ق — qaf
«qaf» is a consonant of the Persian script, read as “q (deep g/k)”. A deep sound made down in the throat, between "k" and "g": the throat works the way it does at the start of a startled "oak!". The transcription writes it as "g". For example, in the word “قرمز” — red. The Persian alphabet has 32 letters in total. Two dots above a small oval with a tail. Deeper than ک — the same job, done lower down. It appears, for example, in the word “قهوه” — coffee.
In short
| Character | ق |
| Name | qaf |
| Sound | q (deep g/k) |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 28th of 33: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are ف and ک, appears in 373 words of this site.
How to type ق
- On a phone: add the Persian keyboard in the keyboard settings (Gboard on Android; Keyboards in the iPhone settings).
- In Word on Windows: type U+0642 and press Alt+X right after it — the code turns into the character.
- On a Mac: switch to the Unicode Hex Input source, hold Option and type 0642.
- Unicode code point: U+0642. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
A deep sound made down in the throat, between "k" and "g": the throat works the way it does at the start of a startled "oak!". The transcription writes it as "g"
Other written forms
The same character is written differently on a shop sign and in a book. Here are all the forms you may meet.
| Form | Character | Note |
|---|---|---|
| initial | قـ | — |
| medial | ـقـ | — |
| final | ـق | — |
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- قرمزgermezred
The character in the “ع غ ق — the throat and the depth” group
Ayn here has almost gone mute: it reads as a broken-off vowel or not at all. Ghayn went the other way and found a voice — a deep gargled g. And ق is a sound made down in the throat, between "k" and "g"; the transcription writes it as "g".
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «qaf» it is “q (deep g/k)”, as in the word “قرمز”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 32 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Persian character ق read?
As “q (deep g/k)” — it is a consonant of the Persian script. A deep sound made down in the throat, between "k" and "g": the throat works the way it does at the start of a startled "oak!". The transcription writes it as "g". For example, in the word “قرمز” — red.
What is the letter ق called?
Qaf. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Persian script: it is called “qaf” and reads as “q (deep g/k)”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.