Persian/Alphabet

فارسی (‹fârsi›, “Persian”)
Learn the Persian language
Contents • Introduction
Persian Alphabet lessons: 1 ( ۱ ) • 2 ( ۲ ) • 3 ( ۳ ) • 4 ( ۴ )
Elementary grammar: 5 ( ۵ ) • 6 ( ۶ ) • 7 ( ۷ ) • 8 ( ۸ ) • 9 ( ۹ )
10 ( ۱۰ ) • 11 ( ۱۱ ) • 12 ( ۱۲ ) • 13 ( ۱۳ ) • 14 ( ۱۴ ) • 15 ( ۱۵ )
Intermediate: 16 ( ۱۶ ) • 17 ( ۱۷ ) • 18 ( ۱۸ ) • 19 ( ۱۹ ) • 20 ( ۲۰ )
21 ( ۲۱ ) • 22 ( ۲۲ ) • 23 ( ۲۳ ) • 24 ( ۲۴ ) • 25 ( ۲۵ ) • 26 ( ۲۶ )
Advanced:
Appendix: Alphabet • Glossary • Handwriting

To continue, your computer must display Persian. The box below should show these Persian letters on the far right:

ا ب پ ت ث ج چ ح خ د ذ ر ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل م ن و ه ی

If they are different or in the wrong order, see Persian Computing.

The Persian Alphabet: الفبا ‹alefbâ›

The six vowels and 23 consonants of Persian are written using a modified version of the Arabic alphabet with four extra Persian letters to represent sounds which do not exist in Arabic. Its Persian name is الفبا ‹alefbâ› , which is the equivalent of the English “ABCs”.

Isolated	Initial	Middle	End	Pronunciation, ‹UniPers›, [IPA]	Name
ا	—		ﺎ	‹â› [ɒː] as in North American English caught, Received Pronunciation father, South African English park, ‹a› [æ] as in cat, ‹o› [o] as in soap or ‹e› [e] as in well	‹alef›
ﺏ	بـ	ـبـ	ـب	‹b› [b] as in big	‹be›
پ	پـ	ـپـ	ـپ	‹p› [p] as in park	‹pe›
ت	تـ	ـتـ	ـت	‹t› [t] as in tea	‹te›
ﺙ	ثـ	ـثـ	ـث	‹s› [s] as in salad	‹se›
ﺝ	جـ	ـجـ	ـج	‹j› [d͡ʒ] as in jade	‹jim›
ﭺ	چـ	ـچـ	ـچ	‹c› [t͡ʃ] as in cheese	‹ce›
ﺡ	حـ	ـحـ	ـح	‹h› [h] as in house	‹he›
ﺥ	خـ	ـخـ	ﺦ	‹x› [x] as in Bach or Loch	‹xe›
ﺩ		ـد		‹d› [d] as in dog	‹dâl›
ﺫ		ـذ		‹z› [z] as in zoo	‹zâl›
ﺭ		ـر		‹r› [ɾ] as in rain	‹re›
ﺯ		ـز		‹z› [z] as in zoo	‹ze›
ﮊ		ـژ		‹ž› [ʒ] as in mirage or French je	‹že›
ﺱ	سـ	ـسـ	ـس	‹s› [s] as in sand	‹sin›
ﺵ	شـ	ـشـ	ـش	‹š› [ʃ] as in sugar	‹šin›
ﺹ	صـ	ـصـ	ـص	‹s› [s] as in sand	‹sâd›
ﺽ	ضـ	ـضـ	ـض	‹z› [z] as in zoo	‹zâd›
ﻁ	طـ	ـطـ	ـط	‹t› [t] as in tiger	‹tâ›
ﻅ	ظـ	ـظـ	ـظ	‹z› [z] as in zoo	‹zâ›
ﻉ	ﻋ	ﻌ	ﻊ	‹'› [ʔ] as in uh-oh	‹'eyn›
ﻍ	ﻏ	ﻐ	ﻎ	‹q› [ɣ] Voiced velar fricative.ogg (help·info) or [ɢ], Voiced uvular stop.oga (help·info)	‹qeyn›
ﻑ	فـ	ـفـ	ـف	‹f› [f] as in France	‹fe›
ﻕ	قـ	ـقـ	ـق	‹q› [ɣ] Voiced velar fricative.ogg (help·info) or [ɢ], Voiced uvular stop.oga (help·info)	‹qâf›
ک	ﻛ	ـکـ	ـک	‹k› [k] as in kid	‹kâf›
ﮒ	ﮔ	ﮕ	ﮓ	‹g› [g] as in golf	‹gâf›
ﻝ	ﻟ	ـلـ	ـل	‹l› [l] as in love	‹lâm›
ﻡ	ﻣ	ـمـ	ـم	‹m› [m] as in music	‹mim›
ﻥ	ﻧ	ـنـ	ـن	‹n› [n] as in new	‹nun›
ﻭ		ـو		‹w›, ‹u›, ‹o› and ‹v› as in	‹vâv›
ﻩ	ﻫ	ﻬ	ﻪ	‹h› [h] as in horse	‹he›
ى	ﻳ	ـیـ	ـی	‹y› [j] as in year or ‹i› [iː] as in free	‹ye›

