Modern Persian is the main language of government, nationwide education, national media, and communication between many language groups in Iran. In Persian it is called Farsi. Persian belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is related to Dari and Tajik, although pronunciation, vocabulary, writing, and local usage differ. Persian is written from right to left with a form of the Arabic script. Several letters represent Persian sounds, and short vowels are usually not written. Spoken Persian and formal written Persian differ. Everyday speech often shortens words and uses expressions that a beginner may not recognize from a textbook. Iran is multilingual. Azerbaijani Turkic has many speakers, while Kurdish, Luri, Arabic, Baluchi, Turkmen, Gilaki, Mazandarani, and several smaller languages are important in their regions. A person's home language may express family history, ethnic identity, local belonging, or cultural pride. Many people move easily between a home language and Persian according to the situation. Persian politeness depends on word choice, titles, pronouns, and indirect expressions. Formal speech is useful with strangers, older people, officials, and in professional settings. Common greetings include salaam for hello and khodaa haafez for goodbye. Merci is widely understood as thanks, while mamnun and moteshakkeram are Persian alternatives used in different levels of formality. Names are usually written differently when moved between Persian and Latin letters. Several spellings may be correct because no single conversion system controls everyday use. Learning basic Persian creates access to daily life across Iran, but it does not replace respect for regional languages. Asking what language someone prefers is often the best starting point.
Language in Iran
Persian, commonly called Farsi, is the official and most widely shared language in Iran. Many Iranians also speak Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Luri, Arabic, Baluchi, Turkmen, Gilaki, Mazandarani, or other languages. Multilingual family and community life is therefore common.
Tip
Learn a small set of polite Persian phrases before navigating daily life in Iran. Show written names or addresses in Persian script whenever accuracy matters. If someone speaks another home language, treat it as a living language rather than a dialect of Persian.