ثواب

Arabic

Root
ث و ب (ṯ w b)
5 terms

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θa.waːb/
• Rhymes: -aːb

Noun

ثَوَاب • (ṯawāb) m

1. remuneration; reward
2. (Islam) sawab; a spiritual merit or reward that accrues from giving prayers or from performance of good deeds and piety

Declension

Declension of noun ثَوَاب (ṯawāb)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	ثَوَاب ṯawāb	الثَّوَاب aṯ-ṯawāb	ثَوَاب ṯawāb
nominative	ثَوَابٌ ṯawābun	الثَّوَابُ aṯ-ṯawābu	ثَوَابُ ṯawābu
accusative	ثَوَابًا ṯawāban	الثَّوَابَ aṯ-ṯawāba	ثَوَابَ ṯawāba
genitive	ثَوَابٍ ṯawābin	الثَّوَابِ aṯ-ṯawābi	ثَوَابِ ṯawābi

Antonyms

• عِقَاب (ʕiqāb, “punishment”)

Descendants

• → Azerbaijani: savab
• → Bashkir: сауап (sawap)
• → Kazakh: сауап (sauap)
• → Persian: ثواب
  • → Gujarati: સવાબ (savāb)
  • → Urdu: ثواب (svāb)
  • → Bengali: সওয়াব (śoōẇab), → Bengali: সাওয়াব (śaōẇab)
• → Ottoman Turkish: ثواب (sevab)
  • Turkish: sevap
  • → Macedonian: себап (sebap)
• → Punjabi:

  Gurmukhi script: ਸਵਾਬ (savāb)

  Shahmukhi script: ثواب (savāb)

• → Swahili: thawabu
• → Turkmen: sogap
• → Uyghur: ساۋاپ (sawap)
• → Uzbek: savob

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

From Arabic ثَوَاب (ṯawāb).

Noun

ثواب • (sevab) (plural اثواب)

1. (religion) divine reward, remuneration (for a good deed)

Descendants

• Turkish: sevap
• → Macedonian: себап (sebap)

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic ثَوَاب (ṯawāb).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /sa.ˈwaːb/

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.wɑ́ːb]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.wɑ́ːb]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [sä.wɑ́ːb]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [sä.wɔ́ːb̥]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [sæ.vɒ́ːb̥]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [sä.vɔ́b]

• Rhymes: -aːb

Readings
Classical reading?	sawāb
Dari reading?	sawāb
Iranian reading?	savâb
Tajik reading?	savob

Noun

ثواب • (sawāb / savâb) (Tajik spelling савоб)

1. (religion) divine reward, remuneration (for a good deed)
   • early 1000s, ʿUnṣurī, “Qaṣīda 3”, in دیوان عنصری‎^[1]:

     گفتم از خدمتش جزا چه برم
     گفت ازو زرّ و از خدای ثواب

     guftam az xidmat-aš jazā či baram
     guft az ō zarr u az xudāy sawāb

     I said, "What recompense will I win from serving him?"
     He said, "Gold from him, and from God, divine reward."

     (Classical Persian romanization)

   • c. 1390, Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ, “Ghazal 422”, in دیوان حافظ [The Divān of Ḥāfiẓ]‎^[2]:

     آفرین بر دل نرم تو که از بهر ثواب
     کشتهٔ غمزهٔ خود را به نماز آمده‌ای

     āfarīn bar dil-i narm-i tu ki az bahr-i sawāb
     kušta-yi ġamza-yi xwad rā ba namāz āmada'ī

     Praise upon your tender heart! For the sake of divine reward
     You have begun to pray for those who were killed by your flirtatiousness.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Descendants

• → Gujarati: સવાબ (savāb)

Sindhi

Etymology

From Classical Persian ثواب (sawāb), Derived from Arabic ثَوَاب (ṯawāb).

Noun

ثواب • (savābu) m (Devanagari सवाबु)

1. rectitude, merit, virtue

References

• “ثواب”, in Sindhi-English Dictionary, University of Chicago: Center for Language Engineering, Pakistan, 1866–1938

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian ثواب (sawāb), from Arabic ثَوَاب (ṯawāb).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /sə.ʋɑːb/

Noun

ثَواب • (savāb) m (Hindi spelling सवाब)

1. requital, reward
2. good deed

References

• “ثواب”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “ثواب”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2026.