What it means
مخفی (makhfi) means hidden, secret, or concealed. It is a loanword from Arabic, from the root kh-f-y, which carries the sense of being out of sight or kept from knowledge. In Persian it functions as a straightforward adjective for things that are literally hidden from view or kept secret from others. A useful native-Persian synonym is پنهان (penhan), which means the same thing. The two words are largely interchangeable in everyday speech, though مخفی sometimes feels slightly more deliberate or calculated in its secrecy.
How to use it
- یه راه مخفی پشت دیوار بود. (ye rah-e makhfi poshte divar bud.) “There was a hidden passage behind the wall.”
- اطلاعاتش مخفیه. (ettela’atash makhfiye.) “His information is secret.”
- مخفیانه از خونه رفت بیرون. (makhfiane az khune raft birun.) “She left the house in secret.”
- دوربین مخفی گذاشتن توی اتاق. (durbine makhfi gozashtan tu-ye otagh.) “They placed a hidden camera in the room.”
Cultural note
The word مخفی appears often in political and journalistic Persian, particularly in phrases like فعالیت مخفی (makhfi activity, meaning clandestine activity) or اجلاس مخفی (closed-door session). In popular culture, دوربین مخفی (hidden camera) has become a widespread phrase through Iranian prank-style television programs that took the concept from international formats. The Arabic root kh-f-y is also the basis for the word اختفا (ekhfa), meaning concealment, which appears in formal and legal Persian.