शुभ (shubh)
adjective/noun
An auspiciousness word: an adjective meaning 'auspicious, good, favorable', used constantly as the first half of greeting compounds like शुभ प्रभात (shubh prabhaat, 'good morning').
Sense
1
:
auspicious, favorable, good (of an omen, occasion, or quality)
adjective Almost always appears attributively, fused to the front of another noun as in शुभ यात्रा (shubh yaatraa, 'safe/auspicious journey') or शुभ अवसर (shubh avsar, 'auspicious occasion'), rather than predicated alone.
Synonyms: मंगल (mangal), कल्याणकारी (kalyaankaarii, formal), पुण्य (puny, literary)
Frequency: high
Cultural Note: You will meet this word every single day stitched onto greetings: शुभ प्रभात (shubh prabhaat, 'good morning'), शुभ रात्रि (shubh raatri, 'good night'), and शुभकामनाएं (shubhkaamnaaen, 'best wishes') on birthday cards and WhatsApp forwards. It carries a slightly more formal, written flavor than the everyday spoken greetings like गुड मॉर्निंग (gud morning), so families often use the English loan casually but switch to शुभ (shubh) compounds for greeting cards, invitations, and festival messages.
Common Mistakes: 1) Learners try to use शुभ (shubh) as a standalone greeting the way English speakers say 'good' -- but it almost never stands alone; it needs a following noun (प्रभात (prabhaat), रात्रि (raatri), दिन (din)) to form the actual greeting. 2) Since it is invariant, learners sometimes wrongly add gender endings like शुभा (shubhaa) by analogy with words like अच्छा (achchhaa) -- शुभ (shubh) itself never changes form.
Sample Sentences:
आज का दिन बहुत शुभ है।
Today is a very auspicious day.
(aaj kaa din bahut shubh hai।)
दादी ने कहा कि यह शुभ मुहूर्त है, अभी पूजा शुरू करो।
Grandmother said this is an auspicious time, start the prayer now.
(daadii ne kahaa ki yah shubh muhoort hai, abhii poojaa shuroo karo।)
आपको जन्मदिन की शुभकामनाएं!
Best wishes to you on your birthday!
(aapko janmdin kii shubhkaamnaaen!)
शुभ प्रभात, आपका दिन मंगलमय हो।
Good morning, may your day be blessed.
(shubh prabhaat, aapkaa din mangalmay ho।)
पंडित जी ने विवाह के लिए एक शुभ तारीख निकाली।
The priest found an auspicious date for the wedding.
(pandit jii ne vivaah ke lie ek shubh taariikh nikaalii।)
अगर यह शुभ संकेत सच हो जाए, तो सब कुछ ठीक हो जाएगा।
If this auspicious sign comes true, everything will be fine.
(agar yah shubh sanket sach ho jaae, to sab kuchh thiik ho jaaegaa।)
नई दुकान खोलने के लिए शुभ दिन चुना जाता है।
An auspicious day is chosen for opening a new shop.
(naii dukaan kholne ke lie shubh din chunaa jaataa hai।)
काश आज का दिन इतना शुभ न होता, तो हमें इतनी भीड़ नहीं मिलती।
If only today weren't so auspicious, we wouldn't have run into such a crowd.
(kaash aaj kaa din itnaa shubh n hotaa, to hamen itnii bhiid nahiin miltii।)
दीवाली पर सब एक-दूसरे को शुभकामनाएं देते हैं और शुभ त्योहार कहते हैं।
On Diwali, everyone gives each other good wishes and says 'happy festival'.
(diivaalii par sab ek-doosre ko shubhkaamnaaen dete hain aur shubh tyohaar kahte hain।)
नए साल के इस शुभ अवसर पर, हम सब मिलकर प्रार्थना करते हैं।
On this auspicious occasion of the new year, we all pray together.
(nae saal ke is shubh avsar par, ham sab milkar praarthnaa karte hain।)
इस शुभ बेला में भगवान का आशीर्वाद सब पर बना रहे।
In this auspicious hour, may God's blessing remain upon all.
(is shubh belaa men bhagvaan kaa aashiirvaad sab par banaa rahe।)
Sense
2
:
auspiciousness, that which is good/favorable (as a thing in itself)
noun, masculine Used in fixed phrases contrasting good and bad outcomes, e.g. शुभ-अशुभ (shubh-ashubh, 'auspicious and inauspicious [things]'), where it functions as a noun rather than modifying another word.
Synonyms: मंगल (mangal), कल्याण (kalyaan, formal)
Frequency: medium
Cultural Note: This noun use shows up in astrology and ritual contexts -- people consult a pandit (pandit) for a शुभ मुहूर्त (shubh muhoort, 'auspicious moment') before weddings, house-warmings, or launching a new business, treating शुभ (shubh) almost like a measurable quality of time itself.
Sample Sentences:
पंडित जी ने शुभ का समय बताया।
The pandit told us the auspicious time.
(pandit jii ne shubh kaa samay bataayaa।)
हर काम में शुभ और अशुभ का ध्यान रखा जाता है।
In every task, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness are kept in mind.
(har kaam men shubh aur ashubh kaa dhyaan rakhaa jaataa hai।)
शादी से पहले शुभ का मुहूर्त निकाला जाता है।
Before a wedding, the auspicious moment is worked out.
(shaadii se pahle shubh kaa muhoort nikaalaa jaataa hai।)
क्या इस घड़ी में शुभ है या नहीं, यह पंडित जी ही बता सकते हैं।
Whether there is auspiciousness in this hour or not, only the pandit can tell.
(kyaa is ghadii men shubh hai yaa nahiin, yah pandit jii hii bataa sakte hain।)
अगर उस दिन शुभ होता, तो हम गृह प्रवेश वहीं करते।
If there had been auspiciousness that day, we would have done the house-warming right then.
(agar us din shubh hotaa, to ham grih pravesh vahiin karte।)
ज्योतिषी हर पल में शुभ की मात्रा नाप सकता है, ऐसा लोग मानते हैं।
People believe the astrologer can measure the degree of auspiciousness in every moment.
(jyotishii har pal men shubh kii maatraa naap saktaa hai, aisaa log maante hain।)
व्यापार शुरू करने से पहले शुभ का पता लगवाना ज़रूरी समझा जाता है।
Before starting a business, finding out the auspiciousness is considered necessary.
(vyaapaar shuroo karne se pahle shubh kaa pataa lagvaanaa zaroorii samjhaa jaataa hai।)
इस मुहूर्त में शुभ इतना है कि सारा परिवार खुश है।
There is so much auspiciousness in this moment that the whole family is happy.
(is muhoort men shubh itnaa hai ki saaraa parivaar khush hai।)
शायद इस समय में कुछ शुभ छिपा हो।
Perhaps some auspiciousness lies hidden in this moment.
(shaayad is samay men kuchh shubh chhipaa ho।)
Morphology
Adjective (invariant)
invariant:
शुभ
(shubh)
Noun
(sg.m.direct):
शुभ
(shubh)
(sg.m.oblique):
शुभ
(shubh)
(pl.m.direct):
शुभ
(shubh)
(pl.m.oblique):
शुभों
(shubhon)