Persian phonology
Early New Persian Dari Tajiki Western Persian Example Tajik Romanization English
/ a / / a / / a / / æ / شب шаб šab night
/ aː / / ɒ̝ː / / ɔ / / ɒː / باد бод bâd wind
/ i / / e / / ɪ / / e / دل дил dil heart
/ iː / / iː / / ɪ / / iː / شیر шир šîr milk
/ eː / / e̞ː / / e̞ / / iː / شیر шер šer lion
/aj/ /aj/ /aj/ /ej/ کی кай kay when
/ u / / o / / ʊ / / o / گل гул gul flower
/ uː / / uː / / ʊ / / uː / نور нур nûr light
/ oː / / ö̞ː / / ɵ / / uː / روز рӯз roz day
/aw/ /aw/ /av/ /ow/ نو нав naw new
The Persian language has between six and eight vowel phonemes and twenty-six consonant phonemes. It features contrastive stress and syllable-final consonant clusters.