Letters of the Alphabet
| Initial |
Medial |
Final |
Alone |
Romanization
|
| ا |
ـا |
ـا |
ا |
omit (see Note 1)
|
| بـ |
ـبـ |
ـب |
ب |
b
|
| پـ |
ـپـ |
ـپ |
پ |
p
|
| تـ |
ـتـ |
ـت |
ت |
t
|
| ثـ |
ـثـ |
ـث |
ث |
s̱
|
| جـ |
ـجـ |
ـج |
ج |
j
|
| چـ |
ـچـ |
ـچ |
چ |
ch
|
| حـ |
ـحـ |
ـح |
ح |
ḥ
|
| خـ |
ـخـ |
ـخ |
خ |
kh
|
| د |
ـد |
ـد |
د |
d
|
| ذ |
ـذ |
ـذ |
ذ |
ẕ
|
| ر |
ـر |
ـر |
ر |
r
|
| ز |
ـز |
ـز |
ز |
z
|
| ژ |
ـژ |
ـژ |
ژ |
zh
|
| سـ |
ـسـ |
ـس |
س |
s
|
| شـ |
ـشـ |
ـش |
ش |
sh
|
| صـ |
ـصـ |
ـص |
ص |
ṣ
|
| ضـ |
ـضـ |
ـض |
ض |
̤z
|
| طـ |
ـطـ |
ـط |
ط |
ṭ
|
| ظـ |
ـظـ |
ـظ |
ظ |
ẓ
|
| عـ |
ـعـ |
ـع |
ع |
ʿ (ayn)
|
| غـ |
ـغـ |
ـغ |
غ |
gh
|
| فـ |
ـفـ |
ـف |
ف |
f
|
| قـ |
ـقـ |
ـق |
ق |
q
|
| کـ |
ـکـ |
ـک |
ک |
k (see Note 2)
|
| گـ |
ـگـ |
ـگ |
گ |
g (see Note 3)
|
| لـ |
ـلـ |
ـل |
ل |
l
|
| مـ |
ـمـ |
ـم |
م |
m
|
| نـ |
ـنـ |
ـن |
ن |
n
|
| و |
ـو |
ـو |
و |
v (see Note 3)
|
| هـ |
ـهـ |
ـة،ـه |
ة،ه |
h (see Note 4)
|
| یـ |
ـیـ |
ـی |
ی |
y (see Note 3)
|
Vowels and Diphthongs (see Note 5)
| ◌َ |
a |
ا◌َ،آ |
ā (see Note 6) |
ى◌ِ |
ī
|
| ◌ُ |
u |
ى◌َ |
á (see Note 7) |
و َ◌ |
aw
|
| ◌ِ |
i |
و ُ ◌ |
ū |
ى َ |
ay
|
Notes
- For the use of ا (alif) to support ء (hamzah) and ٓ (maddah), see rule 1(a). For the romanization of ء and ٓ, see rules 4 and 5 respectively. For the use of ا (alif) to represent the long vowel romanized ā, see the table of vowels and diphthongs, and rule 1(b).
- Final ک and گ (often written ک and گ) may have the form ك, without the distinguishing upper stroke or strokes. The two letters are always distinguished in romanization.
- For other values of و and ی, see the table of vowels and diphthongs, and rules 2, 3, and 7.
- ة (dotted ه) when used as an alternative to ت is romanized t.
- Vowel points are not printed on Library of Congress cards.
- See rules 1(b) and 5.
- See rule 3(d).
RULES OF APPLICATION
Letters Which May Be Romanized in Different Ways Depending on Their Context
| 1. |
ا (alif) is used:
| (a) |
As a support for ء (hamzah) and ٓ (maddah). In these cases it is not represented in romanization. See rules 4 and 5.
|
| (b) |
To indicate the long vowel romanized ā. For the use of ا in tanvīn, see rule 6.
|
|
| 2. |
و is used to represent:
| (a) |
The consonant romanized v.
| |
varzish |
ورزش
|
|
davā |
دوا
|
|
sarv |
سرو
|
Silent و following خ is retained in romanization.
| |
khvāstan |
خواستن
|
|
khvud |
خود
|
|
| (b) |
The long ū-vowel (and short u-vowel in some monosyllables) is romanized ū.
|
| (c) |
The diphthong romanized aw.
When the diphthong precedes a consonantal و, the combination is romanized avv. See rule 7.
و may be used as a support for ء (hamzah); in this case it is not represented in romanization. See rule 4.
|
|
| 3. |
ی is used to represent:
| (a) |
The consonant romanized y.
| |
yār |
یار
|
|
siyāh |
سیاه
|
|
pāy |
پای
|
|
| (b) |
The long vowel romanized ī.
|
| (c) |
The diphthong romanized ay.
|
| (d) |
The final long vowel romanized á.
For the use of ی (y) as a mark of iz̤āfah, see rule 8(c).
