The standard Persian variety spoken in Iran, with a rich literary tradition rooted in classical poetry and modern expression.
Kabuli
Also known as: Kabuli Persian, Kabuli Dari, Kābolī
The Dari variety of Kabul and the prestige basis of standard Afghan Persian as used in broadcast, government, and education. Sociolinguistically dominant across most of eastern and central Afghanistan, with several million speakers.
Shareable facts
Want a Kabuli app?
Vote and we'll prioritise it. Top-voted dialects move up the roadmap. One vote per email.
Frequently asked questions
What language is Kabuli?
Kabuli is a dialect of the Persian language.
Where is Kabuli spoken?
Kabuli is primarily spoken in Afghanistan.
Which region is Kabuli associated with?
Kabuli is part of the Central Asia region on DialectAtlas.
Is Kabuli known by other names?
Yes — Kabuli is also referred to as Kabuli Persian, Kabuli Dari, Kābolī.
What are the other dialects of Persian?
Persian also includes Farsi, Dari, Tajik, Hazaragi, Herati. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Persian dialects
See on the atlas →The Persian variety spoken in Afghanistan, sharing deep roots with Farsi while carrying its own vocabulary and pronunciation.
The Persian variety spoken in Tajikistan, written in Cyrillic script with unique vocabulary influenced by Central Asia.
A distinctive Persian dialect of the Hazara people, with its own verb forms, vocabulary, and cultural identity rooted in central Afghanistan.
Herati Persian · Herati Dari · Herātī
The Dari of Herat and the Hari Rud valley in western Afghanistan. Transitional between Kabuli Dari and the Khorasani Persian of north-eastern Iran, with strong Iranian features in vocalism and lexicon. Around two million speakers.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →60 km away
A cluster of Indo-Aryan languages spoken in eastern Afghanistan, especially Kapisa, Laghman, and Nangarhar. Linguistically a Dardic language, sister to Kashmiri rather than to Hindi.
150 km away
The Persian variety spoken in Afghanistan, sharing deep roots with Farsi while carrying its own vocabulary and pronunciation.
203 km away
A distinctive Persian dialect of the Hazara people, with its own verb forms, vocabulary, and cultural identity rooted in central Afghanistan.
229 km away
The Pashto of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan and parts of eastern Afghanistan. The literary basis of Pakistani Pashto, with the characteristic /ʃ/-realisation of the historical retroflex sibilant.
393 km away
The largest Pamir Iranian language, spoken across Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan and the Afghan Pamir. Forms a dialect cluster with Rushani, Bartangi, and Roshorvi.
457 km away
The Pashto of southern Afghanistan around Kandahar. Considered the most conservative Pashto variety, retaining retroflex consonants lost in the northern dialects.