ش (shin) is the 16th letter of the Persian alphabet. It is pronounced sh, as in “shoe”, as in شب (shab, night).
How to write ش (shin)
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 ش:
| On its own | Start of a word | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| ش | شـ | ـشـ | ـش |
ش joins the letter that comes after it.
How to pronounce ش (shin)
Like English sh in "shoe".
Persian words with ش
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Where ش is |
|---|---|---|---|
| شب | shab | night | start |
| شیر | shir | milk; lion | start |
| شهر | shahr | city | start |
| گوشت | gusht | meat | middle |
| پشت | posht | back, behind | middle |
| آشپزخانه | âshpazkhâne | kitchen | middle |
| آتش | âtash | fire | end |
| کفش | kafsh | shoe | end |
Good to know
- ش is س with three dots above.
- شش (shesh, six) starts and ends with ش.
Quiz: the letter ش
Check yourself on ش (shin): 7 quick questions with instant answers.
1. Which sound does ش (shin) make?
2. Which word starts with ش?
3. What does شیر (shir) mean?
4. Does ش join the letter that comes after it?
5. What is the name of the letter ش?
6. Where is ش in the word گوشت (gusht, meat)?
7. What is the position of ش in the 32-letter Persian alphabet?
Answer key with explanations
- D. sh: ش is pronounced sh. Like English sh in “shoe”.
- A. شب (shab): شب (shab) means “night” and begins with ش.
- D. milk; lion: شیر (shir) means “milk; lion”.
- B. Yes, it joins the next letter: ش joins the next letter, so it has four forms.
- D. shin: ش is called shin.
- A. In the middle: In گوشت, ش comes in the middle, so it uses its middle form.
- B. 16th: ش is the 16th 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 ش in Persian?
ش (shin) is pronounced sh. Like English sh in “shoe”.
Does ش connect to the next letter?
Yes. ش 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.
Does شیر mean milk or lion?
Both. شیر (shir) can mean milk, lion or tap, and context tells you which one is meant.
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 |
شـ – ش
“شـ – ش” called “shin”, is the sixteenth letter of the Persian alphabet. It has short and full formats. “ش” sounds /she/ like “sh” in “short”.
How to write it:
Sample Words:
 |
 |
 |
| شِش | شاد | شَب |
| 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.