Consonants in Persian phrasebook
| Character |
Transcription |
IPA |
Sound
|
|---|
| ا |
|
� |
- at word initial can denote: a, e, o; elsewhere: â
- at word initial when followed by ی can denote: i (mostly) and ey
- at word initial when followed by و can denote: u (mostly), ow and ave
|
| آ |
â |
ɒː |
as o in hot
|
| ب |
b |
b |
as in bob
|
| پ |
p |
p |
as in put
|
| ت |
t |
t |
as in tea
|
| ث |
s |
s |
as in sad
|
| ج |
j |
dʒ |
as in job
|
| چ |
ch |
tʃ |
as in cheese
|
| ح |
h |
h |
as in head
|
| خ |
x |
x |
as ch in Scottish loch, German Buch
|
| ر |
r |
r |
similar to r in Spanish reloj
|
| ز |
z |
z |
as in zoo
|
| ژ |
ž |
ʒ |
as s in vision, pleasure, French j in jardin
|
| س |
s |
s |
as in sad
|
| ش |
š |
ʃ |
as in sheet
|
| ص |
s |
s |
as in sad
|
| ض |
z |
z |
as in zoo
|
| ط |
t |
t |
as in tea
|
| ظ |
z |
z |
as in zoo
|
| ع |
ø |
ʔ |
glottal stop
|
| غ |
q |
ɣ |
similar to r in French écrire, German schreiben
|
| ف |
f |
f |
as in feet
|
| ق |
q |
ɣ |
similar to r in French écrire, German schreiben
|
| ک |
k |
k |
as in keep
|
| گ |
g |
g |
as in go
|
| ل |
l |
l |
as in leave
|
| م |
m |
m |
as in moon
|
| ن |
n |
n |
as in noon
|
| و |
v |
v |
as in van; also used to denote some vowel sounds
|
| ی |
y |
j |
as in yet; also used to denote some vowel sounds
|
| ه |
h |
h |
as in head
|
As you may note, there are characters that denote identical sounds e.g. ظ ,ض, ز are all pronounced z. It's because Persian has preserved the spelling of Arabic loanwords. Each of these characters has distinguished sounds in Arabic but they are all pronounced the same in Persian.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Persian phrasebook
