basics of persian writing

8/13/2019 Basics of Persian Writing

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Introduction

The Persian alphabet is one of the oldest, most beautiful writing systems in the world. It is so

beautiful that Persian calligraphy (see Figure 1 as well as the front cover) is considered an art

unto itself, called naghashi-khat, and is displayed in homes and to decorate important buildings

like mosques and palaces. It is beyond the scope of this workbook to teach such a delicate skill;

it takes entire lifetimes to become a true proficient. But this basic introduction to theindividual letters will open doors for you that would be closed otherwise, such as learning Farsi,

Arabic, or Urdu, or just more fully appreciating the cultures associated with these languages.

Farsi (the Persian Language) has 32 letters and is written from right to left as opposed to left to

right like in English, and so requires a little time before you will feel very comfortable.

Additionally, the alphabet is only written in cursive, never print, so each letter may have a

different form based on where it is in a word or if it is isolated. Parts of the letter will go above

the main line of text, and parts below; these are called ascenders and descenderswill be

referred to as such throughout this workbook. The last term you need to is connecting

letter. A connecting letter is one which connects to the letter that follows. This is important

because, while all letters may be connected to the letter before them, they may not be

connected to the letters after them. Some of the letters would look identical to other letters if

you connected them when you werent supposed to.

Figure 1: Naghashi-khat


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Materials

Many people find that graph paper is very helpful in learning

the precise shapes of the letters when they first start out, and

your writing will look much more Persian if you have a flat -

tipped calligraphy pen. You may do just as well, however, with

regular paper, lined or unlined, and a normal ball-point pen.

This workbook actually provides practice space for youyou

just have to supply the writing implement.

Process

For each letter, you will begin at the right margin and work

your way left. If you have a calligraphy pen, hold it so the flat

end is at a 45 degree angle ( / ) to the lines on the page. It

will feel strange for a while because youll be pushing the nib

instead of pulling, but youll get used to it. When each new

letter is introduced, you will practice it individually, and at the

end of the book there is space to practice linking the letters.

When you are done, you should be equipped to look words up in a Farsi dictionary!


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Alif: This ascender is the same at the

beginning of a word as it is when it stands

alone. It is non-connecting. For its stand-

alone and initial positions, start at the top of

the line and draw your pen straight down. For

its medial and final positions, draw from the

previous letter, and then curve up.

Be: Be neither ascends nor descends. It sits

on the line and the dot goes just below the

line. Give it a simple hook in its initial position

is, and draw the medial position like a bottomtooth. Be sure to place the dot under the

tooth in the medial position, and dont go

below the line with bein the final position.

Pe: Pe is identical to be except that it has

three dots instead of one. Its important to

note that these three dots are frequentlywritten as a v or even a circle when writing

fast.

Te: Again, teis identical to beexcept that its

two dots are above the letter. The two dots

are written as a short dash when writing fast.


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Se: Form this letter the same way as the

previous three letters, but with three dots

above it.

Jim: Beginjimwith a left-to-right tilty, then a

curve downward toward the right like a fish hook.

For its word-initial position, begin with the same

tilty, but then go straight left along the line toconnect to the next letter. Its medial position,

draw left, then right, the left again to connect. It

often looks like a zigzag when written quickly.

Add dots under the line after the word is written.

Che: Cheis identical tojimexcept that it has

three dots instead of one. Again, note that

these three dots are frequently written as av or even a circle when writing fast.

He: Again, he is identical to jim and che

except that it has no dots.


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Khe: Form this letter the same way as the

previous three letters, but with one dot above

it.

Dal: Dalis a non-connector that neither

ascends nor descends. Itslike an italicized, small

caps L written backwards, with just a little hook

to finish it off. Because its a non-connector, itsinitial position is the same as its isolated on, and

its medial position is the same as it final one.

Zal: Write this letter the same as daland add

a dot above it.

Re: Reis a descender, and when you write it,

give it a nice round curve to the left. Some

people write it as a straight line at a forty-five

degree angle, but thats a modern style and

doesnt have that classis look that most people

go for when writing this language. Reis a non-

connector.


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Ze:Write this letter the same as reand add a

dot above it.

Zhe: Write this letter the same as reand add

three dots above it. When writing this letter

quickly, the dots often become a ^ or a

circle, although the circle is less common.

Sin: Write sin like a backwards w with a big

hook on the end that descends below the line.

When written quickly, this letter oftenbecomes a squiggly line, or even just an extra

long, straight line. When starting out, though,

make sure to maintain all three teeth.

Shin: Write shin the same as sin, but with

three dots above it.


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Sad: Start by going right, and then loop

around to the left, and finally descend below

the line with a hook. In its medial position,

you have a straight line coming left into the

loop, then up and right, and finally back down

to the line going left. It frequently looks like a

right leaning loop or a cursive e.

Zad: Write zad the same as sadwith a dot

over it.

Ta: Start tawith a loop just like in sad, but

dont add the hook. The vertical ascender is

added after the whole word is written just likedots are.

Za: Write zathe same as tawith a dot over

it.


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Ain: Write this letter like a lowercase c

with a bigger c below the line. The initial

position omits the descending, bigger hook,

and its medial position is like a pointed loop.

The point is important because it will get

confused with fewithout it.

Gain: Writegainthe same as ainwith a dot

over it. The point is important with this letter

because it will get confused with fewithout it.

Fe: Fe starts with a little loop leaning to the

left, and then a straight line that does not

descend going left. Write the medial positionlike a little loop, and do not let the hook

descend in the final position.

Qaf: Qaf descends below the line in its

isolated and final positions, but otherwise is

just like fewith two dots instead of one.


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Kaf: In its initial position, this letter is like a

backwards capitol L with a little 2 inside.

In its initial, medial, and final positions, it looks

a lot like dal, except that its a connector, and

it has an angled ascender that is added after

the entire word is written. Some people make

this ascender quite long for a stylized effect.

Gaf: Gaf is written in pretty much the same

way as kaf, except that it doesnt have a little

2 in is isolated form, and it has a second

angled ascender.

Lam: Lam is an ascender, descender, and

connector, like a big J in its isolatedand final

positions. Write it just like a cursive,lowercase L in its initial and medial positions.

Mim: Mim has a little loop, and then

descends below the line. In its medial position,

the loop hangs down, the opposite way the

loop in feand qafgo.


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Nun: Draw nun like a nest that descends a

little below the line with an egg in it.

Vav: Drawvavlike a big comma with a loop

on the top. This letter does not connect to

the following letters.

He: Draw helike a counterclockwise loop in

its isolated position. Draw it the same way in

the initial position, but curve down throughthe inside of the loop to move on to the next

letter. In its medial position, draw it like a

figure eight which dips below and then goes

above the line. Final he is a loop like a little

snake head.

Ye: Ye is like a slanty s which descends

below the line in its isolate and final positions.

Initially and medially, it looks just like bewith

two dots below instead of one.


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Practice

As you practice linking letters to form

words, draw the dots or lines that

arent part of the initial pen stroke

after the whole word is written. This

is like dotting the is and crossing the

ts when writing in English. When you

become good at writing, use paper

without lines. Most people write as if

each word were on its own, slanted

line, so it starts looking like the

writing in Figure 2.

aalefbyeh Frsi .

the Persian alphabet.mrik.

America.kabaabeh barreh.

America.psport.passport.

jorj.George.dandn.tooth.zhenerl.

general .shirz.Shiraz (city name) .mehmn.

guest .

Figure 2: Natural Handwriting

basics of persian writing

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