What it means
هیچ وقت (hich vaqt) means “never.” It is a mixed-origin compound: هیچ (hich) is pure Persian, while وقت (vaqt, meaning “time”) is a borrowing from Arabic, where it carries the same meaning. Together they negate any point in time. A close synonym is هرگز (hargez), which is pure Persian and more literary. In everyday spoken Persian, هیچ وقت is far more common than هرگز, which sounds elevated or poetic in casual conversation. A very colloquial alternative is هیچ وختی (hich vakhti), where the vowel shifts in fast speech.
How to use it
- هیچ وقت دیر نمیاد. (hich vaqt dir nemiād.) “He/she never comes late.”
- هیچ وقت این کار رو نکن. (hich vaqt in kār ro nakon.) “Never do this.”
- هیچ وقت فراموشت نمیکنم. (hich vaqt farāmushat nemikonam.) “I will never forget you.”
- اون هیچ وقت عذرخواهی نکرد. (un hich vaqt ozrkhāhi nakard.) “He/she never apologized.”
Cultural note
Like all هیچ compounds, هیچ وقت must appear with a negative verb to be grammatical. Saying هیچ وقت میاد with a positive verb is an error in standard Persian. The Arabic loanword وقت is so deeply embedded in Persian that most speakers feel no foreign quality in it whatsoever. It appears in dozens of common expressions: سر وقت (sar-e vaqt, on time), وقت ندارم (vaqt nadāram, I don’t have time), and هر وقت (har vaqt, whenever). This shows how Arabic vocabulary has become fully naturalized in everyday Persian use over many centuries.