خوشبو

Persian

Alternative forms

• خوشبوی (xošbuy)

Etymology

From خوش (xoš) +‎ بو (bu).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [xʷaʃ.boː], [xʷaʃ.boːj]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xʊʃ.boː], [xʊʃ.buːj], [xʊʃ.buː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xʊʃ.boː], [xʊʃ.buːj], [xʊʃ.buː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [xʊʃ.boː], [xʊʃ.buːj], [xʊʃ.buː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [xuʃ.bʊː], [xuʃ.buj], [xuʃ.bu]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [xoʃ.buː], [xoʃ.buːj]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [χuʃ.bɵ], [χuʃ.bɵj]

Readings
Classical reading?	xwašbō, xwašbōy
Dari reading?	xušbō, xušbūy, xušbū
Iranian reading?	xošbu, xošbuy
Tajik reading?	xušbü, xušbüy

Adjective

Dari	خوشبو
Iranian Persian
Tajik	хушбӯ, хушбӯй

خوشبو • (xošbu)

1. sweet-smelling
2. fragrant

Noun

خوشبو • (xošbu)

1. fragrance
2. perfume

Descendants

• → Bengali: খোশবু (khošbu)
• → Hindustani:

  Hindi: ख़ुशबू (xuśbū)

  Urdu: خوشبو (xuśbū)

• → Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi script: ਖੁਸ਼ਬੂ (khuśbū)

  Shahmukhi script: خوشبو (xuśbū)

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian خوشبو (xʷašbu), analyzable as خوش (xuš, “pleasant; sweet”) +‎ بو (bū, “smell, scent”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /xʊʃ.buː/
• Rhymes: -uː

Noun

خوشبو • (xuśbū) f (Hindi spelling ख़ुशबू)

1. pleasant-smell; sweet-smell

   اس کی داڑھی سے خوشبو آرہی تھی

   us ke dāṛhī se xušbū ārhī thī

   a pleasant-smell was coming off his beard

2. fragrance, scent; odor, aroma

   تیری خوشبو جنت کی ہے

   terī xušbū jannat kī hai

   your fragrance is that of paradise

3. perfume, cologne

   خوشبو لگانا، فرشتاوں انا

   xušbū lagānā, farištõ ānā

   put on perfume, the angels visit

Antonyms

• بد بو (bad-bū)

Derived terms

• خوشبوئی (xušbū'ī, “fragrance”)
• خوشبودار (xušbūdār, “fragrant”)
• خوشبو دانہ (xušbū-dāna, “incense”)
• خوشبو ساز (xušbū-sāz, “perfumer”)
• خوشبو خانہ (xušbū-xāna)

References

• “خوشبو”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “خوشبو”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co.
• Platts, John T. (1884) “خوشبو”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co.
• “خوشبو”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2024.