The Larestani Alphabet

Q: How many letters does the Larestani alphabet have?

The Larestani alphabet has 32 letters , all derived from the Perso-Arabic script . The 32 letters include the 28 Arabic letters plus 4 letters unique to Persian and Dari: پ (pe, /p/), چ (che, /tʃ/), ژ (zhe, /ʒ/), and گ (gaf, /g/). Short vowels are generally not written but can be indicated with optional diacritical marks called harakat.

Q: Where is Larestani spoken?

Larestani is spoken primarily in Lar County of Fars Province , in the southern part of Iran near the Persian Gulf coast. It is also spoken by a significant diaspora community in the Persian Gulf states — particularly the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman — reflecting centuries of maritime and trading connections between the Lar region and the Gulf. With an estimated 200,000–400,000 speakers , Larestani is considered an endangered Southwest Iranian language.

Q: What branch of Iranian languages does Larestani belong to?

Larestani belongs to the Southwest Iranian branch of the Iranian language family, the same broad branch as Persian. However, Larestani is not simply a dialect of Persian — it is a distinct language with its own archaic phonological and morphological features. Its closest relatives include Bashkardi (spoken in Hormozgan Province) and Kumzari (spoken in Oman). Together these languages form a cluster of southern Iranian varieties that preserve ancient Southwest Iranian features not found in standard Persian.

Q: Is Larestani endangered?

Yes, Larestani is considered endangered . Despite its presence in both Iran and the Persian Gulf diaspora, the language faces strong pressure from Persian in Iran and Arabic in the Gulf states. With an estimated 200,000–400,000 speakers, intergenerational transmission is declining, particularly in urban areas. The Lar County community in southern Iran and the Gulf diaspora in UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman represent the main speaker populations. Larestani has no official status and limited written tradition compared to Persian.

Q: Is the Larestani script read from right to left?

Yes. Like all Perso-Arabic scripts , Larestani is written and read from right to left . Each letter in the alphabet connects to adjacent letters within a word (cursive), and most letters change shape depending on their position — initial, medial, final, or isolated form. The only exception to the right-to-left direction is numerals , which are written left to right even within otherwise RTL text. The script belongs to the Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600–U+06FF).

Larestani Alphabet at a Glance

32 letters written right to left using the Perso-Arabic script
Larestani is a Southwest Iranian language spoken in Lar County of Fars Province, southern Iran, and by diaspora communities across the Persian Gulf states ^[1]
Uses the Perso-Arabic script, written in Naskh and Nastaliq calligraphic styles ^[2]
An endangered Southwest Iranian language with an estimated 200,000–400,000 speakers in Lar County and the Persian Gulf diaspora ^[3]
Belongs to the Southwest Iranian branch of the Iranian language family — closely related to Bashkardi and Kumzari, distinct from both standard Persian and the Northwestern Iranian languages ^[4]
Includes 4 letters unique to Persian/Dari script, not found in Arabic: پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe), and گ (gaf)
6 vowel diacritics (harakat): fatha, kasra, damma, shadda, sukun, and tanwin fath

Larestani Consonants

[AH-lef]

[BEH]

[PEH]

[TEH]

[SEH]

[JEEM]

[CHEH]

[HEH-JEE-mee]

[KHEH]

[DAHL]

[ZAHL]

[REH]

[ZEH]

[ZHEH]

[SEEN]

[SHEEN]

[SAWD]

[DAWD]

[TAW]

[ZAW]

[AYN]

[GHAYN]

[FEH]

[QAHF]

[KAHF]

[GAHF]

[LAHM]

[MEEM]

[NOON]

[VAWV]

[HEH]

[YEH]

[AH-lef]

The first letter of the Perso-Arabic alphabet; represents a glottal stop /ʔ/ in initial position or a long vowel /aː/. In Larestani, alef functions as a vowel carrier and is the most common letter in the script. Larestani has preserved certain archaic Southwest Iranian vowel distinctions that distinguish it from standard Persian.

