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Pashto dialect

Southern Pashto

Also known as: Kandahari Pashto

The Pashto of southern Afghanistan around Kandahar. Considered the most conservative Pashto variety, retaining retroflex consonants lost in the northern dialects.

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Frequently asked questions

What language is Southern Pashto?

Southern Pashto is a dialect of the Pashto language.

Where is Southern Pashto spoken?

Southern Pashto is primarily spoken in Afghanistan.

Which region is Southern Pashto associated with?

Southern Pashto is part of the Central Asia region on DialectAtlas.

Is Southern Pashto known by other names?

Yes — Southern Pashto is also referred to as Kandahari Pashto.

What are the other dialects of Pashto?

Pashto also includes Northern Pashto. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

Other Pashto dialects

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Nearby dialects

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Eastern Balochi

200 km away

The Balochi of Pakistan's Balochistan, centred on Quetta. The largest Balochi variety by speakers and the basis of most Balochi-language broadcasting and publishing.

Hazaragi

311 km away

A distinctive Persian dialect of the Hazara people, with its own verb forms, vocabulary, and cultural identity rooted in central Afghanistan.

Dari

318 km away

The Persian variety spoken in Afghanistan, sharing deep roots with Farsi while carrying its own vocabulary and pronunciation.

Herati

446 km away

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.

Kabuli

457 km away

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.

Pashayi

515 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.

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