شیک

What it means

شیک (shik) means chic or stylish in Persian, and it is a straightforward loanword from French chic, absorbed into everyday speech the way many fashion and lifestyle words entered Persian over the past century. It describes clothes, people, restaurants, cars, basically anything that looks polished and put together, and sits close in meaning to باکلاس (with class), though شیک leans more toward looks and fashion specifically.

How to use it

• لباست خیلی شیکه (lebâset kheili shike) “your outfit is really stylish”
• این رستوران خیلی شیکه (in resturân kheili shike) “this restaurant is really classy”
• شیک پوشیده بود (shik pushide bud) “he was dressed sharp”
• یه کت و شلوار شیک بخر (ye kot o shalvâr-e shik bekhar) “buy a stylish suit”

Cultural note

French loanwords entered Persian heavily in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries through diplomacy, fashion, and early modern education, and شیک is one of the most common survivors in daily speech. Unlike some French borrowings that stayed formal or technical, شیک became fully colloquial and productive, spawning the compound شیک‌پوش (sharp dresser) for someone who consistently dresses well. It is used across generations in Iran today, from older speakers to younger ones on social media.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab