خير

See also: جير, چیز, خیز, خیر, جيز, and خ ي ر

Algerian Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic خَيْر (ḵayr).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xiːr/

Noun

خير (ḵīr) m

1. goodness, good

Arabic

Root
خ ي ر (ḵ y r)
11 terms

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xajr/

• Moroccan: IPA^(key): /xajr/, /xiːr/
• Egyptian: IPA^(key): /xeːr/
• Kuwaiti: IPA^(key): /xeːr/
• Jordanian: IPA^(key): /xeːr/

Noun

خَيْر • (ḵayr) m (plural خِيَار (ḵiyār) or خُيُور (ḵuyūr) or أَخْيَار (ʔaḵyār))

1. goodness, good

   بِخَيْرٍ ― biḵayrin ― well

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 17:11:

     وَيَدْعُ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ بِٱلشَّرِّ دُعَاءَهُ بِٱلْخَيْرِ

     wayadʕu l-ʔinsānu bi-š-šarri duʕāʔahū bi-l-ḵayri

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 99:7-8:

     فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ / وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

     fa-man yaʕmal miṯqāla ḏarratin ḵayran yarahu / wa-man yaʕmal miṯqāla ḏarratin šarran yarahu

     So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, / And whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it.

2. charity; welfare
3. (archaic) wealth; money
   • 609–632 CE, Qur'an, 100:8:

     وَإِنَّهُ لِحُبِّ ٱلْخَيْرِ لَشَدِيدٌ

     waʔinnahu liḥubbi l-ḵayri lašadīdun

     And indeed he is, in love of wealth, intense.

Declension

Declension of noun خَيْر (ḵayr)

singular	basic singular triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	خَيْر ḵayr	الْخَيْر al-ḵayr	خَيْر ḵayr
nominative	خَيْرٌ ḵayrun	الْخَيْرُ al-ḵayru	خَيْرُ ḵayru
accusative	خَيْرًا ḵayran	الْخَيْرَ al-ḵayra	خَيْرَ ḵayra
genitive	خَيْرٍ ḵayrin	الْخَيْرِ al-ḵayri	خَيْرِ ḵayri
dual	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	خَيْرَيْن ḵayrayn	الْخَيْرَيْن al-ḵayrayn	خَيْرَيْ ḵayray
nominative	خَيْرَانِ ḵayrāni	الْخَيْرَانِ al-ḵayrāni	خَيْرَا ḵayrā
accusative	خَيْرَيْنِ ḵayrayni	الْخَيْرَيْنِ al-ḵayrayni	خَيْرَيْ ḵayray
genitive	خَيْرَيْنِ ḵayrayni	الْخَيْرَيْنِ al-ḵayrayni	خَيْرَيْ ḵayray
plural	basic broken plural triptote
	indefinite	definite	construct
informal	خِيَار‎; خُيُور‎; أَخْيَار ḵiyār‎; ḵuyūr‎; ʔaḵyār	الْخِيَار‎; الْخُيُور‎; الْأَخْيَار al-ḵiyār‎; al-ḵuyūr‎; al-ʔaḵyār	خِيَار‎; خُيُور‎; أَخْيَار ḵiyār‎; ḵuyūr‎; ʔaḵyār
nominative	خِيَارٌ‎; خُيُورٌ‎; أَخْيَارٌ ḵiyārun‎; ḵuyūrun‎; ʔaḵyārun	الْخِيَارُ‎; الْخُيُورُ‎; الْأَخْيَارُ al-ḵiyāru‎; al-ḵuyūru‎; al-ʔaḵyāru	خِيَارُ‎; خُيُورُ‎; أَخْيَارُ ḵiyāru‎; ḵuyūru‎; ʔaḵyāru
accusative	خِيَارًا‎; خُيُورًا‎; أَخْيَارًا ḵiyāran‎; ḵuyūran‎; ʔaḵyāran	الْخِيَارَ‎; الْخُيُورَ‎; الْأَخْيَارَ al-ḵiyāra‎; al-ḵuyūra‎; al-ʔaḵyāra	خِيَارَ‎; خُيُورَ‎; أَخْيَارَ ḵiyāra‎; ḵuyūra‎; ʔaḵyāra
genitive	خِيَارٍ‎; خُيُورٍ‎; أَخْيَارٍ ḵiyārin‎; ḵuyūrin‎; ʔaḵyārin	الْخِيَارِ‎; الْخُيُورِ‎; الْأَخْيَارِ al-ḵiyāri‎; al-ḵuyūri‎; al-ʔaḵyāri	خِيَارِ‎; خُيُورِ‎; أَخْيَارِ ḵiyāri‎; ḵuyūri‎; ʔaḵyāri

