Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "خواهر" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce خواهر in Farsi?

خواهر is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /xɑː.hær/. It means “sister.” Say "KHAH-har", with a raspy "kh" (like the "ch" in Scottish "loch") and stress on the first syllable — the و in خواهر is silent, a spelling relic.

Say "KHAH-har", with a raspy "kh" (like the "ch" in Scottish "loch") and stress on the first syllable — the و in خواهر is silent, a spelling relic.

خواهر /xɑː.hær/

khāhar

Another member of the first-syllable-stress kinship group (with مادر, پدر, برادر, پسر, دختر); stress falls firmly on khā, not har.

Listen: خواهر

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Sound it out

خ A raspy, throat-scraping "kh", like the ch in Scottish "loch" or German "Bach" — not the soft English "h".

وا The و here is silent (a historical spelling holdover); together و+ا simply produce the long "ā" vowel, like "ah" in "father".

ه ر A plain "h" followed by a light tapped "r", said quickly and unstressed: "-har".

Hear it in a sentence

خواهرم در لندن درس می‌خواند.

Khāharam dar London dars mikhānad.

My sister studies in London.

Listen: خواهرم در لندن درس می‌خواند.

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"خواهرم در لندن درس می‌خواند" ("My sister studies in London") uses درس خواندن literally "to read lessons", the standard Persian compound verb for "to study".

Where English speakers slip

Two traps at once: learners either pronounce the silent و as a "w" sound (saying "khwā-har"), or they soften خ into a plain English "h". Neither is right — skip the "w" entirely, and give خ real rasp in the throat.