Lessons for English speakers
Learn to read Farsi
A short, active path into reading Farsi: learn the Persian script in useful groups, decode words before revealing their pronunciation, follow the verb to the end, and read a small story before opening your first book.
13 core sections · ≈ 31 min + 4 optional lookups · ≈ 44 min with everything
5
The other marks: quotes, commas, and the half-space
≈ 3 min
What you'll learn
- Persian has no capital letters, so a name looks like any other word.
- Speech is normally wrapped in «…», not in the quotation marks English uses.
- The comma ، and the question mark ؟ are mirrored so they lean with the script; the full stop is the same dot you already use.
- A narrow gap called the half-space joins the pieces of a single word, and this lesson uses it constantly from here on.
- A half-space is not a space: the pieces on either side of it are one word.
The marks you will meet on a first page
| Mark | Name | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| «…» | گیومهgiyume | encloses direct speech, where English uses quotation marks |
| ، | ویرگولvirgul | a comma, drawn the other way up |
| ؟ | علامت سؤالalâmat-e so’âl | a question mark, mirrored |
| . | نقطهnoghte | a full stop, exactly as in English |
| ! | علامت تعجبalâmat-e ta’ajjob | an exclamation mark, exactly as in English |
Only two of these are unfamiliar shapes. Notice that the mirrored marks sit at the left end of the sentence, because that is where a right-to-left sentence finishes.
The cat said, “The water is here.”
گربه گفت: «آب اینجاست.»
gorbe goft: “âb injâst.”
A colon introduces the speech and «…» encloses it. The full stop stays inside, as it does in English.
The half-space: a gap that does not end the word
میmi- + خورمkhoram
میخورمmikhoram“I eat”
The two pieces keep their own shapes but stay one word.
آنân + ها-hâ
آنهاânhâ“they”
An ending attached with the same narrow gap.
Read the marks, not just the letters
- روباه گفت: «سلام.»
Which part of the line was spoken aloud?
Show answer +Hide answer −
Only what sits inside «…»: سلامsalâm“hello”. The whole line is “The fox said, ‘Hello.’” - How does the writing show you that a word is somebody’s name?
Show answer +Hide answer −
It does not. Persian has no capital letters, so the sentence around the word is the only clue. - How many words are in آنها?
The gap is narrower than a space.
Show answer +Hide answer −
One: آنهاânhâ“they”, joined by a half-space.