Learning Farsi, the Persian language can be a tad challenging. That’s why we compiled some of the best books to learn Farsi. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an advanced speaker — there’s a Farsi language book here for everyone.
Note: Many of these books come in hard copy, eBook, and MP3. For that reason, we have included audiobooks for learning Farsi as well. However, if you are interested in audiobooks, check out our full overview of the best audiobooks to learn Farsi here. If you want to try learning Farsi with an audiobook, check out try 30-day free audible trial on Amazon and get your first books for free!
Let’s dive right in!
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1. Complete Modern Persian Beginner to Intermediate Course
Our rating: 4.5 stars
Skill level: Beginner to Intermediate
Complete Modern Persian has a ton of useful features that will help you learn Farsi in no time. This book includes one, five, and ten-minute summaries of the language’s key principles for students with busy schedules. It also has grammar tips, vocabulary, two audio CDs and tests that will reinforce the material and help you retain all of the awesome things you’re learning. The teachers who wrote this book provide solutions for the most common problems that students face while learning Farsi, so you won’t get confused and give up on your studies if you buy it.
Reviewers say that this book is well-organized and makes it easy to teach yourself. We believe this is one of the best books to learn Farsi because of the amount of resources that it gives you. It is an excellent way for a beginner to start learning the Persian language!
2. Learn Farsi in 100 Days: The Ultimate Crash Course to Learning Farsi Fast
Our rating: 4 stars
Skill level: Beginner
This book promises to help you learn Farsi at an advanced level in just 100 days. Each day you’ll complete a reading comprehension exercise and a grammar lesson. You’ll also learn useful conversational vocabulary that will help you talk about things like sports, your family and the weather. You don’t need a teacher to complete this program—it’s designed for self-study. Before you know it, you’ll be speaking Farsi fluently!
One reviewer who teaches Farsi and uses this book with his students said that it’s “extraordinary” and “exceptionally well-written.” He says that you don’t need to have any experience reading or writing Farsi to understand this book, unlike a lot of other books on the market that are supposedly written for beginners.
3. Learn Farsi in 100 Days: Workbook
Our rating: 5 stars
Skill level: Beginner
This book was written by the same author as Learning Farsi in 100 Days: The Ultimate Crash Course. It covers the same topics as the author’s other book, providing even more writing, reading, and vocabulary practice. If you like doing many practice exercises when you’re learning a new language and you’re planning on buying the author’s other guide, then pick up this workbook, too.
One reviewer said that this book helped reinforce all of the information that they learned from The Ultimate Crash Course and another said that it’s a wonderful guide. The author has written some of the best books to learn Farsi, so you are sure to see improvement.
4. Farsi for Beginners: Mastering Conversational Farsi (Free MP3 Audio Disc included)
Our rating: 4 stars
Skill level: Beginner
This book offers a wealth of information about Iranian culture. It features dialogues and stories about a family traveling to Iran, poems written by Iranian authors, idioms and sayings, photos taken in Iran, and other cultural information. This book also comes with a free MP3 Audio Disc that has recordings from native speakers on it. Hearing the language spoken is an important part of improving your pronunciation, so if you aren’t working with a teacher, you should consider getting this book or one of the others on this list that comes with recordings. By the end of the course, you should be able to understand short sentences, communicate your needs to others (which will come in handy if you’re traveling to Iran!), and read and write in the Farsi alphabet.
Reviewers say that the pronunciations in this book are spot on, so if you’re traveling to Iran and need to know how to say things correctly, this will be one of the best books to learn Farsi for you!
5. Basic Persian: A Grammar and Workbook
Our rating: 4.5 stars
Skill level: Intermediate
Learning all of the grammar rules of a new language can be really hard. This grammar workbook aims to make it easier for you by providing you with jargon-free explanations of all of Farsi’s grammar rules. After reading through the explanations, you’ll get to complete written exercises to practice what you’ve learned. You can compare your answers to the book’s full answer key to make sure you’re on the right track. This intermediate workbook also comes with a helpful glossary of Persian-English terms and a huge sense of accomplishment when you finish it!
Reviewers say that this is a great resource for Persian learners and something they refer to often. This is one of our best books to learn Farsi for intermediate students because it really pushes you and can always be a source to return to.
6. How to Write in Persian (A Workbook for Learning the Persian Alphabet)
Our rating: 4.5 stars
Skill level: Intermediate
Learning how to write in Farsi is another challenge students face. This book makes the process of learning the Farsi alphabet easier by providing clear visual directions for forming each letter and exercises that will help you practice. The examples of typical Persian handwriting styles will help you further fine-tune your script. You’ll be writing in Farsi like a pro in no time!
One reviewer said that this is the best Persian alphabet book on the market and that it contains a rare advanced handwriting section. So even if you can already write in Farsi, you might want to check out this book!
7. Learn to Read Persian in 5 Days
Our rating:5 stars
Skill level: Beginner
Some language books only include a table of the Persian alphabet and expect you to learn it on your own. That approach can be pretty frustrating and confusing for beginning language students. Learn to Read Persian in 5 Days won’t leave you scratching your head over the Persian alphabet—it will guide you through the whole process of learning it in less than a week. You’ll learn how to recognize and read every letter and learn over 150 Persian words.
One reviewer said that he wished he had this book when he started learning Farsi. Other reviewers agreed that this book is incredibly helpful. Overall, it is one of the best books to learn Farsi fast.
8. Read and Write Persian Language in 7 Days: A Workbook and Step-by-Step Guide
Our rating: 5 stars
Skill level: Beginner
This book promises to help you learn Farsi in a fast and fun way. You’ll learn the alphabet, basic grammar, sentence structures, and pronunciation. Within this book’s pages, you’ll also find a comprehensive list of the most common Persian words, as well as useful tables that will teach you the concepts you need to know quickly.
One reviewer said that the book was easy to follow and gave them fast results. Another reviewer called it a “great investment.”
9. Laugh and Learn Farsi: 100 Jokes in Farsi: For Advanced Farsi Learners
Our rating: 5 stars
Skill level: Advanced
This is a supplementary book for advanced Farsi speakers who want to understand common jokes that native speakers might tell. It contains over 100 funny jokes that you can share with your family and friends to practice your Farsi. We think this is one of the best books to learn Farsi because learning a language can become boring and stale. But with this book, you’ll be hooked from cover to cover.
One reviewer said this book has some of the best jokes they’ve ever heard. Another reviewer said that this book was an easy, fun way to work on their Farsi. Get this book if you want to add some entertainment to your studying. Check out our guide on learning Farsi for other fun ways to learn Farsi.
10. Pimsleur Farsi Persian Basic Course – Level 1 Lessons 1-10 CD
Our rating: 4.5 stars
Skill level: Beginner
This audio course emphasizes pronunciation and comprehension. If learning to read and write Farsi isn’t nearly as important to you as learning to speak it, you should consider getting an audio course like this. You’ll get 30 minutes of spoken language practice with each lesson and lots of helpful tips that will help you understand and participate in conversations.
One reviewer said they’ve learned a great deal from this course over a short period of time. Other reviewers said they were surprised at how easy to follow the course was and how well its teaching methods work.
Wrapping Up
These are only a few examples that we enjoy. When it comes to the best books to learn Farsi, you may find something else works better for you. Maybe you need more photos or an audio companion to help with pronunciation.
Regardless, we assure you that these choices are perfect ways to learn Farsi for a beginner or advanced Persian speaker.
If you aren’t ready to buy a book or CD set, consider trying out these free ways to learn Farsi!
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