Farsi Persian Alphabet

This page contains a table including the following: Farsi alphabet, also called Persian letters which help you

pronounce the words in a given language, you will also learn about the different consonants and vowels. Make sure

to check our Learn Farsi page, which contains several lessons that might help you in your learning process.

Farsi Alphabet

English Farsi Pronunciation Farsi Script Various Forms

A as in apple hamzeh ء On the top of some vowels

A as in apple alef ا‍ ا

Long “a” alef-e maddī آ‍ آ

B as in Brazilian be ب‍‍‍ب‍‍‍ب ب

P as in Persian pe پ‍‍‍پ‍‍‍پ پ

T as in Turkish te ت‍‍‍ت‍‍‍ت ت

Th as in think the ث‍‍‍ث‍‍‍ث ث

J as in Japanese jīm ج‍‍‍ج‍‍‍ج ج

Che as in Chinese che چ‍‍‍چ‍‍‍چ چ

Sharp h as in Hassan he ح‍‍‍ح‍‍‍ح ح

Kh as in the Scottish loch, Spanish Jota khe خ‍‍‍خ‍‍‍خ خ

D as in Danish dāl د د

Th as in They Th as in They Th as in They ذ

R as in Russian re ر ر

Z as in Zulu ze ز ز

Je as in pleasure je or zhe ژ ژ

S as in Spanish sīn س‍‍‍س‍‍‍س س

Sh as in Shadow shīn ش‍‍‍ش‍‍‍ش ش

S as in supper sād ص‍‍‍ص‍‍‍ص ص

D as in Danish dād ض‍‍‍ض‍‍‍ض ض

T as in Tagalog Tā ط‍‍‍ط‍‍‍ط ط

Th as in That thā ظ‍‍‍ظ‍‍‍ظ ظ

The closest is as a soundless “a” or ‘ ‘ayn ع‍‍‍ع‍‍‍ع ع

gh as the french “r” in merci ghayn غ‍‍‍غ‍‍‍غ غ

F as in Farsi fe ف‍‍‍ف‍‍‍ف ف

Sharp Qu (Qum) qāf ق‍‍‍ق‍‍‍ق ق

K as in Kurdish kāf ک‍‍‍ک‍‍‍ک ک

Same thing just a different way. kāf ک‍‍‍ک‍‍‍ک ک

G as in Golf gāf گ‍‍‍گ‍‍‍گ گ

L as in Language lām ل‍‍‍ل‍‍‍ل ل

M as in Mandarin mīm م‍‍‍م‍‍‍م م

N as in Norwegian nūn ن‍‍‍ن‍‍‍ن ن

W as in Wolof vāv و و

H as in Hebrew hā-ye havvaz ه‍‍‍ه‍‍‍ه ه

English Farsi Pronunciation Farsi Script Various Forms

Y as in Yiddish yā-ye mo‘jam ی‍‍‍ی‍‍‍ی ی

Y as in Yiddish, sometimes as “a” yā-ye fārsī ی‍‍‍ی‍‍‍ی ی

Farsi Adjectives

This page contains a table including the following: Farsi Adjectivesincluding colors, size,

shapes, tastes, quantities... to help you with your Farsi vocabulary and expressions. Try to

memorize the way they're used because they're very important in communication, and might be

very helpful to convey your most important expressions. Make sure to check our Learn

Farsi page, which contains several lessons that might help you in your learning process.

Farsi Adjectives

The following 2 tables contain important adjectives about colors, size, shapes, tastes, quantities in Farsi as well as in

English.

English Farsi Adjectives Persian Script

Colors

Black seeyaa سیاه

Blue aabee آبی

Brown qah-veyee قهوه‍ای

Gray KhaakesaRee خاکستری

Green sabz سبز

Orange naaRanjee نارنجی

Purple aRghoonee ارغوانی

Red qeRmiz قرمز

White sefeed سفید

Yellow zaRd زرد

Sizes

Big boozoRg بزرگ

Deep god گود

Long deRaaz دراز

Narrow baaReek باریک

Short (in height) kootaa qad کوتا‍قد

Short (in length) kootaah کوتاه

English Farsi Adjectives Persian Script

Small, little koocheek کوچک

Tall boolan qad بلند‍قد

Thick kooloft کلفت

Thin laaghaR لاغر

Wide 'aReez عریض

Shapes

Round geRd گرد

Straight Raast راست

Square moRaba' مربع

Triangular moosalas مثلث

The following table contains important Farsi adjectives about directions that you might use when lost.

