Pashto

Eastern Iranian language of Afghanistan and Pakistan

For other uses, see Pashto (disambiguation).

Pashto

پښتو
Pax̌tó

The word Pax̌tó written in the Pashto alphabet

Pronunciation| [pəʂˈto], [pʊxˈto], [pəçˈto], [pəʃˈto]
Native to| Afghanistan, Pakistan
Ethnicity| Pashtuns
Speakers| L1: 54 million (2017–2021)[1]
L2: 4.8 million (2017–2021)[1]

Language family

Indo-European

* Indo-Iranian
* Iranian
* Eastern Iranian
* Pashto

Standard forms

* Central Pashto
* Northern Pashto
* Southern Pashto

Dialects| Pashto dialects

Writing system

| Pashto alphabet
Official status

Official language in

|  Afghanistan
Pakistan

* Khyber Pakhtunkhwa[a]

Recognised minority
language in

Pakistan[3]

* Balochistan

Regulated by|

* Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan
* Pashto Academy of Pakistan

Pashto Academy Quetta
Language codes
ISO 639-1| `ps` – Pashto, Pushto
ISO 639-2| `pus` – Pushto, Pashto
ISO 639-3| `pus` – inclusive code – Pashto, Pushto
Individual codes:
`pst` – Central Pashto
`pbu` – Northern Pashto
`pbt` – Southern Pashto
`wne` – Wanetsi
Glottolog| `pash1269` Pashto
Linguasphere| `58-ABD-a`

Areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan where Pashto is:

the predominant language

spoken alongside other languages

This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

This article contains Pashto text. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined letters or other symbols instead of Pashto script.

Pashto[b] (/ˈpʌʃtoʊ/ PUH-shto,[6][4][5]/ˈpæʃtoʊ/ PASH-toe;[c] پښتو, Pəx̌tó, [pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto]) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan, southern and eastern Afghanistan, and some isolated pockets of far eastern Iran near the Afghan border. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (افغانی, Afghāni).[8]

Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Dari,[9][10][11] and it is the second-largest provincial language of Pakistan, spoken mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern districts of Balochistan.[12] Likewise, it is the primary language of the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is at least 40 million,[13] although some estimates place it as high as 60 million.[14] Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns.[15]

## Geographic distribution[edit]

Further information: Languages of Afghanistan and Languages of Pakistan

A national language of Afghanistan,[16] Pashto is primarily spoken in the east, south, and southwest, but also in some northern and western parts of the country. The exact number of speakers is unavailable, but different estimates show that Pashto is the mother tongue of 45–60%[17][18][19][20] of the total population of Afghanistan.

In Pakistan, Pashto is spoken by 15% of its population,[21][22] mainly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern districts of Balochistan province. It is also spoken in parts of Mianwali and Attock districts of the Punjab province, areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and in Islamabad. Pashto speakers are found in other major cities of Pakistan, most notably Karachi, Sindh,[23][24][25][26] which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world.[27]

Other communities of Pashto speakers are found in India, Tajikistan,[28] and northeastern Iran (primarily in South Khorasan Province to the east of Qaen, near the Afghan border).[29] In India most ethnic Pashtun (Pathan) peoples speak the geographically native Hindi-Urdu language rather than Pashto, but there are small numbers of Pashto speakers, such as the Sheen Khalai in Rajasthan,[30] and the Pathan community in the city of Kolkata, often nicknamed the Kabuliwala ("people of Kabul").[31][32] Pashtun diaspora communities in other countries around the world speak Pashto, especially the sizable communities in the United Arab Emirates[33] and Saudi Arabia.

### Afghanistan[edit]

Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, along with Dari Persian.[34] Since the early 18th century, the monarchs of Afghanistan have been ethnic Pashtuns (except for Habibullāh Kalakāni in 1929).[35] Persian, the literary language of the royal court,[36] was more widely used in government institutions, while the Pashtun tribes spoke Pashto as their native tongue. King Amanullah Khan began promoting Pashto during his reign (1926–1929) as a marker of ethnic identity and as a symbol of "official nationalism"[35] leading Afghanistan to independence after the defeat of the British Empire in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. In the 1930s, a movement began to take hold to promote Pashto as a language of government, administration, and art with the establishment of a Pashto Society Pashto Anjuman in 1931[37] and the inauguration of the Kabul University in 1932 as well as the formation of the Pashto Academy (Pashto Tolana) in 1937.[38] Muhammad Na'im Khan, the minister of education between 1938 and 1946, inaugurated the formal policy of promoting Pashto as Afghanistan's national language, leading to the commission and publication of Pashto textbooks.[39] The Pashto Tolana was later incorporated into the Academy of Sciences Afghanistan in line with Soviet model following the Saur Revolution in 1978.[40]

Although officially supporting the use of Pashto, the Afghan elite regarded Persian as a "sophisticated language and a symbol of cultured upbringing".[35] King Zahir Shah (reigning 1933–1973) thus followed suit after his father Nadir Khan had decreed in 1933 that officials were to study and utilize both Persian and Pashto.[41] In 1936 a royal decree of Zahir Shah formally granted Pashto the status of an official language,[42] with full rights to use in all aspects of government and education – despite the fact that the ethnically Pashtun royal family and bureaucrats mostly spoke Persian.[38] Thus Pashto became a national language, a symbol for Pashtun nationalism.

The constitutional assembly reaffirmed the status of Pashto as an official language in 1964 when Afghan Persian was officially renamed to Dari.[43][44] The lyrics of the national anthem of Afghanistan are in Pashto.

