Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "کسی" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce کسی in Farsi?

کسی is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kæˈsiː/. It means “someone.” Say "kuh-SEE," with the stress and a longer, clearer vowel on the second syllable.

Say "kuh-SEE," with the stress and a longer, clearer vowel on the second syllable.

کسی /kæˈsiː/

kasi

Like چیزی, the stress lands on the final -ی ("-si"), the indefinite suffix, not on the first syllable.

Listen: کسی

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Sound it out

کس "Kas," meaning "person" — a hard "k" as in "kite," a short "a" as in "cup," and a plain "s."

ی The indefinite "-i" suffix again, pronounced as a clear, held "ee," turning "person" into "a person / someone."

Hear it in a sentence

کسی در می‌زند.

Kasi dar mizanad.

Someone is knocking at the door.

Listen: کسی در می‌زند.

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In کسی در می‌زند, کسی is the subject meaning "someone," and در می‌زند is a compound verb literally "hits the door," idiomatically meaning "is knocking." This is a good example of a Persian compound verb (نور + فعل construction) where the everyday meaning — knocking — isn't obvious from a literal word-by-word translation, so it's worth memorizing در زدن as a unit meaning "to knock."

Where English speakers slip

English speakers sometimes stress the first syllable, saying "KA-si" like the start of the English name "Cassie," but Persian stresses the second syllable. It also helps to remember کسی is grammatically like a pronoun (used as subject or object) while کس alone is rarely used by itself in everyday speech.