English Farsi Persian

Adjectives

Tastes

Bitter talKh تلخ

Fresh taazey تازه

Salty shooR شور

Sour toRsh ترش

Spicy tond تند

Sweet sheeReen شیرین

Qualities

Bad bad بد

Clean tameez تمیز

Dark poR Rang پر‍رنگ

Difficult saKht سخت

Dirty kaseef کثیف

Dry Khoshk خشک

Easy aasoon آسون

Empty Khaalee خالی

Expensive geRoon گرون

Fast saRee' سریع

English Farsi Persian

Adjectives

Foreign KhaaRijee خارجی

Full poR پر

Good Khoob خوب

Hard (firm) seft سفت

Heavy sangeen سنگین

Inexpensive aRzoon ارزون

Light (illumination) cheRaagh چراغ

Light (weight) sabok سبک

Local mahalee محلی

New taazey تازه

Noisy (person) poR haRf پرحرف

Noisy (loud noise) boland بلند

Old (about things) koh-ney کهنه

Old (about people) peeR پیر

Powerful qavee قوی

Quiet (person) bee saRo sedaa بی‍سروصدا

Right / Correct doRost درست

Slow aahise / yavaash یواش/‍آهسه‍

Soft naRm نرم

Very Kheylee خیلی

Weak za'eef ضعیف

Wet taR / Khees خیس/‍تر‍

Wrong / Incorrect ghalat غلط

Young javoon جوان

Quantities

Noisy poR saRo sedaa پر‍سروصدا

Quiet aaRoom آرام

Few / Little kam کم

Many / Much zeeyaad زیاد

Part qesmat قسمت

Some / A few (male

form)

chan taa / kamee /

ba'azee بعضی/‍کمی‍/‍چند‍تا‍

A few (feminine) chan taa چند‍تا

Whole

Farsi Vocabulary

This page contains a table including the following: Farsi Vocabulary to help you with your

Farsi vocabulary and expressions. Try to memorize the way they're used because they're very

important in communication, and might be very helpful to convey your most important

expressions. Make sure to check our Learn Farsi page, which contains several lessons that

might help you in your learning process.

Farsi Vocabulary

The following table contains important vocabulary about days, time, directions, and locations in Farsi as well as in

English.

English Farsi Vocabulary Persian Script

Time

Sunday ye shanbe یک‍شنبه

Monday do shanbe دوشنبه

Tuesday se shanbe سه‍شنبه

Wednesday chaaR shanbe چهارشنبه

Thursday panshanbe پنجشنبه

Friday jom'e جمعه

Saturday shanbe شنبه

Yesterday deeRooz دیروز

Today emRooz امروز

Tomorrow faRdaa فردا

Day Rooz روز

Night shab بش

Week haftey هفته

Month maa ماه

Year saal سال

Second saaneeye ثانیه

Minute daqeeqe دقیقه

Hour saa'at ساعت

Morning sob صبح

English Farsi Vocabulary Persian Script

Evening 'asR عصر

Noon zoR ظهر

Afternoon ba'ad az zoR بعد‍از‍ظهر

Midnight nisfey shab نصفه‍شب

Now haalaa حالا

Later ba'dan ‍ بعدا

The following table contains important Farsi Vocabulary about directions that you might use when lost.

