خویش

Persian

Etymology 1

From Middle Persian NPŠE / 𐭭𐭯𐭱𐭤 (xwēš), from Old Persian [script needed] (ʰuvāipašiyam), a compound from Proto-Iranian *hwaypaθyah, with the phonetic change resulting in unattested but assumed Middle Persian *xwēbš > xwēš.

The first element of the compound is akin to Old Persian [script needed] (huva), from Proto-Iranian *hwá, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *swá (“reflexive pronoun”), from Proto-Indo-European *swé. (compare Persian خود (xod, “self”))

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [xʷeːʃ]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xeːʃ]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [xeːʃ]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [xeːʃ]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [xeːʃ]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [xiːʃ]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [χeʃ]

Readings
Classical reading?	xwēš
Dari reading?	xēš
Iranian reading?	xiš
Tajik reading?	xeš

Pronoun

خویش • (xiš)

1. (reflexive pronoun) oneself
2. (emphatic) one's own

Usage notes

In Modern Colloquial and Standard Persian, the term has largely been replaced by خود (xod), and is used almost exclusively in literary contexts.

Synonyms

• (reflexive, oneself): خود (xod)

Descendants

• → Urdu: خویش (xīš)
• → Bengali: খেশ (kheś)

Etymology 2

Noun

خویش • (xiš)

1. self

Derived terms

• خویشاوند (xišâvand)
• قوم و خویش (qowm o xiš, “relatives, family”)