Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "مادربزرگ" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce مادربزرگ in Farsi?

مادربزرگ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mɑː.dær.bo.zorg/. It means “grandmother.” Say "MAH-dar-bo-ZORG" — literally "big mother", a compound word where the second half carries the main stress.

Say "MAH-dar-bo-ZORG" — literally "big mother", a compound word where the second half carries the main stress.

مادربزرگ /mɑː.dær.bo.zorg/

mādar-bozorg

In this compound, مادر keeps its own inherent first-syllable prominence, but the primary stress of the whole word falls on the last syllable of بزرگ ("big"), as is typical for Persian compounds.

Listen: مادربزرگ

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Sound it out

مادر "Mother" — pronounced MAH-dar, exactly as the standalone word (see مادر above).

بزرگ "Big/great" — pronounced bo-ZORG, with the ز as English "z" and the stress on the final syllable, which carries the main stress of the whole compound.

Hear it in a sentence

مادربزرگم قصه می‌گوید.

Mādarbozorgam ghesse migoyad.

My grandmother tells stories.

Listen: مادربزرگم قصه می‌گوید.

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"مادربزرگم قصه می‌گوید" ("My grandmother tells stories") uses قصه گفتن ("to tell a story/tale"), and the possessive -am attaches to the end of the whole compound مادربزرگ, not to مادر alone.

Where English speakers slip

Learners often pause awkwardly between مادر and بزرگ as if they were two separate words. Say it as one smooth compound, with بزرگ's final syllable carrying the strongest stress of the whole word: mādar-bo-ZORG.