things you should know about Farsi (not seeb)
  • Farsi is read from right to left
  • there are 32 letters in the alphabet
  • there are more than one form to some consonants: z=4, s=3, gh=2 t=2 each used for different words; so unless you know which one is the correct one to be used, you'll be guessing it
  • c, q, u, w and x have no matching phonetic form - I have replaced capital q with a 'gh' sound and a capital x with a 'zh' sound
  • in formal writing only sounds that have letterforms are 'aa', 'oo' and 'ee' and sometimes 'o'; vowels are only written as guiding small shapes on top or below letterforms as a pedagogy mainly in elementary school;
  • the only time vowels are given a form is if the word begins with a vowel; in that case it is given the same form as 'aa' (a vertical ascending line)
  • unless you know a word and have familiarity with the vocabulary, you will be guessing the vowels when you look at written Farsi (like I do when I look at newspapers and books because of my limited vocabulary)
  • every word is written as if it's a story: the assembled scripted letters have a beginning, middle and end; each letter has different versions of being written depending on its attachment to the right or left of it (again, start on right, end on left)
  • the best way to learn is by observing the dots: for example two dots at the top of a letter can only be 't', three dots at the bottom can only be 'ch' or 'p' and you can familiarize yourself with how 'ch' and 'p' differ
  • calligraphy is an art and practice in Iran that is embedded in the culture; the style of calligraphy used professionally is called "nastaleegh"; poetry and calligraphy have an ancient history; the purpose of the calligraphic/artisitc poems tend to stand closer to an elegant art piece than a legible written text
  • hand written/cursive Farsi can be extremely difficult to read if you are not used to reading handwriting; since letters are connected and are blended into words, it's very difficult to make out the words; two dots are assembled together as a short horizontal line, three dots take the shape of a rounded/circular line
  • there are quite noticeable differences between pronunciations of sounds and vocabulary in Farsi and Arabic; for a major one, Arabic script does not include: g, ch, p, and jh;
  • there are many dialects of Farsi and you can know more about the diaspora on Wikipedia