Discover the Joy of Persian
Persian Language and Literature for All.

• Listen to the Reed: Learn the Persian Alphabet with Rumi — the letters through 18 verses of Rumi’s Masnavi, across 12 live-recorded sessions. ~3 months at one session a week. For the poetry lover.
• The Persian Alphabet, Decoded: A Complete Course — a staged, fully decodable path: you never meet a word containing a letter you haven’t learned. ~1.5 months at one lesson a week. For the structured learner who values their time.

Yes! The first lesson of each course is a live demo, no signup required. It’s a great way to experience our teaching style and see how effective our courses are before committing.

Absolutely! We offer a flat 15% group discount on all our courses and workshops — perfect for partners, families, classmates, or colleagues learning Persian together.

To enjoy this discount, simply use code GP15 at checkout.

We believe learning a new language is more fun and rewarding when shared with loved ones. Let us know how we can help your group embark on this exciting journey together!

If you’re representing an entire classroom, institution, or organization and would like to discuss an ongoing collaboration, please contact us directly for a personalized arrangement.

Two options, depending on how much help you need.

For a single question — a grammar point that won’t click, a cultural nuance, feedback on a short piece of writing — you can request a Personalized Learning Module: a short video or audio answer, recorded by Dr. Leila for your question alone. How PLMs work, and what they cost →

For ongoing guidance, our live workshops and 1-on-1 classes give you real-time feedback and direct access to an expert.

A course is a self-paced, online program you can do anytime on your own schedule. A workshop is a complete package that includes a self-paced course as a gift, plus a series of scheduled, live group classes on Zoom led by Dr. Leila Seyedghasem. Think of the course as your practice gym and the workshop as your live coaching sessions.

That’s an excellent question. The flood of free resources can be overwhelming, and while tools like YouTube, apps, and podcasts are fantastic supplements, they often provide a fragmented learning experience. You might learn a word here and a grammar rule there, but it’s very difficult to build a solid, comprehensive foundation.

The “right choice” depends on your learning goals. Our courses are designed to solve the exact problem of fragmentation. Here’s how Joy of Persian is different:

1. A Structured, Academic Path: Instead of random videos, our courses (like Let’s Learn Persian! A1 & A2) provide a structured, step-by-step curriculum.This is a complete learning experience designed for deep comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and practical exercises—a clear path from one level to the next.
2. Unmatched Expertise: Our courses are developed by Dr. Leila Seyedghasem, our co-founder with over 9+ years of online university teaching experience. She is a recipient of prestigious honors, including the Jalal Al-e Ahmad Literary Award and Iran’s Book of the Year Award. You aren’t learning from a hobbyist; you are learning from a distinguished, professional educator who has taught at the university level.
3. Authentic Audio (Dual-Audio, Never AI): Immerse yourself in real Persian from day one with professionally recorded native voices—never AI. Our unique dual-audio system lets you practice both 🔵Formal Persian (news, speeches) and 🔴Spoken Persian (everyday talk) side by side, helping you master natural pronunciation and listening skills.
4. A Feature for Every Step of Your Journey: Our platform is built on proven instructional design principles to give you the right tools at the right time. As you progress, you unlock new features specific to your learning stage:
   • • Tier 1: Core Experience: All courses are built on a core foundation of expert-led curriculum, authentic human audio, interactive exercises (based on text, audio, and quizzes), and flexible self-paced learning, backed by a free preview and a 14-day money-back guarantee.
     • Tier 2: Foundation Essentials: Our foundational language courses add essential tools, including a clear roadmap and our unique side-by-side audio tracks to help you master both Formal and Spoken Persian.
     • Tier 3: Advanced Study Tools: Advanced literature and thematic courses unlock powerful academic tools, such as synchronized audio & text, in-depth reading guides with built-in definitions, and rich visual/historical archives.

   For more details see: here.

5. Beyond Language—Into Literature: Most apps stop at basic vocabulary. We are one of the few platforms that take you from learning the language to truly appreciating the culture. We offer in-depth courses on literary masterpieces like Sa’di’s Golestan and the Rubaiyat of Khayyam, taught with the same academic rigor.
6. A Clear Path to Mastery: We offer different ways to learn based on your needs:
   • Async Courses: Perfect for self-paced, structured learning.
   • Live Workshops: For those who want to combine the async course material with live, interactive “flipped classroom” sessions led directly by Dr. Seyedghasem.
   • 1-on-1 Classes: For a fully personalized, guided experience.

This course is the right choice for you if:

• You feel overwhelmed by scattered resources and crave a clear, structured, A-to-Z learning program.
• You value learning from a highly qualified, award-winning university instructor.
• Your goal isn’t just to “learn some Farsi” but to build a deep, lasting connection with Persian language, culture, and classical literature.
• You want a complete system of lessons, exercises, and comprehension tasks, not just isolated videos.

We invite you to explore our free demos (No Signup Required) to get a feel for our teaching style. We believe you’ll immediately see the depth and quality that set our formal courses apart.

No — the courses are in Persian script from the first lesson. Our blog articles do use full transliteration, since they’re written for a general audience: the blog meets you where you are, the courses pull you forward.

The reasoning is simple. Given both a Latin spelling and the script, the eye takes the easier path every time — you read the Latin, and the script stays decoration. The longer that lasts, the longer it takes for real reading to become automatic. And reading is what unlocks everything else, from a menu in Tehran to a page of Hafez.

So instead of a crutch, you get support:

• Native audio, never AI. Every course is recorded by native speakers — so you learn a word by hearing it, not by spelling it out in Latin letters.
• Formal and Spoken side by side. In our core language courses, the dialogues and selected exercises carry two recordings of the same line: 🔵 Formal Persian, the register you’ll read, and 🔴 Spoken Persian, the register you’ll actually hear. Textbooks teach the first and leave you stranded on the second.
• Multi-sensory flashcards that connect the sound of a word straight to the shape of it, with no Latin step in between.
• In the literature courses, the audio runs synchronized with the text, so your eye stays on the Persian line while you hear it read.
• A free demo lesson, no signup, in every course — so you can see exactly what a page looks like before you decide.

And if you can’t read the script yet, you shouldn’t start here. Start with the script: our Persian alphabet courses cover all 32 letters in full, and the first lesson of each is free to try. Either one gets you ready for A1.

While we don’t have a gamified app like Duolingo (which, by the way, doesn’t currently offer Persian), Joy of Persian focuses on a deep, structured, and joyful learning experience that’s just as engaging—without relying on game mechanics.

Our core courses, such as Let’s Learn Persian! (A1), offer a university-level curriculum presented in an intuitive, interactive format. You’ll explore over 140 interactive exercises—including drag-and-drop matching, word search puzzles, and instant-feedback quizzes—that make learning feel fun and rewarding.

To help you build vocabulary naturally, you’ll also get over 160 interactive flashcards featuring Persian text, native audio, and English translation—designed to engage your eyes, ears, and memory all at once.

With dual audio tracks for formal and spoken Persian, clear progress tracking, and cultural immersion woven into each lesson, our platform makes learning both meaningful and motivating.

It’s perfect for beginners. You can even try the first lesson for free, no signup required.

📖 Read more: How Joy of Persian compares to other Persian learning platforms.

Not at all. Our team, servers, and learning platforms are based in Istanbul. Everything is 100% accessible worldwide, ensuring you experience no interruptions while learning.

Absolutely! Our courses are designed to be flexible. They are perfect for self-study to keep your Farsi sharp between classes, or as a structured resource to review with your tutor.