language from the Dardic subgroup of the Indo-Aryan languages
Phrasebooks > Kashmiri phrasebook

Kashmiri (कॉशुर, کٲشُر Koshur) is a northwestern Indo-Aryan language spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley in India and Azad Kashmir in Pakistan. It has about 4,611,000 speakers: 4,391,000 of whom reside in India and 105,000 of whom reside in Pakistan. While Kashmiri belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European family of languages it is sometimes placed in a geographical sub-grouping called Dardic. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India.

Just after Hindi, Kashmiri is the second fastest growing language of India, followed by Meitei (Manipuri) along with Gujarati in third place, and Bengali in fourth place.

Writing

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Kashmiri has remained a spoken language up to the present time. Though some manuscripts were written in the past in the Sharada script, and then in Perso-Arabic script, Kashmiri is now written in either the Perso-Arabic script (with some modifications) or the Devanagari script. Among languages written in the Perso-Arabic script, Kashmiri is practically unique, in that it regularly indicates all vowel sounds.

Literacy in Kashmiri is continuously neglected for political reasons and due to lack of formal education in it. It is now mostly relevant in its spoken form, and the speakers of this language are also decreasing in number. Note that the primary official language of the state of Jammu and Kashmir is not Kashmiri, but Urdu. Some Kashmiri speakers use English or Hindi as a second language. In the past few decades, Kashmiri was introduced as a subject at the university and the colleges of the Kashmir Valley. Attempts are being made to include Kashmiri in school curriculum.

Pronunciation guide

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There are 17 vowels and 27 consonants in Kashmiri.

Vowels

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ė
As in Open
ë
Extended ė
å
Same as e in perturb
ä
Extended sound of a
a
same as u in up
ā
As u in up
i
as i in sit
ī
as ee in see
u
as u in put
ū
as oo in zoo
ê
as e in ten
e
as a in pay
ō
as o in oh!
ö
as wo in swot
o
as o in home
ņ
as n in sing
~
as i in sip spoken faintly

Consonants

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k
same as c in cat
kh
same as kh in khan
g
as g in got
c
as zz in pizza
çh
sounds like ts as in huts
c
same as ch in chin
ch
same as ch in church
j
same as j in jug
th
as in thatch
d
like th in then
n
as n in no
ţ
like t in teacher
ţh
as th in thug
đ
as d in did
p
as p in pen
ph
as f in fall
b
like b in boy
m
like m in man
y
like y in yes
r
like r in red
l
like l in leg
v
as v in van
sh
as sh in she
s
as s in so
z
as z in zoo
h
as h in how

Phrase list

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Basics

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Hello
Talking to a Muslim (Assalām ‘alaikum), Talking to a Hindu (Namaskār)
Hello (informal)
halo
How are you?
Toh chiv väri ?
Fine, thank you
Ähansa, Me-Hur-Ba-e-Ni
What is your name?
Çê kyāh chuy nāv ?
My name is ______
Be chus _____
Nice to meet you
Tö-hi Mel-Yiţh Gā-Yi Ma War-Yah Kush-Ti
Please
Ba-Lai La-Gai
Thank you
Me-Hur-Ba-e-Ni
Yes
Ên
No
Na
Goodbye
Talking to a Muslim (Assalām ‘alaikum), Talking to a Hindu (Namaskār)
I can't speak Kashmiri
Mê chunė käshur tagān
Do you speak English?
Çė chukhė aņgrīz bolān ?
I don't understand
Mê chunė phikrī tagān

Problems

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What is this ?
Yi Kyāh chu ?
What do you want?
Çê Kyāh gaçhiy ?

Numbers

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Zero
Siphar
One
Akh
Two
Three
Trê
Four
Çor
Five
Pāņçh
Six
Shê
Seven
Sath
Eight
Äţh
Nine
Nav
Ten
Dāh

Time

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What is the time?: Vakhėt kyāh āv? or Kāç bajeyi?

Clock time

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The time is five o clock: Vakhėt chu pāņçi baji

Days

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Sunday
Āthvār
Monday
Çāņdėrvār
Tuesday
Bomvār
Wednesday
Bödvār
Thursday
Brêsvār
Friday
Jumāh (Talking to a Muslim), Shakurvār (Talking to a Hindu)
Saturday
Baţėvār

Colors

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Black
Krūhun
Blue
Ņyūl
Brown
Dālcīn
Colour
Raņg
Orange
Saņgtar
Red
Vözul
Yellow
Lyōdur
Dark
Shokh
Green
Sabėz
Grey
Sūr
Light
Halkė
Purple
Lājėvār
White
Saphed

Bus and train

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Where from does the bus leave?: Bas kati pêţhė chi nerān?

Directions

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Left
Kho-vur
Right
Daçhyan
How many kilometres?
Kaç kilomitar dūr?
How far away is the city?
Shāhr kotāh dūr chu?

Taxi

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Where is the taxi?: Taxi kati chu?

Lodging

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Where is the hotel?: Hotel kati chu?

Eating

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Where is the restaurant?: Restaurant kati chu?

Money

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How much is it?: Yi kotāh chu ?

Authority

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Who is the boss (officer) here?: Yêti kus chu aphsar?

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