Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "دقیقه" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce دقیقه in Farsi?

دقیقه is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /dæɣiːˈɣe/. It means “minute.” Say "duh-GHEE-gheh," using that raspy, back-of-throat "gh" sound (like gargling lightly) for both ق sounds in the middle.

Say "duh-GHEE-gheh," using that raspy, back-of-throat "gh" sound (like gargling lightly) for both ق sounds in the middle.

دقیقه /dæɣiːˈɣe/

daghighe

Stress falls on the second syllable, -قی- ("-ghi-"), with the final -ه trailing off short and unstressed, as usual for words ending in that letter.

Listen: دقیقه

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Sound it out

د A plain "d" as in "dog," plus a short "a" — unstressed.

قی "Ghi," the raspy uvular "gh" sound (like غ, made at the back of the throat) followed by a long "ee" — this carries the main stress.

قه A second, quicker "gh" sound followed by a short, unstressed "e" — note both letters here are ق, so the same raspy sound repeats twice in one word.

Hear it in a sentence

پنج دقیقه صبر کنید.

Panj daghighe sabr konid.

Wait five minutes.

Listen: پنج دقیقه صبر کنید.

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In پنج دقیقه صبر کنید, پنج دقیقه means "five minutes," with the number پنج ("five") directly preceding دقیقه, just as with ساعت — Persian doesn't pluralize the noun after a number. صبر کنید ("wait," formal/plural imperative) is a compound verb built from صبر ("patience") plus کردن ("to do"), so صبر کردن literally means "to be patient," idiomatically "to wait."

Where English speakers slip

Because the word has two ق letters, English speakers often pronounce only the first one with the correct raspy sound and let the second soften into a plain "g" or get skipped — but both should keep that same throaty quality. It's also easy to under-stress the middle syllable and flatten the word's rhythm; keep the emphasis clearly on -GHI-.