شفقت

Arabic

Verb

شفقت (form I)

1. شَفَقْتُ (šafaqtu) /ʃa.faq.tu/: first-person singular past active of شَفَقَ (šafaqa)
2. شَفَقْتَ (šafaqta) /ʃa.faq.ta/: second-person masculine singular past active of شَفَقَ (šafaqa)
3. شَفَقْتِ (šafaqti) /ʃa.faq.ti/: second-person feminine singular past active of شَفَقَ (šafaqa)
4. شَفَقَتْ (šafaqat) /ʃa.fa.qat/: third-person feminine singular past active of شَفَقَ (šafaqa)

Persian

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic شَفَقَة (šafaqa).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [ʃa.fa.ˈqat], [ʃaf.ˈqat]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃæ.fæ.ʁǽt̪]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ʃä.fä.qǽt̪]

Readings
Classical reading?	šafaqat, šafqat
Iranian reading?	šafağat
Tajik reading?	šafaqat

Noun

Dari	شفقت
Iranian Persian
Tajik	шафақат

شفقت • (šafaqat)

1. compassion, commiseration

   Synonyms: دلسوزی (delsuzi), رحم (rahm)

   • c. 1520, Selim I of the Ottoman Empire, edited by Benedek Péri, The Persian Dīvān of Yavuz Sulṭān Selīm, Budapest, Hungary: Research Centre for the Humanities, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, →ISBN, page 195:

     اگرچه شفقتست ای مرگ در خاکم مکن پنهان
     مبادا گردم از بار غم آن دلستان فارغ

     agarči šafqat ast ay marg dar xākam makun panhān
     mabādā gardam az bār-i ğam-i ān dilsitān fāriğ

     Although it is [out of] compassion, o Death, do not hide me under the earth!
     God forbid that my remains should be released from the burden of grieving for that heart-snatching beauty.

     (Classical Persian transliteration)

Descendants

• → Armenian: շաֆաղաթ (šafaġatʻ)
• → Urdu: شَفْقَت (śafqat)

Further reading

• Hayyim, Sulayman (1934) “شفقت”, in New Persian–English dictionary, Teheran: Librairie-imprimerie Béroukhim

Urdu

Etymology

Borrowed from Classical Persian شفقت (šafaqat), from Arabic شَفَقَة (šafaqa).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /ʃəf.qət̪/
• Rhymes: -ət̪
• Hyphenation: شَفْ‧قَت

Noun

شَفْقَت • (śafqat) f (Hindi spelling शफ़क़त)

1. compassion, clemency

Declension

Declension of شفقت

	singular	plural
direct	شَفْقَت (śafqat)	شَفْقَتیں (śafqatẽ)
oblique	شَفْقَت (śafqat)	شَفْقَتوں (śafqatõ)
vocative	شَفْقَت (śafqat)	شَفْقَتو (śafqato)

References

• “شفقت”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.