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Alphabet & Pronunciation
Persian alphabet (Perso-Arabic script), vowels, consonants, reading right-to-left
ا ب پ ت ث
alef, be, pe, te, se
a/aa, b, p, t, s
First five letters; Persian adds پ to Arabic alphabet
ج چ ح خ
jim, che, he, khe
j, ch, h, kh
che (چ) is unique to Persian; kh = guttural kh
د ذ ر ز ژ
dal, zal, re, ze, zhe
d, z, r, z, zh
ژ (zhe) unique to Persian: like French 'j'
س ش ص ض
sin, shin, sad, zad
s, sh, s, z
ص and ض borrowed from Arabic; pronounced s/z in Persian
ط ظ ع غ
ta, za, ein, ghein
t, z, ', gh
ع = glottal; غ = voiced uvular (like French r)
ف ق ک گ ل م
fe, ghaf, kaf, gaf, lam, mim
f, gh/q, k, g, l, m
گ (gaf) unique to Persian; ق = q sound
ن و ه ی
nun, vav, he, ye
n, v/u/w, h, y/i
و serves as vowel (u/oo) and consonant (v)
مصوتهای کوتاه: َ ِ ُ
short vowels: a, e, o
a (fatHe), e (kasre), o (zamme)
Short vowels written as diacritics, usually omitted
مصوتهای بلند: ا ی و
long vowels: aa, ii, uu
aa (alef), ii (ye), uu (vav)
Long vowels written with letters, always visible
سلام / خداحافظ / ممنون
Hello / Goodbye / Thank you
salaam / khodaafez / mamnun
Basic greetings
