Word Meaning
ज़ियान
ziyaan
Meaning
Loss, damage, deficit, or harm; often paired antithetically with profit.
Detailed Meaning
In classical Urdu poetry, 'ziyaan' signifies material, spiritual, or existential loss and ruin. In this couplet by Mir, 'jee ke ziyaan' denotes the forfeit of life itself, which the devoted lover paradoxically embraces as 'sood' (profit) if it attains the beloved. It commonly articulates the lover's deliberate defiance of worldly, transactional logic.
Etymology
Persian 'ziyān' (زیان), meaning loss, detriment, or harm.
Usage
In ghazal aesthetics, 'ziyaan' is most commonly paired as an antithesis to 'sood' (profit) to critique mundane rationality in matters of passion.
Examples
Sood o ziyaan ka hisaab (calculating profit and loss)
Apne hi dil ka ziyaan (the ruin/loss of one's own heart)