شب بَہ خیر
shab ba khair
The English phrase "good night" is translated into Kashmiri as شب بَہ خیر (shab ba khair).
شب بَہ خیر is used as a parting salutation when someone is going to sleep or leaving for the night.
Meaning: a farewell (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 'shab' (night), 'ba' (in/with) and 'khair' (goodness/well-being).
How do you pronounce it?
shab ba khair
Did you know?
- Kashmiri uses different scripts for writing, meaning شب بَہ خیر can appear in both the Perso-Arabic script and the Devanagari script.
- The word خیر is used in many other Kashmiri expressions to imply safety or peace, making the 'good' in 'good night' more about 'safety' than 'quality'.
- While the phrase uses the Persian word shab for 'night', many older Kashmiri-speaking families might use the native Indo-Aryan word raat in casual conversation instead.
Examples in context
- شب بَہ خیر۔shab ba khair.Good night.
Example conversation
Omar and Sarah are saying goodbye at the end of a phone call at night.
- عمر Omarسارہ، شب بَہ خیر۔Sarah, shab ba khair.Sarah, good night.
- سارہ Saraعمر، شب بَہ خیر۔Omar, shab ba khair.Omar, good night.
- عمر Omarکل مَلِتھ۔kal milith.See you tomorrow.
- سارہ Saraآہن، خوش بَژ۔aahn, khush bazh.Yes, stay well.