English Farsi Expressions Persian Script

Directions

Above / Over Roo رو

After / Past ba'ad az بعد‍از

Back / Behind 'aqab عقب

In front of / Forward jelowey / jelo جلو/‍جلوه‍

Before qabl az قبل‍از

Between meeyoon میون

Coordinates muKhtasaat مختصات

Degrees zaaveeye زاویه

Down paayeen پایین

East shaRq شرق

Far dooR دور

Longitude toole jughRaafeeyaayee طوله‍جغرافیایی

Left chap چپ

Latitude aRzey jughRaafeeyaayee عرضه‍جغرافیایی

My position is ___. moz'am ___ e / moz'e ___ man من___‍موضع‍/‍اِ‍___‍موضعم‍

Near nazdeek نزدیک

North shomaal شمال

Northeast shomaaley shaRqee شماله‍شرقی

Northwest shomaaley ghaRbee شماله‍غربی

Right Raast راست

South joonoob جنوب

Southeast joonoobey shaRqee جنوبه‍شرقی

Southwest joonoobey ghaRbee جنوبه‍غربی

Straight ahead. mostaqeem مستقیم

English Farsi Expressions Persian Script

Under zeeR زیر

Up baalaa بالا

West ghaRb غرب

Before / In front of / Forward peesh az / jelowey / jelo جلو/‍جلوه‍‍/پیش‍از‍

Above baalaa بالا

Over Roo رو

Back posht پشت

Behind 'aqab عقب

In front of jelowey جلوه

Locations

Beach saahel ساحل

Border maRz مرز

Bridge pol پل

Camp oRdoogaa اردوگاه

Dirt road jaadey Khaakee جاده‍خاکی

Forest jangal جنگل

Harbor bandaR بندر

Hill tapey تپه

House manzil / Khooney خونه/‍منزل‍

Lake daRyaachey دریاچه

Meadow maRta' مرتع

Mountain kooh کوه

Ocean oqeeyaanoos اوقیانوس

Path Raah راه

Paved road jaade ye esfaalte جاده‍ی‍اسفالته

Place jaa جا

Position moze' موضع

River RoodKhooney رودخونه

Road Raah راه

Sea daRyaa دریا

Square meydoon میدون

Tree deRaKht درخت

Valley daRey دره

Village deh ده

Where? kujaa? کجا؟

Farsi Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

This page contains a table including the following: Farsi Numbers both cardinal and ordinal.

Try to memorize the way they're used because they're very important in communication, and

might be very helpful to convey your most important expressions. Make sure to check our Learn

Farsi page, which contains several lessons that might help you in your learning process.

Farsi Cardinal Numbers

Cardinal numbers in Farsi as well as in English are digits like 1, 2, 3, 4 … There are two

ways of writing the numbers in Farsi, in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) or in Farsi script ( , یک

سه, دو ). The table below contains more information about the farsi numbers.

English Farsi Numbers Persian Script

0 Zero sefR صفر

1 One yek یک

2 Two do دو

3 Three se سه

4 Four chaaR چهار

5 Five panj پنج

6 Six sheesh شش

7 Seven haft هفت

8 Eight hasht هشت

9 Nine no نه

10 Ten da ده

11 Eleven yaaze یازده

12 Twelve davaaze دوازده

13 Thirteen seeze سیزده

14 Fourteen chaaRde چهارده

15 Fifteen poonze پانزده

16 Sixteen shoonze شانزده

17 Seventeen heevde هفده

18 Eighteen heezhde هجده

19 Nineteen nooze نوزده

English Farsi Numbers Persian Script

20 Twenty bees بیست

30 Thirty see سی

40 Forty chel چهل

50 Fifty panjaa پنجاه

60 Sixty shas شصت

70 Seventy haftaad هفتاد

80 Eighty hashtaad هشتاد

90 Ninety navad نود

100 Hundred sad صد

1,000 Thousand hezaaR هزار

10,000 Ten Thousand da hezaaR ده‍هزار

100,000 Hundred Thousand sad hezaaR صد‍هزار

1,000,000 Million ye melyoon یک‍میلیون

Plus be'alaave بعلاوه

Minus menhaa منها

More (than) beeshtaR az بیشتر‍از

Less (than) kamtaR az کمتر‍از

Approximately taqReeban ‍ تقریبا

First aval اول

Second doovom دوم

Third sevom سوم

The Persian language has been written with a number of different scripts, including the Old Persian

Cuneiform, Pahlavi, Aramaic, and Avestan, Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. After the Islamic conquest of the Persian

Sassanian Empire in 642 AD, Arabic became the language of government, culture and especially religion.

