Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "یک" in Farsi?

Say "yek" — the 'y' as in 'yes' plus a short 'e' (like the e in 'bet') and a crisp 'k'. One syllable.

یک /jek/

yek

Only one syllable, so there's no stress choice to make — the whole word carries equal weight.

Listen: یک

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Sound it out

ی The consonant 'y', exactly like the 'y' at the start of English 'yes' or 'yellow'.

ک The consonant 'k', same as English 'k'. A short, unwritten 'e' vowel sits between the two letters, giving 'yek'.

Hear it in a sentence

یک کتاب دارم.

Yek ketāb dāram.

I have one book.

Listen: یک کتاب دارم.

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"Yek ketāb dāram" (I have one book) follows Persian's subject-object-verb order, with the verb dāram ("I have") landing at the end. Note that ketāb ("book") stays singular even though it's counted — Persian does not add a plural ending after a number.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers often add a plural ending to the noun after a number, saying something like "yek ketāb-hā." In Persian, nouns stay in their singular form after any counting word, so it's always "yek ketāb," never "yek ketāb-hā."