Anonymous Iran

NiteOwl

Ahmadinejad -- Ah-Ma-Dee-Nay-Zhad (Zh as in the second G in garage)

Ayatollah -- Ah-Yeah-Toll-Aa

Birjand -- Beer-Jund (Bir rhymes with fear and Jund rhymes with fund)

Ghazvin -- Gaz-Vain

Hamid --- Ha-Meade (Ha rhymes with da in dada)

Isfahan -- Is-Fa-Hawn

Karoubi -- Ka-Robe-EE

Khamenei -- Kah-Ma-Nay-EE

Khatami -- Kah-Tammy

Khomeini -- Koh-Main-EE (Try saying it fast, though)

Khorasan -- Koh-Ra-Son

Mashhad -- Mash-had

Montazeri - Mun-Ta-Ze-Ree

Mousavi -- Moo-Savvy

Neda Aga-Soltan -- Neh-dA Sole-Tan (Neh rhymes with meh, the A in 'da' is pronounced the like the A in 'ark'. Both the A's in Aga are pronounced like the A in Ark. The A in Tan is is pronounced the same way.

Nowrouz -- Nav-Rooz (Nav rhymes with Love and Rooz rhymes with booz)

Pahlavi -- Pah-Love-Ee

Qom -- Gom (Rhymes with Dome)

Sanandaj -- Son-un-duj (duj is pronounced like budge)

Sohrab A'rabi -- Sooh-Rob A-Rob-EE (Sooh rhymes with Though, the A in A'rabi is prounced like the A that means one but there's TINY TINY pause after the A sound until you get to Rob.)

Tabriz -- Tub-raise

Tehran -- Tay-Ron

Taraneh -- Ta-Raw-Neh (Ta rhymes with wha? Neh rhymes with meh)

(Please post names that you're having problems pronouncing in comments and I'll get to them ASAP. )

Paleene

What a good idea, stops confusing.
Not for being fussy, just curious: where is the stress in farsi language generally - first or second syllable?

Thanks again, NiteOwl, your dedication is amazing.
Are you better again?

NiteOwl

Usually in the last syllable. But it's not a rule.

horus

Hello, it's the first time I'm commenting here, congrats for the excellent work! I'm just curious about the pronunciation guide you posted: are those supposed to be read exactly as in English words? (e.g. with differences from the litteral transcript?) Since I am Portuguese, I tend to hesitate between reading your pronunciation as in english or litterally (closer to Portuguese pronunciation).
Examples: is the "H" as in "Ah" mute? and is the "a" read like "a" (like in "ark") or like "ae" (like in "cat")?

NiteOwl

Yes, the pronounciation guide is in English. The A's are read as in the A's in Ark, most of the time. AE is expressed as an e or eh in Persian.

Glad you liked it.

Horus

Thanks for the clarification! How do you pronounce "Khomeini", by the way? What about names like "Hamid"?

Thanks again for the briefs! I would love to help, thw only reason I don't offer to do translations to Portuguese or any other thing is because I won't be available the next 3 weeks...

Horus

sorry, last msg incomplete and no title. I know someone named "hamid", that's why i asked. Also, what about sadly famous names, like "neda agha-soltan" or "sohrab a'arabi" or "taraneh mousavi"?
sorry for being so fussy...just curious really!

Srpska

I wish the media would stop trying to sound Phrase Deleted by pronouncing "Tehran" with a big "kh" sound as in the Scottish "loch" or the German, um, "Loch" in the middle.

Also, while I'm on the subject, in English the noun is "Ih-Rahn", but the adjective is "Ih-Ray-Nee-An". Not, as has recently become the fashion, "Ih-Rahn-Ee-An". It just makes all the reporters sound like Australians.


EDIT: I like Operation Marg Bar Diktator-Cash, though. It's not as snappy (no pun intended) a name as Lioncash, but it's a lot better. The voice of the people, it seems, cannot be denied. I mean, what are the Government going to do, ban money?

Unregistered

why not combine the two? Operation Where's My Lion?

Horus

Cheers NiteOwl, what a great work! (especially the Green Briefs, obviously, since this pronunciation guide is just a curious means to know a little more about iranian culture, although i keep addicted to it).
And sorry for so many questions, words i feel curious about just seem to pop out in my mind. What about "Nowrouz" (i don't know how to write it in western script)? And "pahlavi" and "ali akbar (akbar means "great" in arab, right? is it a borrowed word, or honorific title?) hashemi rafsanjani"? What about ancient persian's king's names, like cyrus or darius? How do you write and say them in persian?