Farsi or Persian: what's the difference?

It is the question every learner asks first, and the answer is reassuringly simple.

Farsi and Persian are the same language. "Persian" is the traditional English name, and "Farsi" is what the language calls itself, the endonym used by its speakers.

Where the word Farsi comes from

The name Farsi فارسی comes from Pars (also Fars), a region in southern Iran that was the heartland of the ancient Persian empire. The "p" became "f" through Arabic influence on the language.

Which should you use in English?

Both are understood, but many institutions and academies recommend Persian when speaking English, the way we say German rather than Deutsch. "Farsi" has become very common too, especially in everyday and diaspora speech.

Why it matters a little

Calling it "Persian" connects the language to its long literary history, Hafez, Rumi, Saadi, and Ferdowsi. Calling it "Farsi" reflects how speakers naturally refer to it. Neither is wrong.

So when you learn Farsi, you are learning Persian. The app uses "Farsi" because that is the word most learners search for, but the language is one and the same.