AI in Persian: Farsi Writing, Politeness and Translation

Using AI in Persian works well for drafts, summaries, translations and customer replies, as long as you tell the assistant exactly which Persian you want and check the result before it leaves your desk. Persian, also called Farsi in English, is written in a modified Arabic script from right to left, has a large gap between formal writing and everyday speech, and is used in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan with different local forms. An assistant that ignores these details produces text that is grammatical but sounds foreign, stiff or wrongly formatted.

This guide explains how to prompt for natural Farsi, how to keep right-to-left text and numbers intact, how to choose a register, and how to review replies when you cannot read every word yourself. It uses real examples and a checklist you can reuse.

AI in Persian: which Persian do you need?

Start every task by naming the variety, the audience and the channel. “Write in Persian” is too vague. A message to a customer in Tehran, a notice for a community in Kabul and a school text in Dushanbe use different vocabulary, spelling conventions and even scripts. In Iran the language is called Farsi, in Afghanistan the standard form is called Dari, and in Tajikistan the related language Tajik is normally written in the Cyrillic alphabet. An assistant will usually default to Iranian Persian in Arabic script unless you say otherwise, so state your target.

Say who will read the text. A formal letter to a ministry, a friendly message to a client and a social media caption need different tones, and the difference in Persian is larger than in English. Also say whether the reader sees the message on a phone, in a printed document or in a web page, because that affects line breaks, fonts and the way digits are shown.

Formal and informal registers

Written Persian and spoken Persian differ in verb forms, pronouns and many small words. In a formal text you write the full verb, for example می‌خواهم for “I want”, and in relaxed speech people say می‌خوام. Formal business writing uses the polite pronoun شما for “you”, while friends and family use تو. The same sentence can sound correct in a chat and rude in a contract.

Situation	Register to ask for	Typical opening	Typical closing
Official letter or contract	Formal written	با سلام و احترام	با احترام
Customer email	Polite, plain written	سلام، وقت بخیر	با تشکر
Messaging app, known client	Friendly but respectful	سلام، روز بخیر	ممنون از شما
Social media caption	Conversational	Short hook	Question or call to action
Subtitles or dialogue	Colloquial spoken	Natural speech	Natural speech

Ask the assistant to use one register throughout and to avoid mixing colloquial verbs into formal paragraphs. A common failure is a message that starts politely and drifts into slang halfway through, or one that uses heavy literary vocabulary where a simple word would do. Add a line such as “use everyday written Persian that a customer would use in an email”.

Politeness and the habit of ta’arof

Persian business communication often includes polite formulas that soften requests and show respect. Phrases of thanks, wishes for health and indirect ways of declining are normal. A direct English message translated word for word can sound abrupt. Ask the assistant to keep the meaning exact but to use the polite forms a native professional would use, and to avoid exaggerated flattery that would sound insincere.

Do not let the assistant hide a firm message behind politeness. If a payment is overdue, the Persian text can be courteous and still state the amount, the date and the next step plainly. Review the result for ambiguity: a very indirect sentence can leave the reader unsure whether you asked for something. If you have a colleague who reads Persian, ask them to check the tone of important messages once and save the approved phrases as your templates.

Right-to-left text, digits and mixed content

Persian runs from right to left, but numbers, English brand names and web addresses run left to right inside it. This mix is where layout breaks most often. Punctuation can jump to the wrong end of a line, parentheses can flip and a price can appear reversed. The Unicode bidirectional algorithm decides how these pieces are arranged, and the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm report explains the rules behind it. You do not need to read it, but it helps to know that the problem is in the display and not in your words.

When you work with an assistant, follow a few habits. Keep one language per sentence where you can. Put brand names and codes in their own short phrase. Write the final text in a tool that supports right-to-left layout, such as a modern word processor or a web page with the correct direction attribute, and check it on a phone. Persian also uses a zero-width non-joiner, often called a half-space, inside words such as می‌خواهم and in compounds. If the half-space is missing, the words run together or appear separated by a full space, and a careful reader notices.

Digits deserve a decision. Persian text may use Persian digits (۱۲۳) or Western digits (123). Pick one style for the audience and tell the assistant. Mixed digits in the same table look careless.

Prompting for natural Farsi

You can write the instructions in English and ask for the output in Persian, or write the whole prompt in Persian if that is easier. Both work. Our guide to prompting in your own language covers the trade-offs. A reliable pattern is to state the task, the audience, the register, the length and the things to avoid.

For example: “Write a reply to a customer who asks about delivery times. Use polite written Persian, address the reader as شما, keep it under 80 words, use Western digits, do not promise a date I did not give you.” Then paste the facts. Giving the facts yourself matters, because an assistant that fills gaps will invent a delivery date that sounds confident. If you want a translation, paste the source text and add “translate for meaning, keep names unchanged, mark any phrase you are unsure about”.

Ask for two versions when the tone matters, one more formal and one more friendly, and choose. Ask the assistant to list the choices it made, such as “I used the formal verb forms and the polite pronoun”, so that you can check them against your intention.

