Learning Persian numbers is a fundamental step in your language journey.

You’ll use numbers every day for shopping, sharing your phone number, and telling time.

This guide explains how to count in Persian and how to communicate the time.

I’ll also cover the differences between written Persian and spoken regional variations.

Persian numbers from 0 to 10

Persian uses its own written numerals.

These numerals are written and read from left to right, just like in English.

This is an important detail because Persian letters are written from right to left.

Here are the base numbers you need to memorize first.

You’ll notice slight pronunciation differences depending on the region.

In standard written Persian and Afghan Dari, the number six is pronounced shesh.

In colloquial Iranian Persian, people almost always pronounce six as shish.

Persian numbers from 11 to 19

The numbers from eleven to nineteen in Persian are mostly predictable, but they have their own unique forms.

They’re formed by combining the base number with the word for ten (dah).

Spoken Iranian Persian softens many of these words in casual conversation.

For example, fifteen (pânzdah) is commonly spoken as punzdah.

Seventeen (hefdah) is very often pronounced as hivdah in everyday street Persian.

Counting by tens to 100

Once you know how to count by tens, you can easily form any number up to one hundred.

To create compound numbers like twenty-one or thirty-five, you simply join the tens and the ones with the word “and”.

In Persian, “and” is written as و, but it’s pronounced as a short o when connecting numbers.

Here are two quick examples of compound numbers in action.

How to ask for the time in Persian

The word for “time” or “clock” in Persian is sâ’at (ساعت).

The word for “how much” or “how many” is chand (چند).

To ask for the time, you literally ask, “The clock is how much?”

In formal written Persian, you use the full verb ast (is).

In spoken everyday Persian, the verb ast shrinks into a simple e sound at the end of the word.

How to tell the time in Persian

Telling the exact hour is very simple once you know your numbers.

You just state the word sâ’at, followed by the number, and end with the verb “is”.

When you need to add minutes, you use the connector o (and) just like we did with compound numbers.

The word daqiqe means “minute” in Persian.

In casual conversation, native speakers often drop the word daqiqe entirely.

Quarters and halves in Persian time

Persian has specific vocabulary for quarters and halves, making time-telling much faster.

The word for “half” is nim (نیم).

The word for “quarter” is rob’ (ربع).

To say “half past” an hour, you attach nim to the hour using the o connector.

To say “quarter past” an hour, you do the exact same thing with the word rob’.

When you want to say “a quarter to” the next hour, you use the preposition be (to) or the phrase mânde be (remaining to).

You can also use this exact structure for minutes counting down to the next hour.