Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "کیف پول" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce کیف پول in Farsi?

کیف پول is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written [kiːf.e ˈpuːl]. It means “wallet.” Say "keef-eh POOL" — three beats, with پول getting the main stress at the end.

Say "keef-eh POOL" — three beats, with پول getting the main stress at the end.

کیف پول [kiːf.e ˈpuːl]

kif-e pul

The compound's main stress lands on پول, the final element; the ezafe -e in the middle is a quick, unstressed linking vowel.

Listen: کیف پول

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Sound it out

کیف ک is a hard 'k'; ی is a long 'ee' vowel; ف is 'f' — together 'keef', just like the standalone word for 'bag'.

پول پ is 'p' as in 'pot'; و here is a long 'oo' vowel like 'moon'; ل is a clear 'l' — 'pool', close to the sound of the English word 'pool'.

Hear it in a sentence

کیف پولم خالی است.

Kif-e pul-am khāli ast.

My wallet is empty.

Listen: کیف پولم خالی است.

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"Kif-e pul-am khāli ast" attaches the possessive -am to the very end of the whole compound phrase, after پول rather than after کیف, because کیف پول ('money bag') functions as a single unit internally linked by its own ezafe -e; خالی است ('is empty') again places است, the verb 'to be', at the very end of the sentence.

Where English speakers slip

Because کیف پول is two written words joined by an unwritten ezafe -e, learners often forget to pronounce that connecting -e, or mistakenly attach the possessive -am right after کیف instead of after the whole compound, saying 'kif-am-e pul' instead of the correct 'kif-e pul-am'.