### Pakistan[edit]

In British India, prior to the creation of Pakistan by the British government, the 1920s saw the blossoming of Pashto language in the then NWFP: Abdul Ghafar Khan in 1921 established the Anjuman-e- Islah al-Afaghina (Society for the Reformation of Afghans) to promote Pashto as an extension of Pashtun culture; around 80,000 people attended the Society's annual meeting in 1927.[45] In 1955, Pashtun intellectuals including Abdul Qadir formed the Pashto Academy Peshawar on the model of Pashto Tolana formed in Afghanistan.[46] In 1974, the Department of Pashto was established in the University of Balochistan for the promotion of Pashto.[47]

In Pakistan, Pashto is the first language around of 15% of its population (per the 1998 census).[48] However, Urdu and English are the two official languages of Pakistan. Pashto has no official status at the federal level. On a provincial level, Pashto is the regional language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north Balochistan.[49] Yet, the primary medium of education in government schools in Pakistan is Urdu.[50][51]

The lack of importance given to Pashto and her neglect has caused growing resentment amongst Pashtuns.[52][53][54][55] It is noted that Pashto is taught poorly in schools in Pakistan.[56] Moreover, in government schools material is not provided for in the Pashto dialect of that locality, Pashto being a dialectically rich language.[57] Further, researchers have observed that Pashtun students are unable to fully comprehend educational material in Urdu.[58]

Professor Tariq Rahman states:[59]

> "The government of Pakistan, faced with irredentist claims from Afghanistan on its territory, also discouraged the Pashto Movement and eventually allowed its use in peripheral domains only after the Pakhtun elite had been co-opted by the ruling elite...Thus, even though there is still an active desire among some Pakhtun activists to use Pashto in the domains of power, it is more of a symbol of Pakhtun identity than one of nationalism."

> — Tariq Rahman, The Pashto language and identity-formation in Pakistan

Robert Nicols states:[60]

> "In the end, national language policy, especially in the field of education in the NWFP, had constructed a type of three tiered language hierarchy. Pashto lagged far behind Urdu and English in prestige or development in almost every domain of political or economic power..."

> — Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors, Pashto Language Policy and Practice in the North West Frontier Province

Although Pashto used as a medium of instruction in schools for Pashtun students results in better understanding and comprehension for students when compared to using Urdu, still the government of Pakistan has only introduced Pashto at the primary levels in state-run schools.[61] Taimur Khan remarks: "the dominant Urdu language squeezes and denies any space for Pashto language in the official and formal capacity. In this contact zone, Pashto language exists but in a subordinate and unofficial capacity".[62]

## History[edit]

Some linguists have argued that Pashto is descended from Avestan or a variety very similar to it, while others have attempted to place it closer to Bactrian.[63][64][65] However, neither position is universally agreed upon. What scholars do agree on is the fact that Pashto is an Eastern Iranian language sharing characteristics with Eastern Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, Khwarezmian and Sogdian.[66][67]

Compare with other Eastern Iranian Languages and Old Avestan:

| "I am seeing you"

|

Pashto  | زۀ تا وينم

Zə tā winə́m

Old Avestan[68][69] | Azə̄m θβā vaēnamī
Ossetian | ӕз дӕ уынын

/ɐz dɐ wənən/

Ormuri[70] | از بو تو ځُنِم

Az bū tū dzunim

Yidgha[71] | Zo vtō vīnəm əstə (tə)
Munji[72] | Zə ftō wīnəm
Shughni[73] | Uz tu winum
Wakhi[73] | Wuz tau winəm

Strabo, who lived between 64 BC and 24 CE, explains that the tribes inhabiting the lands west of the Indus River were part of Ariana. This was around the time when the area inhabited by the Pashtuns was governed by the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. From the 3rd century CE onward, they are mostly referred to by the name Afghan (Abgan).[74][75][76][8]

Abdul Hai Habibi believed that the earliest modern Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri of the early Ghurid period in the 8th century, and they use the writings found in Pata Khazana. Pə́ṭa Xazāná (پټه خزانه) is a Pashto manuscript[77] claimed to be written by Mohammad Hotak under the patronage of the Pashtun emperor Hussain Hotak in Kandahar; containing an anthology of Pashto poets. However, its authenticity is disputed by scholars such as David Neil MacKenzie and Lucia Serena Loi.[78][79] Nile Green comments in this regard:[80]

> "In 1944, Habibi claimed to have discovered an eighteenth-century manuscript anthology containing much older biographies and verses of Pashto poets that stretched back as far as the eighth century. It was an extraordinary claim, implying as it did that the history of Pashto literature reached back further in time than Persian, thus supplanting the hold of Persian over the medieval Afghan past. Although it was later convincingly discredited through formal linguistic analysis, Habibi's publication of the text under the title Pata Khazana ('Hidden Treasure') would (in Afghanistan at least) establish his reputation as a promoter of the wealth and antiquity of Afghanistan's Pashto culture."

> — Afghan History Through Afghan Eyes

From the 16th century, Pashto poetry become very popular among the Pashtuns. Some of those who wrote in Pashto are Bayazid Pir Roshan (a major inventor of the Pashto alphabet), Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Nazo Tokhi, and Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the modern state of Afghanistan or the Durrani Empire. The Pashtun literary tradition grew in the backdrop to weakening Pashtun power following Mughal rule: Khushal Khan Khattak used Pashto poetry to rally for Pashtun unity and Pir Bayazid as an expedient means to spread his message to the Pashtun masses.[81]

For instance Khushal Khattak laments in :[82]

> "The Afghans (Pashtuns) are far superior to the Mughals at the sword,

> Were but the Afghans, in intellect, a little discreet. If the different tribes would but support each other,

> Kings would have to bow down in prostration before them"

> — Khushal Khan Khattak, Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans

## Grammar[edit]

Main article: Pashto grammar

Pashto is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language with split ergativity. In Pashto, this means that the verb agrees with the subject in transitive and intransitive sentences in non-past, non-completed clauses, but when a completed action is reported in any of the past tenses, the verb agrees with the subject if it is intransitive, but with the object if it is transitive.[16] Verbs are inflected for present, simple past, past progressive, present perfect, and past perfect tenses. There is also an inflection for the subjunctive mood.

Nouns and adjectives are inflected for two genders (masculine and feminine),[83] two numbers (singular and plural), and four cases (direct, oblique, ablative, and vocative). The possessor precedes the possessed in the genitive construction, and adjectives come before the nouns they modify.

