Learning to speak a new language is exciting; learning to write a new language is even more exciting! It will open new worlds for you. So, dig into these tips and advice for learning how to master the Persian alphabet easily - at PersianPod101 we make it easy, fun and relevant for you!
Starting anything from scratch can be challenging, especially if you learn how to write in a language completely different from your own. It is really like navigating through a territory that is completely unknown to you.
However, this need not be a big hurdle or a problem! At PersianPod101, we introduce you to Persian writing in simple, easy-to-follow steps, and you can ask for advice or help anywhere along the way. It is important to master the Persian alphabet completely from the start.
If you want to master the Persian language and become fluent, you must learn the Persian alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.
This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Persian learning beginners!
Download your Free Persian practice sheets PDF today and learn the Persian language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners
The Persian alphabet makes use of the same system as the Arabic script system. In fact, the Persian alphabet is actually a form of the Arabic alphabet in a modified style. Referred to as Perso-Arabic, this Persian writing script and alphabet is used by a number of languages, such as Urdu, Saraiki, Ottoman Turkish, Punjabi, Sindhi, and Balochi. Unlike the basic Arabic system, the
There are thirty two letters in the Persian alphabet. This is considered the modern alphabet and it does include some differences from more archaic words. As one would see, the letters are very close to the Arabic alphabet. However, the uses of letters and how they will be joined is different.
There are certain words that are considered a part of the Persian alphabet, but they are just different shapes of letters. In this case, they are not technically letters. The names of these characters include alef madde, he ye, l?m alef, and tanvin nasb. These characters mean ā, -eye, lā, and –an consecutively. While some of these characters may look the same to the English speaking eye, they do have subtle differences that will have to do with how they are used in words.
The Persian alphabet is based on the Arabic writing system, but there are differences and changes. It is important to note these changes in order to learn Persian. While it may seem confusing when compared to English, the Persian alphabet can be straightforward. Persian lessons will make this easier for anyone who would like to learn the language.
The Persian alphabet is easy to learn because the most of character shapes are similar to each other, and there are many similar sounds to English.
Alphabet
The Persian alphabet consists of 32 characters, 28 of which are from the Arabic alphabet, plus 4 additional ones that are (P)”پ,” (ZH)”ژ,” (G)”گ,” (CH)”چ” which are exclusive to Persian, and don’t exist in Arabic. Most of the letters are so similar in terms of their shapes, and only differ in the number and places of points, like: (B)”ب,” (P)”پ,” (T)”ت,” (S)”ث.” Depending on which part of the word they’re in, most of the letters have from two to four forms of initial, medial, and final. Like for example, the letter gheyn (غ) with the sound of GH in the words below:
(apart final) باغ [bagh = “garden”] (initial) غار [ghar = “cave”]
(connected final) تیغ [tigh = “blade”] (medial) نغمه [naghmeh = “melody”]
In the table below, you can find all the characters of the Persian alphabet in their initial, medial and final forms from left to right.
Persian Alphabet
| Form | Name | Sound | Form | Name | Sound |
| ء | Hamze | ea/ye | ص صا | Sad | s |
| ا آ | Alef | a/aa/e/o | ض ضا | Zad | z |
| ب با | Be | b | ط طا | Ta | t |
| پ پا | Pe | p | ظ ظا | Za | z |
| ت تا | Te | t | ع نع معن عا | Ein | ea |
| ث ثا | Se | s | غ نغ مغن غا | Ghein | gh |
| ج جا | Jim | j | ف فا | Fe | f |
| چ چا | Che | ch | ق قا | Ghaf | gh |
| ح حا | He | h | ک کا | Kaf | k |
| خ خا | Khe | kh | گ گا | Gaf | g |
| د | Dal | d | ل لم | Lam | l |
| ذ | Zal | z | م ما | Mim | m |
| ر | Re | r | ن نا | Noon | n |
| ز | Ze | z | و | Vav | v/u/oo/o |
| ژ | Zhe | zh | ه مه مهد ها | He | h/eh |
| س سا | Sin | s | ی یا | Ye | y/i |
| ش شا | Shin | sh |
*( ا َ، ا ِ، ا ُ، آ ( َ، ِ، ُ، ا (A, O, E, AA) are all forms of the same letter, which is called Alef.
