کھوار

Khowar

Indo-European (Indo-Iranian, Dardic)

FamilyIndo-European (Indo-Iranian, Dardic) Speakers~300–380K ScriptPerso-Arabic (Nastaʿlīq) CountriesPakistan (Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan) Official inRegional language of Chitral district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan; no national official status

Khowar (کھوار; ISO 639-3: khw) is an Indo-Aryan language traditionally grouped among the Dardic or Hindu Kush languages. It is spoken chiefly by the Kho people in Upper and Lower Chitral in northern Pakistan and serves as the principal regional lingua franca; speaker communities also occur in adjacent Gilgit-Baltistan and Swat and in Pakistani cities. Recent estimates range around 300,000–380,000 speakers, reflecting different dates and geographic coverage. Khowar preserves a rich oral and literary tradition and is written in a Perso-Arabic alphabet derived from Urdu with additional letters for language-specific sounds, while linguistic works also use Roman transcription. Although widely used in Chitral, it lacks national official status and faces pressure from Urdu and English.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Khowar

Water

اُوغ

uːɣ

Fire

انگار

aŋˈɡaːr

Sun

یور

joːr

Moon

مَس

mas

Star

استاری

isˈtaːɾi

Night

چھوئی

tʃʰuˈi

Snow

ہیم

hiːm

Wind

گان

ɡaːn

Earth

بوم

buːm

Stone

بوہت

boht

Mountain

زوم

zɔm

Sea

سمندار

samanˈdaːr

Mother

نَن

nan

Father

تَت

tat

Daughter

ژور

ʒuːr

I

اوا

awa

You

تو

tu

We

اسپا

ispa

Name

نام

naːm

Person

روے

ɾɔɪ

Head

سور

soːr

Eye

غیچ

ɣeːtʃ

Ear

کار

kaːr

Nose

نسکار

naskaːr

Mouth

اپاک

aˈpaːk

Tooth

دون

don

Tongue

لیگینی

liɡini

Hand

ہوست

host

Foot

پونگ

poŋɡ

Heart

ہردی

harˈdi

Bone

کوڑ

koːɫ

Blood

لیے

lej

Love

عشق

iʃq

Tree

کان

kaːn

Dog

رینی

ˈɾeːni

Cat

پُشی

ˈpuʃi

Fish

مڅھی

matsʰi

Bird

بوئیک

boˈik

Butterfly

پلمنڈوک

pulmunˈɖuk

Egg

ائیکون

aˈikun

Bear

اوہڅ

ohts

Horse

اِستور

istoːr

House

دُر

dur

Milk

ݯھیر

ʈʂʰiːr

Honey

مݯھی

maʈʂʰi

Salt

تروپ

trup

Rice

گرینج

ɡrindʒ

Iron

چومر

ˈtʃumur

Eat

ژبیک

ʒiˈbik

Drink

پی

piː

Sleep

پوریک

poˈrik

One

اِی

iː

Two

جو

dʒu

Three

ٹرے

ʈroj

Four

چور

tʃoːr

Five

پونج

pondʒ

Hundred

شور

ʃoːr

Hello

السلام علیکم

assalaːmu ʕalaikum

Thank you

شکریہ

ʃukrijaː

Good

جَم

dʒam

New

نوغ

noːɣ

Red

کروے

kruj

White

اِشپیرو

iʃpeːru

Black

ݰا

ʂa

Green

اوݯ

ɔʈʂ

Blue

اوݯ

ɔʈʂ

Cuckoo

کاکو

ˈkaːku

Tea

چاے

tʃaj

Sugar

شوکھور

ʃoˈkʰor

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Indo-Iranian, Dardic)

Meaning KhowarPashaiParthianHindkoTregamiBhiliKangri
Water اُوغ /uːɣ/ واری /waːri/ āb /aːb/ پانڑی /paːɽ̃iː/ āw /aːw/ पाणी /paːɳi/ पाणी /paːɳiː/
Fire انگار /aŋˈɡaːr/ انگاری /aŋɡaːri/ ādar /aːdar/ اگ /aɡ/ aŋa /aŋa/ आगि /aːɡi/ अग्ग /aɡː/
Sun یور /joːr/ سور /sur/ xwar /xwar/ سورج /soːradʒ/ sa /sa/ सूरज /suːraj/ सूरज /suːraj/
Moon مَس /mas/ مس /mas/ māh /maːh/ چن /tʃan/ mas /mas/ चांद /tʃãːd/ चन्न /tʃanː/
Star استاری /isˈtaːɾi/ تارا /taːraː/ astārag /asˈtaːraɡ/ تارا /taːɾaː/ tāra /taːra/ तारो /taːɾo/ तारा /taːɾaː/
Night چھوئی /tʃʰuˈi/ رات /rat/ ʾxšp /xʃap/ رات /raːt/ yatr /jatr/ रात /raːt/ रात /raːt/
Snow ہیم /hiːm/ ہیم /hiːm/ wafr /wafr/ برف /bərəf/ źim /dzim/ बरफ /bəɾəpʰ/ —
Wind گان /ɡaːn/ واغن /waːʁan/ wād /waːd/ ہوا /ɦəʋaː/ — वायरो /ʋaːjɾo/ हौआ /ɦɔːaː/
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