What it means
براق (borâq) describes any surface with a high shine that reflects light: polished metal, glossy paint, lacquered wood, or a reflective plastic coating. The word is borrowed from Arabic, where the root ب-ر-ق (b-r-q) means lightning or to flash, and بَرَّاق (barrâq) means brilliant or gleaming. Persian adopted the word and uses it in everyday contexts from describing paint finishes to hair and skin. Its direct opposite is مات (mât, matte). A loose synonym is لاکی (lâki, lacquered or varnished), though لاکی specifies a coating while براق describes the visual quality. براق is also a name from Islamic tradition for the creature that carried the Prophet on the night journey, connected to the same Arabic root for brilliance.
How to use it
- کفشهاشو براق کرده بود. (Kafshâsho borâq karde bud.) “He had polished his shoes to a shine.”
- ماشین آب دادم حالا براقه. (Mâshin âb dâdam, halâ borâqe.) “I washed the car, now it is gleaming.”
- موهاشو زده بود و خیلی براق بود. (Muhâsho zade bud va kheyli borâq bud.) “She had done her hair and it was very shiny.”
- این رنگ خیلی براقه، مات نداری؟ (In rang kheyli borâqe, mât nadâri?) “This paint is very glossy, do you have matte?”
Cultural note
Arabic loanwords built on the root ب-ر-ق (lightning) are found across Persian literature and religion. The mythical creature البُراق (al-Borâq), mentioned in Islamic accounts of the Prophet Muhammad’s night journey, takes its name from the same root, emphasising the idea of a being that moves with the speed and brilliance of lightning. In everyday Persian, براق sits comfortably as a purely descriptive adjective with no religious connotation in most contexts. In Iranian bazaar culture, metalworkers and coppersmiths (مسگرها, mesgarhâ) have traditionally been valued for their ability to polish goods to a براق finish, a skill still visible in the workshops of Isfahan’s bazaar.