[BEH]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". One of the base letters of the Perso-Arabic abjad. In Larestani, /b/ is stable and frequent in native Southwest Iranian vocabulary. The language preserves archaic Iranian consonant patterns that reflect its position as a southern Iranian language distinct from standard Persian.

[PEH]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script not found in classical Arabic. In Larestani, /p/ appears frequently in native vocabulary inherited from Old Iranian and is stable across the dialects spoken in Lar County and the Persian Gulf diaspora.

[TEH]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". In Larestani, both ت and ط are pronounced as plain /t/. The letter ت is frequent in Larestani verb conjugation and nominal morphology; the language preserves Southwest Iranian verbal endings distinct from both standard Persian and Northern Iranian varieties.

[SEH]

Pronounced as /s/ in Larestani, identical to س. In Classical Arabic ث represents /θ/, but Larestani — like all Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /s/. Retained in the spelling of Arabic loanwords found in formal registers of Larestani writing.

[JEEM]

Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jam". Consistent in Larestani phonology; ج appears in both native Larestani vocabulary and Persian-Arabic loanwords. Larestani dialects spoken across Lar County and in the Persian Gulf states show some variation in the realization of this consonant.

[CHEH]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "chair". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. /tʃ/ is common in Larestani native vocabulary and appears in the language's characteristic Southwest Iranian word stock.

[HEH-JEE-mee]

Voiceless pharyngeal fricative /ħ/ in Classical Arabic; in Larestani this letter is typically pronounced as the plain glottal fricative /h/, merging with ه. Larestani, like other modern Iranian languages, does not maintain the pharyngeal quality of Arabic /ħ/ in everyday speech.

[KHEH]

Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like "ch" in Scottish "loch". Well-preserved in Larestani and phonemically distinct from /k/ and /h/. خ appears in both native Larestani vocabulary and in loanwords; the /x/ phoneme is a characteristic feature of Southwest Iranian languages.

[DAHL]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "dog". A non-connecting letter in the Perso-Arabic script. In Larestani, /d/ is stable and common. The language preserves certain archaic Iranian consonant features in its native vocabulary that reflect its distinct position among Southwest Iranian languages.

[ZAHL]

Pronounced as /z/ in Larestani, merging with ز. In Classical Arabic ذ represents /ð/ (like "th" in "that"), but Larestani — like all modern Iranian languages — pronounces this as the alveolar fricative /z/. Retained in spelling of Arabic loanwords in formal Larestani texts.

[REH]

Alveolar trill or tap /r/, like a rolled "r". A non-connecting letter. In Larestani, the rhotic is generally a flap or trill; dialects of Larestani spoken in Lar County and the Persian Gulf diaspora may show variation in the realization of the rhotic consonant.

[ZEH]

Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zoo". A non-connecting letter. In Larestani, the letters ز، ذ، ض، and ظ all converge on the /z/ pronunciation, following the general Iranian simplification of the Arabic emphatic and interdental consonant series.

[ZHEH]

Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like "s" in "measure". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. /ʒ/ appears in Larestani vocabulary primarily in Persian loanwords and is part of the language's consonant inventory inherited from the Perso-Arabic literary tradition.

[SEEN]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". In Larestani, the three Arabic sibilants ث، س، and ص all merge into this /s/ pronunciation. Highly frequent in both native Larestani vocabulary and in the substantial Persian-Arabic loanword layer found in modern Larestani.

[SHEEN]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Fully preserved in Larestani and among the most frequent consonants in native vocabulary. The /ʃ/ phoneme is stable in Larestani dialects spoken both in Lar County and among Persian Gulf diaspora communities.

[SAWD]

Emphatic /sˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Larestani, this letter is pronounced as plain /s/, merging with س. The pharyngeal emphasis of Arabic ص is not maintained in Larestani. Retained in the spelling of Arabic loanwords that appear in more formal registers of written Larestani.

