Silent and Consonantal /h/
   

It must be understood that the Silent /h/ is merely an orthographic feature—that is to say, the correct way of using a specific writing system. In Persian using Arabic script, it represents a terminal [-e] sound (normally from classical [-a]); as in the words, بچّه bacce ‘child,’ and خانه xāne ‘house, home.’

After long vowels, however, a final [-h] is a Consonantal /h/, (or real, not silent) and it is very well pronounced:

[tag resources silenth_01]شاه[/tag]
šāh
‘king’

[tag resources silenth_02]کوه[/tag]
kuh
‘mountain’

In monosyllabic words the [-h] is always a consonantal [-h]. The following is a list of the main monosyllabic words with the consonantal [-h]:

[tag resources silenth_03]آه[/tag]
āh
noun: ‘a sigh;’ interjection: ‘ah!, Alas!’

[tag resources silenth_04]’اَه[/tag]
ah
interjection expressing contempt: ‘ugh! fie!’

[tag resources silenth_05]اِه؟[/tag]
eh
interjection expressing disbelief: like the English “Really?”

[tag resources silenth_06]اُه[/tag]
oh
interjection expressing astonishment: ‘oh!’

[tag resources silenth_07]بَه[/tag]
bah
interjection expressing pleasure; like the English, ‘oh, wow!’

[tag resources silenth_08]بِه[/tag]
beh
‘quince’

[tag resources silenth_09]تَه[/tag]
tah
‘the end, bottom’

[tag resources silenth_10]جَه[/tag]
jah jahīdan
infinitive: ‘to jump’

[tag resources silenth_11]چَه[/tag]
cah cāh
‘a well’

[tag resources silenth_12]دَه[/tag]
dah
‘ten’

[tag resources silenth_13]دِه[/tag]
deh
‘village’

[tag resources silenth_14]رَه[/tag]
rah rāh
‘road, way, path, route’

[tag resources silenth_15]زِه[/tag]
zeh
‘gut, bow-string (made of gut);’ interjection: ‘Bravo!’

[tag resources silenth_16]شَه[/tag]
šah šāh
‘king’

[tag resources silenth_17]کَه[/tag]
kah kāh
‘straw, hey’

[tag resources silenth_18]کِه[/tag]
keh
‘small, little, young’

[tag resources silenth_19]کُه[/tag]
koh kūh
‘mountain’

[tag resources silenth_20]گَه[/tag]
gah gāh
‘time of; place of’

[tag resources silenth_21]گُه[/tag]
goh
‘excrement, stool, shit’

[tag resources silenth_22]لِه[/tag]
leh
‘smashed’

[tag resources silenth_23]مَه[/tag]
mah māh
‘moon; month’

[tag resources silenth_24]مِه[/tag]
meh
‘fog, mist; great(est)’

[tag resources silenth_25]نُه[/tag]
noh
‘nine’

[tag resources silenth_26]وَه[/tag]
vah
‘interjection: oh, alas; would to God!’

As can be seen in the above list, some words with a long vowel might have a variation in short vowel, normally in the classical Persian, but not in Modern Persian (with the exception of poetry, where classical features are retained and still used). The [-h] at the end of these words is still a consonantal [-h] and is treated as such; as in: شاه šāh ~ شَه šah, کوه kūh ~ کُه koh, etc.

In addition to the words cited above, the following is a partial list of such words. While suffixes cannot be connected to the silent /h/ (that is, خانه‌ها, never خانهها), any suffix, including the indefinite enclitic ی would connect to the end of these words:

aware, knowing āgāh ~ āgah [tag resources silenth_27]آگاه ~ آگَه[/tag]
crowded, abundant, thick anbuh ~ anboh [tag resources silenth_28]انبوه ~ انبُه[/tag]
destroyed, ruined, spoiled, wasted tabāh ~ tabah [tag resources silenth_29]تباه ~ تبَه[/tag]
fox rubāh ~ rubah [tag resources silenth_30]روباه ~ روبَه[/tag]
black; dark siyāh ~ siyah [tag resources silenth_31]سیاه ~ سیَه[/tag]
headgear kolāh ~ kolah [tag resources silenth_32]کُلاه ~ کُلَه[/tag]
short; brief kutāh ~ kutah [tag resources silenth_33]کوتاه ~ کوتَه[/tag]
sin, iniquity, fault, crime, vice gonāh ~ gonah [tag resources silenth_34]گُناه ~ گُنَه[/tag]
glance, sight; eye negāh ~ negah [tag resources silenth_35]نگاه ~ نگَه[/tag]

Any words with the suffix[tag resources silenth_36] گاه/ـگاه [/tag] gāh/gah ‘place of…, location of…; time of…’ falls into this category; as in,[tag resources silenth_37] اردوگاه [/tag] ordugāh ‘camp, encampment’ (military or otherwise),[tag resources silenth_38] دانشگاه [/tag] dānešgāh ‘university,’[tag resources silenth_39] پالایشگاه [/tag] pālāyešgāh ‘refinery,’[tag resources silenth_40] صبحگاه [/tag] sobgāh ‘dawn,’[tag resources silenth_41] شامگاه [/tag]šāmgāh ‘dusk.’