Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "کلاه" in Farsi?

Say "ko-LAH", with the second syllable stressed and a clearly pronounced 'h' at the end.

کلاه [ko.ˈlɒːh]

kolāh

Stress falls on the final syllable -lāh; the closing ه must be audibly pronounced, not dropped.

Listen: کلاه

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Sound it out

کُ ک is a hard 'k'; the short 'o' after it sounds like the 'o' in British 'hot'.

لا ل is a clear 'l' as in 'let'; ا is long 'ā' like 'father'.

ه ه is a plain, audible 'h' as in 'hat' — never silent, unlike a final 'h' in many English spellings.

Hear it in a sentence

کلاه گرمی می‌خواهم.

Kolāh-e garmi mikhāham.

I want a warm hat.

Listen: کلاه گرمی می‌خواهم.

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"Kolāh-e garmi mikhāham" links کلاه to its adjective گرم ('warm') with the ezafe -e, and adds the indefinite -i suffix to make گرمی ('a warm one'). می‌خواهم (mikhāham, 'I want') is the present tense of خواستن, one of Persian's most common everyday verbs.

Where English speakers slip

The most common mistake is dropping the final ه, pronouncing the word like 'kolā'; in careful Iranian Persian that ه is a real, audible 'h' sound and should not be swallowed.