Persian names the decimal separator ممیز momayyez. A printed decimal divides an integer part from digits representing tenths, hundredths, thousandths, and smaller places: ۳٫۱۴. In careful mathematical reading, the fractional digits may be followed by their place-value denominator; in practical speech, speakers often read the post-decimal string as one number or digit by digit.
Those readings are not freely interchangeable. A place-value reading describes a numerical amount, while digit-by-digit reading preserves the written string—especially internal and trailing zeroes, version labels, instrument displays, and dictated data.
Persian decimal typography
Use Persian digits ۰۱۲۳۴۵۶۷۸۹ and, in edited digital Persian, the decimal separator ٫. It is distinct from the thousands separator ٬, the date slash, and ASCII full stop.
| Value or string | Persian notation | One natural reading |
|---|---|---|
| 3.14 | ۳٫۱۴ | سه ممیز چهارده صدم |
| 0.5 | ۰٫۵ | صفر ممیز پنج دهم |
| 0.05 | ۰٫۰۵ | صفر ممیز پنج صدم |
| 12.503 | ۱۲٫۵۰۳ | دوازده ممیز پانصد و سه هزارم |
| 1,250.5 | ۱٬۲۵۰٫۵ | هزار و دویست و پنجاه ممیز پنج دهم |
عدد ۳٫۱۴ را تا دو رقم اعشار گزارش کنید.
adad-e se momayyez chahârdah sadom râ tâ do raqam-e a'shâr gozâresh konid.
Report the number 3.14 to two decimal places. (academic instruction; place-value reading)
مبلغ ۱٬۲۵۰٫۵ میلیون تومان در جدول ثبت شده است.
mablagh-e hezâr-o-devist-o-panjâh momayyez panj milyon tumân dar jadval sabt shode ast.
The amount of 1,250.5 million tomans is recorded in the table. (formal financial notation)
Iranian handwriting and legacy documents may use a slash-like mark for the decimal point, while international software often outputs an ASCII period. In an edited Unicode guide, ٫ keeps the decimal function explicit. When entering data into software, follow that system’s required input format rather than assuming its typography matches Persian prose.
Place-value reading
In a fully explicit mathematical reading, say the integer, ممیز, the fractional digits as a number, and the denominator determined by the number of decimal places:
- one digit: دهم “tenths”
- two digits: صدم “hundredths”
- three digits: هزارم “thousandths”
- four digits: دههزارم “ten-thousandths”
Thus ۴٫۲۵ can be read چهار ممیز بیست و پنج صدم. The denominator is ordinal in form because it names equal divisions of the unit.
میانگین دقیق چهار ممیز بیست و پنج صدم است.
miyângin-e daqiq chahâr momayyez bist-o-panj sadom ast.
The exact average is 4.25. (academic; explicit hundredths reading)
ضریب از صفر ممیز هفتاد و پنج صدم به صفر ممیز هشتاد و دو صدم رسید.
zarib az sefr momayyez haftâd-o-panj sadom be sefr momayyez hashtâd-o-do sadom resid.
The coefficient rose from 0.75 to 0.82. (formal quantitative report)
Mathematically, saying only پنج صدم is enough for 0.05 when no integer part needs contrast. Retaining صفر ممیز mirrors the written decimal and is useful in dictation or a sequence of reported values.
Compact whole-number reading after ممیز
In ordinary technical and educated speech, the post-decimal digits are often read as one cardinal without naming the denominator: ۳٫۱۴ as سه ممیز چهارده, ۱۲٫۵ as دوازده ممیز پنج. This compact pattern is natural when the notation and expected precision are visible.
دمای نمونه سه ممیز هفت درجه افزایش یافت.
damâ-ye nemune se momayyez haft daraje afzâyesh yâft.
The sample temperature increased by 3.7 degrees. (technical; compact decimal reading)
نرخ رشد امسال دو ممیز چهار درصد اعلام شد.
nerkh-e roshd-e emsâl do momayyez chahâr darsad e'lâm shod.
This year’s growth rate was announced as 2.4 percent. (formal news/statistical style)
This shorter reading relies on place position supplied by the written decimal. In a context where 2.04 and 2.4 could be confused, say or dictate the zero explicitly.
Digit-by-digit reading
Digit-by-digit reading treats the post-decimal portion as a sequence: ۲٫۰۵ becomes دو ممیز صفر پنج. It is common when copying a display, dictating a value, preserving leading or trailing zeroes, or reading a software version. It does not name the fractional denominator.
لطفا مقدار ۲٫۰۵ را «دو ممیز صفر پنج» بخوانید.
lotfan meqdâr-e do momayyez sefr panj râ ‘do momayyez sefr panj’ be-khânid.
Please read the value 2.05 as ‘two point zero five.’ (careful dictation)
نسخهی نرمافزار ۳٫۰۷ است؛ بعد از ممیز صفر را هم بگو.
noskhe-ye narm-afzâr se momayyez sefr haft ast; ba'd az momayyez sefr râ ham be-gu.
The software version is 3.07; say the zero after the decimal point too. (neutral technical conversation; string-preserving reading)
For a numerical magnitude, ۲٫۰۵ also equals دو و پنج صدم. For a version label, however, the written sequence may be the primary identity, and a fractional paraphrase is inappropriate.
Zeroes carry information
An internal zero changes value: ۲٫۰۵ is not ۲٫۵. A trailing zero does not change mathematical value—۲٫۵۰ equals ۲٫۵—but may state measurement precision or preserve a required data format. Digit-by-digit reading can retain that distinction.
ترازوی آزمایشگاه مقدار ۵٫۲۰ را نشان میدهد، نه ۵٫۲۱ را.
tarâzu-ye âzmâyeshgâh meqdâr-e panj momayyez do sefr râ neshân mi-dahad, na panj momayyez do yek râ.