Modern Persian appeared during the 9th century. It is written in a version of the Arabic script and is full of words of

Arabic origin. There are also two methods of writing Persian with the Latin alphabet.

Under Mongolian and Turkish rulers, Persian was adopted as the language of government in Turkey, central Asia and

India, where it was used for centuries, and until after 1900 in Kashmir.

Persian is a member of the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages spoken by about 130 million people, mainly

in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. There are also significiant numbers of speakers in many other countries, including

Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Israel, Turkmenistan, Oman, Yemen, the UAE and the USA.

In Afghanistan Persian is known as Dari (درى) or Dari-Persian, while in Tajikistan it's known as Tajiki (Тоҷики

.(تاجیکى /

Persian, Farsi or Parsi?

The official language of Iran is sometimes called Farsi in English and other languages. This is a correct transliteration

of the native name of the language, however many, including the ISO and the Academy of Persian Language and

Literature, prefer the name Persian for the language. Some speakers use the older local name: Parsi (پارسی). There

is some discussion about this topic at: wikipedia.

Iran or Persia?

Until 1935, the official name of the country currently known as Iran was Persia, though the Persian people have

called their country Iran since the Sassanid period (226 - 651 AD). There's further discussion about this

at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_naming_dispute

Persian alphabet (الفبای فارسی) and pronunciation

Notable features

Type of writing system: abjad - includes letters only for consonants. Vowels, when indicated, are written

with diacritics and/or combinations of consonant letters

Direction of writing: right to left in horizontal lines; numerals written from left to right.

Used to write: Persian (فارسی)

Notes

Persian has seven vowel sounds: â (/ɒː/), a (/æ/), e (/e/), I (/iː/), o (/o/), u (/uː/), ow (/ou/)

"Alef" has no particular sound. At the beginning of words by means of diacritics it can denote "â" (آ), "a" ( ا),

"e" ( ا), "o" ( is commonly (آ) "but elsewhere, it always denotes "â". However, only the diacritic of "â (اُ

written and you just have to memorize the pronunciation. For example: آب (âb) – water, اسب (asb) –

horse, امید (omid) – hope, امشب (emšab) - tonight.

Notes and corrections by Ali Jahanshiri

Numerals

Note

The symbols for 4,5 and 6 are different from the standard numerals used for Arabic.

Farsi Phrases

This page contains a table including the following: Farsi phrases, also called Persian expressions and words in Farsi,

conversation and idioms, Farsi greetings and survival phrases or simply if you want to know what to say when

chatting. Most of the sentences below are used for the everyday life conversations, so they might come handy if you

memorize them. Make sure to check our Learn Farsi page, which contains several lessons that might help you in

your learning process.

Farsi Phrases

English Phrases Farsi Phrases

English Greetings Farsi Greetings:

