نیکو

Persian

Etymology

Alternative form of (nik, “good, excellent, nice”)

Pronunciation

(Classical Persian) IPA^(key): /neː.ˈkoː/

(Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [neː.kʰóː]
- (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [neː.kʰóː]
- (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [neː.kʰʊ́ː]

(Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [niː.kʰúː]

(Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [ne.kʰɵ́]

Readings
Classical reading^?	nēkō
Dari reading^?	nēkō
Iranian reading^?	niku
Tajik reading^?	nekü

Adjective


Iranian Persian	نیکو
Dari	نیکو
Tajik	некӯ

نیکو • (niku) (comparative نیکوتَر, superlative نیکوتَرین)

good, excellent, nice, fair
- c. 1260s, Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson, مثنوی معنوی [Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi], volume I, verse 3551:
  این نباشد ما چه ارزیم ای جوان
  کی شویم آیین روی نیکوان
  īn nabāšad mā či arzēm ay jawān
  kay šawēm āyīn-i rōy-i nēkuwān
  If this do not happen, what worth have we, O young man?
  How shall we become a standard for the face of the fair?’
- c. 1599, Bahāʾ al‐Dīn ʿĀmilī, “Section 4, Part 2”, in کشکول‎^[1]:
  پاره‌ای از اهل‌تحقیق گفته‌اند که عبادت حق‌تعالی در سه چیز است: اعتقاد درست، گفتار درست، و کار نیکو.
  pâre'i az ahl-e-tahqiq gofte'and ke ebâdat-e haqq-e-ta'âlâ dar seh čiz ast: e'teqâd-e dorost, goftâr-e dorost, va kâr-e niku.
  Some of the researchers have said that worship of God Almighty consists of three things: good thoughts, good words, and good deeds.

References

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