Table of Contents
Getting Started with Persian Numbers
In this chapter you learn how to count from 0 to 100 in Persian. You will see the numbers in Persian script, in a helpful Latin transcription, and in English. Focus on recognizing the shapes and sounds. Exact pronunciation rules are explained in other chapters, so here we keep them simple.
Remember: Persian is written from right to left. In this chapter we usually show items in this order: Persian, transcription, English.
Persian numerals and number words are essential building blocks. Learn 0–10 very well, because they appear inside almost all larger numbers.
Numbers 0 to 10
These are the most basic numbers. Memorize them until you can say them without thinking.
Zero:
۰ / صفر / sefr / zero
One to ten:
۱ / یک / yek / one
۲ / دو / do / two
۳ / سه / se / three
۴ / چهار / chahâr / four
۵ / پنج / panj / five
۶ / شش / shesh / six
۷ / هفت / haft / seven
۸ / هشت / hasht / eight
۹ / نه / noh / nine
۱۰ / ده / dah / ten
Notice that Persian has its own numeral symbols: ۰ ۱ ۲ ۳ ۴ ۵ ۶ ۷ ۸ ۹. You will see these often in real texts, shop signs, and prices.
Learn both the number words (like یک, دو, سه) and the numeral symbols (۱, ۲, ۳).
Numbers 11 to 19
Numbers from 11 to 19 in Persian are special forms. You must memorize each one. Later you will recognize some patterns, but at A1 it is fine just to learn them as separate words.
۱۱ / یازده / yâzdah / eleven
۱۲ / دوازده / davâzdah / twelve
۱۳ / سیزده / sizdah / thirteen
۱۴ / چهارده / chahârdah / fourteen
۱۵ / پانزده / pâhnzdah / fifteen
۱۶ / شانزده / shânzdah / sixteen
۱۷ / هفده / hefdah / seventeen
۱۸ / هجده / hejdah / eighteen
۱۹ / نوزده / nuzdah / nineteen
Number 10 is ده / dah. You can hear ده at the end of all these words.
Tens: 20, 30, 40, …, 100
Now learn the main “tens” numbers. These are the base for building almost all numbers up to 100.
۲۰ / بیست / bist / twenty
۳۰ / سی / si / thirty
۴۰ / چهل / chehel / forty
۵۰ / پنجاه / panjâh / fifty
۶۰ / شصت / shast / sixty
۷۰ / هفتاد / haftâd / seventy
۸۰ / هشتاد / hashtâd / eighty
۹۰ / نود / navad / ninety
۱۰۰ / صد / sad / one hundred
The number 100 appears in different forms in more advanced Persian, but at A1 the basic and very common form is صد / sad.
Memorize all tens: بیست, سی, چهل, پنجاه, شصت, هفتاد, هشتاد, نود, صد.
Building Numbers Between the Tens
Persian uses a very simple pattern to form numbers between tens, for example 21, 35, 48, and so on.
The pattern is:
$$
\text{tens} + \text{ و } + \text{units}
$$
The word و / va / means “and”.
So English “twenty and one” is:
بیست و یک / bist o yek / 21
Note that in everyday speech, و is often pronounced like “o” and written in transcription here as “o”.
Formula for numbers between 21 and 99:
$$
\text{tens} + \text{ و } + \text{unit}
$$
Example: بیست و سه = ۲۰ + و + ۳ = 23
Example Numbers 21–29
Here is the full set of numbers from 21 to 29 to show the pattern clearly.
۲۱ / بیست و یک / bist o yek / twenty‑one
۲۲ / بیست و دو / bist o do / twenty‑two
۲۳ / بیست و سه / bist o se / twenty‑three
۲۴ / بیست و چهار / bist o chahâr / twenty‑four
۲۵ / بیست و پنج / bist o panj / twenty‑five
۲۶ / بیست و شش / bist o shesh / twenty‑six
۲۷ / بیست و هفت / bist o haft / twenty‑seven
۲۸ / بیست و هشت / bist o hasht / twenty‑eight
۲۹ / بیست و نه / bist o noh / twenty‑nine
You can now already say your age, a price, or a date in the twenties.
