Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "کوتاه" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce کوتاه in Farsi?

کوتاه is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kuːtɒːh/. It means “short.” Say "koo-TAH" with a long, open "ah" at the end and a light "h" breath to close it — don't drop that final h.

Say "koo-TAH" with a long, open "ah" at the end and a light "h" breath to close it — don't drop that final h.

کوتاه /kuːtɒːh/

kutāh

Stress is on the final syllable, -TĀH; the ه at the end is a real, audible consonant sound (like English "h" in "ahead"), not a silent letter as it often is at the end of English loanwords.

Listen: کوتاه

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Sound it out

کو "k" as in "key" plus a long "oo" as in "food" — hold the vowel a beat longer than you would in English "cook".

تا "t" as in "top" followed by a long, open "ā" like the "a" in "father".

ه A clear, breathy "h" sound, similar to the "h" in "hello" — Persian pronounces this final letter, unlike silent h's in English spelling.

Hear it in a sentence

این خیابان کوتاه است.

In khiābān kutāh ast.

This street is short.

Listen: این خیابان کوتاه است.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"In khiābān kutāh ast" (This street is short) shows the plain demonstrative in ("this") directly modifying khiābān ("street") with no linking word, then kutāh ast closes the sentence the same predicate-adjective-plus-"is" pattern seen throughout this word set.

Where English speakers slip

Because English speakers are used to a silent or barely-there "h" at word endings, they tend to swallow the final ه in kutāh; leaving it audible is what distinguishes kutāh ("short") from a word that would sound cut off mid-syllable to a Persian ear.