دری

Dari

Indo-European (Iranian, Western, Persian)

FamilyIndo-European (Iranian, Western, Persian) Speakers~13M ScriptPerso-Arabic CountriesAfghanistan (official; lingua franca) Official inAfghanistan (official, alongside Pashto) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3prs

Dari (دری, "courtly") is the Eastern Persian variety spoken across Afghanistan as the country's lingua franca and one of two official languages alongside Pashto, with ~15M L1 speakers and an additional ~50% of the Afghan population using it as L2. Dari preserves classical Persian vowel distinctions ē/ī (مير mēr "village chief" vs. مير mīr) and ō/ū (شور šōr "salty" vs. شور šūr "tumult") that merged in Iranian Persian (fa). Vocabulary diverges through preserved older terms (پشک for "cat", where Iranian Persian uses گربه) and Pashto/Turkic loans. Mutually intelligible with Iranian Persian and Tajik (tg) at high register, but daily speech reveals clear regional identity. Written in the Perso-Arabic Nastaliq style (identical alphabet to Iranian Persian, distinct calligraphic preferences). Formal register vs. Tajik's Cyrillic-written Soviet-era variety preserves the classical Persian literary tradition.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Dari

Water

آب

ɑːb

Fire

آتش

ɑːtaʃ

Sun

خورشید

xoɾʃed

Moon

ماه

mɑːh

Star

ستاره

setɑːˈɾa

Night

شب

ʃaw

Rain

باران

bɑːˈɾɑːn

Snow

برف

barf

Wind

باد

bɑːd

Earth

خاک

xɑːk

Stone

سنگ

saŋɡ

Mountain

کوه

koːh

Sea

بحر

bahr

Mother

مادر

mɑːdaɾ

Father

پدر

padaɾ

Daughter

دختر

duxˈtaɾ

I

من

man

You

تو

to

We

ما

mɑː

Name

نام

nɑːm

Person

انسان

insɑːn

Head

سر

sar

Eye

چشم

tʃaʃm

Ear

گوش

ɡuʃ

Nose

بینی

biːˈniː

Mouth

دهان

dahɑːn

Tooth

دندان

dandɑːn

Tongue

زبان

zabɑːn

Hand

دست

dast

Foot

پا

pɑː

Heart

دل

dil

Bone

استخوان

ustuˈxɑːn

Blood

خون

xuːn

Poop

گه

ɡuːh

Love

عشق

eʃq

Tree

درخت

daɾaxt

Dog

سگ

saɡ

Cat

پشک

puʃak

Fish

ماهی

mɑːˈhiː

Bird

پرنده

parinda

Butterfly

پروانه

parwɑːna

Egg

تخم‌مرغ

toxme morɣ

Bear

خرس

xirs

Horse

اسپ

asp

House

خانه

xɑːna

Milk

شیر

ʃiːr

Honey

عسل

asal

Salt

نمک

namak

Wine

شراب

ʃaˈrɑːb

Rice

برنج

birindʒ

Chocolate

چاکلیت

tʃɑːkleːt

Iron

آهن

ɑːhan

Wheel

چرخ

tʃarx

Silk

ابریشم

abreːʃam

Book

کتاب

kiˈtɑːb

Eat

خوردن

xoɾdan

Drink

نوشیدن

noʃidan

Sleep

خوابیدن

xɑːbiˈdan

One

یک

jak

Two

دو

du

Three

سه

se

Four

چهار

tʃahɑːr

Five

پنج

pandʒ

Hundred

صد

sad

Hello

سلام

salɑːm

Thank you

تشکر

taʃakkoɾ

Good

خوب

xob

New

نو

naw

Red

سرخ

soɾx

White

سفید

safeːd

Black

سیاه

sijɑːh

Green

سبز

sabz

Blue

آبی

ɑːbi

Cuckoo

کوکو

kuːˈkuː

Computer

کمپیوتر

kampjuːtar

Wi-Fi

وای‌فای

wɑːjfɑːj

Sushi

سوشی

suːʃi

Tea

چای

tʃɑːj

Coffee

قهوه

qahˈwa

Sugar

بوره

boːˈɾa

Orange

پرتقال

poɾtaɣɑːl

Ninety-nine

نود و نه

nawad u no

Dopamine

دوپامین

dopɑːˈmiːn

At sign

ات

at

Sources

Words compared

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

Meaning DariHazaragiClassical PersianTajikPersianJudeo-PersianSouthern Luri
Water آب /ɑːb/ آو /ɑːw/ آب /aːb/ об /ob/ آب /ɒːb/ אב /ɒːb/ âw /ɒːw/
Fire آتش /ɑːtaʃ/ آتش /ɑːtaʃ/ آتش /aːtaʃ/ оташ /otaʃ/ آتش /ɒːtæʃ/ אתש /ɒːteʃ/ taš /taʃ/
Sun خورشید /xoɾʃed/ آفتو /ɑːftow/ خورشید /xʷarʃeːd/ офтоб /oftob/ خورشید /xorʃiːd/ חורשיד /xorʃiːd/ xor /xor/
Moon ماه /mɑːh/ مه /maː/ ماه /maːh/ моҳ /moh/ ماه /mɒːh/ מאה /mɒːh/ mâng /mɑːŋ/
Star ستاره /setɑːˈɾa/ ستاره /sitɑra/ ستاره /sitaːra/ ситора /sitoˈra/ ستاره /setɒːˈɾe/ סתארה /setɒre/ estâre /esˈtɑːɾe/
Night شب /ʃaw/ شو /ʃaw/ شب /ʃab/ шаб /ʃab/ شب /ʃæb/ שב /ʃab/ šow /ʃow/
Rain باران /bɑːˈɾɑːn/ باران /bɒɾɒn/ باران /baːˈraːn/ борон /boˈron/ باران /bɒːˈɾɒːn/ — bârun /bɒːrun/
Snow برف /barf/ برف /barf/ برف /barf/ барф /barf/ برف /bæɾf/ ברף /bæɾf/ barf /barf/
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