ذ (zâl) is the 11th letter of the Persian alphabet. It is pronounced z, as in “zoo” (used in words borrowed from Arabic), as in ذرت (zorrat, corn).
How to write ذ (zâl)
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 ذ:
| On its own | Start of a word | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| ذ | ذ | ـذ | ـذ |
ذ is one of the seven Persian letters that never join the letter after it (ا د ذ ر ز ژ و), so the next letter starts a new group, as in گذشته.
How to pronounce ذ (zâl)
Pronounced z, as in "zoo". In Arabic it is a th sound, as in "this", but Persian speakers say a plain z.
In standard Iranian Persian, ذ sounds exactly like ز and ض and ظ, so you learn the spelling of each word as you meet it.
Persian words with ذ
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Where ذ is |
|---|---|---|---|
| ذرت | zorrat | corn | start |
| ذهن | zehn | mind | start |
| ذخیره | zakhire | storage, saving | start |
| گذشته | gozashte | past | middle |
| غذا | ghazâ | food | middle |
| لذت | lezzat | pleasure | middle |
| لذیذ | laziz | delicious | end |
| کاغذ | kâghaz | paper | end |
Good to know
- ذ is د with one dot above, and like د it never joins the letter after it.
- Most words with ذ are of Arabic origin, but a few native Persian words use it too, such as گذشتن (gozashtan, to pass) and پذیرفتن (paziroftan, to accept).
Quiz: the letter ذ
Check yourself on ذ (zâl): 7 quick questions with instant answers.
1. Which sound does ذ (zâl) make?
2. Which word starts with ذ?
3. What does ذهن (zehn) mean?
4. Does ذ join the letter that comes after it?
5. Which letter is pronounced the same as ذ?
6. Where is ذ in the word گذشته (gozashte, past)?
7. What is the position of ذ in the 32-letter Persian alphabet?
Answer key with explanations
- A. z: ذ is pronounced z. Pronounced z, as in “zoo”.
- A. ذرت (zorrat): ذرت (zorrat) means “corn” and begins with ذ.
- C. mind: ذهن (zehn) means “mind”.
- D. No, it never joins the next letter: ذ is one of the seven letters that never join the next letter: ا د ذ ر ز ژ و.
- D. ز: ذ and ز sound the same (z) in standard Iranian Persian.
- A. In the middle: In گذشته, ذ comes in the middle, so it uses its middle form.
- C. 11th: ذ is the 11th 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 ذ in Persian?
ذ (zâl) is pronounced z. Pronounced z, as in “zoo”. In Arabic it is a th sound, as in “this”, but Persian speakers say a plain z.
Does ذ connect to the next letter?
No. ذ is one of the seven letters that never join the letter after it (ا د ذ ر ز ژ و), so it has only two forms.
Which letters sound like ذ?
In standard Iranian Persian ذ is pronounced the same as ز and ض and ظ.
Why does Persian have four letters for z?
ذ, ض and ظ came in with Arabic words, where they stand for different sounds. In Persian all four (ز ذ ض ظ) are pronounced z; ز is by far the most common.
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 |
ذ
“ذ” called /zâl/, is the eleventh letter of the Persian alphabet. It only has one format. “ذ” only joins to the preceding letters in Persian words. It sounds /ze/ like “ze” in “zipper”.
How to write it:
Sample Words:
 |
 |
 |
| ذات | جَذب | جَذاب |
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