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Persian Lesson 3 – Letters from /alef/ to /he/

Welcome back!

I hope you are enjoying these lessons. I will be thankful if you let me know about your suggestions

Last week, we studied long vowels with the help of three letters , , and . I hope you remember the previous lessons. Don’t worry if you are not so fluent at this stage.

As you know, Rome was not built in one day! Remember that where there is a will, there is a way. All I can say is that you will not be able to find an online method to learn Persian, which is easier than this. Keep practicing, and you will see your progress in near future.

Now, let’s begin.

So far, we have learned some letters that helped us a lot with learning vowels. To do this, I had to introduce some end letters like and at the very beginning and it was inevitable. To explain the long vowels, we needed these letters. Now that we are familiar with the short and long vowels, which are the most important part of our job at this stage, it will not be difficult to learn and pronounce all letters (alphabets) from the very beginning with the help of those vowels. In learning Persian alphabets, sometimes, it is possible to find the English equivalents for them. Nevertheless, not all Persian letters necessarily have an English equivalent. Therefore, during these lessons, for further explanation we try to find the English and sometimes, other languages equivalents to make it easier to understand.

As you know, Persian language is built on 32 letters. Let’s try them one by one.

Note: each letter has a name, which may not necessarily be the same as its pronunciation. In one word, each letter has a name and can potentially have six pronunciations when combined with the vowels.

1- – this is called Alef /ælef/. You know the explanation of this letter. this one comes at the beginning of the words and pronounced as /a:/ only. Do you remember it? Perfect! this one appears anywhere in the words: beginning, middle, and end and accepts all six vowels. Please pronounce it again with both short and long vowels. You will say: Need help? Click here.

All Alef

2- – this is called /be/ as in bed. When combined, it may be pronounced as:

3- – this is called /pe/ as in pet. When combined, it may be pronounced as:

4- – this is called /te/ as in ten. When combined, it may be pronounced as:

Now that we have reviewed the letters from the beginning, it is easy for us to learn the rest of the letters. Today, we will learn some more letters.

5- – this is called /se/ as in set. When combined, it may be pronounced as:

. Need help? Click here.

All Se

6- – this one is called /Jim/. When combined, it may be pronounced as: . Need help? Click here.

All Jim

7- – this is called /che/ as in chess. When combined, it may be pronounced as: . Click here to listen.

All Che

8- – this is called /he/ as in hen. When combined, it may be pronounced as: .

All He

All right. If you need to know how these letters’ names are pronounced, click here.

Alef to He

To learn how to write the new letters, please go to Let’s write page. Don’t forget to check the Useful drills now.

That’s it for today. Feel tired? Hit me!

Lesson 3

74 Comments

  1. Tarolyn thrasher
    April 21, 2012 @ 5:35 pm

    This is the best website for Persian the I’ve found. For me personally its better than rosetta stone. You break it down and the practice work is perfect. I love it and so grateful for your dedication to making it accessible to people like myself.

    • Hassan H
      April 22, 2012 @ 7:49 am

      Tashakor!
      Kheili mamnoun!

  2. Anahita N
    May 2, 2012 @ 2:12 am

    I definitely agree with Tarolyn. Many thanks to you, Hassan. Or rather, kheili mamnoun! :)

  3. Aiman
    May 12, 2012 @ 5:13 am

    Hello,

    I was just wondering what does it mean when you had written “accepts all six vowels”?
    Nonetheless this site has helped me a lot i use it everyday even made a notebook for the notes i take from your lessons.
    You have made a great site. I thank-you a lot for this.

    Aiman

    • Hassan H
      May 14, 2012 @ 10:18 am

      Hi Aiman

      ‘accepts all six vowels’ means the ‘letter in question’ can be pronounced using all six vowels.

      Ex:
      ba be bo
      ba bee boo
      Best,
      Hasssan

      • Aiman
        June 3, 2012 @ 6:11 pm

        Thank-you Hassan.

  4. Edmond Emami
    May 31, 2012 @ 6:25 pm

    Thank you so much for all this, once i learn farsi i can enter into the military as an E-4 and finally talk to my grandpa, your the man bro!

  5. YAN ZHOU
    June 5, 2012 @ 3:03 am

    I dont know how to express my appreciation for what you have done. It is so great and i love it very much. thank you very much !

  6. m.usman
    June 12, 2012 @ 4:32 pm

    mashAllah this site is v.useful

  7. KhanOfTheGoldenHorde
    June 15, 2012 @ 2:39 pm

    Great job, thanks a lot, im from Turkey and there many similar words in Farsi and Turkish. Teşekkürler (Tashakor) ve çok memnun oldum( Kheili mamnoun)

  8. mohamed
    July 26, 2012 @ 12:40 pm

    motashakerom kheili mamnoun

  9. Kazek
    July 27, 2012 @ 8:48 pm

    Wielkie dzięki.

