الفبای فارسی: rules, examples & exercises | Persian Grammar A1

الفبای فارسی

A1 — خط و آوا

Persian alphabet: 32 letters, RTL writing, 4 extra letters (پ چ ژ گ)

I can recognize and write Persian letters and understand RTL reading direction.

Persian alphabet: 32 letters, RTL writing, 4 extra letters (پ چ ژ گ)

Examples

سلام! من علی هستم. — Hello! I am Ali.
ایران کشور زیبایی است. — Iran is a beautiful country.
پدر من معلم است. — My father is a teacher.
این چای خیلی خوب است. — This tea is very good.

خط و آواA1

Persian Alphabet

Persian alphabet: 32 letters, RTL writing, 4 extra letters (پ چ ژ گ)

Learning Goal

I can read and write Persian script.

Exam Skills:AZFA: گفتنAZFA: نوشتن

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

سلام! من علی هستم.

Hello! I am Ali.

ایران کشور زیبایی است.

Iran is a beautiful country.

پدر من معلم است.

My father is a teacher.

این چای خیلی خوب است.

This tea is very good.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

The Persian Alphabet

Persian uses a modified Arabic script with 32 letters, written right-to-left (RTL). Four letters are unique to Persian: پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe), گ (ge).

Key Features

Connected script: Letters change form based on position (initial, medial, final, isolated)
Short vowels (a, e, o) are usually NOT written — you learn to read without them!
Long vowels (ā, i, u) ARE written: ا (ā), ی (i), و (u)

Letters English Speakers Already Know

Many Persian sounds exist in English: b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, z. The new sounds are: خ (kh — like German 'ch' in 'Bach'), غ/ق (gh/q — guttural), ع (ʿ — glottal).

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Not connecting letters in handwriting. Writing left-to-right. Confusing similar-looking letters (ب/پ/ت/ث). Expecting short vowels to be written.

Common Error Patterns

Writing left-to-right

Persian is ALWAYS right-to-left. Start from the right margin.

Confusing ب/پ/ت/ث (differing only in dots)

Count the dots: ب(1 below), پ(3 below), ت(2 above), ث(3 above).

سلام! من علی هستم.

Hello! I am Ali.

سلام (salâm) = hello. Written right-to-left. Letters connect within words.

ایران کشور زیبایی است.

Iran is a beautiful country.

ایران (Irân) starts with alef (ا). کشور (keshvar) = country. زیبا (zibâ) = beautiful.

پدر من معلم است.

My father is a teacher.

پ (pe) is unique to Persian — doesn't exist in Arabic! پدر (pedar) = father.

این چای خیلی خوب است.

This tea is very good.

چ (che) — another Persian-only letter! چای (châi) = tea. خ (khe) sounds like German 'ch'.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

Try a free exercise from the course