Knowing how to read and write the language you speak makes it more useful, fun and easier to improve.  For instance, if you are in Afghanistan and you know how to read and write Dari, you will be able to find your way around the city easier by reading the signs for directions and instruction singes for offices and buildings. Also, being able to read the Dari script will enable you to pronounce words better and read stories, news papers and other literature in Dari. So the first step for being able to read the Dari script is to learn the Dari alphabet. There are thirty two letters in the Dari alphabet. Dari (Afghan Persian) has adopted the Arabic alphabet, and has added some extra letters for the sounds that do not exist in the Arabic language. Dari is written from right to left.

For people who learn Dari as a second language and are not familiar with the Dari script, thinking about learning to write in Dari may seem intimidating at first. But from my experience as Dari instructor many students write in the Dari script with ease. The Dari script is very beautiful; in fact calligraphy in Dari or Farsi is one of the major fine arts in Afghanistan. Being able to write in Dari will make you feel as if you are producing a piece of art every time you write a word because it is very beautiful and has very beautiful shapes.

In the following video lessons we are going to show you the easiest way to learn to write the Dari alphabet. We will present the Dari alphabet in three lessons. In each lesson the animation clearly shows the pen strokes and shows where the letter starts and where it finishes. Also, we have the name of the letter read for you by a native speaker and you will also see the name of the letter written in Roman alphabet. The starting and ending point of each letter in the animation is based on how you would write it with a pen so please notice where each letter starts and ends and write it the same way on a piece of paper.