    Many thanks

  10. Fatima Abbas
    September 8, 2012 @ 8:31 am

    SALAMS UN ALAIKUM

    CONGRATULATIONS FOR GIVING US SUCH AN INFORMATIVE, USEFUL AND SYSTEMATIC SITE. IT IS BEYOND IMAGINATION THAT SO MUCH IS COVERED, AND IN SO MUCH DETAIL WHILE ENJOYING LEARNING PERSIAN FROM YOUR SITE.

    THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

    FATIMA

  11. Imtiyaz Ali Hussaini
    September 12, 2012 @ 12:46 pm

    Salam-Un-Alikum
    my name is imtiyaz ali hussaini, i am from indian administrative kashmir,i am so much interested to speake, write and read persion language since from my childhood.i have purchased so many persion books like asifa etc.but i was not able to speake persion language, when i go through these books.
    i am really so much thankfull of you aqa hassan, you have really designed this website for the persion learners in such a manner, even a dull person like me can also speake, write and read persion language.
    thank you
    dastai shuma dard na kuneend

  12. liam
    October 22, 2012 @ 5:24 pm

    Is there an Android app that includes these lessons at all? I can’t find anything other than very basic apps, but the content you have on this site is perfect

  13. Salahi
    October 26, 2012 @ 8:24 pm

    Thank you !!!

  14. Mohammed
    October 30, 2012 @ 10:29 am

    I’m trying to learn more and more…sometimes it is difficult

  15. anya
    October 31, 2012 @ 9:57 am

    i love you website!!! im soooo sooo excited to start learning :)

  16. Lale
    November 25, 2012 @ 5:54 am

    Thank you very much for putting such an effort into this website. I stopped learning Persian ten years ago although I am from a Persian-speaking background because I found it challenging to understand the grammar and admit that a loss of motivation played a big part in it. Your step by step approach to teaching each letter on its own really facilitates it to grasp it and the attached pronounciation audio is much appreciated. Your website is the best substitute for us language learners who have a tight schedule and decide to learn the language using online resources. I will definitely recommend this to my friends who will highly benefit from this. Again as many have mentioned previously: a big thank you. This is the best Persian Online Resource I’ve seen by far.

  17. cheetree
    December 29, 2012 @ 7:34 pm

    What is the english equivalent to jim? im guessing j as in gymnasium, but just in case.

  18. Kuipers
    January 2, 2013 @ 10:27 pm

    I’ve really been enjoying this website! I was wondering if there was anyway to desynchronize the pronunciation recordings? Maybe it’s just my computer but they always play simultaneously when i click more than one, which makes it difficult to focus on the one I intended to listen to.

  19. Muhammad Aftab
    January 19, 2013 @ 8:39 am

    i have Persia book but i dont persia plzz help meeeeeee………

  20. Fernando
    January 20, 2013 @ 11:25 pm

    Salam! I don’t understand “Alef in end position accepts all six vowels.”. Do alef sound is “a:”, right? If in end position it accept “u:”, for example, how is the pronunciation? Will be “a:u:” or just “u:: ? Thank you very much for this amazing website!!

  21. Aakash
    February 2, 2013 @ 11:47 am

    u r too good.. awsome work..

  22. Tom
    February 3, 2013 @ 5:36 pm

    Salam! Thanks a lot for this website, it is by far the best site that i’ve found for learning Persian, great job! Sometimes it is difficult for me, but by learning this by your steps i know i will achieve my goal! mamnonam

  23. sofie
    February 15, 2013 @ 4:36 am

    Salam, this website is amazing. I am teaching my daughter Persian. I couldn’t figured out how to start. She can speak but she can’t read or write. She knows the alphabets and numbers, that is all. Thank you for your dedication and handwork in helping others learn another language

  24. badar
    February 26, 2013 @ 10:01 pm

    can any body tell me why sometimes clicking on the lessons would not open the lessons

  25. Ghita
    March 20, 2013 @ 4:57 am

    Thank you very much for putting such an effort into this website. It is very helpful and useful for me. The only problem for me so far is because i am from an arabic speaking background, i get confused with the prononciation of the alphabet. for example the letter : ح sounds like ها :(…. how can i memorize this without getting confused :(

  26. Nick The Language Learner
    April 3, 2013 @ 11:08 pm

    I mastered all the Spanish vocabulary in a week that we was to be taught over a month so I’ve started working on this during Spanish class and getting extra help from an Iranian friend from that class. It feels like I am progressing so fast with the help of your excellent lessons.
    Thanks for making such a good website.

  27. PatryRB
    April 11, 2013 @ 1:16 pm

    This site is really great! Good job!!

  28. James
    April 16, 2013 @ 8:56 pm

    Thank you for all the effort you put into this!

  29. Jérémie
    May 3, 2013 @ 10:03 am

    Thank you for this wonderful website Hassan! It makes me learn Persian with great pleasure.
    (one small errata: for the che letter, the image big_che_3.gif should appear instead of all_che_3.gif)

  30. Amir
    May 23, 2013 @ 6:01 am

    Hi,
    I am a native Iranian and living in Iran.
    I will be happy to help everyone that wants to leering Persian.
    This is my email: [email protected]

  31. Lucy
    May 26, 2013 @ 6:37 am

    I am one step closer to being able to talk to my boyfriend’s mom! She doesn’t speak English and I want to surprise him and her both when I meet her.

  32. avdesh sainger
    May 26, 2013 @ 11:58 pm

    Dear hassam sir,
    Salam 안녕하세요 good morning namaste…
    This is the best site to learn farsi in easy way and efficiently.
    I met this site. Thanks a lot .
    I need the guidance at this chapter. I have a query I think I could understand all the six vowels with the some small words with their respective correct pronunciation. But I found difficulty when I wanted to right with my mobile’s farsi keypad. I couldn’t write the first three vowels with the electronic keypad I.e. ba be bo.
    But there was no difficulty to understand the same while writting on note book.
    Except these above three vowels I can write easily.
    Please provide me guidance.
    Looking for your favor.
    Have a nice day..
    Khoda haffiz 안녕히계세요 good bye namaste.

  33. Luc Person - Belgium
    May 28, 2013 @ 5:54 pm

    Amazing how quick you can learn Persian!

  34. nabilah
    July 1, 2013 @ 4:43 pm

    thank you for this lesson,,

  35. arshl
    July 2, 2013 @ 9:29 pm

    Thank you for this wonderful site. It is quite exquise in its teaching. I am a Kurd and looking to further expand my linguistic abilities by learning a third language. I love Iranian music and always listen to the great Dariush and lady Haydeh.

  36. fahad mehmood
    July 11, 2013 @ 4:41 pm

    sir i’m realy enjoying these lessons and learning persian very easly through proper reading and listing your lessons thank you so much

  37. sari
    August 6, 2013 @ 5:02 pm

    Hassan, you can’t imagine how your site help me a lot.
    I will visit Iran next year and sure I will be able to speak with them at that time :)
    Thumbs up.
    My God blesses you

  38. Dariush
    September 2, 2013 @ 11:34 am

    First of all, thanks for the tutorial! Second, point 7 for big che has wrong image :)

  39. Oktay
    September 3, 2013 @ 8:37 am

    Dear aghaye Hassan,
    thanks for your lessons. Just please explain. The title of first lesson is “Persian Lesson 1 – The Alphabet, Short Vowels, B, P, T Letters”. But at the beginning of this lesson we read “Last week, we studied long vowels with the help of three letters B, P, T …”. Is it true or mistake?
    Thanks
    Oktay

    • J G Hunter
      September 30, 2013 @ 5:30 pm

      It is not a mistake. Last lesson was long vowels, this is now lesson 3 and long vowels was done in lesson 2. Short vowels was lesson 1.

  40. J G Hunter
    September 30, 2013 @ 5:30 pm

    You need to correct no 7 here on lesson 3, I don’t think you meant to include all the vowel renderings of the letter just when you were introducing it.

  41. majalmirasol
    November 4, 2013 @ 4:50 am

    Clicking the Useful drills link in this page from this line:

    Don’t forget to check the Useful drills now.

    Redirects to: https://www.easypersian.com/drills/persian-writing-useful-drills-30/
    instead of: https://www.easypersian.com/drills/useful-drills-3/

  42. Iris Marquela Santamaria Jurado
    November 13, 2013 @ 1:20 am

    y la lecciones siguientes como las obtengo

  43. Deb
    December 9, 2013 @ 6:56 am

    Firstly, let be express my gratitude for your time in creating this website. However I am still unclear as to the succession of letters when writing words. I understand that sentences are written from right ro left. But are the words expressed the same. For example if I wish to express the name, “Mercedes” in Farsi, would it read and be written from right to left as well, as “sedecreM”? Do proper nouns begin with the capital letter as in English? Or the end of the noun? I hope I have posed my question well enough that you understand what I am asking. Thank you, Sir.

  44. simon
    December 10, 2013 @ 6:32 pm

    Thank you, very great !!
    Just a little favor to ask you …the picture of the letter could they be bigger.

    heili mamnoun

  45. lynn
    December 12, 2013 @ 3:38 am

    So do you pronounce Jim as “jim” or something different? That part confused me a little.

  46. iris marquela
    December 26, 2013 @ 9:27 pm

    eatoy aprendiendo

  47. Lakshay Singhal
    January 15, 2014 @ 3:46 pm

    Hello Hassan
    I have learned all the words till All se in lesson number 3.
    I am unable to understand after the word All se i.e point no 6.
    Kindly Help

  48. maria
    February 7, 2014 @ 1:43 am

    so far so good i can understand you perfectly and motivation is high cause you are awsome thank you

  49. Ziba
    February 24, 2014 @ 10:50 am

    Your site is gorgeous, the best I have ever seen. You have done a terrific job with this !!

  50. sameer
    May 1, 2014 @ 9:23 am

    superb effort made by u n very helpful for new learner….even i m also complete 3lesson very fluently in just 2hour….so feeling very lucky n blessed….best luck sir for ur future endevour…hav nice time…n still very far to reach n hopeful to conversation in persian in future with u…:)