Transcription

UniPers is used as a guide to pronunciation in this book:

Vowels							Diphthongs
UniPers	‹a›	‹â›	‹e›	‹i›	‹o›	‹u›	‹ow›	‹ey›	‹ay›	‹ây›	‹oy›	‹uy›
IPA	/æ/	/ɒː/	/e/	/iː/	/o/	/uː/	/ow/	/ej/	/aj/	/ɒj/	/oj/	/uj/
Persian	ا	آ، ا (خوا)	ا، ه	ای، ی	ا، و	او	و	ی		ای	وی
Consonants
UniPers	‹b›	‹c›	‹d›	‹f›	‹g›	‹h›	‹j›	‹k›	‹l›	‹m›	‹n›	‹p›	‹q›	‹r›	‹s›	‹š›	‹t›	‹v›	‹x›	‹z›	‹ž›	‹’›
IPA	/b/	/tʃ/	/d/	/f/	/ɡ/	/h/	/dʒ/	/k/	/l/	/m/	/n/	/p/	/ɣ/	/ɾ/	/s/	/ʃ/	/t/	/v/	/χ/	/z/	/ʒ/	/ʔ/
Persian	ب	چ	د	ف	گ	ه، ح	ج	ک	ل	م	ن	پ	غ، ق	ر	ث، س، ص	ش	ت، ط	و	خ	ذ، ز، ض، ظ	ژ	ع، ء

Pronunciation

Most letters in this system of transcription can be pronounced like their English equivalents, but some deserve special attention:

Persian letter

Pronunciation

آ ا

â

‹â› sounds like the o in the Queen's English pronunciation of hot, the augh in American English caught, or the a in South African English park. It is a longer and deeper sound than the short ‹a› (as in cat).

ژ

‹ž›

‹ž› sounds like the g in mirage or the s in measure and in Asia.

خ

‹x›

‹x› is similar to the ch in Bach or the j in Spanish ojo but pronounced low in the throat.

ر

‹r›

‹r› is similar to the r in the Scottish English pronunciation of free or the tt in the American English and Australian English better. It is often rolled like the Spanish R.

Differing Systems of Transcription

There are several different systems of transcription in use for Persian, and no one official system. This can cause difficulties when more than one textbook is consulted, and may lead an absolute beginner to confuse the different letters. There are too many differences to be listed here, but it is useful to be familiar with the most significant examples:

Some common differences include:‎

آ ‹â› listen (help·info) may be transcribed as ā, á, A, aa, or a. For example, بابا ‹bâbâ› may be written elsewhere as bābā, bábá, bAbA, baabaa, or baba. In texts where ‹â› is transcribed as a, the short ‹a› sound may be written as æ or there may be no written distinction between the long and short sounds.
Short ‹a› listen (help·info) may be transcribed as æ, especially in texts where a represents long ‹â›. For example, ابر ‹abr› may be written elsewhere as æbr and بابا ‹bâbâ› as baba.
چ ‹c› may be transcribed as ch or č. For example, چطور ‹cetor› may be written elsewhere as chetor or četor.
خ ‹x› may be transcribed as kh. For example, خوب ‹xub› may be written elsewhere as khub.
ﺵ ‹š› may be transcribed as sh or s. For example, شما ‹šomâ› may be written elsewhere as shoma or soma.
Long ‹u›, may be transcribed as oo. For example, دوست ‹dust› may be written elsewhere as doost.

Duplicate Letters

Diacritical Markings

Name	Pronunciation	Symbol
Hamze		ء
Alef hamze		أ
Vâv hamze		ؤ
Alef Tanvin		ـّ
Tashdid		ً
Short "a"		ـَ
Short "o"		ـُ
Short "e"		ـِ

Contents • Introduction

Persian Alphabet lessons: 1 ( ۱ ) • 2 ( ۲ ) • 3 ( ۳ ) • 4 ( ۴ )
Elementary grammar: 5 ( ۵ ) • 6 ( ۶ ) • 7 ( ۷ ) • 8 ( ۸ ) • 9 ( ۹ )
10 ( ۱۰ ) • 11 ( ۱۱ ) • 12 ( ۱۲ ) • 13 ( ۱۳ ) • 14 ( ۱۴ ) • 15 ( ۱۵ )
Intermediate: 16 ( ۱۶ ) • 17 ( ۱۷ ) • 18 ( ۱۸ ) • 19 ( ۱۹ ) • 20 ( ۲۰ )
21 ( ۲۱ ) • 22 ( ۲۲ ) • 23 ( ۲۳ ) • 24 ( ۲۴ ) • 25 ( ۲۵ ) • 26 ( ۲۶ )
Advanced:
Appendix: Alphabet • Glossary • Handwriting

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