The Persian alphabet
32 letters, each with its name, its sound, the shapes it takes inside a word and an example. Tap a letter to start, then test yourself.
Letter 1 of 32
الف · alef
Sound: a as in “father” (ā); at the start of a word it carries a short vowel /ɒ/
| Alone | Start | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| ا | ا | ا | ا |
This letter never joins the letter after it, so its start form is the same as alone.
اسبasb, horse
On a Persian keyboard: H · try it
Practice: name that letter
Letters join up
Persian is joined-up writing: most letters connect to the next one, so each letter has up to four shapes, depending on whether it stands alone or sits at the start, middle or end of a word. The core of the shape stays the same; only the joins change.
Seven letters never join the letter after them: ا د ذ ر ز ژ و. The next letter starts fresh, as in دست (dast, hand) and روز (ruz, day).
Families told apart by dots
Many letters share a base shape and differ only in their dots, so it’s easier to learn them as families:
- 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
Letters that sound the same
Several letters borrowed from Arabic sound identical in Persian. Which one a word uses is learned by reading, much like English spelling:
| Sound | Letters |
|---|---|
| z | ز ذ ض ظ |
| s | س ص ث |
| t | ت ط |
| h | ه ح |
| gh | غ ق |
| ’ / vowel | ع ء |
Vowels
Persian has six vowels. The long ones, ā (as in “father”), u (“oo”) and i (“ee”), are written with ا, و and ی. The short ones, a, e and o, usually aren’t written at all: readers know them from the word. Children’s books mark them with small signs, zebar (ـَ) for a, zir (ـِ) for e and pish (ـُ) for o.
All 32 letters at a glance
| # | Letter | Name | Forms | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ا | الفalef | ا ا ا | اسبasb, horse |
| 2 | ب | بِbe | ب ب ب | باباbābā, dad |
| 3 | پ | پِpe | پ پ پ | پدرpedar, father |
| 4 | ت | تِte | ت ت ت | توتtut, mulberry |
| 5 | ث | ثِse | ث ث ث | ثانیهsāniye, second |
| 6 | ج | جیمjim | ج ج ج | جوجهjuje, chick |
| 7 | چ | چِche | چ چ چ | چایchāy, tea |
| 8 | ح | حِ (حِ جیمی)he (he-ye jimi) | ح ح ح | حلزونhalazun, snail |
| 9 | خ | خِkhe | خ خ خ | خانهkhāne, house |
| 10 | د | دالdāl | د د د | دستdast, hand |
| 11 | ذ | ذالzāl | ذ ذ ذ | ذرتzorrat, corn |
| 12 | ر | رِre | ر ر ر | روزruz, day |
| 13 | ز | زِze | ز ز ز | زنبورzanbur, bee |
| 14 | ژ | ژِzhe | ژ ژ ژ | ژاکتzhāket, jacket |
| 15 | س | سینsin | س س س | سیبsib, apple |
| 16 | ش | شینshin | ش ش ش | شیرshir, lion, and milk |
| 17 | ص | صادsād | ص ص ص | صابونsābun, soap |
| 18 | ض | ضادzād | ض ض ض | ضعیفza'if, weak |
| 19 | ط | طاtā | ط ط ط | طوطیtuti, parrot |
| 20 | ظ | ظاzā | ظ ظ ظ | ظرفzarf, dish |
| 21 | ع | عینeyn | ع ع ع | عسلasal, honey |
| 22 | غ | غینgheyn | غ غ غ | غذاghazā, food |
| 23 | ف | فِfe | ف ف ف | فیلfil, elephant |
| 24 | ق | قافghāf | ق ق ق | قایقghāyegh, boat |
| 25 | ک | کافkāf | ک ک ک | کتابketāb, book |
| 26 | گ | گافgāf | گ گ گ | گلgol, flower |
| 27 | ل | لامlām | ل ل ل | لبlab, lip |
| 28 | م | میمmim | م م م | ماهmāh, moon |
| 29 | ن | نونnun | ن ن ن | نانnān, bread |
| 30 | و | واوvāv | و و و | ورزشvarzesh, sport |
| 31 | ه | هِ (هِ دوچشم)he (he-ye do-cheshm) | ه ه ه | هندوانهhendevāne, watermelon |
| 32 | ی | یِye | ی ی ی | یخyakh, ice |
Now try writing
Type the letters on our Farsi keyboard, or write Finglish and see how each word is spelled in Persian.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many letters are in the Persian alphabet?
32: the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet plus four Persian ones, پ (p), چ (ch), ژ (zh) and گ (g). آ and the hamza ء are sometimes counted separately.
Is Persian written right to left?
Yes. Words run right to left, but numbers are written left to right.
Is the Persian alphabet the same as Arabic?
It comes from the Arabic script and shares 28 letters, but adds پ چ ژ گ, uses slightly different shapes for ی and ک, and Persian is a completely different language from Arabic.
Why do some letters make the same sound?
Letters like ز ذ ض ظ came from Arabic, where they sound different. In Persian they all sound like z, so which one a word uses has to be learned by reading.
How are vowels written in Persian?
The long vowels ā, u and i are written with ا, و and ی. The short vowels a, e and o usually aren’t written at all; beginners’ books show them as small marks above or below the letter.
How long does it take to learn the Persian alphabet?
With a little practice each day, most learners recognise all the letters within one to two weeks. Reading fluently takes longer.