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Kurdish (Sorani) vs Persian (Farsi)

Kurdish (Sorani) and Persian (Farsi) sit in the same corner of the writing-system map — Grafle's Arabic Script group — and players mix them up constantly. Here's the fastest way to tell them apart.

The tell

Sorani spells out all its vowels (ە ۆ ێ everywhere); Persian leaves most vowels unwritten.

Side by side

Kurdish (Sorani)

هەموو مرۆڤێک ئازاد و لە کەرامەت و مافدا یەکسان لەدایک دەبێت.

سڵاو، چۆنیت؟

زمانی کوردی زۆر جوانە.

Kurdish (Sorani)'s own tells

  • Writes every vowel — ە, ۆ and ێ appear constantly, so words look 'fully spelled out'.

On signs in:

  • Iraq
  • Iran

Full guide to recognizing Kurdish (Sorani) →

Persian (Farsi)

همه انسان‌ها آزاد و برابر به دنیا می‌آیند و زندگی حق همه است.

سلام، حال شما چطور است؟

تهران پایتخت ایران است.

Persian (Farsi)'s own tells

  • Has the four extra letters پ چ ژ گ that Arabic lacks.
  • Word-final ی without dots, and no constant ال articles.

On signs in:

  • Iran
  • Afghanistan

Full guide to recognizing Persian (Farsi) →

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