Learn Persian alphabet with top Persian tutorials and videos to practice reading and writing in Farsi for non-Persian speakers. Learn how to read and write in Farsi with Persian-speaking teachers.
Learn Persian alphabet with videos
At LELB Society, our Farsi learners can access tons of top Persian lessons developed by our Persian teachers and team members. We have made video tutorials on Persian alphabet in two different versions, i.e. Farsi and English. So, if you don’t know Farsi yet, you can watch our English tutorials.
Watch this video
In addition, our Farsi learners can communicate with our bilingual Persian teachers who are fluent in English as well. You can learn Persian alphabet with our Farsi videos on YouTube embedded in our Persian language resources.
Learn Farsi alphabet with digital boards
In our teachings based on flipped learning, we have used digital boards to facilitate learning Persian alphabet. The conscious usage of digital boards to teach Farsi alphabet is because of its special characteristic. Unlike English, in Farsi, some letters are attached to each other, while some others are written separately.
This can make non-Persian speakers, even adult Persian learners, rather confused. Consequently, using digital boards in our Farsi teachings is rationalized. Our years of experience has suggested that this technique in our teachings and online Persian classes is quite efficient.
Reading practice in Farsi
When our Persian learners get to know the Persian alphabet and the 32 Persian letters well enough, they can practice reading comprehension in Farsi with our full support based on asynchronous learning. To be more exact, our Farsi students can interact with their Persian teachers constantly by leaving text and voice messages to them in our Persian forums or Persian chat rooms.
Learn Farsi alphabet by yourself
With the help of our lessons and videos on Persian alphabet, you won’t necessarily need any further classes because most probably our Persian lessons would be sufficient for you. However, if you still end up having questions, you can always talk and write to your teacher asynchronously.
Then again without attending any online Persian classes, you can practice reading and writing in Farsi asynchronously. For example, you can submit your Persian essays or compositions to us for complete analysis and evaluation. Furthermore, you can send us your Persian handwritings as attached photos for deep analysis and error correction.
Another activity to practice reading and writing in Farsi is summary writing. Our Farsi members or students can read hundreds of Persian stories on our website, hence practicing reading in Farsi. Then they can write a summary of the Persian stories in the form of comments and submit it to us.
Learn Persian alphabet for kids
Our lessons and classes on Persian alphabet are suitable for all levels and age groups, particularly young learners. We use special activities and methods for teaching kids Persian alphabet, such as Persian songs, music, games, animation, and interesting videos.
We also have a special group class on Farsi alphabet exclusively for kids and young learners with free trial. Our young Persian students can enjoy learning Farsi in a friendly and inviting environment with bilingual teachers knowing both English and Persian equally well.
In our group class on reading and writing in Farsi, young learners can practice reading out a text usually from Persian stories en masse or collectively. This can bring positive competition among the young learners and they are encouraged to correct each other if there is a mispronunciation.
Persian alphabet vs. English alphabet
Non-Persian speakers might find it rather confusing to learn Persian alphabet for the following reasons:
In Farsi, some letters are written separately, whereas some others are attached to each other. For example, the word اردک which means duck is written with separate letters. However, the word شهر which means city is composed of attached letters.
Some letters take various forms depending on their location in each word. For instance, the letter ع which is called /ein/ takes 4 different forms as the following:
- عینک /ei nak/ = glasses (for low vision people)
- بعد از ظهر /ba’d az zohr/ = afternoon
- وضع /vaz’/ = condition, mood
- شروع /sho ru:/ = beginning, start. For more information about the letter ع click here.
Various letters with the same sound
To learn Persian alphabet, you should know that there are some sounds that take different letters. In other words, these letters make the same sounds but are spelled differently. For instance, we have 3 individual letters for the sound /s/ and 4 individual letters for the sound /z/.
- صابون /sa: bu:n/ = soap
- سرما /sar ma:/ = coldness, chilliness
- لثه /la se/ = gum (in mouth)
and
- پاییز /pa: i:z/ = autumn, fall (season)
- ظهر /zohr/ = noon
- لذیذ /la ziz/ = delicious
- مریض /ma ri:z/ = sick
Short and long vowels in Farsi
In Farsi, short vowels like -َ /a/, -ِ /e/ and -ُ /o/ are not spelled out except for native elementary students or young learners. This makes it extremely difficult for non-Persian speakers to be able to read Persian texts correctly in terms of pronunciation.
At LELB Society, we have taught all of the Persian language resources and these lessons come with videos. Therefore, our Persian students and members can practice reading the text and listening to the podcasts or videos at the same time. This unique feature at LELB Society can make our Persian learners genuinely autonomous or independent learners.
Silent letters in Farsi
Like in English and some other languages, in Farsi, sometimes, there are some letters that are written in some words, but they are not pronounced. In other words, they are silent. For more clarity, pay attention to the following examples:
- خواهر /kha: har/ = sister
- خوابیدن /kha: bi dan/ = sleep
- خویشاوند /khi sha: vand/ = relative
- خواندن /kha:n dan/ = to read
Right-to-left language
Ironically, this items is supposed to be written on top of the other elements, but we consciously put it here as it is extremely self-evident. This has something to do with the direction of letters in written Persian.
To learn Persian alphabet, you need to know that you should read and write from right to left, which is the opposite of western languages, such as English, French, German, Spanish, and the like.
Some Persian letters are so similar
Our years of experience in teaching Farsi online has suggested that foreigners have major difficulties distinguishing the Persian letters from each other which resemble each other. As the above photo indicates, the 3 Persian letters ر – ز – ژ are very similar to each other and the only difference between them lies in their dots.
We have taught all the Persian letters and alphabet in pairs so that our students could easily differentiate them from each other. Our Persian alphabet lessons taught in both Farsi and English are technically among the best Persian language resources for non-Persian speakers with our full support 24/7.