Unlike most other Indo-Iranian languages, Pashto uses all three types of adpositions—prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions.

## Phonology[edit]

Main article: Pashto phonology

### Vowels[edit]

| Front | Central | Back

|
|
|

Close | i |  | u
Mid | e | ə | o
Open | a |  | ɑ

### Consonants[edit]

Consonant phonemes of Pashto[84] | Labial | Dental/
alveolar | Post-
alveolar | Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Nasal |  | m |  | n |  |  |  | ɳ |  |  |  | ŋ |  |  |  |
Plosive | p | b | t | d |  |  | ʈ | ɖ |  |  | k | ɡ | (q)  |  |  |
Affricate |  |  | t͡s | d͡z | t͡ʃ | d͡ʒ |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Fricative | (f)  |  | s | z | ʃ | ʒ | ʂ | ʐ | x | ɣ |  |  | h |
Approximant |  |  |  | l |  |  | ɽ*  |  | j |  | w |  |  |  |
Rhotic |  |  |  | r |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

*The retroflex rhotic or lateral, tends to be a lateral flap [𝼈] at the beginning of a syllable or other prosodic unit, and a regular flap [ɽ] or approximant [ɻ] elsewhere.[85][86]

## Vocabulary[edit]

See also: Pashto_dialects § Lexemes

In Pashto, most of the native elements of the lexicon are related to other Eastern Iranian languages.[67] As noted by Josef Elfenbein, "Loanwords have been traced in Pashto as far back as the third century B.C., and include words from Greek and probably Old Persian".[87] For instance, Georg Morgenstierne notes the Pashto word مېچن mečә́n i.e. a hand-mill as being derived from the Ancient Greek word μηχανή (mēkhanḗ, i.e. a device).[88] Post-7th century borrowings came primarily from Persian and Hindi-Urdu, with Arabic words being borrowed through Persian,[89] but sometimes directly.[90][91] Modern speech borrows words from English, French, and German.[92]

However, a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto.[93][94]

Here is an exemplary list of Pure Pashto and borrowings:[95][96]

Pashto | Persian Loan | Arabic Loan | Meaning

|
|
|

چوپړ
čopáṛ | خدمت
khidmat | خدمة
khidmah | service
هڅه
hátsa | کوشش
kušeš |  | effort/try
ملګری, ملګرې
malgə́ray, malgə́re | دوست
dost |  | friend
نړۍ

naṛә́i

| جهان

jahān

| دنيا

dunyā

| world
تود/توده

tod/táwda

| گرم

garm

|  | hot
اړتيا

aṛtyā́

|  | ضرورة

ḍarurah

| need
هيله

híla

| اميد

umid

|  | hope
د ... په اړه

də...pə aṛá

| باره

bāra

|  | about
بوللـه

bolә́la

|  | قصيدة

qasidah

| an ode

Due to the incursion of Persian and Persianized-Arabic in modern speech, linguistic purism of Pashto is advocated to prevent its own vocabulary from dying out.[94][self-published source][97][98]

### Classical vocabulary[edit]

There is a lot of old vocabulary that has been replaced by borrowings e.g. پلاز plâz[99] 'throne' with تخت takht, from Persian.[100][101] Or the word يګانګي yagānagí[102] meaning 'uniqueness' used by Pir Roshan Bayazid.[103] Such classical vocabulary is being reintroduced to modern Pashto.[104] Some words also survive in dialects like ناوې پلاز 'the bride-room'.[105]

Example from Khayr al-Bayān:[103]

... بې يګانګئ بې قرارئ وي او په بدخوئ کښې وي په ګناهان
Transliteration: ... be-yagānagə́i, be-kararə́i wi aw pə badxwə́i kx̌e wi pə gunāhā́n
Translation: "... without singularity/uniqueness, without calmness and by bad-attitude are on sin ."

## Writing system[edit]

Main article: Pashto alphabet

Pashto employs the Pashto alphabet, a modified form of the Perso-Arabic alphabet or Arabic script.[106] In the 16th century, Bayazid Pir Roshan introduced 13 new letters to the Pashto alphabet. The alphabet was further modified over the years.

The Pashto alphabet consists of 45 to 46 letters[107] and 4 diacritic marks. Latin Pashto is also used.[108][109][110] In Latin transliteration, stress is represented by the following markers over vowels: ә́, á, ā́, ú, ó, í and é. The following table (read from left to right) gives the letters' isolated forms, along with possible Latin equivalents and typical IPA values:

/ɑ, a/ | ب

/b/ | پ

/p/ | ت

/t/ | ټ

/ʈ/ | ث
(s)
/s/ | ج

/d͡ʒ/ | ځ
g, dz
/d͡z/ | چ

/t͡ʃ/ | څ
c, ts
/t͡s/ | ح
(h)
/h/ | خ

/x/

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

/d/ | ډ

/ɖ/ | ﺫ
(z)
/z/ | ﺭ

/r/ | ړ

/ɺ, ɻ, ɽ/ | ﺯ

/z/ | ژ

/ʒ/ | ږ
ǵ (or ẓ̌)
/ʐ, ʝ, ɡ, ʒ/ | س

/s/ | ش

/ʃ/ | ښ
x̌ (or ṣ̌)
/ʂ, ç, x, ʃ/

(s)
/s/ | ض
(z)
/z/ | ط
(t)
/t/ | ظ
(z)
/z/ | ع
(ā)
/ɑ/ | غ

/ɣ/ | ف

/f/ | ق

/q/ | ک

/k/ | ګ

/ɡ/ | ل

/l/

/m/ | ن

/n/ | ڼ

/ɳ/ | ں
̃ , ń
/◌̃/ | و
w, u, o
/w, u, o/ | ه
h, a
/h, a/ | ۀ

/ə/ | ي
y, i
/j, i/ | ې

/e/ | ی
ay, y
/ai, j/ | ۍ

/əi/ | ئ
əi, y
/əi, j/

## Dialects[edit]

Main article: Pashto dialects

Pashto dialects are divided into two categories, the "soft" southern grouping of Paṣ̌tō, and the "hard" northern grouping of Pax̌tō (Pakhtu).[111] Each group is further divided into a number of dialects. The Southern dialect of Tareeno is the most distinctive Pashto dialect.