Antonyms

• شَرّ (šarr)

Derived terms

• صَبَاحُ ٱلْخَيْرِ (ṣabāḥu l-ḵayri)
• تُصْبِحُ عَلَى خَيْرٍ (tuṣbiḥu ʕalā ḵayrin)
• بِخَيْرٍ (biḵayrin)
• مَسَاءُ ٱلْخَيْرِ (masāʔu l-ḵayri)

Descendants

• Maltese: ħajr
• → Azerbaijani: xeyir
• → Armenian: խեր (xer)
• → Bashkir: хәйер (xəyer)
• → Georgian: ხეირი (xeiri)
• →? Old Armenian: խայրի (xayri)
• → Ottoman Turkish: خیر
  • Turkish: hayır
  • → Greek: χαΐρι (chaḯri)
  • → Ladino: hayre
• → Classical Persian: خیر (xayr)
  • Dari: خَیْر (xayr)
  • Iranian Persian: خِیْر (xeyr)
  • Tajik: хайр (xayr)
  • → Chagatai:
    • Uyghur: خەير (xeyr)
    • Uzbek: xayr
  • → Gujarati: ખૈર (khair)
  • → Hindustani:

    Hindi: ख़ैर (xair)

    Urdu: خَیر (xair)

  • → Punjabi:

    Gurmukhi script: ਖੈਰ (khair)

    Shahmukhi script: خَیر (xair)

• → Turkmen: haýyr
• → Swahili: heri
• → Somali: khayr

Verb

خَيَّرَ • (ḵayyara) II (non-past يُخَيِّرُ (yuḵayyiru), verbal noun تَخْيِير (taḵyīr))

1. to grant a choice, to let choose

Conjugation

Conjugation of خَيَّرَ (II, sound, full passive, verbal noun تَخْيِير)

