مَقْبُول
maqbūl
In Dari, the word for beautiful can be expressed in several ways. The default form is مَقْبُول (maqbūl). Wiktionary also lists زیبَا (zēbā) and قَشَنْگ (qašang).
Meaning: attractive (adj)
Ways to say it
| Dari | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| مَقْبُول | maqbūl |
| زیبَا | zēbā |
| قَشَنْگ | qašang |
The term beautiful in Dari is used to describe things that are attractive.
Which one should you use?
زیبَا is the standard, formal way to say 'beautiful' and is often used in literature or when describing scenery and people formally. قَشَنْگ is the most common colloquial or informal way to say 'beautiful' or 'pretty' in everyday spoken Dari. مَقْبُول literally means 'acceptable' and is used in a more formal or polite sense to describe something pleasing or attractive.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
If you want to be more formal or are writing literature, use زیبَا. The form مَقْبُول is also formal and is used to describe something pleasing or attractive in a polite sense.
How do you pronounce it?
maqbūl
Did you know?
- In Afghan culture, describing a child as قَشَنْگ can sometimes be avoided to ward off the 'evil eye', as praising a child's beauty too directly is thought to attract bad luck.
- The word قَشَنْگ is so deeply embedded in colloquial Dari that it can often be used as an exclamation of approval for almost any positive situation, not just for physical beauty.
- The word زیبَا shares its root with the word for 'ornament' or 'decoration' in several related languages, reflecting the idea that beauty is something that adorns.
Example sentences for Dari are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “beautiful” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
