What it means
حسود (hasud) describes a person who is jealous or envious. It is an Arabic loanword built on the root ح-س-د (h-s-d), which carries the core meaning of envy or covetousness. In Arabic the pattern fa’ul (فعول) is used for intensive or habitual qualities, so حسود literally means one who is deeply or characteristically envious. Persian has borrowed the word wholesale and uses it as both an adjective and a noun: you can call someone آدم حسودی (âdam-e hasudi, a jealous person) or simply call them حسود. The abstract noun is حسادت (hasâdat, jealousy or envy), also Arabic in origin.
How to use it
- اون خیلی حسوده. (un kheyli hasoode.) “That person is very jealous.”
- به حرف آدمهای حسود گوش نده. (be harf âdamâye hasud gush nade.) “Don’t listen to envious people.”
- حسادتش داره دیوونهش میکنه. (hasâdatash dâre divunesh mikone.) “His jealousy is driving him crazy.”
- نباید حسود بود. (nabâyad hasud bud.) “One should not be envious.”
Cultural note
Envy and the evil eye (چشمزخم, cheshm-zakhm) are closely linked in Persian folk belief: a حسود is considered especially likely to cast an evil eye on what they envy. This connection means the word carries a moral charge beyond the emotion itself. Classical ethical literature in Persian, drawing on both Islamic and pre-Islamic traditions, treats حسد (hasad, envy) as one of the most destructive character flaws, and that framing still colors how حسود is used as a label for a person today.