1.2 Persian Vowels
Please listen to the following audio on long and short vowels. While you are listening / reading them, pause the audio and try to say each vowel out loud:
| Persian Long Vowels | آ | ای | او |
| English | aa | ee | oo |
| Persian Short Vowels | اَ | اِ | اُ |
| English | a | e | o |
How to Read and Write Vowels:
Please listen to the following audio on long and short vowels. While you are listening /reading them Pause the audio and try to say each vowel out loud:
Long Vowel: آ
| Example in English | Example in Persian | Final position | Medial Position | Initial position | Connector/ Non- connector | Vowel/Consonant | Phonetic Symbol | Name | Persian Letter |
| Awesome | آب-ما-باب | ا | ا | آ | Non- connector | Long vowel | /aa/ | aa | آ
|
Long Vowel: ای
| Example in English | Example in Persian | Final position | Medial Position | Initial position | Connector/ Non- connector | Vowel/Consonant | Phonetic Symbol | Name: | Persian Letter |
| cheese | ایران – سیب – سینی | ی | ِیِـ | ای /ایـ | Non- connector | Long vowel | /ee/ | ee | ای
|
Long Vowel: او
| Example in English | Example in Persian | Final position | Medial Position | Initial position | Connector/ Non- connector | Vowel/Consonant | Phonetic Symbol | Name | Persian Letter |
| Shoot- Cook | او -خوب – مو | و | و | او | Non- connector | Long vowel | /oo/ | oo | او
|
Short Vowel: اَ
| Example in English | Example in Persian | Final position | Medial Position | Initial position | Connector/ Non- connector | Vowel/Consonant | Phonetic Symbol | Name | Persian Letter |
| Apple | اَدَب | – | اَ | اَ | Non- connector | Short Vowel | /a/ | zebar | اَ
|
Short Vowel: اِ
| Example in English | Example in Persian | Final position | Medial Position | Initial position | Connector/ Non- connector | Vowel/Consonant | Phonetic Symbol | Name | Persian Letter |
| Egg – Bed – | اِسم | – | اِ | اِ | Non- connector | /e/ | zir | اِ
|
Short Vowel: اُ
| Example in English | Example in Persian | Final position | Medial Position | Initial position | Connector/ Non- connector | Vowel/Consonant | Phonetic Symbol | Name | Persian Letter |
| Orange | اُب | – | اُ | اُ | Non- connector | vowel | /o/ | pish | اُ
|
Notes on Persian Vowels:
Alef with zebar have the sound of , /a/, because Alef is a carrier of diacritics and when it does not appear with any other diacritics, then it is by default considered as Alef with zebar ,/a/. Additionally, in a standard writing, people do not use zebar, zir, or pish with Alef or any other alphabet letters as they represent short vowels /a/, /e/, and /o/.These short vowels are often assumed. However, if there is a long (/aa/) vowel, then people do use ( آ ).
Table 2. Examples of Vowels in English and Persian Words.
| English Examples | Vowel Letters | Persian Examples |
| Awesome |
آ |
آب
|
| Apple |
اَ |
اَدَب
|
| Need |
ایـ |
ایران
|
| End |
اِ |
اِحساس
|
| root |
و
|
دود
|
| Orange |
اُ |
اُمید
|
Practice 1:
Practice 2:
Please choose the correct vowel from the multiple choice options that has been used at the beginning of the word:
Practice 3:
Please choose the correct vowel from the multiple choice options that has been used at the Middle of the word:
Practice 4:
Please choose the correct vowel from the multiple choice options that has been used at the End of the word:
Key Takeaways
- You can recognize and sound out all the Persian vowels.
!سپاس
