شاه‌مات

Persian

Alternative forms

• شه‌مات (šah mât), شهمات (šahmât)

Etymology

Literally, “the king is amazed”, from شاه (šâh, “king”) +‎ مات (mât, “stunned, amazed”). When the term passed into Arabic before being borrowed into Romance languages, the second element was interpreted as مَاتَ (māta, “to die”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʃɑːh mɑːt]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃɑːʱ mɑːt̪]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃɑːʱ mɑːt̪]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [ʃɑː mɑːt̪]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [ʃɔː mɔːt̪]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃɒːʱ mɒːt̪]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃɔʱ mɔt̪]

Readings
Classical reading?	šāh māt
Dari reading?	šāh māt
Iranian reading?	šâh mât
Tajik reading?	šoh mot

Noun

شاه مات • (šâh mât)

1. (chess) checkmate

   Synonym: کیش‌مات (kiš mât)