پارسی

Persian

Alternative forms

• فارسی (fârsi) (via Arabic)

Etymology

Inherited from Middle Persian pʾlsyk' (pārsīg, “Persian”), from pʾls (pārs, “Persia”) [from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 (Pārsa, “Persia”)] + -yk' (-īg, suffix forming adjectives). By surface analysis, پارس (pârs, “Persia”) +‎ ـی (-i, suffix forming adjectives).

Compare Old Armenian պարսիկ (parsik).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Persian) IPA^(key): [pɑːɾ.ˈsiː]

 

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːɾ.síː]

• (Dari, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːɾ.síː]
  • (Kabuli) IPA^(key): [pʰɑːɾ.síː]
  • (Hazaragi) IPA^(key): [pʰɔːɾ.sí]

• (Iran, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɒːɹ.síː]

• (Tajik, formal) IPA^(key): [pʰɔɾ.sí]

Readings
Classical reading?	pārsī
Dari reading?	pārsī
Iranian reading?	pârsi
Tajik reading?	porsi

Adjective

Dari	پارسی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	порсӣ

پارسی • (pârsi)

1. Persian

Noun

Dari	پارسی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	порсӣ

پارسی • (pârsi) (plural پارسی‌ها (pârsi-hâ))

1. Persian (person)
   • 1952, Hasan Pirniya, ایران باستان‎^[1], page 206:

     […] مادی‌ها، پارسی‌ها و مردمان دیگر […]

     […] mâdi-hâ, pârsi-hâ va mardamân-e digar […]

     […] Medes, Persians and other peoples […]

Proper noun

Dari	پارسی
Iranian Persian
Tajik	порсӣ

پارسی • (pârsi)

1. Persian (language)

   من ایرانی‌ام و زبانم «پارسی» است.

   man irâni am o zabân-am "pârsi" ast.

   I am Iranian and my language is "Persian".

   بسی رنج بردم در این سال سی ـــ عجم زنده کردم بدین پارسی

   basi ranj burdam dar ēn sāl-si -- ajam zinda kardam bad-ēn pârsi

   “I endured much pain and strife during these thirty years -- I breathed life to the Ajam with this Parsi"

   (Can we date this quote by Ferdowsi and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

Urdu

Etymology

Inherited from Prakrit 𑀧𑀸𑀭𑀲 (pārasa), from Sanskrit पारसिक (pārasika), from Middle Persian 𐭯𐭠𐭫𐭮𐭩' (pʾlsy /Pārs/), from Old Persian 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿 (Pārsa). Cognate with Bengali পারসি (parśi), Gujarati પારસી (pārsī), Marathi पारशी (pārśī), Punjabi پَارْسِی / ਪਾਰਸੀ (pārsī).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Urdu) IPA^(key): /pɑːɾ.siː/
• Rhymes: -iː
• Hyphenation: پَارْ‧سِی

Proper noun

پَارْسِی • (pārsī) f (Hindi spelling पारसी)

1. (historical) Persian (language)

Adjective

پَارْسِی • (pārsī) (indeclinable, Hindi spelling पारसी)

1. of, or pertaining to, Parsis
2. (historical) Persian, Iranian

Noun

پَارْسِی • (pārsī) m (Hindi spelling पारसी)

1. Parsi
2. (historical) a Persian, Iranian

Declension

Declension of پارسی

	singular	plural
direct	پَارْسِی (pārsī)	پَارْسِی (pārsī)
oblique	پَارْسِی (pārsī)	پَارْسِِیوں (pārsiyõ)
vocative	پَارْسِی (pārsī)	پَارْسِِیو (pārsiyo)

Further reading

More information

• “پارسی”, in اُردُو لُغَت (urdū luġat) (in Urdu), Ministry of Education: Government of Pakistan, 2017.
• “پارسی”, in ریخْتَہ لُغَت (rexta luġat) - Rekhta Dictionary [Urdu dictionary with meanings in Hindi & English], Noida, India: Rekhta Foundation, 2025.
• Qureshi, Bashir Ahmad (1971) “پارسی”, in Kitabistan's 20th Century Standard Dictionary‎, Lahore: Kitabistan Pub. Co., page 143
• Platts, John T. (1884) “پارسی”, in A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English, London: W. H. Allen & Co., page 217
• S. W. Fallon (1879) “پارسی”, in A New Hindustani-English Dictionary, Banaras, London: Trubner and Co., page 327