Why It's "Persian," Not "Farsi"

Most bilingual resources use "Farsi" and "Persian" interchangeably, and for a long time, so did we. But the more we looked into it, the clearer the answer became: when writing in English, "Persian" is the correct term — not a stylistic preference, but the position held by linguists, the language's own governing academy, and centuries of English-language scholarship. Here's the case for it.

The Simple Version First

Farsi (فارسی) is the Persian word for Persian — it's what the language calls itself, in itself. "Persian" is the English name for that same language. Saying "I speak Farsi" in English is a bit like saying "I speak español" or "I'm learning svenska" — using the language's own native name instead of its established English one.

English doesn't do this with other languages. We don't say "I speak Deutsch" or "I'm learning Nihongo." We say German and Japanese. Persian is no exception to that pattern — English already has a word for it, and that word is Persian.

It's Not Just a Preference — It's the Official Position

This isn't a matter of taste. In 1993, the Academy of Persian Language and Literature — Iran's official linguistic authority — issued a formal statement recommending strongly against using "Farsi" in place of "Persian" in foreign-language contexts. The Academy's guidance is explicit: don't use "Farsi" in other languages — use "Persian," which carries deep historical roots in Western literature and academic tradition.

That's a rare thing: the body responsible for stewarding the language itself has weighed in on what English speakers should call it, and the answer is Persian.

Scholars Have Used "Persian" for Centuries — Even While Native Speakers Said "Farsi"

One of the more compelling points in this whole debate is that this isn't a recent academic trend. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, as interest in Persian literature grew in the West, every Persian textbook and grammar book published in English referred to the language as "Persian" — despite the fact that native speakers themselves were already calling it "Farsi" at the time.

In other words: the English scholarly convention of "Persian" isn't a newer, more "correct" overlay on an older native term. It ran in parallel with "Farsi" for well over a century, in exactly the same way "German" ran in parallel with "Deutsch." English simply kept its own name for the language, the way it does for nearly every other major world language.

"Persian" Is Also the More Accurate Term

There's a second, less-discussed reason "Persian" is the better choice: it's simply more precise. Persian is broader than Iran — it's the umbrella term for three closely related national varieties: Farsi in Iran, Dari in Afghanistan, and Tajik in Tajikistan, each an official language in its own country. From a linguistics standpoint, "Persian" is the term that spans all of these, descending in a continuous line from Old Persian through Middle Persian to what linguists today call New Persian — while "Farsi" specifically refers only to the modern Iranian variety.

So using "Farsi" in English doesn't just skip the established English term — it also narrows the language down to one country's version of it, when "Persian" is the term that actually reflects its full shared history across Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

Even Native Speakers Are Split — And Many Land on "Persian"

This isn't a case of outsiders telling Persian speakers what to call their own language. Plenty of native speakers make this same argument themselves. One native Persian speaker put it bluntly in a language forum: it's a point of duty to tell people to stop calling the language "Farsi," because the correct English term, as set out by the Academy of Persian Language and Literature, is Persian. Another longtime Persian-language writer describes correcting herself mid-sentence whenever "Farsi" slips out in English, calling it a habit she actively works against.

A Fair Counterpoint — Because This Debate Isn't Fully Closed

To be even-handed: not everyone agrees this is settled. Some point out that "Farsi" appears in English dictionaries precisely because it has been widely adopted into English usage — and that dictionary inclusion is its own form of legitimacy, regardless of what an official academy recommends. Dictionaries, after all, record how language is actually used, not just how it "should" be used.

That's a reasonable point. Language does shift through use, and "Farsi" has become common in everyday English, especially within diaspora communities describing their own home language. But there's a meaningful difference between understanding why a term spread informally and choosing it deliberately in writing, branding, or education — where precision and established convention matter more.

What This Means for Us

We've updated our own content to reflect this: going forward, we use "Persian" — not "Farsi" — when referring to the language in English. It's a small change, but it's the more accurate one, and it's the term recommended by the language's own governing academy.

You'll still see "Farsi" in our brand name, Englisi Farsi — that's staying as-is, since it's how families already recognize us. And our branding represents what we do- we transliterate Persian into Finglisi, so technically our name is in alignment with these rules.  In our writing, our books, and our teaching materials, "Persian" is now the term we use, and we think it's worth understanding why.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is "Farsi" wrong to use in English? It's widely understood and won't cause confusion, but it isn't the established English term. "Persian" is the term recommended by Iran's own language academy and used throughout English-language scholarship.

Why do so many people say "Farsi" then? Largely through diaspora communities describing their own home language in English, and its increasing use in media and casual conversation. Common usage doesn't always align with formal linguistic recommendation.

Is "Persian" less specific than "Farsi"? The opposite — "Persian" is the broader, more accurate umbrella term, covering Farsi (Iran), Dari (Afghanistan), and Tajik (Tajikistan) as related national varieties of the same language.

Should I stop saying "Farsi" at home? Not necessarily — how you speak with family is personal and doesn't need to follow English style conventions. This distinction matters most in formal, written, and English-language educational contexts.

Does Englisi Farsi still use the word "Farsi"? Only in our brand name, which stays as families already know it. This is because our brand name is Persian and English "Transliterated" into Englisi Farsi . When we describe the language we are teaching, our written content uses "Persian" going forward.

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