Practise Persian dictation and spelling for free: listen to a word, phrase or sentence (or read it in Finglish), write it in Persian script, and get letter-by-letter corrections that explain the classic traps, like س, ص or ث for the same s sound.
1. How do you want to practise?
Checking for a Persian voice…
2. Pick a level
How the Persian dictation works
Each round gives you 5 to 20 items from one level. In Listen and write you hear the item at normal speed, and you can replay it or switch to slow speed (0.7×) as often as you like. In Spell from Finglish you see the transliteration and the meaning instead. Type your answer with the on-screen keyboard, your own keyboard (the QWERTY keys are turned into the standard Persian layout) or a Persian keyboard on your phone or computer.
When you press Check, your answer is compared with the correct spelling letter by letter, and each mistake gets a short explanation, such as “you wrote س, this word uses ص“. A correct answer scores 10 points, and each hint costs 2. Items you miss go to Review: they come back straight away, then after 1, 3, 7 and 21 days, until you get them right every time. Vowel marks and Arabic ي/ك are accepted, and punctuation is ignored.
The four levels:
- Level 1, words: everyday words full of letter traps, such as صبح (sobh, morning) and ظهر (zohr, noon).
- Level 2, phrases: two-word phrases and words with a half-space, like می‌خواهم (mikhâham, I want).
- Level 3, sentences: short sentences with simple vocabulary.
- Level 4, spoken to written: you hear or see the colloquial form, for example خونه (khune), and write the standard form خانه (khâne).
Persian letters that sound the same
Persian borrowed thousands of words from Arabic, along with their letters. Arabic pronounces these letters differently, but in Persian they merged, so one sound can be written with two, three or even four letters. The only way to know which one a word uses is to learn the spelling with the word.
| Sound | Letters | Common words |
|---|---|---|
| t | ت te ط tâ | تابستان tâbestân (summer), اتاق otâgh (room) طلا talâ (gold), حیاط hayât (yard) |
| s | س sin ص sâd ث se | سلام salâm (hello), درس dars (lesson) صبح sobh (morning), صدا sedâ (sound) ثانیه sâniye (second), مثل mesl (like) |
| z | ز ze ذ zâl ض zâd ظ zâ | روز ruz (day), زبان zabân (language) غذا ghazâ (food), کاغذ kâghaz (paper) حاضر hâzer (ready), مریض mariz (sick) ظهر zohr (noon), نظر nazar (opinion) |
| h | ه he ح he-ye jimi | هوا havâ (air, weather), شهر shahr (city) حال hâl (state), صبح sobh (morning) |
| gh | ق ghâf غ gheyn | قهوه ghahve (coffee), اتاق otâgh (room) باغ bâgh (garden), غذا ghazâ (food) |
| vowel start / glottal stop | ا alef ع eyn | اسم esm (name), امروز emruz (today) عید eyd (holiday), ساعت sâ’at (hour) |
| (silent) | و vâv after خ | خواهر khâhar (sister), خواب khâb (sleep), خواندن khândan (to read) |
Watch out for words that sound identical but mean different things: حیاط (hayât, yard) and حیات (hayât, life), صد (sad, hundred) and سد (sad, dam), or خواستن (khâstan, to want) and خاستن (khâstan, to rise). That is why the trainer always shows the meaning.
Persian spelling tips
- Arabic-origin words keep their Arabic letters. ث ح ذ ص ض ط ظ ع appear almost only in words borrowed from Arabic. Native Persian words such as روز, خوب and دست use ت س ز ه. Arabic words also come in families that share their root letters: نظر (opinion) and انتظار (waiting) both have ظ; علم (science) and معلم (teacher) both have ع. Learn one and you can spell the others.
- The silent vâv. In خوا the و is written but not pronounced: خواهر sounds like khâhar. Compare خوب (khub, good), where و is a real u.
- Short vowels are not written. The vowels a, e and o usually have no letter inside a word: شهر is shahr. At the start of a word they need an ا (اسم esm), and a final -e is usually written with a silent ه (خانه khâne). Long vowels are always written: â with ا or آ, i with ی, u with و.
- Half-space (ZWNJ) rules. Use a half-space, not a full space, after the verb prefixes می and نمی (می‌روم, نمی‌دانم) and before the plural ها (کتاب‌ها). After a final silent ه it is required, or the letters would join: خانهها, not خانهها. Separate words, such as دوست دارم, take a normal space.
- Hearing a vowel at the start? It is ا, آ (for â) or ع. In the middle of a word, a small break or a longer vowel often means ع: ساعت (sâ’at), معلم (mo’allem).
- Spoken vs written. In speech, â before n or m often becomes u (نان nân → nun), verbs get shorter (می‌خواهم → mikhâm) and است becomes -e (خوب است → khube). Write the full forms. See spoken vs written Persian for more.
Want to master the Persian alphabet and spelling from the ground up? Read and Write Persian in 7 Days is a step-by-step workbook for every letter, joining rule and writing habit.
See the workbookRelated tools and lessons
- Persian typing tutor
- Persian keyboard online
- Persian alphabet game
- Persian flashcards
- Finglish to Persian converter
- Persian alphabet: all 32 letters
- Farsi alphabet lessons
- 7 common mistakes when writing in Persian
- Persian-English dictionary
- All free Persian tools
FAQ
Why does Persian have several letters for the same sound?
Because of Arabic loanwords. Arabic has different sounds for س, ص and ث, but Persian speakers pronounce them all as s. The spelling stayed the same, so you learn the letter together with the word, which is exactly what dictation practice trains.
Why can’t I hear any audio?
The trainer uses your browser’s built-in text-to-speech, and it only plays audio if your device has a Persian (Farsi) voice. Many devices don’t. When none is found, the page tells you and switches to Spell from Finglish, which works everywhere. Adding a Persian voice in your system’s text-to-speech or language settings can make the listening mode appear.
How do I type the half-space (ZWNJ)?
Press Shift+Space on a computer, or tap the ZWNJ key on the on-screen keyboard. A missing half-space is shown as a tip but still counts as correct, unless you switch on strict half-space mode.
Do I need to type vowel marks like ◌َ or tanvin?
No. Persian is normally written without short-vowel marks, so they are optional here. لطفاً and لطفا are both accepted. Arabic ي and ك from some keyboards count as the Persian ی and ک.
Where is my progress saved?
In your browser’s local storage, on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere. Clearing your browser data or pressing Reset progress starts you again from zero.
Free Persian Starter Pack: Alphabet + 100 Core Words
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