حسابی

What it means

حسابی (hesâbi) functions as both an adverb meaning properly, thoroughly, or really well and an informal adjective meaning proper, serious, or real. It is built from حساب (hesâb, account, reckoning, calculation), an Arabic-origin noun, plus the Persian suffix -i that creates an adjective or adverb of quality. The literal sense of حسابی is something that is of account or worth reckoning with, and in usage it intensifies whatever follows: حسابی خوردیم (we ate properly, we ate a lot), حسابی خسته شدم (I got properly tired), حسابی کتکش زدن (they beat him up big time). As an adjective it can mean genuine or substantial: یه آدم حسابی (a proper person, a respectable person). In colloquial speech حسابی is a strong but non-vulgar intensifier.

How to use it

• حسابی خوابیدم (hesâbi khâbidam) “I slept really well / I slept properly.”
• حسابی گریه کرد (hesâbi gerye kard) “She cried a lot / she had a proper cry.”
• حسابی باهاش حرف زدم (hesâbi bâhâsh harf zadam) “I had a proper talk with him.”
• اون یه آدم حسابیه (un ye âdam-e hesâbiye) “He is a proper, decent person.”

Cultural note

The phrase آدم حسابی (âdam-e hesâbi, a proper person or a person of substance) carries real social weight in Iranian culture. Calling someone an آدم حسابی is a genuine compliment that signals they are reliable, principled, and worth taking seriously, the kind of person whose word you can trust. Its opposite, آدم حسابی نیست (he is not a proper person), is a quiet but serious dismissal of someone’s character. This usage reveals how deeply the metaphor of رeckoning and account runs through Persian social values: a good person is one who keeps their moral and social ledger in order.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab