Lesson 4: Reading: first words
Put the alphabet to work: read your first words and sentences, and spell words from their letters. About five minutes.
Lesson 4: Reading: first words
18 exercises, about 5 minutes
You’ll learn: آببابانانسیبدوستگل
Words and phrases in this lesson
| Persian | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| آب | āb | water |
| بابا | bābā | dad |
| نان | nān | bread |
| سیب | sib | apple |
| دوست | dust | friend |
| گل | gol | flowerNo letter for the o: short vowels aren’t written. |
| کتاب | ketāb | book |
| خانه | khāne | houseThe final ه is read as e. |
| ماه | māh | moon |
| چای | chāy | tea |
| مامان | māmān | mum |
| ایران | irān | Iran |
| تهران | tehrān | Tehran |
| این سیب است | in sib ast | This is an apple. |
| من ایرانی هستم | man irāni hastam | I am Iranian. |
Tips for reading
- Read right to left.
- Long vowels are written: ا for ā, و for u, ی for i. That’s why نان (nān) and سیب (sib) are easy to sound out.
- Short vowels aren’t: you know گل is gol because you know the word.
- A ه at the end of a word is usually read e, as in خانه (khāne).
- Letters change shape a little as they join, but each keeps its core, so look for the dots.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Persian hard to read?
The alphabet takes a week or two. After that, reading familiar words gets quick, because the long vowels are always written; it’s the short vowels you learn word by word.
Why are some vowels missing in Persian writing?
Persian writes only the long vowels (ā, u, i) with letters. Short a, e and o are left out, so readers recognise words rather than sounding out every vowel. Children’s books add small marks to show them.
How do I practise reading Persian?
Read words you already know aloud, like names, food and places, then short sentences. Our keyboard and Finglish converter let you type words and see how they’re spelled.