Syllable in Persian phrasebook
Persian has the following syllable patterns (C = Consonant, V = Vowel):
| Pattern |
Examples
|
|---|
| CV |
na, to, ke, mâ, xu, si, u
|
| CVC |
kar, pol, del, kâr, mur, sir, az, in, âb
|
| CVCC |
kard, goft, zešt, kârd, xošk, rixt, farš, ârd, abr
|
These patterns can be encapsulated in CV(C)(C). According to the patterns:
A syllable always begins with a consonant sound. Please note that syllables which visually begin with a vowel sound, have a preceding glottal stop merged with their sound. For instance, u (he, she) is actually said øu and ârd (flour) is actually said øârd.
The second component of any syllable is a vowel sound.
Each syllable can only have one vowel sound. Therefore, each vowel indicates a syllable.
As opposed to English and many other languages, Persian does not allow two or more consonants to begin a syllable. Therefore, loanwords with such a characteristic are always Persianized:
| Word |
Persian |
Pattern
|
|---|
| English: stadium |
estâdiyom (øes.tâ.di.yom) |
CVC.CV.CV.CVC
|
| English: traffic |
terâfik (te.râ.fik) |
CV.CV.CVC
|
| French: class |
kelâs (ke.lâs) |
CV.CVC
|
To help you understand it better, here are some basic words along with their syllabification:
| Word |
Syllabification |
Meaning
|
|---|
| bimârestân |
bi.mâ.res.tân |
hospital
|
| ketâbxâne |
ke.tâb.xâ.ne |
library
|
| dâruxâne |
dâ.ru.xâ.ne |
drug store
|
| širiniforuši |
ši.ri.ni.fo.ru.ši |
confectionery
|
| xiyâbân |
xi.yâ.bân |
street
|
| otobus |
øo.to.bus |
bus
|
| metro |
met.ro |
subway
|
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Persian phrasebook
