energy) can be used with this idiom.
🎉 Ergebnis: /4
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenNot necessarily, but it is very direct. Use it with friends or colleagues you know well.
Yes, but usually you are 'pouring water' at the foot of the *effort* you spend on them, not the person themselves.
There isn't a direct idiomatic opposite, but 'سرمایهگذاری درست' (correct investment) is the literal opposite.
It's better suited for journalism or speeches than for academic papers.
Both, but here it specifically means the 'base' or 'foundation' of something.
No, that just means getting something wet. The 'pā' (foot) is essential for the gardening metaphor.
Yes, it is used all over Iran and in Persian-speaking regions like Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Man mirizam, To mirizi, Ou mirizad...
Yes, if you think the hobby is a waste of time, like 'pouring money at the foot of a video game'.
People often just say 'Ab rikhtane' (It's just pouring water).
Verwandte Redewendungen
آب در هاون کوبیدن
synonymPounding water in a mortar.
وقت تلف کردن
similarWasting time.
پول دور ریختن
similarThrowing money away.
نرود میخ آهنی در سنگ
similarAn iron nail won't go into stone.