[DAWD]

In Larestani, ض is pronounced as /z/, merging with ز. The historically emphatic Arabic /dˁ/ has merged with /z/ in Larestani as in all modern Iranian languages. Preserved in writing to reflect the etymological spelling of Arabic loanwords in Larestani texts.

[TAW]

Emphatic /tˁ/ in Classical Arabic; in Larestani, this letter is pronounced as plain /t/, merging with ت. Retained in writing to preserve the spelling of Arabic loanwords. Larestani speakers do not distinguish ط from ت in spoken speech.

[ZAW]

Emphatic consonant in Classical Arabic; in Larestani, ظ is pronounced as /z/ like ذ، ز، and ض. Preserved in writing Arabic-origin vocabulary in formal Larestani texts; the emphatic quality is not maintained in Larestani spoken phonology.

[AYN]

Voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Larestani, ع is typically realised as a glottal stop /ʔ/ or a simple vowel onset, following the general Southwest Iranian treatment of this Arabic consonant. The pharyngeal quality is not systematically maintained in Larestani.

[GHAYN]

Voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/, produced at the back of the throat. Preserved in Larestani and phonemically distinct from /g/ (گ). غ appears in both native Larestani vocabulary and in Arabic-Persian loanwords, marking a phonological contrast important to the consonant inventory of the language.

[FEH]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fun". Fully preserved in Larestani; ف appears in native Iranian vocabulary and in Arabic loanwords. The /f/ phoneme is stable across Larestani dialects spoken in Lar County and among the Persian Gulf diaspora communities in UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman.

[QAHF]

Voiceless uvular stop /q/ in Classical Arabic; in Larestani, ق may be realised as the uvular /q/, the velar /k/, or a glottal stop /ʔ/ depending on dialect and register. Variation in the realisation of ق is a feature of Southwest Iranian phonology shared with related languages such as Bashkardi and Kumzari.

[KAHF]

Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "key". Distinct from ق (uvular); consistently represents /k/ in Larestani. The Persian/Dari form ک is used rather than the classical Arabic ك, marking this as an Iranian writing convention. ک is one of the most frequent consonants in native Larestani vocabulary.

[GAHF]

Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script. In Larestani, گ is common in native vocabulary and is a key feature of the Southwest Iranian consonant inventory shared by Persian and related languages of southern Iran.

[LAHM]

Lateral alveolar approximant /l/, like "l" in "lamp". Fully preserved in Larestani; ل participates in the obligatory lam-alef ligature لا in the Perso-Arabic script. The lateral is one of the most frequent consonants in Larestani vocabulary and participates in various derivational processes of the language.

[MEEM]

Bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "man". A very common consonant in Larestani vocabulary; م appears in both native Southwest Iranian words and Persian-Arabic loanwords. The bilabial nasal is phonologically stable and productive in Larestani morphology, including in nominal and verbal suffixes.

[NOON]

Alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "noon". One of the most frequent consonants in Larestani; ن appears in native vocabulary and in Persian-Arabic loanwords. The nasal /n/ is particularly prominent in Larestani verbal morphology and participates in tense and aspect marking distinct from standard Persian.

[VAWV]

In Larestani, و typically represents the labiodental fricative /v/ or the long vowel /uː/. Larestani has preserved certain vowel contrasts and consonantal features involving و that distinguish it from standard Persian, reflecting its archaic Southwest Iranian heritage. A non-connecting letter.

[HEH]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". In Larestani, final ه can represent /h/, /a/, or /e/ following Persian orthographic conventions. The /h/ phoneme appears in both initial and medial positions in Larestani; the language's phonological treatment of word-final ه reflects its Southwest Iranian affiliation.

[YEH]

Palatal approximant /j/ in consonantal position (like "y" in "yes"), or long vowel /iː/ in vocalic position. In Larestani, ی is highly productive in both consonantal and vocalic roles; the language preserves certain archaic vowel contrasts involving ی that reflect its position as a distinct Southwest Iranian language related to Bashkardi and Kumzari.