Hi! Salam! سلام

Good morning! Sobh Be Kheyr! صبح‍بخیر

Good evening! Asr be kheyr! عصر‍بخیر

Welcome! (to greet someone) Khosh Amadid! خوش‍آمدید

How are you? Shoma chetur hastin? شما‍چطور‍هستین

I'm fine, thanks! Man khoobam, Mamnoon! ممنون.وبممن‍خ

And you? Va shoma و‍شما

Good/ So-So. Khoob خوب

Thank you (very much)! Mamnoon ممنون

You're welcome! (for "thank

you") Khahesh Mikonam خواهش‍میکنم

Hey! Friend! Hey! Refigh! رفیق!‍هی‍

I missed you so much! Delam barat kheyli tang shodeh دلم‍برات‍خیلی‍تنگ‍شده

What's new? Che khabar? چه‍خبر؟

English Phrases Farsi Phrases

Nothing much Khabari nist خبری‍نیست

Good night! Shab be kheyr شب‍بخیر

See you later! Ba’adan mibinamet بعدأ‍میبینمت

Good bye! Bedrood بدرود

Asking for Help and Directions

I'm lost Man gom shodam من‍گم‍شدم

Can I help you? Mitoonam ke komaketoon konam میتونم‍که‍کمکتون‍کنم؟

Can you help me? Shoam mitooni ke komakam konid شما‍میتونید‍کمکم‍

کنید؟

Where is the (bathroom/

pharmacy)? (dashtshooi/darookhaneh) kojast? ( (‍اروخانهد/دستشویی

کجاست؟

Go straight! then turn left/

right! Mostaghim boro ba’ad be Chap/ rast bepich من‍دنبال‍

جان‍میگردم

I'm looking for john. Man Donbale john migardam من‍دنبال‍جان‍میگردم

One moment please! Yek lahzeh lotfan یک‍لحظه‍لطفا

Hold on please! (phone) Yek lahzeh lotfan یک‍لحظه‍لطفا

How much is this? Gheymatesh chand ast? قیمتش‍چند‍است‍؟

Excuse me ...! (to ask for

something) Bebakhshid ببخشید

Excuse me! ( to pass by) Bebakhshid ببخشید

Come with me! Ba man bia با‍من‍بیا

Do you speak (English/ Farsi)? Aya shoma (Engilisi/Farsi) harf mizanid

حرف‍میزنید‍؟(‍فارسی/انگلیسی)آیا‍شما‍

Just a little. Kami. کمی

What's your name? Esm e shoma chist? اسم‍شما‍چیست‍؟

My name is ... Esm e man? اسم‍من ...

Mr.../ Mrs.…/ Miss… Aghaye…/Khanoome…/Doshizeh دوشیزه.../خانم../آقای‍ ...

Nice to meet you! Az molaghat e sham khosh vaghtam از‍ملاقات‍شما‍خوش‍وقتم

You're very kind! Shoma kheyli mehrban hastid شما‍خیلی‍مهربان‍هستید

Where are you from? Shoma ahleh koja hastid شما‍اهل‍کجا‍هستید

I'm from (the U.S/ Iran) Man az (America/ Iran) hastam هستم(‍ایران/‍آمریکا‍)من‍از‍

I'm (American) Man America i hastam هستم(‍آمریکایی)من‍

Where do you live? Shoma koja zendegi mikonid? شما‍کجا‍زندگی‍میکنید

I live in (the U.S/ Iran) Man dar (America/ Iran) zendegi mikonam

زندگی‍میکنم(‍مکزیک/‍ایران‍/‍آمریکا‍)من‍در‍

Did you like it here? Man az inja khosham omade شما‍از‍اینجا‍خوشتون‍اومده

Iran is a wonderful country Iran keshvar e jalebi Hast ایران‍کشور‍جالبی‍هست

What do you do for a living? Shoghl e shoma chist? شغل‍شما‍چی‍هست؟

I work as a (translator/ businessman) Man be onvane (motarjem/ tajer) kar mikonam

کار‍میکنم(‍تاجر/‍مترجم‍)من‍به‍عنوان‍یک‍

I like Farsi Man az zaban e farsi khosham miayad من‍از‍زبان‍فارسی‍خوشم‍میآید

I've been learning Farsi for 1 month Man yek mah hast ke farsi ray ad migiram من‍یک‍ماه‍هست‍که‍فارسی‍را‍یاد‍میگیرم

Oh! That's good! Oh, che khoob! خوبه!‍اوه‍

How old are you? Chand salet hast? چند‍سالت‍هست؟

I'm (twenty, thirty...) years old. Man (bist/ Si) sal daram سال‍دارم(‍سی/بیست)من‍

I have to go Man bayad beravam من‍باید‍بروم

I will be right back! Bar migardam! برمیگردم

Wish Someone Something

Good luck! Mo’afagh bashed موفق‍باشید

Happy birthday! Tavalodat mobarak تولدت‍مبارک

Happy new year! Sal e no mobarak سال‍نو‍مبارک

Merry Christmas! Kirismass Mobarak کریسمس‍مبارک

Congratulations! Tabrik migoyam تبریک‍می‍گویم

Enjoy! (for meals...) Berma’id بفرمایید

I'd like to visit Iran one day Man dost daram ke yek rooz iran ra bebinam من‍دوست‍دارم‍که‍یک‍روز‍ایران‍رو‍ببینم

