اللہ حافظ

Urdu

Etymology

An Arabised rendition of خُدا حافِظ (xudā hāfiz), in which the Classical Persian خُدَا (xudā, “god”) is replaced by the Arabic اللّٰه (allāh, “God; Allah”). First attested in c. 19th century, but only came into common usage in Pakistan in the 1980s.[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • (Standard Urdu) IPA(key): /əl.lɑːɦ ɦɑː.fɪz/
  • Audio (Pakistan):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪz

Interjection

اَللّٰہ حافِظ • (allāh hāfiz) (Hindi spelling अल्लाह हाफ़िज़) (often puristic)

  1. goodbye
  2. farewell

Synonyms

Descendants

  • → Sindhi: اَللهُ حَافِظُ (allāhu ḥāfiz̤u)

References

  1. ^
    2020 March 16, Rauf Parekh, Dawn‎[1]:
  2. ^
    2012 April 17, Syed Hamad Ali, “In Pakistan, saying goodbye can be a religious statement”, in The Guardian‎[2]:

Further reading

  • “اللہ+حافظ”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2026.
  • “اللہ+حافظ”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
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