verbal noun الْمَصْدَر						تَخْيِير taḵyīr
active participle اِسْم الْفَاعِل						مُخَيِّر muḵayyir
passive participle اِسْم الْمَفْعُول						مُخَيَّر muḵayyar
active voice الْفِعْل الْمَعْلُوم
		singular الْمُفْرَد				dual الْمُثَنَّى			plural الْجَمْع
		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	خَيَّرْتُ ḵayyartu	خَيَّرْتَ ḵayyarta	خَيَّرَ ḵayyara		خَيَّرْتُمَا ḵayyartumā	خَيَّرَا ḵayyarā		خَيَّرْنَا ḵayyarnā	خَيَّرْتُمْ ḵayyartum	خَيَّرُوا ḵayyarū
	f		خَيَّرْتِ ḵayyarti	خَيَّرَتْ ḵayyarat			خَيَّرَتَا ḵayyaratā			خَيَّرْتُنَّ ḵayyartunna	خَيَّرْنَ ḵayyarna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أُخَيِّرُ ʔuḵayyiru	تُخَيِّرُ tuḵayyiru	يُخَيِّرُ yuḵayyiru		تُخَيِّرَانِ tuḵayyirāni	يُخَيِّرَانِ yuḵayyirāni		نُخَيِّرُ nuḵayyiru	تُخَيِّرُونَ tuḵayyirūna	يُخَيِّرُونَ yuḵayyirūna
	f		تُخَيِّرِينَ tuḵayyirīna	تُخَيِّرُ tuḵayyiru			تُخَيِّرَانِ tuḵayyirāni			تُخَيِّرْنَ tuḵayyirna	يُخَيِّرْنَ yuḵayyirna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أُخَيِّرَ ʔuḵayyira	تُخَيِّرَ tuḵayyira	يُخَيِّرَ yuḵayyira		تُخَيِّرَا tuḵayyirā	يُخَيِّرَا yuḵayyirā		نُخَيِّرَ nuḵayyira	تُخَيِّرُوا tuḵayyirū	يُخَيِّرُوا yuḵayyirū
	f		تُخَيِّرِي tuḵayyirī	تُخَيِّرَ tuḵayyira			تُخَيِّرَا tuḵayyirā			تُخَيِّرْنَ tuḵayyirna	يُخَيِّرْنَ yuḵayyirna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أُخَيِّرْ ʔuḵayyir	تُخَيِّرْ tuḵayyir	يُخَيِّرْ yuḵayyir		تُخَيِّرَا tuḵayyirā	يُخَيِّرَا yuḵayyirā		نُخَيِّرْ nuḵayyir	تُخَيِّرُوا tuḵayyirū	يُخَيِّرُوا yuḵayyirū
	f		تُخَيِّرِي tuḵayyirī	تُخَيِّرْ tuḵayyir			تُخَيِّرَا tuḵayyirā			تُخَيِّرْنَ tuḵayyirna	يُخَيِّرْنَ yuḵayyirna
imperative الْأَمْر	m		خَيِّرْ ḵayyir			خَيِّرَا ḵayyirā				خَيِّرُوا ḵayyirū
	f		خَيِّرِي ḵayyirī							خَيِّرْنَ ḵayyirna
passive voice الْفِعْل الْمَجْهُول
		singular الْمُفْرَد				dual الْمُثَنَّى			plural الْجَمْع
		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب		1st person الْمُتَكَلِّم	2nd person الْمُخَاطَب	3rd person الْغَائِب
past (perfect) indicative الْمَاضِي	m	خُيِّرْتُ ḵuyyirtu	خُيِّرْتَ ḵuyyirta	خُيِّرَ ḵuyyira		خُيِّرْتُمَا ḵuyyirtumā	خُيِّرَا ḵuyyirā		خُيِّرْنَا ḵuyyirnā	خُيِّرْتُمْ ḵuyyirtum	خُيِّرُوا ḵuyyirū
	f		خُيِّرْتِ ḵuyyirti	خُيِّرَتْ ḵuyyirat			خُيِّرَتَا ḵuyyiratā			خُيِّرْتُنَّ ḵuyyirtunna	خُيِّرْنَ ḵuyyirna
non-past (imperfect) indicative الْمُضَارِع الْمَرْفُوع	m	أُخَيَّرُ ʔuḵayyaru	تُخَيَّرُ tuḵayyaru	يُخَيَّرُ yuḵayyaru		تُخَيَّرَانِ tuḵayyarāni	يُخَيَّرَانِ yuḵayyarāni		نُخَيَّرُ nuḵayyaru	تُخَيَّرُونَ tuḵayyarūna	يُخَيَّرُونَ yuḵayyarūna
	f		تُخَيَّرِينَ tuḵayyarīna	تُخَيَّرُ tuḵayyaru			تُخَيَّرَانِ tuḵayyarāni			تُخَيَّرْنَ tuḵayyarna	يُخَيَّرْنَ yuḵayyarna
subjunctive الْمُضَارِع الْمَنْصُوب	m	أُخَيَّرَ ʔuḵayyara	تُخَيَّرَ tuḵayyara	يُخَيَّرَ yuḵayyara		تُخَيَّرَا tuḵayyarā	يُخَيَّرَا yuḵayyarā		نُخَيَّرَ nuḵayyara	تُخَيَّرُوا tuḵayyarū	يُخَيَّرُوا yuḵayyarū
	f		تُخَيَّرِي tuḵayyarī	تُخَيَّرَ tuḵayyara			تُخَيَّرَا tuḵayyarā			تُخَيَّرْنَ tuḵayyarna	يُخَيَّرْنَ yuḵayyarna
jussive الْمُضَارِع الْمَجْزُوم	m	أُخَيَّرْ ʔuḵayyar	تُخَيَّرْ tuḵayyar	يُخَيَّرْ yuḵayyar		تُخَيَّرَا tuḵayyarā	يُخَيَّرَا yuḵayyarā		نُخَيَّرْ nuḵayyar	تُخَيَّرُوا tuḵayyarū	يُخَيَّرُوا yuḵayyarū
	f		تُخَيَّرِي tuḵayyarī	تُخَيَّرْ tuḵayyar			تُخَيَّرَا tuḵayyarā			تُخَيَّرْنَ tuḵayyarna	يُخَيَّرْنَ yuḵayyarna

Adjective

خَيْر • (ḵayr)

1. better; best

   Antonym: شَرّ (šarr)

   الصَّلاةُ خَيْرٌ مِن الْنَّوْمِ

   aṣ-ṣalātu ḵayrun min al-nnawmi

   Prayer is better than sleep.

   لَسْتُ خَيْرًا مِن الطَّالِبِ.

   lastu ḵayran min aṭ-ṭālibi.

   I am not better than the student.

