Persian has three short vowels, a, e and o. They have their own small marks, written above or below a letter, but in everyday writing they are almost always left out. Readers fill them in from context, the way you can read “Tehran is a bg cty” without trouble.
| Written | Sound | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| بَ | ba | a mark above: short a |
| بِ | be | a mark below: short e |
| بُ | bo | a small loop above: short o |
You will see these marks in children’s books and dictionaries, and occasionally on signs where a word could be misread. Otherwise you have to learn each word’s vowels, which is why this course always gives the Latin spelling too.
Your first words
| Persian | Say it | English |
|---|---|---|
| تهران | Tehrân | Tehran |
| ایران | Irân | Iran |
| آب | âb | water |
| نان | nân | bread |
| چای | châi | tea |
| مترو | metro | metro |
| تاکسی | tâksi | taxi |
| بازار | bâzâr | bazaar, market |
| خیابان | khiâbân | street |
| میدان | meydân | square |
| کوچه | kuche | alley, side street |
| ورود | vorud | entrance |
| خروج | khoruj | exit |
| باز | bâz | open |
| بسته | baste | closed |
Reading signs
Look at خیابان khiâbân (street). Reading from the right: خ kh, ی i, ا â, ب b, ا â, ن n. The short vowels are missing, but every long one is written, so the word is easier to sound out than most.
Tehran tip: Persian uses its own digits: ۰ ۱ ۲ ۳ ۴ ۵ ۶ ۷ ۸ ۹. Unlike the letters, numbers are written from left to right. You will meet them properly in Lesson 7.
Practise
- Read the signs: ورود and خروج. Which door would you use to leave?
- Write نان and آب from memory.
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