Vowel Marking

In Persian writing system, only consonants have a dedicated letter. Vowels and diphthongs are indicated with other means. Vowel marking can be divided into two sections based on vowel length. The long vowels “â”, “î” and “û” are always marked with consonant letters. The short vowels “a”, “e” and “o” are partially marked with consonant letters. They can be precisely marked with diacritics. Overall, the consonants ⟨ آ ⟩, ⟨ ا ⟩, ⟨ ی ⟩, ⟨ و ⟩, ⟨ ه ⟩, the diacritics “zîr” ⟨ ــِـ ⟩, “zebar” ⟨ ـَـ ⟩, “pîš” ⟨ ـُـ ⟩ and the pairs ⟨ ای ⟩, ⟨ او ⟩ are used in vowel marking.

Long Vowel “â”

The vowel “â” is always marked. It is denoted with ⟨ آ ⟩ at word initial and with a bare ⟨ ا ⟩ in all other positions.

Long Vowel “î”

The vowel “î” is always marked. It is denoted with ⟨ ای ⟩ at word initial and with the consonant ⟨ ی ⟩ in all other positions.

Long Vowel “û”

The vowel “û” is always marked. It is denoted with ⟨ او ⟩ at word initial and with the consonant ⟨ و ⟩ in all other positions.

Short Vowel “a”

The vowel “a” is denoted with the consonant ⟨ ه ⟩ at word final. In other positions, it can be denoted by placing the diacritic ⟨ ــَـ ⟩ over the preceding consonant. This diacritic is called زبر (“zebar”) or فتحه (“fathe”).

In standard Iranian Persian, final "a" has transformed into “e”. In standard Afghan and Tajik Persian as well as many dialects inside Iran, final “a” of classical Persian has been preserved:

Short Vowel “e”

The vowel “e” is partially denoted with ⟨ ا ⟩ at word initial and with the consonant ⟨ ه ⟩ at word final. It can be precisely denoted by placing the diacritic ⟨ ــِـ ⟩ below the preceding consonant. This diacritic is called زیر (“zîr”) or کسره (“kasre”).

Short Vowel “o”

The vowel “o” is partially denoted with ⟨ ا ⟩ at word initial and with the consonant ⟨ و ⟩ at word final and sometimes, in medial positions as well. It can be precisely denoted by placing the diacritic ⟨ ــُـ ⟩ over the preceding consonant. This diacritic is called پیش (“pîš”) or ضمه (“zamme”).

Summary

The following table summarizes vowel marking in different word positions.