Derived terms

• رَهَبُوتٌ خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ رَحَمُوتٍ (rahabūtun ḵayrun laka min raḥamūtin)

Adjective

خَيِّر • (ḵayyir) (feminine خَيِّرَة (ḵayyira), common plural أَخْيَار (ʔaḵyār) or خِيَار (ḵiyār), masculine plural خَيِّرُون (ḵayyirūn), feminine plural خَيِّرَات (ḵayyirāt), elative خَيْر (ḵayr))

1. beneficent, benevolent

Declension

Declension of adjective خَيِّر (ḵayyir)

singular	masculine		feminine
	basic singular triptote		singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	خَيِّر ḵayyir	الْخَيِّر al-ḵayyir	خَيِّرَة ḵayyira	الْخَيِّرَة al-ḵayyira
nominative	خَيِّرٌ ḵayyirun	الْخَيِّرُ al-ḵayyiru	خَيِّرَةٌ ḵayyiratun	الْخَيِّرَةُ al-ḵayyiratu
accusative	خَيِّرًا ḵayyiran	الْخَيِّرَ al-ḵayyira	خَيِّرَةً ḵayyiratan	الْخَيِّرَةَ al-ḵayyirata
genitive	خَيِّرٍ ḵayyirin	الْخَيِّرِ al-ḵayyiri	خَيِّرَةٍ ḵayyiratin	الْخَيِّرَةِ al-ḵayyirati
dual	masculine		feminine
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	خَيِّرَيْن ḵayyirayn	الْخَيِّرَيْن al-ḵayyirayn	خَيِّرَتَيْن ḵayyiratayn	الْخَيِّرَتَيْن al-ḵayyiratayn
nominative	خَيِّرَانِ ḵayyirāni	الْخَيِّرَانِ al-ḵayyirāni	خَيِّرَتَانِ ḵayyiratāni	الْخَيِّرَتَانِ al-ḵayyiratāni
accusative	خَيِّرَيْنِ ḵayyirayni	الْخَيِّرَيْنِ al-ḵayyirayni	خَيِّرَتَيْنِ ḵayyiratayni	الْخَيِّرَتَيْنِ al-ḵayyiratayni
genitive	خَيِّرَيْنِ ḵayyirayni	الْخَيِّرَيْنِ al-ḵayyirayni	خَيِّرَتَيْنِ ḵayyiratayni	الْخَيِّرَتَيْنِ al-ḵayyiratayni
plural	masculine		feminine
	basic broken plural triptote		basic broken plural triptote
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
informal	أَخْيَار‎; خِيَار ʔaḵyār‎; ḵiyār	الْأَخْيَار‎; الْخِيَار al-ʔaḵyār‎; al-ḵiyār	أَخْيَار‎; خِيَار ʔaḵyār‎; ḵiyār	الْأَخْيَار‎; الْخِيَار al-ʔaḵyār‎; al-ḵiyār
nominative	أَخْيَارٌ‎; خِيَارٌ ʔaḵyārun‎; ḵiyārun	الْأَخْيَارُ‎; الْخِيَارُ al-ʔaḵyāru‎; al-ḵiyāru	أَخْيَارٌ‎; خِيَارٌ ʔaḵyārun‎; ḵiyārun	الْأَخْيَارُ‎; الْخِيَارُ al-ʔaḵyāru‎; al-ḵiyāru
accusative	أَخْيَارًا‎; خِيَارًا ʔaḵyāran‎; ḵiyāran	الْأَخْيَارَ‎; الْخِيَارَ al-ʔaḵyāra‎; al-ḵiyāra	أَخْيَارًا‎; خِيَارًا ʔaḵyāran‎; ḵiyāran	الْأَخْيَارَ‎; الْخِيَارَ al-ʔaḵyāra‎; al-ḵiyāra
genitive	أَخْيَارٍ‎; خِيَارٍ ʔaḵyārin‎; ḵiyārin	الْأَخْيَارِ‎; الْخِيَارِ al-ʔaḵyāri‎; al-ḵiyāri	أَخْيَارٍ‎; خِيَارٍ ʔaḵyārin‎; ḵiyārin	الْأَخْيَارِ‎; الْخِيَارِ al-ʔaḵyāri‎; al-ḵiyāri

Antonyms

• شِرِّير (širrīr)

References

• Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881), “خير”, in Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes‎^[1] (in French), volume 1, Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 415
• Freytag, Georg (1830), “خير”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[2] (in Latin), volume 1, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 540
• Lane, Edward William (1863-1893), “خير”, in Arabic-English Lexicon, London: Williams & Norgate, pages 828–830.
• Steingass, Francis Joseph (1884), “خير”, in The Student's Arabic–English Dictionary‎^[3], London: W.H. Allen, page 347
• Wehr, Hans (1979), “خير”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 308

