LingoDrop
Farsi · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "یا" in Farsi?
Say "yah" — like the "ya" in "yacht" but with a longer, more open vowel, held like the "a" in "father."
yā
One syllable, generally light/unstressed within a sentence since it's a connecting word.
Listen: یا
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
چای یا قهوه میخواهید؟
Chāy yā ghahve mikhāhid?
Do you want tea or coffee?
Listen: چای یا قهوه میخواهید؟
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"Chāy yā ghahve mikhāhid?" (چای یا قهوه میخواهید؟) uses yā exactly like English "or" in a choice question. Note ghahve ("coffee") shows the merged qāf/ghayn "gh" sound in Iranian Persian — ق and غ are pronounced identically, unlike in Arabic.
Where English speakers slip
Because yā ("or") and با (bā, "with") look and sound superficially similar to a beginner's ear, learners sometimes confuse which preposition/conjunction is which — yā always signals a choice between options, never accompaniment.