Questions & Answers about شب بخیر، پدر!
I know the word for good is خوب. Why does this greeting use بخیر instead?
In Farsi greetings, we do not usually use خوب (khoob). Instead, we use بخیر (bekheyr). It is made of the prefix ب meaning with, and خیر meaning goodness or blessing. So you are literally wishing them a night with goodness.
Why is the word order night good (شب بخیر) instead of good night?
Farsi time-based greetings always start with the time of day, followed by بخیر. You will see this exact same pattern in other basic greetings like صبح بخیر for good morning and عصر بخیر for good evening.
Is پدر the normal way to say dad when talking directly to him?
The word پدر means father and is perfectly polite and correct, but it is slightly formal. In casual, everyday conversations, most Iranians call their dad بابا (baba) instead.
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