* In older texts, Alef is considered the first character of alphabet, and Hamze is removed.
* The letters و، ژ، ز، ر، د، ذ، ا (A, Z, D, R, Z, ZH, and V) are not connected to the next letter in a word.
* ” ه ” has the sound of H at the beginning of a word, and the sound of Eh at the ending of a word.
(KH) خ, (ZH) ژ , (EA)ع and ء , (GH)غandق , (A[cat]) َا
These five letters are for sounds not found in the English alphabet by default. While ” َ ا َ ” is a vowel, the other six are used as consonants.
Pronunciation Marks
There are four marks which are used above or below letters to show pronunciation points:
A language’s alphabet is its building blocks. Trying to learn how to write in Persian without first learning its alphabet is a bit like trying to build a brick house without touching the individual bricks! It is impossible to do a good job that way. So don’t believe language schools and methods that try to teach you otherwise. You will regret it later.
Also, once you start recognizing symbols and words, you will be encouraged by your own progress and motivated to learn even faster. Even just learning the basics of the alphabet will allow you to start recognizing simple Persian words, and it will feel great!
Furthermore, knowing the alphabet even helps with pronunciation, as learning the individual letters of any language will start uncovering nuances and intricacies that are not always apparent when you’re simply listening to the words.
Completely mastering the Persian alphabet, no matter how long it takes, will give you an excellent head start in learning how to write and read the language. It will offer you a solid foundation on which to build the other language skills, so set a goal to learn the alphabet so well that you’re able to recite it in your sleep!
Read on for helpful tips and secrets to learning the Persian alphabet quickly and effectively.
If you want to master the Persian language and become fluent, you must learn the Persian alphabet letters first. And you need physical worksheets to practice on.
This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all Persian learning beginners!
Download your Free Persian practice sheets PDF today and learn the Persian language in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute beginners
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Let’s now take a closer look at how studying Persian lessons in PDF format can help you reach your dream in up to half the time of normal video or audio lessons!
Learning Persian through PDF lessons can dramatically reduce your data use. Once a lesson or tool is downloaded, you can then access it offline via your computer or smartphone any time or place regardless of Internet access. And once you’ve download the Persian lessons in PDF format, you can actually access them faster than logging in and trying to do so via a live site. So not only will learning Persian using PDF lessons save minutes on your data plan—it will save you some significant time as well as the lessons add up!
Sometimes, a tiny smartphone screen just isn’t adequate, especially when you are trying to learn something new. The great thing about PDF lessons, tools or files is that they can be quickly printed and taken anywhere after you download them. In fact, printing out Persian lessons in PDF format can actually save you time when compared to going through the material on a smartphone with a small screen—even with the extra printing time!
Studying video or audio lessons online is a great way to learn a language because students can play and rewind sections as many times as needed until the lesson is mastered. But when you review the same Persian lessons again in PDF format, an incredible thing happens: your retention dramatically improves! Thanks to Time Spaced Repetition, seeing the information again in written format helps reinforce the information in your mind and improves both retention and recall. The benefits of learning Persian using PDF lessons quickly add up to significant time savings for you, your data plan, and your dream of learning a new language!
Learning to read and write is a must for all beginners. Although you get video lessons on how to write in Persian at PersianPod101, you’ll still need physical worksheets to practice on. That’s why you’re getting this printable tutorial PDFs as a gift.
With a language, like with anything you have to learn from scratch, having a few mnemonic devices handy are key to learning it fast. A mnemonic device is basically any method or technique that helps you to retain or commit something to memory more easily.
Here are a few mnemonic devices to memorize the Persian alphabet so you can speed up learning how to write in Persian.
Can you still remember your childhood alphabet song in your own language? The best way to commit it to memory so you can recite it is still your mom or first teacher’s way - with music, a song and/or a poem! Find a recording and learn to sing the song, or recite the poem along as best as you can. Ask your PersianPod101 teacher to help you understand exactly what you are singing or saying, and soon you’ll have reciting the alphabet under your belt! Repeat it out loud as often as possible.