ی in the medial forms یـ, ـیـ, without dots, may be used as a support for ء (hamzah); in this case ی is not represented in romanization. See rule 4 below.
|
|
Orthographic Symbols Other than Letters and Vowel Signs
The signs listed below are frequently omitted in Persian writing and printing; their presence must then be inferred. They are represented in romanization according to the following rules:
| 4. |
ء (hamzah)
| (a) |
When initial, ء is not represented in romanization.
|
| (b) |
When medial or final, ء is romanized ʼ (alif) except as noted in (c) and (d) below.
| |
muʼassir |
مؤثر
|
|
khulafāʼ |
خلفاء
|
| |
pāʼīn |
پائین
|
|
| (c) |
When used as a mark of iz̤āfah, ء is romanized -ʼi.
| |
āstānah-ʼi dar |
آستانۀ در
|
|
| (d) |
When used to mark the indefinite article, ء is romanized ʼi.
|
|
| 5. |
ٓ (maddah)
| (a) |
Initial آ is romanized ā.
| |
āb |
آب
|
|
Kullīyat al-Ādāb |
کلیة الآداب
|
|
| (b) |
Medial آ, when it represents the phonetic combination ʼā, is so romanized.
| |
maʼāsir |
مآثر
|
|
Daryāʼābādī |
دریاآبادی
|
|
| (c) |
ٓ is otherwise not represented in romanization.
| |
girdāvarandah |
گردآورنده
|
|
|
| 6. |
Tanvīn, written ٌ◌, ٍ◌, ً◌, ً◌), which occurs chiefly in Arabic words, is romanized un, in, an, and an, respectively.
|
| 7. |
ّ◌ (shaddah or tashdīd) is represented by doubling the letter or digraph concerned.
| |
khurram |
خرّم
|
|
avval |
اوّل
|
|
bachchah |
بچّه
|
|
Khayyām |
خیّام
|
Note the exceptional case where ّ◌ is written over و and ی to represent the combination of long vowel plus consonant.
| |
nashrīyāt |
نشریّات
|
|
qūvah |
قوّه
|
|
Grammatical Structure as It Affects Romanization
| 8. |
Iz̤āfah. When two words are associated in the relation known as iz̤āfah, the first (the muz̤āf) is followed by an additional letter or syllable in romanization. This is added according to the following rules:
| (a) |
When the muz̤āf bears no special mark of iz̤āfah, it is followed by -i.
| |
dar-i bāgh |
در باغ
|
|
qālī-i Īrān |
قالی ایران
|
|
khānah-i buzurg |
خانه بزرگ
|
|
| (b) |
When the muz̤āf is marked by the addition of ء, it is followed by -ʼi.
| |
qālī-ʼi Īrān |
قالئ ایران
|
|
khānah-ʼi buzurg |
خانۀ بزرگ
|
|
| (c) |
When the muz̤āf is marked by the addition of ی, it is followed by -yi.
| |
rū-yi zamīn |
روی زمین
|
|
Daryā-yi Khazar |
دریای خزر
|
|
khānah-yi buzurg |
ی بزرگخانه
|
|
| (d) |
Iz̤āfah is represented in romanization of personal names only when expressly identified in the Persian script.
|
|
Affixes and Compounds
| 9. |
Affixes.
| (a) |
When the affix and the word with which it is connected grammatically are written separately in Persian, the two are separated in romanization by a single prime ( ʹ ). See also 12(b) below.
| |
khānahʹhā |
خانه ها
|
|
khānahʹam |
خانه ام
|
|
khānahʹī |
خانه ای
|
|
mīʹravam |
ی روم
|
| but |
mīravam |
میروم
|
|
bihʹgū |
به گو
|
|
barʹrasīhā |
بر رسیها
|
|
Kāẓimʹzādah |
کاظم زاده
|
| but |
Kāẓimzādah |
کاظمزاده
|
|
| (b) |
The Arabic article al is separated by a hyphen, in romanization, from the word to which it is prefixed.
| |
dār al-muʻallimīn |
دار المعلمین
|
|
ʻAbd al-Ḥusayn |
عبد الحسین
|
|
|
| 10. |
Compounds. When the elements of a compound (except a compound personal name) are written separately in Persian, they are separated in romanization by a single prime ( ʹ ). See also 12(b) below.
| |
marīz̤ʹkhānah |
مریض خانه
|
| but |
marīz̤khānah |
مریضخانه
|
|
Shāhʹnāmah |
شاه نامه
|
| but |
Shāhnāmah |
شاهنامه
|
Note the treatment of compound personal names:
| |
Ghulām ʻAlī |
غلامعلی or غلام علی
|
|
Shāh Jahān |
شاهجهان or شاه جهان
|
|
Ibn Abī Ṭālib |
ابن ابیطالب or ابن ابي طالب
|
|
Orthography of Persian in Romanization
| 11. |
Capitalization.
| (a) |
Rules for the capitalization of English are followed, except that the Arabic article al is lowercased in all positions.
|
| (b) |
Diacritics are used with both capital and lowercase letters.
|
|
| 12. |
The single prime ( ʹ ) is used:
| (a) |
To separate two letters representing two distinct consonantal sounds, when the combination might otherwise be read as a digraph.
|
| (b) |
To mark the use of a letter in its final form when it occurs in the middle of a word. See also rules 9(a) and 10 above.
| |
rāhʹhā |
راه ها
|
|
Qāyimʹmaqāmī |
قا می مقا می
|
|
Bihʹāzīn |
به آذین
|
|
|
| 13. |
Foreign words in a Persian context, including Arabic words, are romanized according to the rules for Persian. For short vowels not indicated in the script, the Persian vowels nearest the original pronunciation of the word are supplied in romanization.
|
| 14. |
Dictionaries.
In romanizing Persian, the Library of Congress has found it necessary to consult dictionaries as an appendage to the romanization tables, primarily for the purpose of supplying vowels. For Persian, the principal dictionary consulted is:
M. Muʼīn. Farhang-i Fārsī-i mutavassit.
|
