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English to Finglish and Finglish to English

This free translator works both ways: type English to get everyday spoken Persian in English letters (Finglish), or paste Finglish, also called Pinglish, to see what it means.

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FinglishYou get

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Swap flips the box and keeps your words. Any common spelling is read, like khoobam merci, and every answer is written the way people say it at home in Tehran.

What is Finglish?

Finglish is Persian (Farsi) written with the English alphabet, spelled the way it sounds. Salam is hello, Merci is thank you, Khoobam is "I am good". Plenty of heritage learners, partners and travelers can speak or half understand Persian without being able to read the script. Finglish is what closes that gap. You will also see it written Fingilish, Pinglish or Fenglish.

This Finglish is Persian. It has nothing to do with the Finnish and English mix that shares the name.

How to use the translator, both ways

It takes about ten seconds, in either direction.

  • 1. Pick a direction

    English to Finglish to write a line, Finglish to English to read one. Swap turns the box around and carries your words with it.

  • 2. Type or paste

    Up to 200 letters, a line at a time, in any common spelling. Or tap one of the Try one lines.

  • 3. Translate

    English in: the Finglish comes back as the big line, with a Copy button. Finglish in: the English meaning comes first, then the same line in clean Finglish.

  • 4. Check

    Read How it is said for who you would say it to, and Word by word when the line is an idiom.

Spoken Persian, not textbook Persian

Textbook Persian is the formal, written kind. It is correct, and almost nobody talks that way. Here you get the version spoken at family tables and in cafes: dooset daram, khoone, nun, mikham, miram.

It also picks the right "you". Friends, cousins and younger people get the friendly to forms (Chetori). Elders and strangers get the polite shoma forms (Chetorin).

Common Finglish phrases people text

The lines that turn up in family chats and from Persian friends most often, and what they mean in English:

  • Khoobam merci

    I am good, thanks. The usual reply to "how are you".

  • Salam chetori?

    Hi, how are you? Friendly, for friends and family.

  • Dooset daram

    I love you, said between friends and family. Literally "I have your friend".

  • Delam barat tang shode

    I miss you. Literally "my heart has gotten tight for you".

  • Joonam, azizam

    Both are affectionate, "my dear". Used with family, friends and partners.

Why the same word has more than one spelling

Persian script leaves out the short vowels, so there is more than one sensible way to write a word in English letters. Khoobam, Khubam and Khobam are all the same word. Merci and Mersi are the same too.

There is no official Finglish spelling, which trips up any tool that expects one exact spelling. This one reads the sounds instead, so a message typed as khoob, khub or khoub all works. Its own answers follow one steady house spelling (Khoob, Merci, Dooset), so what you read here matches what you learn in the course.

Words, idioms and the lesson behind them

Persian words are built from small parts. Khoobam is khoob, "good", plus -am, "I am". Take a line apart this way and a message that looked like a wall of letters is three or four easy words.

Some lines mean something other than their words. "Ghorbunet beram" is word for word "may I be sacrificed for you", and what it means is an affectionate "bless you" or "you are so kind". Nobody means the sacrifice, so the answer shows the real meaning first and the word-by-word reading under it.

Under an answer, Hear it opens the Persian audio page with your line ready to play, and Learn this links go to the lessons that teach its words. Module 1 is free with no signup, and it starts with the lines people say first.

Questions about Finglish

  • Finglish is Persian (Farsi) written in plain English letters, spelled the way it sounds. It is also written Fingilish or Pinglish. You can read it and say it without learning the Persian alphabet.

  • Yes. Tap Swap above the box to turn it around, paste a Finglish message in any spelling, and the English meaning comes back first, with the parts of the line explained.

  • "Khoobam merci" means "I am good, thanks". It is the usual answer when someone asks how you are: khoobam is "I am good" and merci is "thanks".

  • It is the same language written another way. Farsi is the Persian name for the language and Persian is the English name. Finglish is simply Persian in English letters, so a line in Finglish is a line of real Persian.

  • Type the English line into the box and tap Translate. You get the Persian in Finglish, spelled the way it is said: kh, sh, ch, gh and zh for the Persian sounds, and oo for the sound in "food".

  • Say each letter the English way, with a few Persian sounds: kh is a rough h, gh is a throaty g, and oo is the sound in "food". Khoob (good) sounds like "kh-oob".

  • Because spoken Persian is what people say. Formal book Persian is written and read aloud rarely. Here "I love you" between friends is Dooset daram, and a house is khoone, as you will hear it.

  • Persian script does not write the short vowels, so English letters can be chosen in a few ways. Khoobam, Khobam and Khubam are one word. The translator understands all of them and always answers in one house spelling, so it stays easy to learn from.

  • No. Finglish is an informal way people write Persian, so there is no single standard. The answers here follow one consistent house style, written the way the word is said in Tehran.

  • Joonam and azizam are both affectionate, like "my dear". Dooset daram is "I love you" between friends and family, and word for word it is "I have your friend".

  • It means the words are not the meaning. "Ghorbunet beram" is word for word "may I be sacrificed for you" and means an affectionate "bless you". The answer shows the meaning, then the literal reading.

  • Yes. Tap Hear it under an answer to open the Persian audio page with that line ready, said in the family voice you pick.

  • Yes, in both directions. Everyone gets 5 translations a day with no signup, and learners with an account get more.

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