Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "نان" in Farsi?

Q: How do you pronounce نان in Farsi?

نان is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /nɒːn/. It means “bread.” Say "nahn" with a long, open "ah" vowel held for a beat, like the "a" in British "father" — not the short, flat English "nan" (grandma) sound.

Say "nahn" with a long, open "ah" vowel held for a beat, like the "a" in British "father" — not the short, flat English "nan" (grandma) sound.

نان /nɒːn/

nān

One syllable, so there's no internal stress contrast; just hold the ā vowel long rather than clipping it short.

Listen: نان

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Sound it out

ن n, exactly like English "n" in "no."

ا ā, a long open "ah" like the "a" in "father," held noticeably longer than an English short vowel.

ن n again, closing the word — same as the first letter.

Hear it in a sentence

نان تازه را خریدم.

Nān-e tāze rā kharidam.

I bought the fresh bread.

Listen: نان تازه را خریدم.

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"نان تازه را خریدم" (Nān-e tāze rā kharidam) shows the ezafe link -e between نان and its adjective تازه ("fresh"), turning "bread fresh" into "fresh bread," and then را marks نانِ تازه as the direct object of خریدم ("I bought"). Word order stays subject-less here since "I" is folded into the verb ending -am.

Where English speakers slip

Learners tend to shorten the vowel to sound like the English word "nan" (as in grandmother, or the flatbread), which makes it sound clipped and can even blur into نه ("no"). Stretch the ā the way you would in "father," not the flat "a" of English "cat" or "nan."