Farsi · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "آن" in Farsi?

Say "ahn," with the long, open vowel of "father" followed by "n" — one syllable, and often shortened to "oon" in casual speech.

آن /ɒːn/

ān

One syllable, carrying normal demonstrative stress; note that colloquial Tehrani speech frequently swaps the vowel toward "un" (/uːn/) instead of the formal ān.

Listen: آن

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Sound it out

آ A long "ā" vowel, like "a" in "father," marked with the madd sign at the start of the word.

ن Like English "n" in "non."

Hear it in a sentence

آن ماشین قشنگ است.

Ān māshin ghashang ast.

That car is beautiful.

Listen: آن ماشین قشنگ است.

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"Ān māshin ghashang ast" (آن ماشین قشنگ است) uses ān ("that") as a demonstrative before the noun māshin ("car"), the mirror image of in ("this"). Note ghashang contains the merged ق/غ "gh" sound characteristic of Iranian Persian, distinct from a hard English "g."

Where English speakers slip

Because formal writing uses ān but everyday speech usually says un, learners who only study written Persian can be caught off guard hearing native speakers say un māshin instead — both are "correct," but which one to use depends on whether you're speaking casually or writing/speaking formally.