ژ (zhe) is the 14th letter of the Persian alphabet. It is pronounced zh, like the “s” in “measure”, as in ژاکت (zhâket, jacket).
How to write ژ (zhe)
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 ژ:
| On its own | Start of a word | Middle | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| ژ | ژ | ـژ | ـژ |
ژ 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 مژه.
How to pronounce ژ (zhe)
Like the s in "measure" or the si in "vision". English has the sound but rarely at the start of a word.
Persian words with ژ
| Persian | Pronunciation | English | Where ژ is |
|---|---|---|---|
| ژاکت | zhâket | jacket | start |
| ژله | zhele | jelly | start |
| مژه | mozhe | eyelash | middle |
| واژه | vâzhe | word | middle |
| مژده | mozhde | good news | middle |
| دژ | dezh | fortress | end |
| گاراژ | gârâzh | garage | end |
| ماساژ | mâsâzh | massage | end |
Good to know
- ژ is one of the rarest Persian letters; it appears in some native words like مژه and واژه and in French loanwords like ژاکت and گاراژ.
- ژ is ز with three dots above, and it never joins the letter after it.
- ژ is one of the four letters (پ چ ژ گ) added to the Arabic script for Persian sounds.
Quiz: the letter ژ
Check yourself on ژ (zhe): 7 quick questions with instant answers.
1. Which sound does ژ (zhe) make?
2. Which word starts with ژ?
3. What does ژله (zhele) mean?
4. Does ژ join the letter that comes after it?
5. What is the name of the letter ژ?
6. Where is ژ in the word مژه (mozhe, eyelash)?
7. What is the position of ژ in the 32-letter Persian alphabet?
Answer key with explanations
- A. zh: ژ is pronounced zh. Like the s in “measure” or the si in “vision”.
- C. ژاکت (zhâket): ژاکت (zhâket) means “jacket” and begins with ژ.
- C. jelly: ژله (zhele) means “jelly”.
- D. No, it never joins the next letter: ژ is one of the seven letters that never join the next letter: ا د ذ ر ز ژ و.
- C. zhe: ژ is called zhe.
- A. In the middle: In مژه, ژ comes in the middle, so it uses its middle form.
- C. 14th: ژ is the 14th 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 ژ in Persian?
ژ (zhe) is pronounced zh. Like the s in “measure” or the si in “vision”. English has the sound but rarely at the start of a word.
Does ژ connect to the next letter?
No. ژ 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.
How is ژ different from ز and ج?
ز is z as in “zoo”, ج is j as in “jam”, and ژ is the soft zh sound in between, as in “measure”.
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 |
ژ
“ژ” /zhe/ is the fourteenth letter of the Persian alphabet and has one form. “ژ” only joins to the preceding letters in Persian words. It sounds /zhe/ like “su” in “measure”.
How to write it:
 |
دِژ |
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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.