The laboratory scale shows 5.20, not 5.21. (technical; digit-by-digit precision)
احتمال خطا فقط ۰٫۰۳ درصد است.
ehtemâl-e khatâ faqat sefr momayyez sefr se darsad ast.
The probability of error is only 0.03 percent. (formal statistical statement)
Write a leading ۰ before values below one in formal numerical prose. It prevents the decimal separator from being overlooked and makes the place structure explicit.
Units follow the complete decimal
A unit comes after the entire decimal phrase and remains singular: ۲٫۵ کیلوگرم، ۱٫۷ متر، ۳٫۲ درصد. Persian does not pluralize the measure noun merely because the value exceeds one.
بسته دقیقا ۲٫۵ کیلوگرم وزن دارد.
baste daqiqan do momayyez panj kilogeram vazn dârad.
The package weighs exactly 2.5 kilograms. (neutral measurement)
سطح آب در یک ساعت ۱٫۷ سانتیمتر پایین رفت.
sath-e âb dar yek sâ'at yek momayyez haft sânti-metr pâyin raft.
The water level fell 1.7 centimeters in one hour. (technical-neutral)
Everyday measures often prefer a lexical fraction when it is simpler: دو و نیم کیلو may sound more natural than دو ممیز پنج کیلو in a market. Decimal form foregrounds recorded precision; a mixed number foregrounds an ordinary quantity. Fractions and Percentages covers that contrast.
Formal reporting and rounding
Academic and administrative prose should state what a decimal measures, retain necessary zeroes, and separate the reported value from its uncertainty. حدود and تقریبا mark an estimate; the number of printed decimal places alone does not guarantee accuracy.
میانگین زمان پاسخ ۴٫۸ ثانیه و انحراف معیار ۰٫۶ ثانیه بود.
miyângin-e zamân-e pâsokh chahâr momayyez hasht sâniye va enherâf-e me'yâr sefr momayyez shesh sâniye bud.
The mean response time was 4.8 seconds, with a standard deviation of 0.6 seconds. (academic/statistical)
نتیجه را به نزدیکترین صدم گرد کنید.
natije râ be nazdik-tarin sadom gerd konid.
Round the result to the nearest hundredth. (academic instruction)
Common Mistakes
1. Using an ASCII full stop in edited Persian notation
❌ مقدار ثبتشده ۳.۱۴ است.
Incorrect house typography — Persian digits require the Persian decimal separator in this guide.
✅ مقدار ثبتشده در جدول ۳٫۱۴ است.
meqdâr-e sabt-shode dar jadval se momayyez chahârdah ast.
The value recorded in the table is 3.14.
2. Omitting the leading zero
❌ احتمال خطا ٫۵ درصد است.
Incorrect formal notation — write a leading zero before a decimal value below one.
✅ احتمال خطای دستگاه ۰٫۵ درصد است.
ehtemâl-e khatâ-ye dastgâh sefr momayyez panj darsad ast.
The device’s error probability is 0.5 percent.
3. Dropping an internal zero while reading
❌ ۲٫۰۵
do momayyez panj
Incorrect — this reading collapses 2.05 into 2.5.
✅ عدد ۲٫۰۵ را دو ممیز صفر پنج بخوانید.
adad-e do momayyez sefr panj râ do momayyez sefr panj be-khânid.
Read the number 2.05 as two point zero five.
4. Pluralizing a decimal measure unit
❌ بسته ۲٫۵ کیلوگرمها وزن دارد.
Incorrect — the directly measured unit remains singular after a decimal.
✅ محموله ۲٫۵ کیلوگرم وزن دارد.
mahmule do momayyez panj kilogeram vazn dârad.
The shipment weighs 2.5 kilograms.
5. Confusing decimal and thousands separators
⚠️ در عدد ۱٬۵۰۰، علامت میان رقمها ممیز است.
dar adad-e hezâr-o-pânsad, alâmat-e miyân-e raqam-hâ momayyez ast.
Grammatical sentence expressing a false notation claim — ٬ groups thousands; it does not introduce a fractional part.
✅ عدد ۱٬۵۰۰ یک عدد صحیح است و بخش اعشاری ندارد.
adad-e hezâr-o-pânsad yek adad-e sahih ast va bakhsh-e a'shâri na-dârad.
The number 1,500 is an integer and has no decimal part.
Key Takeaways
- Use Persian digits and distinguish decimal ٫ from thousands separator ٬.
- Read decimals by place value, by a compact post-decimal cardinal, or digit by digit according to purpose.
- Preserve internal zeroes; retain trailing zeroes when they encode precision or string identity.
- Put the unit after the complete decimal and keep it singular.
- Treat decimal places as notation, not evidence of measurement accuracy; mark estimation explicitly.
Now practice Farsi
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Farsi →Related Topics
- Building Tens, Hundreds, and ThousandsA1 — Build and pronounce exact Persian cardinals above twenty with linking و, irregular round numbers, and the scale words هزار and میلیون.
- Fractions and PercentagesA2 — Express halves, productive fractions, and percentages in Iranian Persian while choosing the right denominator, partitive frame, and agreement.
- Numbers with NounsA1 — Combine Persian cardinals with singular counted nouns, optional counters, measures, adjectives, and meaning-based agreement.
- Multipliers and RatiosB2 — Express multiplication, proportional relations, per-rates, and percentage comparisons with برابر, نسبت, به, and در.
- Persian Digits ۰۱۲۳۴۵۶۷۸۹A2 — Read and type Persian digits, keep multi-digit numbers in place-value order, and use Persian decimal and thousands separators.