اوږد [long] - in different dialects

South Western (Kandahar)

IPA: /uʐd/

* * *

North Western (Jalalabad)

IPA: /uɡd/

* * *

Northern (Khost)

IPA: /wuɡd/

* * *

Southern (Kunduz)

IPA: /wuʐd/

* * *

North Eastern (Yusapzai)

IPA: /u.ɡəˈd/

* * *

Problems playing these files? See media help.

1\. Southern variety

* Abdaili or Kandahar dialect (or South Western dialect)
* Kakar dialect (or South Eastern dialect)
* Shirani dialect
* Mandokhel dialect
* Marwat-Bettani dialect
* Southern Karlani group

* Khattak dialect
* Wazirwola dialect

* Dawarwola dialect
* Masidwola dialect

* Banisi (Banu) dialect

2\. Northern variety

* Central Ghilji dialect (or North Western dialect)
* Yusapzai and Momand dialect (or North Eastern dialect)
* Northern Karlani group

* Wardak dialect
* Taniwola dialect
* Mangal tribe dialect
* Khosti dialect
* Zadran dialect
* Bangash-Orakzai-Turi-Zazi dialect
* Afridi dialect
* Khogyani dialect

3. Tareeno Dialect

## Literary Pashto[edit]

Literary Pashto is the artificial variety of Pashto which is used at times as literary register of Pashto. It is said to be based on the North Western dialect, spoken in the central Ghilji region. Literary Pashto's vocabulary, also derives from other dialects.[112]

### Criticism[edit]

There is no actual Pashto that can be identified as "Standard" Pashto, as Colye remarks:[112]

> "Standard Pashto is actually fairly complex with multiple varieties or forms. Native speakers or researchers often refer to Standard Pashto without specifying which variety of Standard Pashto they mean...people sometimes refer to Standard Pashto when they mean the most respected or favorite Pashto variety among a majority of Pashtun speakers."

> — Placing Wardak among Pashto Varieties, page 4

As David MacKenzie notes there is no real need to develop a "Standard" Pashto:[113]

> "The morphological differences between the most extreme north-eastern and south-western dialects are comparatively few and unimportant. The criteria of dialect differentiation in Pashto are primarily phonological. With the use of an alphabet which disguises these phonological differences the language has, therefore, been a literary vehicle, widely understood, for at least four centuries. This literary language has long been referred to in the West as 'common' or 'standard' Pashto without, seemingly, any real attempt to define it."

> — A Standard Pashto, page 231

## Literature[edit]

Main article: Pashto literature and poetry

Pashto-speakers have long had a tradition of oral literature, including proverbs, stories, and poems. Written Pashto literature saw a rise in development in the 17th century mostly due to poets like Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689), who, along with Rahman Baba (1650–1715), is widely regarded as among the greatest Pashto poets. From the time of Ahmad Shah Durrani (1722–1772), Pashto has been the language of the court. The first Pashto teaching text was written during the period of Ahmad Shah Durrani by Pir Mohammad Kakar with the title of Maʿrifat al-Afghānī ("The Knowledge of Afghani [Pashto]"). After that, the first grammar book of Pashto verbs was written in 1805 under the title of Riyāż al-Maḥabbah ("Training in Affection") through the patronage of Nawab Mahabat Khan, son of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, chief of the Barech. Nawabullah Yar Khan, another son of Hafiz Rahmat Khan, in 1808 wrote a book of Pashto words entitled ʿAjāyib al-Lughāt ("Wonders of Languages").

### Poetry example[edit]

An excerpt from the Kalām of Rahman Baba:

زۀ رحمٰن پۀ خپله ګرم يم چې مين يم
چې دا نور ټوپن مې بولي ګرم په څۀ

Pronunciation: [zə raˈmɑn pə ˈxpəl.a ɡram jəm t͡ʃe maˈjan jəm
t͡ʃe dɑ nor ʈoˈpən me boˈli ɡram pə t͡sə]

Transliteration: Zə Rahmā́n pə xpə́la gram yəm če mayán yəm
Če dā nor ṭopə́n me bolí gram pə tsə

Translation: "I Rahman, myself am guilty that I am a lover,
On what does this other universe call me guilty."

### Proverbs[edit]

See: Pashto literature and poetry § Proverbs

Pashto also has a rich heritage of proverbs (Pashto matalúna, sg. matál).[114][115] An example of a proverb:

اوبه په ډانګ نه بېلېږي

Transliteration: Obә́ pə ḍāng nə beléẓ̌i

Translation: "One cannot divide water by [hitting it with] a pole."

## Phrases[edit]

### Greeting phrases[edit]

Greeting  | Pashto  | Transliteration  | Literal meaning

|
|
|

Hello  | ستړی مه شې
ستړې مه شې | stә́ṛay mә́ še

stә́ṛe mә́ še

| May you not be tired
ستړي مه شئ | stә́ṛi mә́ šəi  | May you not be tired [said to people]
په خير راغلې | pə xair rā́ğle  | With goodness (you) came
Thank you  | مننه | manә́na  | Acceptance [from the verb منل]
Goodbye  | په مخه دې ښه | pə mә́kha de x̌á  | On your front be good
خدای پامان | xwdā́i pāmā́n  | From: خدای په امان [With/On God's security]

### Colors[edit]

List of colors:

سور/ سره sur/sra [red]

šin / šna [green]

کینخي kinaxí [purple]

تور/ توره tor/tóra [black]

šin / šna [blue]

سپین spin/spína [white]

نسواري naswārí [brown]

ژېړ/ ژېړه žeṛ/žéṛa [yellow]

