ښځه
x̌əźa/ʂəˈd͡za/feminine
The Pashto word for "woman" is ښځه (x̌əźa).
ښځه is a noun used to refer to an adult female person.
Meaning: adult female person (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The singular form is ښځه, while the plural form is ښځې.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is x̌əźa and the IPA is /ʂəˈdza/.
Did you know?
- While ښځه is the standard term, in many Pashtun households, referring to a woman directly by this word can be seen as blunt or even disrespectful. It is much more common to use a title like خور ('sister') or مور ('mother') even when speaking to a stranger.
- The letter ښ in ښځه can be pronounced as a retroflex 'sh' or a 'kh' depending on the dialect spoken in different regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- The Pashto word ښځه shares a common ancient ancestor with the Sanskrit word स्त्री ('strī'), which is still used for 'woman' in many modern Indian languages.
Examples in context
- هغه یوه ښه ښځه ده.hagha yawa kha khaza da.She is a good woman.
- هغه ښځه دلته ده.hagha khaza delta da.That woman is here.
- زه یو ښځه پېژنم.ze yaw khaza pezhanam.I know a woman.
Example conversation
Zala and Khan are talking about a new neighbor.
- زالا Zalaنوې ګډا یوه ښځه ده.Naway gada yaw khaza da.The new neighbor is a woman.
- خان Khanایا هغه دلته ژوند کوي؟Aya hagha delta jwand kawi?Does she live here?
- زالا Zalaهو، هغه یو ښه ښځه ښکاري.Ho, hagha yaw kha khaza khkari.Yes, she seems like a nice woman.
- خان Khanډېره ښه ده.Dera kha da.That is very good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “woman” translations and entries ښځه, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ښځه, CC BY-SA 4.0.
