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Introduction
The Persian alphabet is one of the oldest, most beautiful writing systems in the world. It is so
beautiful that Persian calligraphy (see Figure 1 as well as the front cover) is considered an art
unto itself, called naghashi-khat, and is displayed in homes and to decorate important buildings
like mosques and palaces. It is beyond the scope of this workbook to teach such a delicate skill;
it takes entire lifetimes to become a true proficient. But this basic introduction to theindividual letters will open doors for you that would be closed otherwise, such as learning Farsi,
Arabic, or Urdu, or just more fully appreciating the cultures associated with these languages.
Farsi (the Persian Language) has 32 letters and is written from right to left as opposed to left to
right like in English, and so requires a little time before you will feel very comfortable.
Additionally, the alphabet is only written in cursive, never print, so each letter may have a
different form based on where it is in a word or if it is isolated. Parts of the letter will go above
the main line of text, and parts below; these are called ascenders and descenderswill be
referred to as such throughout this workbook. The last term you need to is connecting
letter. A connecting letter is one which connects to the letter that follows. This is important
because, while all letters may be connected to the letter before them, they may not be
connected to the letters after them. Some of the letters would look identical to other letters if
you connected them when you werent supposed to.
Figure 1: Naghashi-khat
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Materials
Many people find that graph paper is very helpful in learning
the precise shapes of the letters when they first start out, and
your writing will look much more Persian if you have a flat -
tipped calligraphy pen. You may do just as well, however, with
regular paper, lined or unlined, and a normal ball-point pen.
This workbook actually provides practice space for youyou
just have to supply the writing implement.
Process
For each letter, you will begin at the right margin and work
your way left. If you have a calligraphy pen, hold it so the flat
end is at a 45 degree angle ( / ) to the lines on the page. It
will feel strange for a while because youll be pushing the nib
instead of pulling, but youll get used to it. When each new
letter is introduced, you will practice it individually, and at the
end of the book there is space to practice linking the letters.
When you are done, you should be equipped to look words up in a Farsi dictionary!
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Alif: This ascender is the same at the
beginning of a word as it is when it stands
alone. It is non-connecting. For its stand-
alone and initial positions, start at the top of
the line and draw your pen straight down. For
its medial and final positions, draw from the
previous letter, and then curve up.
Be: Be neither ascends nor descends. It sits
on the line and the dot goes just below the
line. Give it a simple hook in its initial position
is, and draw the medial position like a bottomtooth. Be sure to place the dot under the
tooth in the medial position, and dont go
below the line with bein the final position.
Pe: Pe is identical to be except that it has
three dots instead of one. Its important to
note that these three dots are frequentlywritten as a v or even a circle when writing
fast.
Te: Again, teis identical to beexcept that its
two dots are above the letter. The two dots
are written as a short dash when writing fast.
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Se: Form this letter the same way as the
previous three letters, but with three dots
above it.
Jim: Beginjimwith a left-to-right tilty, then a
curve downward toward the right like a fish hook.
For its word-initial position, begin with the same
tilty, but then go straight left along the line toconnect to the next letter. Its medial position,
draw left, then right, the left again to connect. It
often looks like a zigzag when written quickly.
Add dots under the line after the word is written.
Che: Cheis identical tojimexcept that it has
three dots instead of one. Again, note that
these three dots are frequently written as av or even a circle when writing fast.
He: Again, he is identical to jim and che
except that it has no dots.
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Khe: Form this letter the same way as the
previous three letters, but with one dot above
it.
Dal: Dalis a non-connector that neither
ascends nor descends. Itslike an italicized, small
caps L written backwards, with just a little hook
to finish it off. Because its a non-connector, itsinitial position is the same as its isolated on, and
its medial position is the same as it final one.
Zal: Write this letter the same as daland add
a dot above it.
Re: Reis a descender, and when you write it,
give it a nice round curve to the left. Some
people write it as a straight line at a forty-five
degree angle, but thats a modern style and
doesnt have that classis look that most people
go for when writing this language. Reis a non-
connector.
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Ze:Write this letter the same as reand add a
dot above it.
Zhe: Write this letter the same as reand add
three dots above it. When writing this letter
quickly, the dots often become a ^ or a
circle, although the circle is less common.
Sin: Write sin like a backwards w with a big
hook on the end that descends below the line.
When written quickly, this letter oftenbecomes a squiggly line, or even just an extra
long, straight line. When starting out, though,
make sure to maintain all three teeth.
Shin: Write shin the same as sin, but with
three dots above it.
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Sad: Start by going right, and then loop
around to the left, and finally descend below
the line with a hook. In its medial position,
you have a straight line coming left into the
loop, then up and right, and finally back down
to the line going left. It frequently looks like a
right leaning loop or a cursive e.
Zad: Write zad the same as sadwith a dot
over it.
Ta: Start tawith a loop just like in sad, but
dont add the hook. The vertical ascender is
added after the whole word is written just likedots are.
Za: Write zathe same as tawith a dot over
it.
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Ain: Write this letter like a lowercase c
with a bigger c below the line. The initial
position omits the descending, bigger hook,
and its medial position is like a pointed loop.
The point is important because it will get
confused with fewithout it.
Gain: Writegainthe same as ainwith a dot
over it. The point is important with this letter
because it will get confused with fewithout it.
Fe: Fe starts with a little loop leaning to the
left, and then a straight line that does not
descend going left. Write the medial positionlike a little loop, and do not let the hook
descend in the final position.
Qaf: Qaf descends below the line in its
isolated and final positions, but otherwise is
just like fewith two dots instead of one.
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Kaf: In its initial position, this letter is like a
backwards capitol L with a little 2 inside.
In its initial, medial, and final positions, it looks
a lot like dal, except that its a connector, and
it has an angled ascender that is added after
the entire word is written. Some people make
this ascender quite long for a stylized effect.
Gaf: Gaf is written in pretty much the same
way as kaf, except that it doesnt have a little
2 in is isolated form, and it has a second
angled ascender.
Lam: Lam is an ascender, descender, and
connector, like a big J in its isolatedand final
positions. Write it just like a cursive,lowercase L in its initial and medial positions.
Mim: Mim has a little loop, and then
descends below the line. In its medial position,
the loop hangs down, the opposite way the
loop in feand qafgo.
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Nun: Draw nun like a nest that descends a
little below the line with an egg in it.
Vav: Drawvavlike a big comma with a loop
on the top. This letter does not connect to
the following letters.
He: Draw helike a counterclockwise loop in
its isolated position. Draw it the same way in
the initial position, but curve down throughthe inside of the loop to move on to the next
letter. In its medial position, draw it like a
figure eight which dips below and then goes
above the line. Final he is a loop like a little
snake head.
Ye: Ye is like a slanty s which descends
below the line in its isolate and final positions.
Initially and medially, it looks just like bewith
two dots below instead of one.
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Practice
As you practice linking letters to form
words, draw the dots or lines that
arent part of the initial pen stroke
after the whole word is written. This
is like dotting the is and crossing the
ts when writing in English. When you
become good at writing, use paper
without lines. Most people write as if
each word were on its own, slanted
line, so it starts looking like the
writing in Figure 2.
aalefbyeh Frsi .
the Persian alphabet.mrik.
America.kabaabeh barreh.
America.psport.passport.
jorj.George.dandn.tooth.zhenerl.
general .shirz.Shiraz (city name) .mehmn.
guest .
Figure 2: Natural Handwriting