Curriculum · Unit 1 · Lesson 3
The Sounds of Farsi II: gh, r, and the Catch
قهوه
After this lesson your sound kit is complete: the voiced gh, the tapped r, and the tiny 'uh-oh' catch inside words like ba'd and sa'at.
The phrase map
ghahve
coffee
today's hero word
ghashang
beautiful
compliments unlocked
bârun
rain
bârân → bârun, the street move
chetor
how
the stem inside chetori
ba'd
after · then
ba…(stop)…d
sa'at
hour · time
two a's split by the catch
The dialogue
| Leila | Salâm, Sam! Ghahve? | Hi Sam! Coffee? |
| Sam | Âre! Ghahve… | Yeah! Coffee… (almost!) |
| Leila | Dobâre! | Again! |
| Sam | Ghahve! | Coffee! |
| Leila | Âfarin! | Well done! ✋ |
| Sam | Merci! | Thanks! |
The buzz test
Hand on your throat: kh doesn't buzz, gh does. khub (no buzz) → ghahve (buzz). The contrast is the skill.
The tapped r
One quick tap of the tongue — the tt in American "butter." Never the long English rrr. You've tapped it since âre.
🎧 Speak-along drill · 3 min
Headphones on, out loud, eyes free. Prompt → pause → you speak → native answer. This is where the lesson becomes yours.
Practice
Play the practice game for this lesson — listening rounds, matching, and dialogue replies, all in the real course voices. The PDF has 8 written exercises with an answer key.