Learn the 32 letters of the Persian (Farsi) alphabet with a free game: meet the letters in families that share one shape and differ only by their dots, then practise sounds, letter forms, real words and spelling until you can read them on sight.
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How to play
Follow the learning path from top to bottom. Each stage starts with short letter cards: the letter's shape, its name, its sound, a memory hint and an example word from our dictionary. Then you practise with mixed mini-games:
- Letter → sound and sound → letter: the core recognition drills.
- Which form is this? Most letters have up to four shapes (isolated, initial, medial, final). The game shows the real joined shape.
- Find the letter inside real Persian words, next to look-alike letters.
- Build a word: tap or drag letters (or type them) and watch them join into a word.
A wrong answer comes back at the end of the round, and the letter goes into your review queue, which spaces repeats over minutes, days and weeks. Finish a stage to earn up to three stars and unlock the next. The Games tab lets you replay any mini-game with the letters you know, including a 60-second speed round. Your stars, XP, streak and review queue are saved in this browser only. On a computer, press 1-4 to answer and Enter to continue.
Why learn the letters in families?
Persian letters are built from a small set of shapes. Many letters share one shape and differ only in the number and position of dots, so learning a family at once is much faster than learning 32 unrelated symbols:
| Shape | Letters | Sounds |
|---|---|---|
| Boat | ب پ ت ث | b, p, t, s |
| Hook | ج چ ح خ | j, ch, h, kh |
| Elbow | د ذ | d, z |
| Slide | ر ز ژ | r, z, zh |
| Teeth | س ش | s, sh |
| Long loop | ص ض | s, z |
| Loop with pole | ط ظ | t, z |
| Open mouth | ع غ | ' (glottal stop), gh |
| Small loop | ف ق | f, gh |
| Roof | ک گ | k, g |
The rest, ا آ ل م ن و ه ی, are taught early in the path because they appear in almost every word. With them you can already build words such as آب (âb, water), بابا (bâbâ, dad) and نان (nân, bread). Four letters are Persian additions to the Arabic alphabet: پ چ ژ گ.
The 7 non-joiners
Persian is written right to left and most letters connect to the next letter. Seven letters never connect to the letter after them: ا د ذ ر ز ژ و. They still join the letter before them, but after a non-joiner the word continues as a new piece. That is why دانشگاه (dâneshgâh, university) has gaps inside it. Learning these seven letters is the quickest way to stop misreading one word as two.
Letters that sound the same
Several sounds can be written with more than one letter, mostly because Persian kept the original spelling of Arabic loanwords. The sound is identical in modern Persian; only the spelling differs:
- t: ت (common) and ط, as in طلا (talâ, gold)
- s: س (common), ص and ث, as in صبح (sobh, morning)
- z: ز (common), ذ, ض and ظ, as in ظهر (zohr, noon)
- h: ه and ح, as in حرف (harf, letter)
- gh: ق and غ, as in غذا (ghazâ, food)
- a vowel at the start of a word: ا and ع, as in عسل (asal, honey)
When you hear one of these sounds in a new word, guess the common letter first, then check the dictionary. The last stage of the path drills the spelling of everyday words that use the rarer letters.
Tips for learning the Persian alphabet fast
- Practise a little every day: ten minutes daily beats an hour once a week. The streak counter helps.
- Say the sound out loud each time you answer. If your device has a Persian voice, tap 🔊 to hear names and words.
- Do your reviews first. Letters you miss come back sooner, letters you know come back later.
- Read short vowels from context: Persian usually writes only the long vowels ا و ی, so شب is read shab.
Ready to read and write real Persian? Read and Write Persian Language in 7 Days is a workbook that takes you through every letter, its forms and joining rules, with writing practice and reading exercises.
Get the workbookRelated tools and lessons
- Farsi alphabet lessons (letter by letter)
- Persian alphabet: all 32 letters
- Persian alphabet quiz
- Persian typing tutor
- Persian keyboard online
- Write your name in Persian
- Persian flashcards
- 8 easy tips for learning the Persian alphabet
- Persian dictionary
- All free Persian tools
FAQ
How many letters are in the Persian alphabet?
The Persian (Farsi) alphabet has 32 letters: the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet plus four extra letters for Persian sounds, پ (p), چ (ch), ژ (zh) and گ (g). آ (alef madde) is usually counted as a form of alef.
How long does it take to learn the Persian alphabet?
Most learners can recognise all 32 letters in one to two weeks with 10-15 minutes of practice a day. The game has 13 short stages; doing one or two a day and keeping up with your reviews is a good pace.
Why do Persian letters change shape?
Persian is written in a joined script, so a letter has a different shape depending on whether it is alone, at the start, in the middle or at the end of a connected piece. The core shape stays the same; the joining strokes change. Non-joiners such as د and ر have only two shapes.
Is Persian the same alphabet as Arabic?
It is based on the Arabic script, but Persian adds four letters, uses ی and ک in their Persian forms, and pronounces several letters differently: for example ث is s, ذ ض ظ are all z and و is v.
Is my progress saved?
Yes, in this browser on this device (local storage). Nothing is sent to a server, and you do not need an account. Clearing your browser data or using private mode resets it. You can also reset it yourself at the bottom of the learning path.
Why is there no sound?
The game uses your device's own text-to-speech and only shows the 🔊 buttons when a Persian (fa) voice is installed. Without one you still see every letter name and transliteration, so you can play fully without audio.
Free Persian Starter Pack: Alphabet + 100 Core Words
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.