How to type Farsi (Persian) on iPhone
Farsi is Persian by another name, and iOS lists it only as Persian — easy to miss on a first search. It shares Arabic’s cursive script, but it is not the Arabic keyboard: four letters and a full set of digits are Farsi-only.
Farsi and Persian are two names for the same language, and that overlap causes the first stumble: iOS’s keyboard list uses only one of them. Search Settings for “Farsi” and you will not find it — the entry sits under “Persian” instead, styled the same as any other built-in language rather than a separate keyboard app. Once you know that, adding it is the same short errand as adding Spanish or Arabic. What is less obvious, and what causes most of the confusion afterward, is that Farsi is not a version of the Arabic keyboard with a different name. It borrows Arabic’s script, not its alphabet, and the two diverge the moment you start typing.
Turning it on
- Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard…
- Choose Persian from the list — the English name iOS uses for Farsi.
- It joins your keyboard list immediately, with no separate input method or composition step, the same as Arabic or Hebrew.
Tap the globe key 🌐 in any text field to switch to it, or press and hold the globe for a picker if you keep several keyboards installed.
Farsi is not the Arabic keyboard
Farsi is written with the Arabic script, borrowed and adapted the way English borrows the Latin alphabet from Latin itself. Borrowing the script did not mean borrowing the exact alphabet: Farsi has four letters that do not exist in Arabic at all, added because Farsi has consonant sounds Arabic does not — پ (pe), چ (che), ژ (zhe) and گ (gaf). Pick the Arabic keyboard by mistake, thinking it is close enough, and there is no key for any of the four; you can approximate with a similar-looking Arabic letter, but it will not be the letter you meant.
The digits look different too
Numbers carry the same kind of split. Arabic-script keyboards do not use the 0–9 digits from the Latin alphabet on their main number row; Farsi and Arabic each use their own set of native digit characters, and the two sets are not identical — several of the shapes, including the digits for four, five and six, are drawn differently between them. A phone number or a date typed on the Farsi keyboard shows its own digit shapes rather than Arabic’s, which is worth knowing if you are comparing a screenshot from an Arabic keyboard against one from a Farsi keyboard and the numbers look like they do not match.
The same cursive, joined-up script as Arabic
Where Farsi and Arabic genuinely do behave alike is the shape of the script itself. Both are written cursively, with most letters linking to their neighbours and changing outline depending on whether they sit at the start, middle or end of a word — the same letter can take up to four different shapes, and a small set of letters never link forward at all. None of that is a keyboard setting in either language; it is the script’s own joining rule, handled by the system that renders the text rather than by whatever keyboard typed it. The mechanics are covered in full in the guide on why Arabic letters change shape, and they carry over to Farsi letter for letter, since Farsi’s script is Arabic’s script.
The same goes for direction. Farsi reads right to left, and the keyboard, cursor and text field all follow that automatically the moment Farsi is the active language. Mixing in an English word, a number or a punctuation mark on the same line is where it can look odd on screen — that is a property of mixed-direction text generally, not something specific to Farsi, and it is covered in the guide on why Arabic or Hebrew text looks mixed up.
Where Kibo fits
Persian is one of the 30 typing languages built into Kibo, typed directly the way Arabic and Hebrew are rather than composed the way Japanese or Korean are — the extra letters and the native digits above are exactly what is on the layout inside Kibo too. Switching to it is a tap or hold on the globe key like any other language in Kibo’s list, with no separate keyboard to add in Settings beyond the one you already added for it. Typing in any language needs no Full Access; that switch in Kibo is read only by the Copy word, Copy line and Paste buttons on the toolbar. Kibo is free to download.
Frequently asked questions
Is Farsi the same as Persian on iPhone?
Yes — they are two names for the same language, but iOS only lists one of them. Look for “Persian” in Settings → General → Keyboard → Keyboards → Add New Keyboard…; there is no separate “Farsi” entry.
Is the Farsi keyboard the same as the Arabic keyboard on iPhone?
No. They share the same cursive script, but Farsi has four letters Arabic does not use — پ, چ, ژ and گ — for sounds Arabic does not have, and each language uses its own set of digit characters. Picking Arabic instead of Persian leaves you with no key for any of those four letters.
Why do numbers look different on a Farsi keyboard than an Arabic one?
Both use their own native digit characters instead of the 0–9 from the Latin alphabet, and the two sets are not identical — several digits, including four, five and six, are shaped differently between them.
Does typing Farsi need Full Access on iPhone?
No. Typing in any language is unrelated to Full Access. In Kibo, that switch is read only by the Copy word, Copy line and Paste buttons on the toolbar.
Try it on your own keyboard
Kibo is a free custom keyboard for iPhone with real mechanical key sounds, a wardrobe of themes and RGB backlight effects. No account, no ads, and it works with Full Access left off.