چوڼيا čuṇyā́ [violet]

خړ / خړه xәṛ/xə́ṛa [grey]

List of colors borrowed from neighbouring languages:

* نارنجي nārәnjí \- orange [from Persian]
* ګلابي gulābí \- pink [from Hindustani, originally Persian]
* نيلي nilí \- indigo [from Persian, ultimately Sanskrit]]

### Times of the day[edit]

Parts of the day in Pashto Time  | Pashto  | Transliteration  | IPA

|
|
|

Morning  | ګهيځ | gahíź | /ɡaˈhid͡z/
Noon  | غرمه | ğarmá  | /ɣarˈma/
Afternoon  | ماسپښين | māspasx̌ín  | Kandahar: /mɑs.paˈʂin/
Yusapzai: /mɑs.paˈxin/
Bannuchi: /məʃ.poˈʃin/
Marwat: /mɑʃˈpin/
Later afternoon  | مازديګر
مازيګر | māzdigár
māzigár  | /mɑz.di.ˈɡar/
/mɑ.zi.ˈɡar/
Evening  | ماښام | māx̌ā́m  | Kandahari: /mɑˈʂɑm/
Wardak: /mɑˈçɑm/
Yusapzai: /mɑˈxɑm/
Wazirwola: /lmɑˈʃɔm/
Marwat: /mɑˈʃɑm/
Late evening  | ماسختن | māsxután  | /mɑs.xwəˈtan/
/mɑs.xʊˈtan/

### Months[edit]

Pashtuns use the Vikrami calendar:[116]

#  | Vikrami month[117] | Pashto  | Pashto

[Karlāṇí dialects]

| Gregorian

months

|
|
|
|

1  | Chaitra | چېتر

četә́r

| چېتر

četә́r

| March–April
2  | Vaisākha | ساک

sāk

| وسيوک

wasyók

| April–May
3  | Jyeshta | جېټ

jeṭ

| ژېټ

žeṭ

| May–June
4  | Āshāda | هاړ

hāṛ

| اووړ

awóṛ

| June–July
5  | Shraavana | ساوڼ یا پشکال

sāwә́ṇ

| واسه

wā́sa

| July–August
6  | Bhādra | بدرو

badrú

| بادري

bā́dri

| August–September
7  | Ashwina | آسو

āsú

| اسي

ássi

| September–October
8  | Kartika | کاتۍ / کاتک

kātә́i / kāták

| کاتيې

kā́tye

| October–November
9  | Mārgasirsa

(Agrahayana)