Larestani Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

Like all Perso-Arabic scripts, Larestani is an abjad — a consonantal alphabet where short vowels are not written by default but indicated by optional diacritical marks (harakat). The six harakat marks shown here are used in educational texts and beginner resources to aid correct pronunciation of Larestani, a Southwest Iranian language with distinctive vowel features that differ from standard Persian.

Larestani Vowel Diacritics (Harakat)

[FAH-tah]

[KAS-rah]

[DAM-mah]

[SHAD-dah]

[SOO-koon]

[TAN-ween]

[FAH-tah]

Fatha — a small diagonal stroke above a consonant marking the short vowel /a/. In Larestani, fatha marks the open front vowel /a/. Larestani has preserved archaic Iranian vowel distinctions and fatha is used in educational materials to help learners correctly identify vowels in the Larestani phonological system.

[KAS-rah]

Kasra — a small diagonal stroke below a consonant marking the short vowel /e/ or /i/. In Larestani, kasra marks a short front vowel. Larestani preserves distinctive vowel features of its Southwest Iranian heritage, and kasra is essential in educational contexts to indicate correct short front vowel quality.

[DAM-mah]

Damma — a small hook-shaped mark above a consonant marking the short vowel /o/ or /u/. In Larestani, damma marks a short back-rounded vowel. The language's vowel system reflects archaic Southwest Iranian features, and damma in fully-vocalised texts helps indicate Larestani-specific vowel qualities.

[SHAD-dah]

Shadda — a small diacritical mark indicating gemination (consonant doubling). Geminated consonants are phonemically significant in Larestani vocabulary, particularly in Arabic loanwords and in certain native roots. Shadda is essential in fully-vocalised Larestani texts to distinguish geminated from simple consonants.

[SOO-koon]

Sukun — a small circular mark indicating the absence of a following vowel (a bare consonant). Used in fully-vocalised Larestani texts to show consonant clusters and word-final consonants. Larestani has consonant clusters that can be indicated by sukun in educational and literary materials.

[TAN-ween]

Tanwin fath — double fatha marking the -an ending in indefinite accusative Arabic nouns. In Larestani, tanwin appears in Arabic loanwords used in formal or religious contexts; the -an suffix is one of three tanwin markers alongside tanwin damm (-un) and tanwin kasr (-in).

First letter — alef; represents glottal stop /ʔ/ or long vowel /aː/. Non-connecting letter; foundational vowel carrier of the Perso-Arabic alphabet used for Larestani writing.

Second letter — be; voiced bilabial stop /b/. Connecting letter; base form of a family of letters distinguished by dots. Common in native Larestani vocabulary.

Third letter — pe; voiceless bilabial stop /p/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; common and productive in Larestani native vocabulary.

Fourth letter — te; voiceless alveolar stop /t/. Shares the same base shape as ب and پ, distinguished by two dots above. Frequent in Larestani verb morphology.

Fifth letter — se; pronounced /s/ in Larestani, merging with س. The Arabic value /θ/ is not maintained in Larestani pronunciation.

Sixth letter — jim; voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/. Part of a letter family sharing the same basic shape distinguished by dots.

Seventh letter — che; voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; common in Larestani vocabulary.

Eighth letter — he-jimi; pronounced /h/ in Larestani. The pharyngeal quality of Arabic /ħ/ is not preserved in Larestani spoken phonology.

Ninth letter — khe; voiceless velar fricative /x/. Fully preserved in Larestani; phonemically distinct from /k/ and /h/.

Tenth letter — dal; voiced alveolar stop /d/. Non-connecting letter; common in both native Larestani vocabulary and loanwords.

Eleventh letter — zal; pronounced /z/ in Larestani. Non-connecting letter; Arabic /ð/ has merged with /z/ in Larestani.

