Persian Alphabet: Alef to Zad

Vocabulary flashcards covering the first eighteen letters of the Persian alphabet (Alef through Zad), their visual forms, dot configurations, phonetic values, and special characteristics.

Persian Alphabet Practice Chart (Alef to Zad)

A handwritten reference sheet displaying the first eighteen letters of the Persian alphabet in standard order: Alef (آ / ا), Be (ب), Pe (پ), Te (ت), Se (ث), Jim (ج), Che (چ), He (ح), Khe (خ), Dal (د), Zal (ذ), Re (ر), Ze (ز), Zhe (ژ), Sin (س), Shin (ش), Sad (ص), and Zad (ض).

Alef (آ / ا)

The first letter of the Persian alphabet; written as a tall vertical stroke, either with a hat (maddah, 'آ') to indicate the long vowel sound /ɒː/ or without a hat ('ا') to represent glottal stops and short vowel carriers.

Be (ب)

The second letter of the Persian alphabet; written as a shallow horizontal boat-shaped base with one dot positioned beneath it, representing the voiced bilabial stop /b/ sound.

Pe (پ)

A Persian-specific letter not present in the standard Arabic alphabet; shares the boat-shaped base of Be but is distinguished by three dots positioned beneath it, representing the voiceless bilabial stop /p/ sound.

Te (ت)

The fourth letter of the Persian alphabet; shares the horizontal boat-shaped base with two dots placed above the body, representing the voiceless dental stop /t/ sound.

Se (ث)

The fifth letter of the Persian alphabet; shares the horizontal boat-shaped base with three dots placed in a triangle above it, representing the voiceless alveolar fricative /s/ sound in Persian.

Jim (ج)

The sixth letter of the Persian alphabet; written with a horizontal upper bar and a curved lower belly containing a single central dot, representing the voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/ ('j') sound.

Che (چ)

A Persian-specific letter not found in standard Arabic; shares the curved Jim base shape but contains three dots inside the belly, representing the voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/ ('ch') sound.

He / He-ye Jimi (ح)

The eighth letter of the Persian alphabet; written with the same curved body as Jim and Che but without any dots, representing the voiceless glottal fricative /h/ sound.

Khe (خ)

The ninth letter of the Persian alphabet; shares the curved Jim base shape with a single dot placed above the letter, representing the voiceless velar/uvular fricative /x/ ('kh') sound.

Dal (د)

The tenth letter of the Persian alphabet; a non-connecting letter written as an angular curve resting on the baseline without dots, representing the voiced dental stop /d/ sound.

Zal (ذ)

The eleventh letter of the Persian alphabet; identical in shape to Dal but distinguished by a single dot placed directly above it, representing the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ sound in Persian.

Re (ر)

The twelfth letter of the Persian alphabet; a non-connecting letter formed as a smooth descending stroke curving below the baseline without dots, representing the alveolar tap /r/ sound.

Ze (ز)

The thirteenth letter of the Persian alphabet; identical in shape to Re but marked with a single dot placed above it, representing the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ sound.

Zhe (ژ)

A Persian-specific letter not present in standard Arabic; shares the descending curved shape of Re but is distinguished by three dots placed above it, representing the voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ ('zh') sound.

Sin (س)

The fifteenth letter of the Persian alphabet; written with three small pointed teeth followed by a wide rounded tail descending below the baseline, written without dots, representing the /s/ sound.

Shin (ش)

The sixteenth letter of the Persian alphabet; identical in base shape to Sin with three small teeth and a descending tail, distinguished by three dots placed above the teeth, representing the voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/ ('sh') sound.

Sad (ص)

The seventeenth letter of the Persian alphabet; formed with an initial teardrop/oval loop resting on the line followed by a rounded descending tail, written without dots, representing the /s/ sound.

Zad (ض)

The eighteenth letter of the Persian alphabet; identical in shape to Sad with an initial oval loop and descending tail, distinguished by a single dot placed above the loop, representing the /z/ sound in Persian.

Non-Connecting Letters

Letters in the Persian writing system (such as Alef, Dal, Zal, Re, Ze, and Zhe) that can only connect to a preceding letter from the right, but never attach to a following letter to their left.