However, you still need to learn how to write it.
Remember when you were young and learning to write for the first time? You didn’t start with words or sentences; you started with letters, one at a time!
Decide on tackling only a few letters each week, and then don’t move on from these till you are completely familiar with them. Don’t take on too many at once, or you may become discouraged. Also, remember to ask your teacher at PersianPod101 if you have questions!
Learn to incidentally spot the letters in books, road signs (If you’re living in the country), magazines, on TV, anywhere you encounter written Persian. Remember to write them out!
Make it a goal to write out your week’s letters at least once a day, and commit to this goal. You can also do it every time you have a free moment. Get yourself a special notebook for this purpose that you can carry with you anywhere you go. Sitting on the train or bus? Waiting for someone somewhere? Whip out your notebook and write the Persian alphabet, or the letters you are learning. Aim for about 20 repetitions, while silently saying the letter in your head as you write it out. This way, you will soon be able to form and write words all by yourself! Exciting, isn’t it?
Writing something down with a pen also seems to engrave it in the brain in a way that nothing else does. As an added benefit, it gives you the satisfaction of seeing a new language in your own writing!
Once you’ve mastered the whole alphabet, commit to writing it out in its entirety at least once a day, for at least one month. More repetitions are obviously better.
Research has shown that the more senses and actions we use to learn something, the quicker the new information sticks in the memory and becomes habitual. To apply this principle while learning the Persian alphabet, write out huge letters by tracing them in the soil, or with chalk on the floor. Now, while saying the letter out loud, walk on the lines you have just traced. In this way, you ‘write’ the letter by moving your whole body!
Having fun just makes it even easier to learn something, so why not ‘write’ the letters out with dance steps while moving to your favorite Persian music!
This is a simple trick that seems silly, but you’ll be surprised how quickly you will commit intricate letters to memory this way. It really works!
This technique would involve saying the Persian letter out loud, and then thinking of a word in your own language that sounds the same as the letter. That would then create a phonic association that should make it easier for you to remember the letter. Better even if the association is something you can draw or picture.
If the script of the new alphabet is very different from your own, look at it closely, and see if you can find an image that the letter reminds you of
Try to write words from your own language in Persian, and ask your friendly PersianPod101 teachers for feedback! Or post them on the forum and see if anyone can read them. You will be so pleased with yourself when you start writing words that are readable and recognizable by native speakers.
Salaam Andrei,
Thank you for your questions.
Please note that some of the letters in the Persian alphabet have exactly the same pronunciation.
Generally, you can see this in Arabic loan words.
For example ز - ذ - ض - ظ have different pronunciations in Arabic, but in Persian, their pronunciation is the same. [z]
Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Ali
Team PersianPod101.com
Dear PersianPod101:
Thanks again for the Persian alphabet workbook!
Please could I ask what is the significance of the red versus the black parts of the characters?
Many thanks,
Cheryl
Thank you very much for the Persian alphabet workbook!
Just as a suggestion, I think it would be more helpful to have landscape pages and add the pronunciation information on the same line as the four forms of each letter?
Salaam!
It is one another letter for "S", it is "se". And also for the sound "GH" there are "ghein" and "ghaaf". Maybe the difference is that "ghein" is more palatalized sound?
Salaam! And thank you for this workbook!
My question is about the sound "S", there are "sin" and "saad" letters for this sound, is there any rule for using these letters, uderstandable for the beginner?
Salaam Sagar,
Thank you for your feedback.
We will update this page based on your suggestion.
Please let us know if you ever have any questions throughout your studies; we would be happy to assist.
Best,
Ali
Team PersianPod101
Dear PersianPod101,
Thanks for the nice article on alphabets.
I would request you to please increase the font size of Persian alphabets in the Persian alphabet table.
With the current font size it is difficult to see the letter properly, especially the dots.
Thanks,
Sagar.
Hello Cheryl,
Thank you for your feedback.
We will consider that in our next development. 👍
Regarding your question, the black parts of the letters in the workbook PDF demonstrate where you should connect the letter to the previous or the next letter.
Please feel free to shoot through any questions you have throughout your studies.
Cheers,
Ali
Team PersianPod101.com