Names, dates, currency and calendars

Names written in Persian script can be transliterated into Latin letters in several ways. Decide on one spelling for each person and use it everywhere, and never let the assistant “correct” a name. Ask it to leave names untouched and to place them in the same position as the original.

Dates need extra care. Iran officially uses the Solar Hijri calendar, in which the year number differs from the Gregorian year, and many documents show both. If you write for a mixed audience, state the Gregorian date in digits and, where it matters, add the Solar Hijri date, and check the conversion with a reliable calendar tool rather than trusting the assistant. For money, say which currency you mean. In Iran prices are commonly spoken in tomans while official figures use rials, and one toman equals ten rials. A message that mixes them up creates a real dispute. Ask the assistant to write amounts with the unit spelled out and to repeat the number in words in contracts.

Translation, post-editing and quality

Assistants translate between English and Persian well enough for gist, and often well enough for first drafts. They are weaker with idioms, humour, poetry, legal phrasing and very recent terms. Treat machine translation as post-editing material: read it, fix it and approve it. Our guide to AI translation quality describes a simple review routine, and professionals can use the same assistant as a second pair of eyes as explained in AI for translators.

Use a back-translation check for important texts: ask the assistant to translate the Persian result back into English without seeing the original, then compare the two English versions. Differences show where meaning drifted. Keep a glossary of your terms, such as product names and legal words, and paste it into every request. For official documents, certified translation by a human translator is often a legal requirement, and an assistant does not replace it.

Privacy and safety when using AI in Persian

Do not paste identity documents, bank details or confidential contracts into any assistant, in any language. Remove names and numbers you do not need. Our short guide on what not to share with AI lists the categories to keep out. Some users and organisations work in sensitive circumstances, and they should think twice before storing chats that identify them. Choose a service that lets you export and delete your conversations and does not use them to train models.

Models can also state wrong facts about history, politics and law with confidence. Verify names, dates and legal claims in a trusted source, as described in what AI hallucinations are and how to catch them. For the language itself, the overview of the Persian language is a useful starting point for the varieties and the writing system.

A review checklist before you send

Before a Persian message goes out, run through a short list. First, the register: is it formal or friendly throughout? Second, the verbs and pronouns: do they match the audience? Third, the half-space: are compound words and verb prefixes spelled correctly? Fourth, the numbers: are digits, currency and dates in one style and correct? Fifth, the layout: do parentheses, punctuation, links and English words appear in the right places on a phone? Sixth, the facts: did the assistant add any promise, price or date that you did not supply?

If you cannot read Persian, do not send an important message on the strength of a fluent-looking draft. Ask a native speaker, or use the back-translation check and a second tool. For routine replies, build a library of approved templates and let the assistant fill in the variable parts only. That keeps your voice steady and cuts the risk.

How Ask Mio helps with Persian

Ask Mio is one assistant with five modes, and you never choose a model: Mio routes each request to the one that suits the task. Chat and Write on the free plan are enough to draft and translate short Persian messages, and you can ask for a different register or a shorter version in the same conversation. The multilingual assistant guide explains how Mio handles languages in general, and the site and product run in 25+ languages.

On paid plans, Research adds web search with cited sources for checking terms and facts, file uploads let you work from a PDF or Word document, and memory can store your preferred register, glossary and spelling of names so that every new chat starts with them. Projects can hold a template library for a client. Your chats and files stay yours, can be exported or deleted and are not used to train models. Even so, check every important Persian text with a human reader before you rely on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can AI write good Persian?

Yes for everyday messages, summaries and first drafts, especially when you name the register and audience. It is less reliable with idioms, poetry, humour and legal wording. Treat the output as a draft, check verbs, pronouns and the half-space, and ask a native speaker to review anything official or public before it is sent.

Should I write my prompt in Persian or English?

Either works. Write in the language you express yourself best in, and state the target clearly: Iranian Farsi, Dari or Tajik, formal or informal. If you write in English, add the facts and names yourself so the assistant does not invent details, and ask it to leave names and codes unchanged in the result.

Why does my Persian text look broken in a document?

Usually the layout direction is wrong, not the words. Punctuation and numbers sit at the wrong end when the paragraph is set left to right or when English words are mixed in awkwardly. Set the paragraph direction to right to left, keep Latin words in short phrases and check the result on a phone.

Can AI translate legal or official documents into Persian?

It can produce a draft that helps you understand or prepare a text, but official use often requires a certified human translator. Legal terms differ between systems, and one wrong word can change an obligation. Use the assistant for preparation and review, and let a qualified translator sign off the final version.

Which Ask Mio plan should I use for Persian work?

The free plan includes Chat and Write, which cover drafting, rewriting and translation of short texts. Paid plans add Research with cited sources, file uploads and memory for your glossary and preferred register. Check the live pricing page for current points and file limits before you decide.

The Bottom Line

AI in Persian is a practical helper when you name the variety, the register and the audience, supply the facts yourself and review the result for verbs, the half-space, digits and layout. Keep a glossary and approved templates, and ask a native reader to check anything important. You can start on the free plan and compare the options on the Ask Mio pricing page.