Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "کفش" in Farsi?

Say "kafsh" to rhyme with English 'raffish' cut short — one syllable, no vowel at the end.

کفش [kæfʃ]

kafsh

Single syllable, so there's no stress placement to worry about — just don't add an extra vowel sound after the final 'sh'.

Listen: کفش

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Sound it out

کف ک is a hard 'k' as in 'kit'; ف is 'f' as in 'fit', with a short vowel like 'u' in 'cup', giving 'kaf'.

ش ش is 'sh' as in 'shoe', closing the word directly with no vowel after it.

Hear it in a sentence

کفش نو خریدم.

Kafsh-e no kharidam.

I bought new shoes.

Listen: کفش نو خریدم.

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"Kafsh-e no kharidam" uses the ezafe -e to attach the adjective نو ('new') to کفش, and kharidam (from خریدن 'to buy') carries the first-person past-tense ending -am, the same personal ending used for possession elsewhere in this set.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers instinctively want to add a vowel after the final 'sh' (saying something like 'kafshe'), but Persian کفش ends crisply on the consonant cluster with no extra vowel sound.