Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "مرد" in Farsi?

Sounds almost exactly like English "mard" — rhyme it with "hard" but with a lighter, tapped r, like the r in Spanish "pero".

مرد /mæɾd/

mard

Single syllable, so there's no stress choice to make; just don't let the final d go silent the way it sometimes does in casual American English.

Listen: مرد

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Sound it out

م An ordinary English "m", as in "man".

ر A quick, tapped "r", closer to a Spanish or Italian single r than the English r — the tongue taps once behind the top teeth.

د A plain English "d", fully voiced and released, not swallowed.

Hear it in a sentence

آن مرد پزشک است.

Ān mard pezeshk ast.

That man is a doctor.

Listen: آن مرد پزشک است.

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In "آن مرد پزشک است" ("That man is a doctor"), مرد sits as the subject with هست/است ("is") coming at the very end, since Persian is verb-final. There is no article like "a" — پزشک ("doctor") stands alone before است.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers tend to trill or over-pronounce the ر, making it sound like a Scottish rolled r. In Tehrani Persian it's a single light tap, closer to the American "tt" in "butter" than to any English r sound.