More Examples with Different Tens
The structure is the same for every tens number from 30 to 90.
Thirty plus units:
۳۱ / سی و یک / si o yek / thirty‑one
۳۵ / سی و پنج / si o panj / thirty‑five
۳۹ / سی و نه / si o noh / thirty‑nine
Forty plus units:
۴۱ / چهل و یک / chehel o yek / forty‑one
۴۴ / چهل و چهار / chehel o chahâr / forty‑four
۴۸ / چهل و هشت / chehel o hasht / forty‑eight
Fifty plus units:
۵۱ / پنجاه و یک / panjâh o yek / fifty‑one
۵۷ / پنجاه و هفت / panjâh o haft / fifty‑seven
Sixty plus units:
۶۲ / شصت و دو / shast o do / sixty‑two
۶۹ / شصت و نه / shast o noh / sixty‑nine
Seventy plus units:
۷۳ / هفتاد و سه / haftâd o se / seventy‑three
Eighty plus units:
۸۶ / هشتاد و شش / hashtâd o shesh / eighty‑six
Ninety plus units:
۹۹ / نود و نه / navad o noh / ninety‑nine
With these examples, you can now build any number from 21 to 99.
Everyday Uses of Numbers 0–100
You already know enough numbers for many real situations.
Giving your age:
من بیست و سه ساله هستم.
man bist o se sâle hastam.
I am twenty‑three years old.
Saying a phone digit clearly:
صفر، هفت، دو، پنج.
sefr, haft, do, panj.
0, 7, 2, 5.
Saying how many items:
سه کتاب.
se ketâb.
three books.
You will learn more grammar for these sentences in other chapters. For now, focus on recognizing and producing the correct numbers.
Practice counting aloud from 0 to 20, then by tens to 100, then choose random numbers and build them with the pattern:
$$
\text{tens} + \text{ و } + \text{units}
$$
Vocabulary Table
| English | Persian (script) | Transcription |
|---|---|---|
| zero | صفر | sefr |
| 0 | ۰ | sefr |
| one | یک | yek |
| 1 | ۱ | yek |
| two | دو | do |
| 2 | ۲ | do |
| three | سه | se |
| 3 | ۳ | se |
| four | چهار | chahâr |
| 4 | ۴ | chahâr |
| five | پنج | panj |
| 5 | ۵ | panj |
| six | شش | shesh |
| 6 | ۶ | shesh |
| seven | هفت | haft |
| 7 | ۷ | haft |
| eight | هشت | hasht |
| 8 | ۸ | hasht |
| nine | نه | noh |
| 9 | ۹ | noh |
| ten | ده | dah |
| 10 | ۱۰ | dah |
| eleven | یازده | yâzdah |
| twelve | دوازده | davâzdah |
| thirteen | سیزده | sizdah |
| fourteen | چهارده | chahârdah |
| fifteen | پانزده | pâhnzdah |
| sixteen | شانزده | shânzdah |
| seventeen | هفده | hefdah |
| eighteen | هجده | hejdah |
| nineteen | نوزده | nuzdah |
| twenty | بیست | bist |
| 20 | ۲۰ | bist |
| thirty | سی | si |
| 30 | ۳۰ | si |
| forty | چهل | chehel |
| 40 | ۴۰ | chehel |
| fifty | پنجاه | panjâh |
| 50 | ۵۰ | panjâh |
| sixty | شصت | shast |
| 60 | ۶۰ | shast |
| seventy | هفتاد | haftâd |
| 70 | ۷۰ | haftâd |
| eighty | هشتاد | hashtâd |
| 80 | ۸۰ | hashtâd |
| ninety | نود | navad |
| 90 | ۹۰ | navad |
| one hundred | صد | sad |
| 100 | ۱۰۰ | sad |
| and (for numbers) | و | va / o |
| year old | ساله | sâle |
| I am … years old | من … ساله هستم | man … sâle hastam |