ت (te) is the 4th letter of the Persian alphabet. It is pronounced t, as in “top”, as in توت (tut, mulberry).
How to write ت (te)
Persian is written from right to left, and most letters change shape depending on where they sit in a word. These are the four forms of ت:
| On its own | Start of a word | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| ت | تـ | ـتـ | ـت |
ت joins the letter that comes after it.
How to pronounce ت (te)
Like English t in "top": the tongue touches just behind the upper teeth, a little further forward than in English.
In standard Iranian Persian, ت sounds exactly like ط, so you learn the spelling of each word as you meet it.
Persian words with ت
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Where ت is |
|---|---|---|---|
| توت | tut | mulberry | start |
| تابستان | tâbestân | summer | start |
| تخت | takht | bed | start |
| کتاب | ketâb | book | middle |
| دختر | dokhtar | girl | middle |
| ستاره | setâre | star | middle |
| دست | dast | hand | end |
| هشت | hasht | eight | end |
Good to know
- ت and ط sound the same in Persian; ت is far more common and is the one used in native Persian words.
- ت has two dots above; ث has three.
- Many Persian infinitives end in –تن, as in رفتن (raftan, to go).
Quiz: the letter ت
Check yourself on ت (te): 7 quick questions with instant answers.
1. Which sound does ت (te) make?
2. Which word starts with ت?
3. What does تابستان (tâbestân) mean?
4. Does ت join the letter that comes after it?
5. Which letter is pronounced the same as ت?
6. Where is ت in the word کتاب (ketâb, book)?
7. What is the position of ت in the 32-letter Persian alphabet?
Answer key with explanations
- D. t: ت is pronounced t. Like English t in “top”: the tongue touches just behind the upper teeth, a little further forward than in English.
- C. توت (tut): توت (tut) means “mulberry” and begins with ت.
- A. summer: تابستان (tâbestân) means “summer”.
- C. Yes, it joins the next letter: ت joins the next letter, so it has four forms.
- C. ط: ت and ط sound the same (t) in standard Iranian Persian.
- A. In the middle: In کتاب, ت comes in the middle, so it uses its middle form.
- C. 4th: ت is the 4th letter: ا ب پ ت ث ج چ ح خ د ذ ر ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل م ن و ه ی
Common questions
How do you pronounce ت in Persian?
ت (te) is pronounced t. Like English t in “top”: the tongue touches just behind the upper teeth, a little further forward than in English.
Does ت connect to the next letter?
Yes. ت joins the letter after it, so it has four forms: on its own, at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word.
Which letters sound like ت?
In standard Iranian Persian ت is pronounced the same as ط.
Is ت the same as ط?
Yes, in standard Iranian Persian both are pronounced t. ط appears mostly in words of Arabic origin, so you learn which one to write with each word.
The Farsi alphabet (Farsi: /alefbâye fârsi/ الفبای فارسی) consists 32 letters, most of which have two forms, short and full. In Farsi, words are written from right to left while numbers are written from left to right. Farsi is a writing style based on the Arabic script. It is entirely written cursively. That is, the majority of letters in a word connect to each other. Therefore, the appearance of a letter changes depending on its position: beginning (joined on the left), middle (joined on both sides), end (joined on the right) of a word and some letters are written isolated.
This writing style is also implemented on computers. Whenever the Farsi script is typed, the computer connects the letters to each other.
Following is a table showing the Farsi alphabet and how it is pronounced in English. There are also some examples of how those letters would sound if you place them in a word.
| ح | چ | ج | ث | ت | پ | ب | الف |
| ش | س | ژ | ز | ر | ذ | د | خ |
| ق | ف | غ | ع | ظ | ط | ض | ص |
| ی | ه | و | ن | م | ل | گ | ک |
ت- تـ
“ت= تـ” /te/ is the fourth letter of the Persian alphabet. It sounds /te/ like “T” in “Train”. Similar to “ب” and “پ”, it has two forms. “تـ” is the short form and “ت” is the full form.
How to write it:
Sample Words:
| تاب | تَب | تا | |||
| taab | tab | taa |
| Previous< | >Next |
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Get the 14-page printable Starter Pack (all 32 letters, a 7-day reading plan, 100 core words and 20 survival phrases) and a short 5-email course. Free.