Learn Farsi: نوشتن نامه از خواندن کتاب آسان‌تر است. - Writing the letter is easier than reading the book.

In Farsi, you make an adjective comparative by adding the suffix تر to the end of it. The word for "easy" is آسان, so "easier" becomes آسان‌تر.

I know the word از usually means "from". Why is it used here?

When making comparisons in Farsi, the preposition از translates to "than". A Farsi speaker literally says that writing a letter is easier "from" reading a book.

Why do we use the full infinitive verb forms نوشتن (to write) and خواندن (to read) here?

In Farsi, the infinitive form of a verb (which usually ends in تن or دن) doubles as the noun form, similar to English words ending in "-ing". So نوشتن translates to both "to write" and "writing", and خواندن acts as both "to read" and "reading".

Is there a hidden Ezafe (connecting vowel) between "writing" and "the letter"?

Yes! Just like most noun phrases in Farsi, they are linked by an invisible "e" sound. You pronounce it as نوشتنِ نامه (neveshtan-e nameh), which literally means "writing of the letter". The exact same thing happens with خواندن کتاب (khandan-e ketab).

What is the exact word order happening in this comparison?

The structure is: Subject (نوشتن نامه) + + the thing being compared to () + comparative adjective () + the to-be verb (). As always in Farsi, the main verb goes at the very end of the sentence!