| منګر

mangә́r

| مانګر

mā́ngər

| November–December
10  | Pausha | چيله

čilá

| پو

| December–January
11  | Māgha | بله چيله

bә́la čilá

| کونزله

kunzә́la

| January–February
12  | Phālguna | پاګڼ

pāgáṇ

| اربشه

arbә́ša

| February–March

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ Official provincial status[2]
2. ^ Sometimes spelled "Pushtu" or "Pushto"[4][5]
3. ^ The only American pronunciation listed by Oxford Online Dictionaries is /ˈpæʃtoʊ/.[7]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Pashto at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Central Pashto at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Northern Pashto at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Southern Pashto at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
Wanetsi at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
2. ^ "Private schools asked to introduce regional languages as compulsory subject". app.com.pk. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
3. ^ Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Elsevier. 6 April 2010. pp. 845–. ISBN 978-0-08-087775-4.
4. ^ a b "Pashto (also Pushtu)". American Heritage Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
5. ^ a b "Pashto (also Pushtu)". Oxford Online Dictionaries, UK English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.
6. ^ "Pashto (less commonly Pushtu)". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
7. ^ "Pashto (also Pushto or Pushtu)". Oxford Online Dictionaries, US English. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015.
8. ^ a b John Leyden, Esq. M.D.; William Erskine, Esq., eds. (1921). "Events Of The Year 910 (1525)". Memoirs of Babur. Packard Humanities Institute. p. 5\. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012. "To the south is Afghanistān. There are ten or eleven different languages spoken in Kābul: Arabic, Persian, Tūrki, Moghuli, Afghani, Pashāi, Parāchi, Geberi, Bereki, Dari and Lamghāni."
9. ^ "Article Sixteen of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan". 2004. Archived from the original on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2012. "From among the languages of Pashto, Dari, Uzbeki, Turkmani, Baluchi, Pashai, Nuristani, Pamiri (alsana), Arab and other languages spoken in the country, Pashto and Dari are the official languages of the state."
10. ^ Constitution of Afghanistan – Chapter 1 The State, Article 16 (Languages) and Article 20 (Anthem)
11. ^ Banting, Erinn (2003). Afghanistan: The land. Crabtree Publishing Company. p. 4\. ISBN 0-7787-9335-4. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
12. ^ Population by Mother Tongue, Population Census – Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan
13. ^ Pashto (2005). Keith Brown (ed.). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2 ed.). Elsevier. ISBN 0-08-044299-4. (40 million)
14. ^ Penzl, Herbert; Ismail Sloan (2009). A Grammar of Pashto a Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Ishi Press International. p. 210\. ISBN 978-0-923891-72-5. "Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million..."
15. ^ Hakala, Walter (9 December 2011). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. Brill. p. 55\. ISBN 978-90-04-21765-2. "As is well known, the Pashtun people place a great deal of pride upon their language as an identifier of their distinct ethnic and historical identity. While it is clear that not all those who self-identify as ethnically Pashtun themselves use Pashto as their primary language, language does seem to be one of the primary markers of ethnic identity in contemporary Afghanistan."
16. ^ a b "Pashto language". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
17. ^ "Languages: Afghanistan". Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. Retrieved 27 October 2020. (48% L1 + L2)
18. ^ Brown, Keith; Sarah Ogilvie (2009). Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world. Elsevie. p. 845\. ISBN 978-0-08-087774-7. Retrieved 7 April 2012. "Pashto, which is mainly spoken south of the mountain range of the Hindu Kush, is reportedly the mother tongue of 60% of the Afghan population."
19. ^ "Pashto". UCLA International Institute: Center for World Languages. University of California, Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2010. (50%)
20. ^ Kieffer, Ch. M. (1982). "AFGHANISTAN v. Languages". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 11 October 2020. ""Paṧtō (1) is the native tongue of 50 to 55 percent of Afghans"."
21. ^ "Government of Pakistan: Population by Mother Tongue" (PDF). statpak.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2006. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
22. ^ "Population by mother tongue" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 October 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
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30. ^ Haidar, Suhasini (3 February 2018). "Tattooed 'blue-skinned' Hindu Pushtuns look back at their roots". The Hindu.
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32. ^ "Hindu Pashtuns: How One Granddaughter Uncovered India's Forgotten Links to Afghanistan". 8 August 2018.
33. ^ "Languages of United Arab Emirates". SIL International. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
34. ^ Modarresi, Yahya: "Iran, Afghanistan and Tadjikistan, 1911–1916." In: Sociolinguistics, Vol. 3, Part. 3. Ulrich Ammon, Norbert Dittmar, Klaus J. Mattheier, Peter Trudgill (eds.). Berlin, De Gryuter: 2006. p. 1915. ISBN 3-11-018418-4 [2]
35. ^ a b c Tariq Rahman. "Pashto Language & Identity Formation in Pakistan." Contemporary South Asia, July 1995, Vol 4, Issue 2, p151-20.
36. ^ Lorenz, Manfred. "Die Herausbildung moderner iranischer Literatursprachen." In: Zeitschrift für Phonetik, Sprachwissenschaft und Kommunikationsforschung, Vol. 36. Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR. Akademie Verlag, Berlin: 1983. P. 184ff.
37. ^ Other sources note 1933, i.e. Johannes Christian Meyer-Ingwersen. Untersuchungen zum Satzbau des Paschto. 1966. Ph.D. Thesis, Hamburg 1966.
38. ^ a b Hussain, Rizwan. Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan. Burlington, Ashgate: 2005. p. 63.
39. ^ Green, Nile; Arbabzadah, Nushin (2013). Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation. Hurst. p. 17\. ISBN 978-1-84904-204-8.
40. ^ Green, Nile; Arbabzadah, Nushin (2013). Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation. Hurst. ISBN 978-1-84904-204-8.
41. ^ István Fodor, Claude Hagège. Reform of Languages. Buske, 1983. P. 105ff.
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44. ^ Spooner, Bryan: "Are we teaching Persian?" In: Persian Studies in North America: Studies in Honor of Mohammad Ali Jazayery. Mehdi Marashi (ed.). Bethesda, Iranbooks: 1994. p. 1983.
45. ^ Green, Nile; Arbabzadah, Nushin (2013). Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation. Hurst. p. 109\. ISBN 978-1-84904-204-8.
46. ^ Brown, Michael Edward; Ganguly, Sumit (2003). Fighting Words: Language Policy and Ethnic Relations in Asia. MIT Press. pp. 71. ISBN 978-0262523332.
47. ^ "Department of Pashto". web.uob.edu.pk. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
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49. ^ Septfonds, D. 2006. Pashto. In: Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world. 845 – 848. Keith Brown / Sarah Ogilvie (eds.). Elsevier, Oxford: 2009.
50. ^ Rahman, Tariq (2004), Craig Baxter (ed.), Education in Pakistan a Survey, Pakistan on the Brink: Politics, Economics and Society, Lexington Books, p. 172, ISBN 978-0195978056
51. ^ Rahim, Bushra (28 September 2014). "Will change in medium of instruction improve education in KP?". dawn.com. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
52. ^ Daniel Hallberg (1992). Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan (PDF). Vol. 4\. Quaid-i-Azam University & Summer Institute of Linguistics. p. 36 to 37. ISBN 969-8023-14-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
53. ^ "د کرښې پرغاړه (په پاکستان کې د مورنیو ژبو حیثیت)". mashaalradio.org. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
54. ^ Hywel Coleman (2010). Teaching and learning in Pakistan: the role of language in education (Report). British Council, Pakistan. Archived from the original on 4 November 2010. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
55. ^ Mohmand, Mureeb (27 April 2014). "The decline of Pashto". The Express Tribune. "...because of the state's patronage, Urdu is now the most widely-spoken language in Pakistan. But the preponderance of one language over all others eats upon the sphere of influence of other, smaller languages, which alienates the respective nationalities and fuels aversion towards the central leadership...If we look to our state policies regarding the promotion of Pashto and the interests of the Pakhtun political elite, it is clear that the future of the Pashto language is dark. And when the future of a language is dark, the future of the people is dark."
56. ^ Carter, Lynn. "Socio-Economic Profile of Kurram Agency". Planning and Development Department, Peshawar, NWFP. 1991: 82.
57. ^ Carter and Raza. "Socio-Economic Profile of South Waziristan Agency". Planning and Development Department, Peshawar, NWFP. 1990: 69. "Sources say that this is mainly because the Pushto text books in use in the settled areas of N.W.F.P. are written in the Yusufzai dialect, which is not the dialect in use in the Agency"
58. ^ Hallberg, Daniel. "Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan" (PDF). National Institute of Pakistan Studies Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguisitics. 4: 36. "A brief interview with the principal of the high school in Madyan, along with a number of his teachers, helps to underscore the importance of Pashto in the school domain within Pashtoon territory. He reported that Pashto is used by teachers to explain things to students all the way up through tenth class. The idea he was conveying was that students do not really have enough ability in Urdu to operate totally in that language. He also expressed the thought that Pashto-speaking students in the area really do not learn Urdu very well in public school and that they are thus somewhat ill prepared to meet the expectation that they will know how to use Urdu and English when they reach the college level. He likened the education system to a wall that has weak bricks at the bottom."
59. ^ Rahman, Tariq (July 1995). "The Pashto language and identity-formation in Pakistan". Contemporary South Asia. 4 (2): 151–20. doi:10.1080/09584939508719759 - via Research Gate.
60. ^ Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. Brill. 9 December 2011. p. 279\. ISBN 978-90-04-21765-2.
61. ^ Khan, M. Taimur S. (2016). Pakistanizing Pashtun: The linguistic and cultural disruption and re-invention of Pashtun. American University. p. 72\. "Urdu which is the native language of only 7.57 per cent of Pakistanis (though widely spoken as the national language and lingua franca in Pakistan) dominates all other local languages; and Pashto which is the native language of 15.42 per cent of the total population has no official recognition beyond primary school...Despite its limited scope, the Pashto-medium schools were a success as the "achievement tests showed an improvement in Pashto medium schools as compared to Urdu medium schools". Nonetheless, the better results have so far not motivated the government to introduce Pashto-medium schools at a larger scale in Pashtun populated areas."
62. ^ Khan, M. Taimur S. (2016). Pakistanizing Pashtun: The linguistic and cultural disruption and re-invention of Pashtun. American University. pp. 96–97.
63. ^ Darmesteter, James (1890). Chants populaires des Afghans. Paris.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
64. ^ Henning (1960), p. 47. "Bactrian thus 'occupies an intermediary position between Pashto and Yidgha-Munji on the one hand, Sogdian, Choresmian, and Parthian on the other: it is thus in its natural and rightful place in Bactria'."
65. ^ Hotak, Muhammad; Habibi, Abd al-Hayy (1997). The Hidden Treasure: A Biography of Pas̲htoon Poets. p. 21\. "With regard to Morgenstierne's statement that the language is affiliated with eastern Iranian languages there is ample evidence to consider it a Bactrian language."
66. ^ Comrie, Bernard (2009). The world's major languages. Routledge.
67. ^ a b "AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧto". G. Morgenstierne. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 10 October 2010. "Paṧtō undoubtedly belongs to the Northeastern Iranic branch."
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81. ^ Green, Nile; Arbabzadah, Nushin (2013). Afghanistan in Ink: Literature Between Diaspora and Nation. Hurst. p. 93\. ISBN 978-1-84904-204-8.
82. ^ Raverty, Henry G. (2015). Selections from the Poetry of the Afghans: From the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century, Literally Translated from the Original Pushto, with Notices of the Different Authors, and Remarks on the Mystic Doctrine and Poetry of the Sūfis. Cosmo Publications. p. 127\. ISBN 978-81-307-1858-3.
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## Bibliography[edit]

