BahaiGlossary.org
What is the Bahá'í Glossary?
The Bahá'í vocabulary has many Arabic and Persian words that may be unfamiliar to non-native speakers and newcomers to the Bahá'í Faith. This glossary is designed to help Bahá'ís learn to pronounce these words according to the pronunciation guide established and promoted by Shoghí Effendí.
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Transliteration Guide
Guide to transliteration and pronunciation of the Persian alphabet, together with the numerical value of the letters (Abjad reckoning) Adapted from Marzieh Gail's Bahá'í Glossary
| Letter | Arabic | Transliteration | Pronunciation | Abjad | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alef | ﺍ | á, a | arm, cat | 1 | |
| Beh | ب | b | b | 2 | |
| * | Pe | پ | p | p | |
| Teh | ﺕ | t | t | 400 | |
| Theh | ﺙ | th | see | 500 | |
| Jeem | ج | j | John | 3 | |
| * | Če | چ | ch | church | |
| Hah | ح | ḥ | h | 8 | |
| Khah | خ | kh | loch | 600 | |
| Dal | ﺩ | d | d | 4 | |
| Thal | ﺫ | dh | z | 700 | |
| Reh | ﺭ | r | r | 200 | |
| Zain | ﺯ | z | z | 7 | |
| * | Že | ژ | zh | pleasure | |
| Seen | ﺱ | s | so | 60 | |
| Sheen | ﺵ | sh | she | 300 | |
| Sad | ﺹ | ṣ | so | 90 | |
| Dad | ﺽ | ḍ | z | 800 | |
| Tah | ﻁ | ṭ | t | 9 | |
| Zah | ﻅ | ẓ | z | 900 | |
| Ain | ﻉ | ` | Silent "uh" | 70 | |
| Ghain | ﻍ | gh | get | 1000 | |
| Feh | ﻑ | f | f | 80 | |
| Qaf | ﻕ | q | get | 100 | |
| Kaf | ﻙ | k | k | 20 | |
| * | Kāf | ک | k | k | |
| * | Gāf | گ | g | get | |
| Lam | ﻝ | L | L | 30 | |
| Meem | ﻡ | m | m | 40 | |
| Noon | ﻥ | n | n | 50 | |
| Waw | ﻭ | v, ú | v, oo | 6 | |
| Heh | ﻫ | h | h | 5 | |
| Yeh | ﻱ | y, í | yes, ee | 10 | |
| * | Ye | ى | y, í | yes, ee | |
| Alef Maksura | ﻯ | ' | pause | 1 | |
| * | Non-arabic letters (Persian) have no abjad value | ||||