Say hi to John for me Be John salam e man ra beresoonid سلام‍من‍را‍برسونید"‍جان"به‍

Bless you (when sneezing) A’afiat bashad عافیت‍باشد

Good night and sweet dreams! Shab bekheyr va khab hay e khoob bebini

ب‍بخیر‍و‍خوابهای‍خوب‍ببینیش

Solving a Misunderstanding

I'm Sorry! (if you don't hear something) Bebakhshid? ببخشید؟

Sorry (for a mistake) Bebakhshid ببخشید

No Problem! Moshkeli nist مشکلی‍نیست

Can You Say It Again? Mish tekrar konid? ار‍کنید‍؟میشه‍تکر

Can You Speak Slowly? Mishe ahesteh tar sohbat konid میشه‍آهسته‍تر‍صحبت‍کنید

Write It Down Please! Lotfan yaddasht konid لطفا‍یادداشت‍کنید

I Don't Understand! Motavajjeh nemisham متوجه‍نمیشوم

I Don't Know! Nemidanam نمیدانم

I Have No Idea. Nazari nadaram نظری‍ندارم

What's That Called In Farsi? Be Farsi chi misheh به‍فارسی‍چی‍میشه؟

What Does "moshkeli" Mean In English? “moshkeli” be engilisi chi misheh? به‍انگلیسی‍چی‍میشه؟ “moshkeli”

How Do You Say "Please" In Farsi? Shoma “please” ro be farsi chi migin?

رو‍به‍فارسی‍چی‍میگین؟"‍بلیز"شما‍

What Is This? In chieh? این‍چیه؟

My Farsi is bad. Farsi e man bad ast فارسی‍من‍بد‍است

I need to practice my Farsi Man bayad farsi ro bishtar tamrin konam من‍باید‍فارسی‍رو‍بیشتر‍تمرین‍کنم

Don't worry! Negaran nabashid نگران‍نباشید

Farsi Expressions and Words

Good/ Bad/ So-So. Khoob/ bad/ motavaset متوسط/‍بد‍/‍خوب‍

Big/ Small Bozorg/ khoochak کوچک/‍بزرگ‍

Today/ Now Emrooz/ A’alan الان/‍امروز

Tomorrow/ Yesterday Farad/ dirooz دیروز/‍فردا‍

Yes/ No Baleh/ nakheyr نخیر/بله

Here you go! (when giving something) Befarmaid! بفرمائید

Do you like it? Khoshet miad? خوشت‍میاد؟

I really like it! Vaghe’an azash khosham miad واقعا‍ازش‍خوشم‍میاد

I'm hungry/ thirsty. Man (goshneh/ Teshneh) am ام"‍تشنه/‍گشنه‍"من‍

In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night. Sobh/ asr/ shab شب/‍عصر‍/صبح‍

This/ That. Here/There In/ a’an. Inja/ A’anja آنجا/‍اینجا‍.‍آن‍/‍این‍

Me/ You. Him/ Her. Man/ to. Oo/ Oo (Him & Her are same) او/‍او‍.‍تو‍/‍من‍

Really! Vaghea’an! واقعا

Look! Negah kon! نگاه‍کن !

Hurry up! Ajaleh kon! عجله‍کن !

What? Where? Chi? Koja? چی؟‍کجا؟

What time is it? Sa’at chand ast? ساعت‍چند‍است؟

It's 10 o'clock. 07:30pm. Sa’at dah. hafto si daghigheh ye asr و‍سی‍دقیقه‍عصر‍هفت.01ساعت‍

Give me this! Ino be man bede! اینو‍به‍من‍بده

I love you! Doset daram! دوست‍دارم

I feel sick. Man ehsas e nakhoshi mikonam من‍احساس‍ناخوشی‍میکنم

I need a doctor Man be Dr ehtiaj daram من‍به‍دکتر‍احتیاج‍دارم

One, Two, Three Yek/ do/ she سه/‍دو‍/‍یک‍

Four, Five, Six Chahar/ panj/ shesh شش/‍پنج‍/‍چهار‍

Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten Haft / hasht/ noh/ dah ده/‍نه‍/‍هشت‍/‍هفت‍