# Persian romanization table

Persian
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) |
| ◌َ | 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. dānā دانا |
| ‬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. dūr دور chūn چون tū تو (c) The diphthong romanized aw. Firdawsī فردوسی 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. Īrān ایران qālī قالی (c) The diphthong romanized ay. ayvān ایوان ray ری (d) The final long vowel romanized á. Muṣṭafá مصطفیَ 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. khānahʼi خانۀ |
| 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 بزرگ​خانه (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. marzʹhā مرزها (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. |