* Hallberg, Daniel G. (1992). Pashto, Waneci, Ormuri. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan. Vol. 4\. National Institute of Pakistani Studies. ISBN 969-8023-14-3. OCLC 1034637486.
* Morgenstierne, Georg (2007) [1926, pub. by Aschehoug, Oslo]. Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan. Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning Serie C I-2. New York: Ishi Press International. ISBN 978-0-923891-09-1.
* Penzl, Herbert (2009) [1955, pub. by American Council of Learned Societies, Washington, DC]. A Grammar of Pashto: A Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan. New York: Ishi Press. ISBN 978-0-923891-72-5.
* Penzl, Herbert (2009) [1962, pub. by University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, MI]. A Reader of Pashto. New York: Ishi Press. ISBN 978-0-923891-71-8.
* Schmidt, Rüdiger, ed. (1989). Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum. Wiesbaden: L. Reichert. ISBN 3-88226-413-6.

## Further reading[edit]

* Morgenstierne, Georg (1978). "The Place of Pashto among the Iranic Languages and the Problem of the Constitution of Pashtun Linguistic and Ethnic Unity". Paṣto Quarterly. 1 (4): 43–55.

## External links[edit]

Pashto edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pashto language.

Look up pashto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Pashto.

* Pashto Dictionary with Phonetic Keyboard & Auto-Suggestion
* Pashto Phonetic Keyboard
* Pashto Language & Identity Formation in Pakistan[usurped]
* Henry George Raverty. A Dictionary of the Puk'hto, Pus'hto, or Language of the Afghans. Second edition, with considerable additions. London: Williams and Norgate, 1867.
* D. N. MacKenzie, "A Standard Pashto"[usurped], Khyber.org
* Freeware Online Pashto Dictionaries
* A Pashto Word List
* Origins of Pashto
* Resources for the Study of the Pashto Language

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Classical

* Amir Kror Suri
* Khushal Khan Khattak
* Rahman Baba
* Nazoo Anaa
* Hamza Baba
* Abdul Baqi Dilresh
* Ajmal Khattak
* Kabir Stori
* Babarzai
* Karwan
* Malang Jan Baba
* Shah Sayed Miran
* Shah Sayed Guloon
* Ahmad Shah Baba
* Shah Shuja
* Timur Shah

Contemporary

* Abdul Ali Mustaghni
* Abdul Bari Jahani
* Abdul Shakoor Rashad
* Ajmal Khattak
* Ghani Khan
* Gul Pacha Ulfat
* Hamza Shinwari
* Hashem Zamani
* Ismail Yoon
* Kabir Stori
* Malang Jan
* Mujawar Ahmad Ziar
* Pir Mohammad Karwan
* Rahmat Shah Sail
* Sulaiman Layeq

* v
* t
* e

Pashtun-related topics

Dynasties|

* Lodi dynasty
* Suri dynasty
* Hotak dynasty
* Durrani dynasty
* Barakzai dynasty

Key figures|

* Bahlul Lodi
* Sher Shah Suri
* Mirwais Hotak
* Ahmad Shah Khan
* Ahmad Shah Durrani
* Dost Mohammad Khan
* Malalai of Maiwand
* Saidu Baba
* Abdur Rahman Khan
* Mahmud Tarzi
* Soraya Tarzi
* Amanullah Khan
* Mohammed Nadir Shah
* Mulla Powinda
* Abdul Ghaffar Khan
* Sartor Faqir
* Umra Khan
* Mirzali Khan
* Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai
* Wali Khan
* Zahir Shah
* Daoud Khan
* Abdul Ahad Momand
* Zakir Husain Khan
* Mohammad Najibullah
* Mohammed Omar
* Hamid Karzai
* Asfandyar Wali Khan
* Zalmay Khalilzad
* Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
* Abdur Rab Nishtar
* Abdul Waheed Kakar
* Arfa Siddiq
* Malalai Kakar
* Malala Yousafzai
* Manzoor Pashteen
* Ali Wazir

