Good Morning and Good Night in Persian (Farsi)

Sobh is morning and bekheir means with goodness, so Sobh bekheir is literally a morning of goodness. You say it from the moment you wake up until about lunch, to anyone: a parent in the kitchen, a friend on a text, a neighbor on the stairs, a shopkeeper opening the shutters.

It is a morning word through and through. Once it is afternoon people drop it and go back to Salam, so there is no need to keep saying it at two o'clock because it feels polite. Say it with a smile and a little energy, because it is the first thing the day hears you say.

The stress falls on the last syllable: sobh-be-KHEIR. The kh is the scratchy sound at the back of the throat, and the eir at the end rhymes roughly with the English word fair. Say the two words as one flow, and the effect is warm and quick.

Shab is night, and Shab bekheir is a night of goodness. You say it to anyone at bedtime, to family or friends, and as a goodbye at the end of an evening when people are heading home. It is the last thing you say at the door as the party breaks up.

It works as a goodbye more than as a hello. If you walk into a room in the evening, use Salam. If you are leaving it for the night, use Shab bekheir. Mixing the two up is a common beginner slip, and nobody minds it.

Say it quietly at the end of a long day. The sound is shab-be-KHEIR, with the same stress as the morning one, and the first word is short, a quick sh and a soft ab.

The simplest reply is to say the same two words back. Someone says Sobh bekheir, and you say Sobh bekheir. That is what most people do, and it is always right.

To make it a little warmer, add the word for your. With a friend or a family member you can answer Sobhet bekheir, which is your morning, with goodness, and at night Shabet bekheir. The ending -et is the same your that appears in Esmet and Doostet. With an elder, the formal version Sobh-e shoma ham bekheir, good morning to you too, is a graceful touch.

Then comes the question people ask after a night away: Did you sleep well? You will hear Khoob khabidin? with elders, using the respectful -in ending. A pleasant answer is Baleh, merci. Khoob khabidam is the matching way to say I slept well.

Persian does not slice the day into as many greetings as English does. Sobh bekheir takes care of the morning, Shab bekheir takes care of the night, and Salam covers everything between. When you are leaving, Khodafez is the goodbye for any hour.

If you will see the person again soon, say Ta farda, until tomorrow, but only when you really will meet tomorrow. It is not used as a vague see you later. When you part for the night, you can put them together: Khodafez, shab bekheir, goodbye and good night.

That is about all you need. Four phrases cover a whole day of greetings, and you will meet them in order: Salam and Khodafez in Module 1, then Sobh bekheir and Shab bekheir in Module 12.

A few small words help you talk about the day around those greetings. Sobh is morning and Shab is night. Emruz is today, Farda is tomorrow, Alan is now, Emshab is tonight, and Baad is later. You can stack them into real sentences with the words you already know.

Alan chai mikham means I want tea now. Alan na, baad means not now, later, a handy line for a morning when you are not ready to talk. Emruz kheyli khoshhalam is I'm so happy today. With these in your head, you can talk about the shape of a day, not just greet it.