شب خوش
shab khosh
In Persian, goodnight is شب خوش (shab khosh).
شب خوش is used to wish someone a pleasant night either when they are going to sleep or when someone is leaving a social gathering late in the evening.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the noun shab (night) and the adjective khosh (good/pleasant).
Which one should you use?
شببخیر is the most common and neutral version. For a more friendly and informal tone, you can say خوب بخواب (sleep well) or خواب خوش (sweet dreams).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
شب بخیر is a more formal or polite way to say goodnight. In contrast, خوب بخواب (sleep well) and خواب خوش (sweet dreams) are informal expressions.
How do you pronounce it?
shab khosh
Did you know?
- The Persian word شب ('night') is cognate with the Sanskrit word क्षप् ('kṣap'), showing the deep historical link between ancient Persian and ancient Indian languages.
- In Persian culture, wishing someone a 'pleasant night' often involves the concept of 'khosh', which can describe not just a mood but also a pleasant smell or taste.
- The word khosh is a relative of words in other languages like Northern Kurdish 'xweş' and Zazaki 'weş', meaning they share a common history of describing things as 'pleasant'.
Examples in context
- شب خوش.shab khosh.Goodnight.
- بچهها، شب خوش.bach-e-ha, shab khosh.Kids, goodnight.
Example conversation
Mohammad and Maryam are saying goodbye at the end of the evening.
- محمد Mohammadمن دیگه میروم، شب خوش مریم.Man dige miravam, shab khosh Maryam.I'm leaving now, goodnight Maryam.
- مریم Maryamشب خوش محمد، مراقب باش.Shab khosh Mohammad, moragheb bash.Goodnight Mohammad, take care.
- محمد Mohammadممنون، تو هم استراحت کن.Mamnoon, to ham esterahat kon.Thanks, you rest too.
- مریم Maryamحتماً، تا فردا.Hatman, ta farda.Definitely, until tomorrow.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries خوش, شب, CC BY-SA 4.0.