Twelfth letter — re; alveolar tap or trill /r/. Non-connecting letter; one of the most frequent consonants in Larestani vocabulary.

Thirteenth letter — ze; voiced alveolar fricative /z/. Non-connecting letter; in Larestani, ز، ذ، ض، ظ all represent /z/.

Fourteenth letter — zhe; voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; used mainly in Persian loanwords in Larestani.

Fifteenth letter — sin; voiceless alveolar fricative /s/. Frequent in Larestani; ث، س، and ص all represent /s/ in Larestani.

Sixteenth letter — shin; voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/. Fully preserved and highly productive in Larestani phonology.

Seventeenth letter — sad; pronounced /s/ in Larestani. The emphatic /sˁ/ of Classical Arabic is not maintained; retained for spelling Arabic loanwords.

Eighteenth letter — dad; pronounced /z/ in Larestani. The emphatic Arabic /dˁ/ has merged with /z/ in Larestani.

Nineteenth letter — ta; pronounced /t/ in Larestani. The emphatic /tˁ/ of Classical Arabic merges with plain /t/ in Larestani.

Twentieth letter — za; pronounced /z/ in Larestani. Like ذ، ز، and ض, this letter represents /z/ in Larestani pronunciation.

Twenty-first letter — ayn; voiced pharyngeal fricative /ʕ/ in Arabic; in Larestani often realised as glottal stop /ʔ/ or simple vowel onset.

Twenty-second letter — ghayn; voiced uvular fricative /ɣ/. Preserved in Larestani; phonemically distinct from /g/ (گ).

Twenty-third letter — fe; voiceless labiodental fricative /f/. Fully preserved in Larestani; stable across all dialect varieties spoken in Lar County and the Persian Gulf diaspora.

Twenty-fourth letter — qaf; uvular /q/, velar /k/, or glottal /ʔ/ in Larestani depending on dialect and register.

Twenty-fifth letter — kaf; voiceless velar stop /k/. Distinct from ق; one of the most frequent consonants in native Larestani vocabulary.

Twenty-sixth letter — gaf; voiced velar stop /g/. One of the four letters unique to the Persian/Dari script; common in Larestani morphology.

Twenty-seventh letter — lam; lateral alveolar approximant /l/. One of the most frequent consonants in Larestani; participates in the obligatory lam-alef ligature لا.

Twenty-eighth letter — mim; bilabial nasal /m/. Common in Larestani vocabulary; productive in nominal and verbal morphology.

Twenty-ninth letter — nun; alveolar nasal /n/. One of the most frequent consonants in Larestani; prominent in verbal morphology.

Thirtieth letter — vav; typically /v/ or long vowel /uː/ in Larestani. Non-connecting letter; preserves archaic Southwest Iranian vowel features.

Thirty-first letter — he; voiceless glottal fricative /h/. Multi-functional in Larestani orthography; can represent /h/, /a/, or /e/ in word-final position.

Thirty-second letter — ye; palatal approximant /j/ in consonantal use or long vowel /iː/ in vocalic use. Highly productive in Larestani; preserves archaic Southwest Iranian vowel contrasts.

Eastern Arabic Digits (۰–۹)

[SI-fer]

[YEK]

[DOH]

[SEH]

[CHAR]

[PANJ]

[SHESH]

[HAFT]

[HASHT]

[NOH]

[SI-fer]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit zero (۰), corresponding to Western 0. The Persian/Larestani name is صفر (sifr), the origin of the English words "cipher" and "zero" through medieval Arabic mathematical transmission. Written left to right within otherwise RTL Larestani text.

[YEK]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit one (۱), corresponding to Western 1. The Larestani name is یِک (yek) or a dialectal variant, cognate with Sanskrit eka and English "one" through Indo-European ancestry. Larestani numerals reflect the language's Southwest Iranian heritage.

[DOH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit two (۲), corresponding to Western 2. The Larestani name is دو (do), cognate with Sanskrit dvi, Latin duo, and English "two". The Southwest Iranian numeral form for "two" is shared with Persian and related languages of southern Iran.

