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
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
There are 17 vowels and 27 consonants in Kashmiri.
Vowels
- 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
- 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
Basics
- 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
- What is this ?
- Yi Kyāh chu ?
- What do you want?
- Çê Kyāh gaçhiy ?
Numbers
- Zero
- Siphar
- One
- Akh
- Two
- Zė
- Three
- Trê
- Four
- Çor
- Five
- Pāņçh
- Six
- Shê
- Seven
- Sath
- Eight
- Äţh
- Nine
- Nav
- Ten
- Dāh
Time
What is the time?: Vakhėt kyāh āv? or Kāç bajeyi?
Clock time
The time is five o clock: Vakhėt chu pāņçi baji
Days
- Sunday
- Āthvār
- Monday
- Çāņdėrvār
- Tuesday
- Bomvār
- Wednesday
- Bödvār
- Thursday
- Brêsvār
- Friday
- Jumāh (Talking to a Muslim), Shakurvār (Talking to a Hindu)
- Saturday
- Baţėvār
Colors
- 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
Where from does the bus leave?: Bas kati pêţhė chi nerān?
Directions
- Left
- Kho-vur
- Right
- Daçhyan
- How many kilometres?
- Kaç kilomitar dūr?
- How far away is the city?
- Shāhr kotāh dūr chu?
Taxi
Where is the taxi?: Taxi kati chu?
Lodging
Where is the hotel?: Hotel kati chu?
Eating
Where is the restaurant?: Restaurant kati chu?
Money
How much is it?: Yi kotāh chu ?
Authority
Who is the boss (officer) here?: Yêti kus chu aphsar?