عجیب

What it means

عجیب (ajib) means “strange,” “weird,” or “odd” in Persian. Arabic loanword. False friend alert: in Arabic, عجيب means “amazing, wonderful.” Persian flipped the connotation toward “strange/peculiar.”

How to use it

• چه عجیب! (che ajib!) “How strange!”
• اتفاق عجیبی افتاد (ettefâq-e ajibi oftâd) “A strange thing happened”
• این آدم عجیب است (in âdam ajib ast) “This person is strange”

Common pairings

• عجیب و غریب (ajib-o gharib) “strange and unusual” (set phrase)
• عجایب (ajâyeb) “wonders, marvels” (Arabic plural form)
• عجب (ajab) “wow! how strange!”

False friend

If you know Arabic, beware: in Arabic عجيب is a positive compliment (“amazing!”). In Persian, it is mildly negative or neutral (“strange”). Don’t tell an Iranian their cooking is عجیب expecting a compliment.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab