Read Persian numbers from 0 to 100

Read Persian digits, the number words from zero to a hundred, and chapter headings like “chapter one”. The digits run left to right.

≈ 6 min of reading · Practise at your own pace

What’s in this chapter

Persian writes its own digits: ۰۱۲۳۴۵۶۷۸۹.
A number runs left to right even inside a right-to-left line.
Eleven to nineteen and the round tens each have a word of their own. Every other number up to a hundred joins the tens and the single digit with وo“and”: بیست و پنجbist-o panj“25”.
Chapter headings use order words: فصل اولfasl-e avval“chapter one”.
۴ ۵ ۶ are drawn differently from the Arabic ٤ ٥ ٦; the other seven digits look the same in both.
نه is “nine” and also “no” — one spelling, two hidden vowels, settled by the sentence.

Zero to ten

Digit	Value	Word
۰	0	صفرsefr
۱	1	یکyek
۲	2	دوdo
۳	3	سهse
۴	4	چهارchahâr
۵	5	پنجpanj
۶	6	ششshesh
۷	7	هفتhaft
۸	8	هشتhasht
۹	9	نهnoh
۱۰	10	دهdah

Everyday Tehrani speech often shortens two of these: چهارchahâr is commonly heard as châr and ششshesh as shish. Books write the full forms.

Eleven to nineteen

You’ve met the single digits. Now read two together from left to right, just as you would read 12 in English. Each number from eleven to nineteen has a word of its own.

Digits	Word	Value
۱۱	یازدهyâzdah	11
۱۲	دوازدهdavâzdah	12
۱۳	سیزدهsizdah	13
۱۴	چهاردهchahârdah	14
۱۵	پانزدهpânzdah	15
۱۶	شانزدهshânzdah	16
۱۷	هفدهhefdah	17
۱۸	هجدهhejdah	18
۱۹	نوزدهnuzdah	19

The teens all end in ـده-dah, the word for ten. دوازدهdavâzdah is the number in the title of the first book this lesson sends you to.

The tens, and a hundred

The round tens have their own words too. Read the digits first, then match the word.

Digits	Word	Value
۲۰	بیستbist	20
۳۰	سیsi	30
۴۰	چهلchehel	40
۵۰	پنجاهpanjâh	50
۶۰	شصتshast	60
۷۰	هفتادhaftâd	70
۸۰	هشتادhashtâd	80
۹۰	نودnavad	90
۱۰۰	صدsad	100

Three of the tens are built on a single digit you already know: پنجpanj gives پنجاهpanjâh, هفتhaft gives هفتادhaftâd and هشتhasht gives هشتادhashtâd. The others are words of their own.

Build any number up to a hundred with و

Every other number up to 99 is two words: the tens, then the single digit, joined by وo“and”. In a number, و is said o and runs into the word before it. The words come in the same order as the digits.

۲۵

بیست و پنجbist-o panj

twenty and five: 25

۴۸

چهل و هشتchehel-o hasht

forty and eight: 48

۶۳

شصت و سهshast-o se

sixty and three: 63

۹۹

نود و نهnavad-o noh

ninety and nine: 99

Chapter one

فصل اول

fasl-e avval

Literally “chapter first”: فصلfasl“chapter” comes first and the order word follows it. The short e that joins them is said but not written. A book may also print the digit instead: فصل ۱.

First, second, third: order words for chapter headings

Apart from “first”, an order word is the number with ـم-om on the end. Find the number inside it and you know which chapter it is.

Order word	The number inside	Meaning
اولavval	none: a word of its own	first
دومdovvom	دوdo, two	second
سومsevvom	سهse, three	third
چهارمchahârom	چهارchahâr, four	fourth
پنجمpanjom	پنجpanj, five	fifth
دهمdahom	دهdah, ten	tenth

“Second” and “third” change a little: they are said with a doubled v, and سومsevvom writes و where سهse has ه. Some books write یکمyekom for “first” instead of اولavval; both mean the same.

Read a number before you read the word

۷
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Seven — هفتhaft.
۱۲
Digits go left to right.
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Twelve — دوازدهdavâzdah.
۱۸
Digits go left to right: one, then eight.
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Eighteen — هجدهhejdah.
۴۵
The tens word, then وo, then the single digit.
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Forty-five — چهل و پنجchehel-o panj.
فصل سوم
فصلfasl is “chapter”. The second word is an order word.
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Chapter three — فصل سومfasl-e sevvom.
نه
Two possible hidden vowels.
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نهnoh“nine” or نهna“no”. Same letters; the sentence decides.

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