Reading ا، آ، و، ی

Level 1

ا، آ، و and ی help write vowels, but they do not each have only one reading. Learn the whole word.

How It Works

Read ā. In آب, آ writes the initial ā vowel. In باد, ا writes ā after ب. Initial ا does not always mean ā: in اَبر, it supports the short initial a in abr.

Read و and ی in context. In دور, و writes u. In ورزش, it is the consonant v. In شیر, ی writes i; in یار, it is the consonant y. The sound belongs to the word, not to a single universal rule for the letter.

Recognize established spellings. In خواب, ordinary Iranian pronunciation is xāb: the و is not pronounced as v or u. Keep the standard spelling. This is a property of familiar words in this spelling family, not a reason to drop every و after خ.

These are Iranian Persian readings. Do not import another variety’s pronunciation or an Arabic consonant reading simply because the written letters are shared.

Examples (5)

  1. آب

    water

    آ writes initial ā in āb.

  2. اَبر

    cloud

    Initial ا supports the short vowel a in abr.

  3. دور / ورزش

    far / sport

    و writes u in dur and v in varzeš.

  4. شیر / یار

    milk; lion / friend; companion

    ی writes i in šir and y in yār. Context distinguishes the meanings of شیر.

  5. خواب

    sleep; dream

    In common Iranian pronunciation xāb, the written و is silent.

How It Connects

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Reading ا، آ، و، یLevel 1

Learn This First

Use the whole word to choose between vowel and consonant readings of و and ی, and distinguish آ from other initial ا spellings.

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Patterns that build on this one.