Hijazi Arabic

Root
خ ي ر
1 term

Etymology 1

From Arabic خَيْر (ḵayr).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xeːr/, [xe̞ːr]

Noun

خير • (ḵēr) m (plural أَخْيَار (ʔaḵyār))

1. goodness, good
2. wealth

Etymology 2

From Arabic خَيَّرَ (ḵayyara).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xaj.jar/

Verb

خَيَّر • (ḵayyar) II (non-past يِخَيِّر (yiḵayyir))

1. to grant a choice, to let choose

Conjugation

Conjugation of خير

		singular				plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
past	m	خيرت (ḵayyart)	خيرت (ḵayyart)	خير (ḵayyar)		خيرنا (ḵayyarna)	خيرتوا (ḵayyartu)	خيروا (ḵayyaru)
	f		خيرتي (ḵayyarti)	خيرت (ḵayyarat)
non-past	m	أخير (ʔaḵayyir)	تخير (tiḵayyir)	يخير (yiḵayyir)		نخير (niḵayyir)	تخيروا (tiḵayyiru)	يخيروا (yiḵayyiru)
	f		تخيري (tiḵayyiri)	تخير (tiḵayyir)
imperative	m		خير (ḵayyir)				خيروا (ḵayyiru)
	f		خيري (ḵayyiri)

South Levantine Arabic

Root
خ ي ر
3 terms

Etymology 1

Either a a causative of اختار (ḵtār, “to choose”) or, less likely, a denominal verb of خَيَار (ḵayār, “choice”).

For the former possibility, using form II as a causative of a verb not on form I is infrequent but not unheard of. Consider the following pairs:

• اشتغل (štaḡal, “to work”), شغّل (šaḡḡal, “to employ”)
• اشترى (štara, “to buy”), شرّى (šarra, “to make (s.o.) buy”)
• سَافَر (sāfar, “to travel”), سفّر (saffar, “to make (s.o.) travel”)

Each of the above form II verbs is old enough to originally have been derived by conventional routes, not from the other verb in the pair. However, synchronically, they are base-and-causative pairs in South Levantine Arabic. This possibly paved the way for خَيَّر (ḵayyar, “to make (s.o.) choose”) to analogically be derived from اختار (ḵtār, “to choose”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xaj.jar/, [ˈxaj.jar]

• Audio (al-Lidd):

  (file)

Verb

خيّر • (ḵayyar) II (present بخيّر (biḵayyir))

1. to make (someone) choose, to give (someone) a choice

   إذا لا سمح الله ارتكبت جريمة كبيرة وخيّروك إنّه يحكموا عليك بالإعدام أو السجن المؤبد، إيش بتختار؟

   ʔiza la samaḥ ʔaḷḷa rtakabt jarīme kbīre w-ḵayyarūk ʔinno yoḥkomu ʕalēk bil-ʔiʕdām ʔaw is-sijn li-mʔabbad, ʔēš btiḵtār?

   If, God forbid, you committed a major crime and you had to choose (literally: they made you choose) [between] them sentencing you to death or life imprisonment, what would you choose?

Conjugation

Conjugation of خير

		singular				plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person		1st person	2nd person	3rd person
past	m	خيّرت (ḵayyart)	خيّرت (ḵayyart)	خيّر (ḵayyar)		خيّرنا (ḵayyarna)	خيّرتو (ḵayyartu)	خيّرو (ḵayyaru)
	f		خيّرتي (ḵayyarti)	خيّرت (ḵayyarat)
present	m	بخيّر (baḵayyir)	بتخيّر (bitḵayyir)	بخيّر (biḵayyir)		منخيّر (minḵayyir)	بتخيّرو (bitḵayyru)	بخيّرو (biḵayyru)
	f		بتخيّري (bitḵayyri)	بتخيّر (bitḵayyir)
subjunctive	m	اخيّر (aḵayyir)	تخيّر (tḵayyir)	يخيّر (yḵayyir)		نخيّر (nḵayyir)	تخيّرو (tḵayyru)	يخيّرو (yḵayyru)
	f		تخيّري (tḵayyri)	تخيّر (tḵayyir)
imperative	m		خيّر (ḵayyir)				خيّرو (ḵayyru)
	f		خيّري (ḵayyri)

Etymology 2

Semi-learned borrowing from Arabic خَيْر (ḵayr).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xeːr/, [xeːr]

• Audio (Ramallah):

  (file)

Noun

خير • (ḵēr, ḵayr) m

1. goodness, good