هرگز

Persian

Etymology

Through the common Modern Persian metathesis of Middle Persian 𐭧𐭪𐭫𐭰 (ḥklc /⁠hagriz⁠/, “ever, never”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎣𐎼𐎶𐎨𐎡𐎹 (hakara-mciy, “once”), from earlier [script needed] (*ha-k(a)r), from Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-kr̥t (“one time”).

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [haɾ.ˈɡiz]

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [häɾ.ɡɪ́z]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ɡɪ́z]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʔäɾ.ɡíz]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [hæɹ.ɡʲéz]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [häɾ.ɡíz]

Readings
Classical reading^?	hargiz
Dari reading^?	hargiz
Iranian reading^?	hargez
Tajik reading^?	hargiz

Adverb

هَرگِز • (hargez)


Iranian Persian	هرگز
Dari	هرگز
Tajik	ҳаргиз

(in positive constructions) ever
Synonym: هیچ‌وقت (hič-vaqt)

(more literary)
âyâ hargez be pâris rafte-id?
Have you ever gone to Paris?
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume II, verse 422:
  بانگ سگ هرگز رسد در گوش ماه
  خاصه ماهی کاو بود خاص اله
  bâng-e sag hargez resad dar guš-e mâh
  xâsse mâhi k-u bud xâss-e elâh
  Does the dog's bark ever reach the moon's ear, especially that Moon who is the chosen of God?
(in negative constructions) ever; never
Synonym: هیچ‌وقت (hič-vaqt)

(more literary)
u hargez safar na-karde-ast.

(more colloquial)
un hargez safar na-karde.
He has never travelled.
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 826:
  هرگز ای آتش تو صابر نیستی
  چون نسوزی چیست قادر نیستی
  hargez ey âtaš to sâber nisti
  čon na-suzi či-st qâder nisti
  Never, o fire, art thou patient: how burnest thou not? What is it? Hast thou not the power?
- 1500s, ʿUrfī Shīrāzī, “Ghazal 28”, in دیوان [Divān]:
  زخم ها برداشتیم و فتح ها کردیم، لیک
  هرگز از خون کسی رنگین نشد میدان ما
  zaxm-hâ bardâštim o fath-hâ kardim, lik
  hargez az xun-e kasi rangin na-šod meydân-e mâ
  We suffered wounds, we scored victories, but our fields were never stained by anybody's blood.
perpetually (with negative meaning)

Descendants

→ Azerbaijani: hərgiz
→ Bengali: হরগিজ (horgij), হরগেজ (horgej)
→ Central Kurdish: ھەرگیز (hergîz)
→ Gujarati: હરગિજ (hargij)
→ Hindustani:
Hindi: हरगिज़ (hargiz)

Urdu: ہَرْگِز (hargiz)
→ Maithili: hargij
Devanagari script: हरगिज

Tirhuta script: 𑒯𑒩𑒑𑒱𑒖
→ Marwari: हरगिज (hargij)
→ Punjabi: hargiz
Gurmukhi script: ਹਰਗਿਜ਼

Shahmukhi script: ہَرْگِز
→ Sindhi: هَرِگِزِ
→ Uyghur: ھەرگىز (hergiz)

References

Steingass, Francis Joseph (1892) “هرگز”, in A Comprehensive Persian–English dictionary, London: Routledge & K. Paul