Culture|

* Pashtun culture
* Pashtun cuisine
* Pashtunwali
* Pashto
* Pashtunization
* northern Afghanistan
* Pashtun clothing
* Pashto media
* Pashto singers
* Pashtun tribes
* Loya jirga
* Adam Khan and Durkhani
* Yusuf Khan and Sherbano
* Jirga

Poets|

* Amir Kror Suri
* Pir Roshan
* Rahman Baba
* Khushal Khattak
* Nazo Tokhi
* Abdul Hamid Baba
* Hussain Hotak
* Ahmad Shah Durrani
* Hamza Baba
* Ajmal Khattak
* Kabir Stori
* Ghani Khan

Groups|

| Citizens' groups|

* Khudai Khidmatgar
* Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
* People's Peace Movement

|

Religious-military|

* Taliban

Topics and
controversies|

* Pashtun nationalism
* Pashtunistan
* Afghan (ethnonym)
* Durand Line
* Bannu Resolution
* Kalabagh Dam
* Names of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
* Anti-Pashtun sentiment

Battles and
conflicts|

* First Battle of Panipat
* Battle of Gulnabad
* Third Battle of Panipat
* Battle of Attock
* Battle of Multan
* Battle of Shopian
* Battle of Nowshera
* Battle of Jamrud
* Siege of Malakand
* Anglo-Afghan Wars
* Battle of Maiwand
* Tirah campaign
* Battle of Saragarhi
* Soviet–Afghan War
* War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
* War in North-West Pakistan

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Afghanistan

Official languages|

* Dari
* Pashto

* Afghanistan portal

Regional languages|

* Balochi
* Kyrgyz
* Nuristani (language family)
* Pashayi
* Tajiki
* Turkmen
* Uzbek

Minority languages|

* Ashkun
* Brahui
* Kamkata-vari
* Khowar
* Kyrgyz
* Pamiri
* Ishkashimi
* Munji
* Shughni
* Yidgha
* Prasun
* Tregami
* Waigali
* Wakhi
* Zemiaki

Sign languages|

* Afghan Sign Language

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Pakistan

Official languages|

* Urdu (national)
* English

Other languages
(by administrative unit)|

| Azad Kashmir|

* Dogri
* Gujari
* Kashmiri
* Kundal Shahi
* Pahari-Pothwari

|

Balochistan|

* Balochi
* Brahui
* Dehwari
* Hazaragi
* Jadgali
* Khetrani
* Pashto
* Wanetsi

Gilgit-Baltistan|

* Balti
* Burushaski
* Dawoodi
* Khowar
* Purgi
* Shina
* Wakhi

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|

* Burushaski
* Badeshi
* Bateri
* Chilisso
* Dameli
* Gawar-Bati
* Gowro
* Hindko
* Indus Kohistani
* Kalami
* Kalasha-mun
* Kalkoti
* Kamviri
* Khowar
* Kohistani Shina
* Mankiyali
* Munji
* Ormuri
* Palula
* Pashto
* Sawi
* Shekhani
* Torwali
* Ushoji
* Wazir
* Yidgha

Punjab|

* Bagri
* Dogri
* Hindko
* Kabutra
* Marwari
* Mewari
* Pothwari Punjabi
* Punjabi
* dialects
* Saraiki
* Rajasthani
* Rangri

Sindh|

* Aer
* Bagri
* Bengali
* Bhaya
* Dhatki
* Goaria
* Gujarati
* Jandavra
* Jogi
* Koli
* Kachi
* Parkari
* Wadiyara
* Kutchi
* Loarki
* Marwari
* Memoni
* Mewari
* Od
* Rajasthani
* Rangri
* Sindhi
* Urdu
* Vaghri

Related topics|

* Indo-Aryan languages
* Dardic languages
* Iranic languages
* Pakistani Sign Language
* Arabic
* Persian
* Pakistani Hindi (Hindi)
* Chagatai

* v
* t
* e

Iranian languages

History|

* Proto-Iranian
* Old Iranian
* Middle Iranian
* New Iranian

Eastern|

| Pamir|

* Bartangi
* Ishkashimi
* Khufi
* Munji
* Roshani
* Sanglechi
* Sarikoli
* Shughni
* Vanji
* Wakhi
* Yazghulami
* Yidgha

|

Others|

* Avestan
* Bactrian
* Khwarezmian
* Parachi
* Pashto
* Central
* Northern
* Southern
* Wanetsi
* Ormuri
* Scythian
* Alanian
* Ossetian
* Digor
* Iron
* Jassic
* Saka
* Sogdian
* Yaghnobi

Western|

| North|

* Ashtiani
* Balochi
* Daylami
* Fars
* Gilaki
* Gorani
* Kurdish
* Kurmanji
* Sorani
* Xwarin
* Kordali
* Laki
* Mazanderani
* Tabaroid
* Median
* Old Azeri
* Parthian
* Semnani
* Lasgerdi
* Sangsari
* Sorkhei
* Taleshi
* Tati
* Tatoid
* Zaza
* Zoroastrian Dari

|

South|

* Achomi
* Bashkardi
* Garmsiri
* Kuhmareyi
* Kumzari
* Luri
* Bakhtiari
* Persian
* Caucasian Tat
* Dari
* Hazaragi
* Tajik
* Old Persian
* Middle Persian

* Italics indicate extinct or historical languages.
* Languages between parentheses are varieties of the language on their left.

Authority control databases

National|

* Israel
* United States
* Czech Republic

Other|

* IdRef
* İslâm Ansiklopedisi

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