Ch. 2 - L3 Vowels and Vowel Signs

• Farsi has 3 short vowels: a, e, o
• Vowel sounds are written with the following signs:

One exception of this rule is with the sound ‘o’ occasionally rendered with the letter vâv (و )
For Example, the Number 41 in Persian is written چهل و یک. This number is NOT read as chehel VA yek. It will be read as chehel-o-yek.

Further examples of vowels are:

You won’t find these symbols often as most Farsi speaking people already know how to say the words. Where you do find them is where a word is a foreign word, a name or a word that is being introduced to the reader. In these situations the vowel sounds are indicated to assist the readers to pronounce the word correctly. You may think it's impossible to learn to read without the symbols – take courage, it can be done.

3.1 Exercise
Try to read the following text:
تب بت
Can you see which vowel signs are missing? See if you can add the missing vowel signs.
Please lookup the above words in a dictionary or use http://translate.google.com to translate. For help on using Google Translate please click here.

3.2 Exercise
Write down both Farsi words on a flashcard with the English translation on the reverse side. Perhaps you can add the vowel signs in pencil.

3.3 Exercise
With a partner practice the above flashcards by looking at the English side and guessing the correct Farsi word.

3.4 Exercise
Practice all the words that you know with a Native Speaker.

3.5 Exercise
Without looking at your flash cards, mark all the words you can read in pages 3 to 7 of the Bible Teach Book in Persian.

3.6 Exercise
Write down all the words that you marked in the above exercise and compare them with your flash cards.

Try Supplementary exercise 3 - click here - to get more familiar with the vowel signs.