What it means
هیچی (hichi) means “nothing” and is the colloquial compressed form of هیچ چیز (hich chiz, literally “no thing”). Both هیچ and چیز are pure Persian. The shortening to هیچی happens naturally in fast speech and is so common in Tehran that most speakers do not think of it as informal at all. In formal writing, exams, and official speech, the full form هیچ چیز (hich chiz) is expected. This formal/colloquial split makes هیچی a textbook example of Persian diglossia, the gap between written and spoken registers.
How to use it
- هیچی نخوردم. (hichi nakhurdam.) “I didn’t eat anything.”
- هیچی نگفت. (hichi nagoft.) “He/she didn’t say anything.”
- هیچی نفهمیدم. (hichi nafahmidam.) “I didn’t understand anything.”
- هیچی نمیخوام. (hichi nemikhām.) “I don’t want anything.”
Cultural note
هیچی also works as a standalone reply in conversation, much like “nothing” in English when someone asks “What’s wrong?” or “What are you doing?” In this use, no verb is needed at all. The word sits at an interesting crossroads: formal grammar books list it as non-standard, but any Iranian will tell you that هیچی is what real people say. For learners aiming to sound natural rather than textbook-correct, هیچی is the form to master first.