Learn the six Farsi vowels: three short vowels written as marks and three long vowels writ
Persian has six simple vowels: three short vowels written as marks above or below letters, and three long vowels written with آ, ای and او. Each sound is compared with an English word, with examples such as مردم (people).
Farsi Vowels
Farsi language has six simple vowels, three short vowels and three long vowels. Farsi words cannot be pronounced without these vowels. Remember that these are not letters. These sounds are used to make the letters pronounceable.
Short vowels:
1- short vowel ــَـــ a as in English “a” in “that”
2- Short vowel ــِـــ e as in English “e” in “men”
3- Short vowel ــُـــ o as in English “o” in “code”
Short vowels are written with other letters, above or below them to make them pronounceable.
مَردُم (People) /mardom/
Short vowels sometimes are written at elementary stages of learning to help learners understand the sound of Farsi words.
Long vowels:
1- Long vowel آ â as in English “a” in “car”
2- Long vowel ای i as in English “i” in “fit”
3- Long vowel او u as in English “oo” in “foot”
Three letters of آ – ای – او are used for writing three long vowels:
آن /ân/
این /in/
اوست /ust/
Take this lesson further
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Farsi Grammar in Use: For Beginners
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