ق (ghâf) is the 24th letter of the Persian alphabet. It is pronounced gh, the same sound as غ in standard Iranian Persian, as in قلب (ghalb, heart).
How to write ق (ghâf)
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 ق:
| On its own | Start of a word | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| ق | قـ | ـقـ | ـق |
ق joins the letter that comes after it.
How to pronounce ق (ghâf)
In standard Iranian Persian ق is pronounced the same as غ: a voiced sound at the back of the throat, close to a French r. English has no such sound.
In standard Iranian Persian, ق sounds exactly like غ, so you learn the spelling of each word as you meet it.
Persian words with ق
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Where ق is |
|---|---|---|---|
| قلب | ghalb | heart | start |
| قند | ghand | sugar cube | start |
| قرمز | ghermez | red | start |
| بشقاب | boshghâb | plate | middle |
| دقیقه | daghighe | minute | middle |
| وقت | vaght | time | middle |
| اتاق | otâgh | room | end |
| برق | bargh | electricity | end |
Good to know
- ق appears in many common words, both Persian and Arabic in origin, such as اتاق (otâgh, room).
- ق has two dots above; ف has one.
Quiz: the letter ق
Check yourself on ق (ghâf): 7 quick questions with instant answers.
1. Which sound does ق (ghâf) make?
2. Which word starts with ق?
3. What does قند (ghand) mean?
4. Does ق join the letter that comes after it?
5. Which letter is pronounced the same as ق?
6. Where is ق in the word بشقاب (boshghâb, plate)?
7. What is the position of ق in the 32-letter Persian alphabet?
Answer key with explanations
- C. gh: ق is pronounced gh. In standard Iranian Persian ق is pronounced the same as غ: a voiced sound at the back of the throat, close to a French r.
- B. قلب (ghalb): قلب (ghalb) means “heart” and begins with ق.
- B. sugar cube: قند (ghand) means “sugar cube”.
- B. Yes, it joins the next letter: ق joins the next letter, so it has four forms.
- B. غ: ق and غ sound the same (gh) in standard Iranian Persian.
- A. In the middle: In بشقاب, ق comes in the middle, so it uses its middle form.
- B. 24th: ق is the 24th 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 ق in Persian?
ق (ghâf) is pronounced gh. In standard Iranian Persian ق is pronounced the same as غ: a voiced sound at the back of the throat, close to a French r. English has no such sound.
Does ق connect to the next letter?
Yes. ق 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 ق?
In standard Iranian Persian ق is pronounced the same as غ.
Is ق the same as غ?
In standard Iranian Persian, yes, both are pronounced gh. Some regional accents (and Arabic) pronounce ق further back, like a deep k, but the standard pronunciation is the same.
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 |
قـ – ق
“قـ – ق” called “ghâf”, is the twenty forth letter of the Persian alphabet. It has short and full forms. “ق” sounds /ghe/ like “r” in French word “Paris”, but it sounds stronger.
How to write it:
Sample Words:
 |
 |
| بشقاب | قصر |
| Previous< | >Next |
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