خوب

See also: چوپ, حوت, چوٹ, چوت, جوب, and چوب

Iraqi Arabic

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian خوب (xub).

Adjective

خوب (xōb)

1. (with a following noun) good; someone or something good
2. well

Persian

Etymology

From Middle Persian 𐭧𐭥𐭡 (xūb), from Old Persian [script needed] (*ʰuvāpa), from Proto-Iranian *HhuHā́pah, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *HsuHápas, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁su- (“good”) +‎ *h₃épos (“work”). Compare Sogdian [script needed] (xwp).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [xuːβ]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xuːb]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xuːb]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [xuːb]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [xub̥]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [xuːb̥]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [χub]

Readings
Classical reading?	xūḇ
Dari reading?	xūb
Iranian reading?	xub
Tajik reading?	xub

• Audio (Iran)

  (file)

Adjective

Dari	خوب
Iranian Persian
Tajik	хуб

خوب • (xub) (comparative خوب‌تَر (xub-tar), superlative خوب‌تَرین (xub-tarin))

1. good
2. well
3. nice

Usage notes

• The comparative and superlative forms خوب‌تر (xub-tar) and خوب‌ترین (xub-tarin) are colloquial and informal. The formal and standard Persian equivalents are بهتر (behtar) and بهترین (behtarin).

Inflection

Predicative forms of خوب (xub)
	singular	plural
1st person (“I am, we are”)	خوبم (xubam)	خوبیم (xubim)
2nd person (“you are”)	خوبی (xubi)	خوبید (xubid) خوبین △ (xubin)
3rd person (“he/she/it is, they are”)	خوب است (xub ast) خوبه △ (xube)	خوبند (xuband) خوبن △ (xuban)
△ Colloquial.

Synonyms

• نیک (nik)
• به (bah)

Derived terms

• خوبانی (xubâni)

Descendants

• Urdu: خوب (xub)

Adverb

Dari	خوب
Iranian Persian
Tajik	хуб

خوب • (xub)

1. well
2. nicely

Antonyms

• بد (bad)

Related terms

• خوبی (xubi)

Descendants

• → Bengali: খুব (khub, “very”)
• → Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi script: ਖ਼ੂਬ (xūb)

  Shahmukhi script: خوب (xūb)

References

• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “خوب”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul
• Aryanpur-Kashani, Manoochehr (2005) The Aryanpur Progressive Persian–English Dictionary‎^[1], Tehran: Jahan Rayaneh, →ISBN
• Rubinčik Ju. A., editor (1985), “خوب”, in Persidsko-russkij slovarʹ [Persian–Russian Dictionary]‎^[2] (in Russian), 3rd edition, Moscow: Russkij jazyk
• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “خوب”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim
• “خوب”, in Langenscheidt Universal-Wörterbuch Persisch, München: Langenscheidt, 2002, →ISBN

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian خوب (xūb), from Middle Persian 𐭧𐭥𐭡 (xūb). Compare Marathi खूप (khūp).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /xuːb/
• Rhymes: -uːb

Adjective

خُوب • (xūb) (indeclinable, Hindi spelling ख़ूब)

1. many, much, a lot

   Synonyms: کافِی (kāfī), بَہَت (bahat), اَنیک (anek), بیش (beś)

2. good, well, in a good manner

Derived terms

• خُوبصُورَت (xūbsūrat)

References

• “خوب”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “خوب”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.