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Farsi Alphabet and Pronunciation
If you're trying to learn the Farsi Alphabet which is also called Persian, check our courses about pronunciation, and sound of all letters... to help you with your Farsi grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and memorize the sounds. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Farsi. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!
Farsi Alphabet
Learning the Farsi alphabet is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Without it, you will not be able to say words properly even if you know how to write those words. The better you pronounce a letter in a word, the more understood you will be in speaking the Farsi language.
Below is a table showing the Farsi alphabet and how it is pronounced in English, and finally examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.
| Farsi Alphabet | Variation* | Sound | Pronunciation Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ء | a | as in apple | |
| ا | a | as in apple | |
| آ | long "a" | as in apathy | |
| ب ب ب | b | as in boat | |
| پ پ پ | p | as in pool | |
| ت ت ت | t | as in town | |
| ث ث ث | th | as in think | |
| ج ج ج | j | as in joke | |
| چ چ چ | che | as in chair | |
| ح ح ح | sharp h | as in Hassan | |
| خ خ خ | kh | as in bach | |
| د | d | as in desk | |
| ذ | th | as in those | |
| ر | r | as in rabbit | |
| ز | z | as in zebra | |
| ژ | je | as in pleasure | |
| س س س | s | as in small | |
| ش ش ش | sh | as in shadow | |
| ص ص ص | s | as in supper | |
| ض ض ض | d | as in date | |
| ط ط ط | t | as in time | |
| ظ ظ ظ | th | as in that | |
| ع ع ع | ' | as in agh!! | |
| غ غ غ | gh | as in "r" in merci | |
| ف ف ف | f | as in Farsi | |
| ق ق ق | sharp qu | as in Qum | |
| ك ك ك | k | as in Kurdish | |
| ک ک ک | k | as in cute | |
| گ گ گ | g | as in golf | |
| ل ل ل | l | as in language | |
| م م م | m | as in mosque | |
| ن ن ن | n | as in noon | |
| و | w | as in wolf | |
| ه ه ه | h | as in house | |
| ي ي ي | y | as in year | |
| ی ی ی | a | as in spa |
Variation*: This means that the letter takes different shapes based on its position in the word. Usually 3 variations. One at the beginning of the word, one in the middle of the word, and one at the end of the word.
Farsi Pronunciation
You saw how a letter is written and might be pronounced, but there is nothing better than hearing the sound of the letters in a video or audio. Below you will be able to hear how the letters above are pronounced, just press the play button:
| Farsi Pronunciation |
|---|
The alphabet and its pronunciation have a very important role in Farsi. Once you're done with the Persian alphabet, you might want to check the rest of our Farsi lessons here: Learn Farsi. Don't forget to bookmark this page.