Persian or Farsi? What Should You Call the Language?

Should you call Iran’s main language Persian or Farsi? The short answer is that both names refer to the same language, but they do different jobs. Persian is the established English name. Farsi—فارسی, more precisely transliterated fārsi—is what the language is commonly called in the language itself.

In everyday English, millions of speakers say “I speak Farsi,” and there is nothing confusing or disrespectful about that. In formal English writing, academic work, museum labels, library records and broad discussions of literature or history, Persian is usually the clearer choice. The difference is less about correctness than about language and context.

Are Persian and Farsi the same language?

Yes. When an Iranian says fārsi, that is the Persian-language name for Persian. It is an endonym—a name used by the speakers of a language—while Persian is the conventional English name.

A useful comparison is Deutsch and German, or français and French. English speakers normally translate those language names, but they sometimes adopt the native name as well. That is essentially what happened when Farsi became increasingly familiar in English.

Official standards recognize the connection. The Library of Congress ISO 639-2 list gives the English language name as “Persian,” with the codes per and fas and the two-letter code fa. The ISO 639-3 registry likewise uses “Persian” as the reference name for the broader macrolanguage.

What does Farsi mean?

Fārsi means “Persian” in Persian. Its name is historically connected to Pārs or Fārs, the region in southwestern Iran associated with ancient Persia. The change from older forms beginning with p to forms beginning with f reflects Arabic influence: Arabic did not have the Persian p sound in the same way. Encyclopaedia Iranica’s study of Arabic elements in Persian specifically notes the Arabicized forms Fārs and fārsi from Pārs and pārsi.

Today, فارسی is the ordinary name used in Iran. A speaker might say:

من فارسی صحبت می‌کنم.

Man fārsi sohbat mikonam: “I speak Persian.”

So “Farsi” is not a mistaken invention or the name of an unrelated dialect. It is a direct borrowing of the language’s modern Persian name.

Why do many editors prefer “Persian” in English?

Persian has a long-established place in English. Phrases such as Persian literature, Persian poetry, Persian calligraphy and Persian language connect the modern language with a much longer cultural and literary history.

This continuity matters. Encyclopaedia Iranica dates Early New Persian to roughly the eighth through twelfth centuries and explains that the first Persian documents in Arabic script emerged during the ninth and tenth centuries. The language of modern conversation belongs to a historical tradition that also includes Ferdowsi, Saadi, Hafez and centuries of writing across a wide geographic region.

Using “Persian” in English therefore makes several relationships immediately legible:

• Persian language
• Persian poetry and prose
• Persian calligraphy
• Persian-speaking communities
• Old Persian, Middle Persian and New Persian

“Farsi poetry” is understandable, but “Persian poetry” is the more established English expression. The same pattern usually applies to historical art, manuscripts and literary studies.

Is it wrong to say “Farsi” in English?

No. “Farsi” is widely understood, widely used by Iranian diaspora communities and employed by major institutions when practical clarity requires it. The U.S. Census Bureau, for example, groups language responses under “Persian (incl. Farsi, Dari).” The U.S. State Department also uses labels such as “Persian-Farsi” in some administrative language programs.

Those examples show why rigid declarations are unhelpful. In a U.S. clinic, school, court or government office, a person may recognize “Farsi interpreter” more quickly than “Persian interpreter.” In conversation, a bilingual speaker may simply use the word that feels natural. Neither choice changes the language being spoken.

A sensible guideline is:

• Use Persian as the default English name, especially in formal, cultural, historical or academic writing.
• Use Farsi when speaking Persian, reflecting a person’s own wording, or matching a familiar service label such as “Farsi interpreter.”
• Do not correct someone aggressively for using either term when the meaning is clear.

Does “Persian” mean only the language of Iran?

This is where the terminology becomes more nuanced. Persian is spoken in several national and regional forms. Iranian Persian is commonly called Farsi; Dari is an official name used in Afghanistan; and Tajik is standardized in Tajikistan and generally written in Cyrillic there.

These forms share a deep literary history and substantial mutual intelligibility, but they are not interchangeable labels in every political, cultural or personal context. Pronunciation, vocabulary, writing systems and formal standards differ. Calling an Afghan speaker’s language “Farsi” after that person has identified it as Dari can erase a meaningful preference; the same is true of Tajik.

The ISO system reflects both unity and distinction. It lists fas as the Persian macrolanguage while using more specific identifiers including pes for Iranian Persian and prs for Dari. The Iranian Persian entry and Dari entry show those separate codes. This is a classification tool, not a command about how individuals must identify their speech.

Is Persian an Arabic language?

No. Persian and Arabic belong to different language families. Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. Arabic is a Semitic language.

Modern Persian in Iran is written from right to left in a script adapted from Arabic. Persian also uses letters needed for Persian sounds, including پ (p), چ (ch), ژ (zh) and گ (g). Shared script and extensive vocabulary exchange do not make the two languages the same—just as English does not become a Romance language because it contains many words from French and Latin.

Persian calligraphy developed its own celebrated visual traditions within this writing system. Nastaʿliq, often associated with Persian poetry, is recognizable for its sweeping diagonals and suspended curves. Our guide to Persian calligraphy styles explains nastaʿliq, shekasteh and other forms in more detail.

What should you write on a form or résumé?

The best label depends on the audience and the available choices.

• Résumé or professional biography: “Persian (Farsi)” is usually clearest because it includes both searchable names.
• School or government form: choose the listed option that matches your language; many systems use “Persian/Farsi.”
• Interpreter request: use the term the speaker recognizes, and specify Iranian Persian, Dari or Tajik when that distinction affects service.
• Academic paper or museum text: use “Persian” unless a style guide, quotation or specific variety calls for another label.
• Everyday conversation: either “Persian” or “Farsi” is understandable.

For search and accessibility, pairing the names once—“Persian (Farsi)”—often works better than arguing that readers should already know they are the same.

Persian, Farsi and identity in the diaspora

For diaspora families, the choice can carry emotion beyond grammar. “Farsi” may sound intimate: the word used at home, in childhood classes or when speaking with relatives. “Persian” may emphasize a broader literary and cultural inheritance. Some people prefer one strongly; others switch between them without noticing.

That flexibility appears in objects carrying the written language, too. The Persian Calligraphy and Achaemenid Guard Canvas Tote Bag features the line چو ایران نباشد تن من مباد, while the Iran Dokht Persian Calligraphy Hat uses ایران‌دخت. In English these are naturally described as Persian calligraphy; in Persian, a speaker would call the language and script fārsi.

The clearest answer

Persian and Farsi name the same language. In English, “Persian” is the traditional and generally preferred formal name. “Farsi” is the Persian endonym and a normal, widely understood English borrowing, especially in diaspora conversation and practical language services.

If you want one default rule, use Persian when writing English and fārsi when speaking Persian. If a person or institution has a clear preference, follow it. Language names should help people understand one another—not become another reason to police identity.

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Sources: Library of Congress, ISO 639-2 Language Code List; ISO 639-3, Persian macrolanguage; ISO 639-3, Iranian Persian; ISO 639-3, Dari; U.S. Census Bureau, Language Use; Encyclopaedia Iranica, “Persian Language i. Early New Persian”; “Iranian Languages and Scripts: Documentation”; and “Arabic Elements in Persian”.

Header image: Album Page with Calligraphy Exercise (siyah mashq), made in Iran by Muhammad Shah Qajar in October 1844. Ink, gold and opaque watercolor on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, public domain.