[SEH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit three (۳), corresponding to Western 3. The Larestani name is سه (se), cognate with Sanskrit tri, Latin tres, and English "three". Larestani preserves the Southwest Iranian form of "three" shared with Persian and Bashkardi.

[CHAR]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit four (۴), corresponding to Western 4. The Larestani name for four is چهار (char) or a dialectal variant, cognate with Sanskrit catur and Latin quattuor. Larestani numeral forms reflect the language's Southwest Iranian character.

[PANJ]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit five (۵), corresponding to Western 5. The Larestani name is پنج (panj), cognate with Sanskrit panca and Greek pente. The Southwest Iranian form of "five" is shared with Persian and related languages of the Fars Province region.

[SHESH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit six (۶), corresponding to Western 6. The Larestani name is شش (shesh), cognate with Sanskrit shash. Larestani preserves the Southwest Iranian form of "six" shared with Persian across southern Iran.

[HAFT]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit seven (۷), corresponding to Western 7. The Larestani name is هفت (haft), cognate with Sanskrit sapta and Latin septem. Larestani preserves the standard Southwest Iranian form of "seven" consistent with Persian and other southern Iranian languages.

[HASHT]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit eight (۸), corresponding to Western 8. The Larestani name is هشت (hasht), cognate with Sanskrit ashta and Latin octo. The Eastern Arabic-Indic digit ۸ is visually similar to its Western counterpart.

[NOH]

Eastern Arabic-Indic digit nine (۹), corresponding to Western 9. The Larestani name is نه (noh), cognate with Sanskrit nava and Latin novem. Larestani preserves the Southwest Iranian form of "nine" shared with Persian and related languages.

‌

Arabic comma — the standard comma in Larestani/Persian texts, mirrored horizontally from the Western comma to suit right-to-left reading. Used to separate clauses, list items, and coordinate phrases in Larestani written texts.

Arabic question mark — the standard interrogative marker in Larestani texts, reflected horizontally from the Western question mark. Placed at the end of a question sentence (which, in RTL text, appears on the right side of the line).

Arabic semicolon — used in Larestani/Persian texts to separate independent clauses more strongly than a comma. The Arabic semicolon ؛ is the mirrored form of the Western semicolon and is used in formal Larestani writing.

Left guillemet — used as an opening quotation mark in Larestani/Persian texts following Persian publishing conventions. In RTL text, « appears at the end of the quoted text (visually on the right).

Right guillemet — used as a closing quotation mark in Larestani/Persian texts. In Persian typographic convention, » opens the quotation and « closes it — the reverse of Western usage.

Arabic percent sign — used in Larestani texts for percentages, following the Arabic-script convention used throughout Iran and the Persian Gulf states. Often interchangeable with the Western % sign in modern texts.

Arabic full stop — used to terminate sentences in Larestani/Persian texts. Follows the traditional Perso-Arabic typographic standard for sentence termination in formal Larestani writing.

‌

Zero-width non-joiner (ZWNJ) — an invisible Unicode character (U+200C) used in Perso-Arabic texts to prevent two letters from joining where they would normally connect. Essential in Larestani digital typography for certain compound words and the language's distinctive morphological structures.

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How many letters does the Larestani alphabet have?

Where is Larestani spoken?

What branch of Iranian languages does Larestani belong to?

Is Larestani endangered?

Is the Larestani script read from right to left?

References:

[1] Glottolog 5.1. "Larestani [lare1249]". Retrieved from Glottolog: Larestani
[2] Unicode Consortium. "Arabic Unicode Block (U+0600-U+06FF)". Retrieved from Unicode Arabic Block
[3] SIL International. "ISO 639-3 Language Code: lrl — Larestani". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: lrl
[4] Encyclopaedia Iranica (Columbia University). "LARESTANI". Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Iranica: Larestani