Pashtun language

Afghan is a redirect to this article. Further meanings are listed under Afghan (disambiguation) .

Pashtun Pashto
Spoken in	Afghanistan , Pakistan , Iran
speaker	approx. 45-60 million (different estimates)
Linguistic classification	Indo-European languages Indo-Iranian languages Iranian languages Pashtun
Official status
Official language in	Afghanistan
Recognized minority / regional language in	Pakistan
Language codes
ISO 639 -1	ps
ISO 639 -2	pus
ISO 639-3	pus

Pashtun , actually known as Afghan ( Persian افغانی, Own name پښتو Pashto [paʂto] , also Pashto or in Hindustani Paṭhānī ), is a language spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan . It belongs to the Eastern Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and is considered a direct descendant of Avestan (which is controversial). Because of a peculiarity of Pashtun, namely because of its relatively close proximity to ancient Iranian languages, which has been preserved over the centuries, it is occasionally called a "museum for ancient Indo-Iranian vocabulary". Pashto is next to Dari (the official name of New Persian in Afghanistan) the official language of Afghanistan. It is assumed that Pashto comprises around 50–60 million native speakers, mainly Pashtuns .

The East Iranian languages, the most prominent representative of which today is Pashtun, differ from other Iranian languages ​​by certain sound laws that explain their different development. Indian elements in Pashtun, such as retroflex consonants, indicate a clearly southeastern origin of the language. This distinguishes Pashto as a southeastern Iranian language from the northeastern Iranian languages, such as Jaghnobi . Since Pashtun is only spoken by Pashtuns and has no significant influence on neighboring languages, one can draw direct conclusions about the ancestry and the area of ​​origin of the Pashtun people. Accordingly, the area of ​​origin of the Pashtuns in the southeastern part of the Iranian highlands , i.e. H. south of the Hindu Kush.

Persian and Arabic loanwords are quite common, not least due to the dominant role played by Persian after the Afghan capital was moved from Kandahar to Kabul in the 18th century.

Status as an official language

Pashto and Dari are the two official languages ​​of Afghanistan. Until the 1930s, only Persian was used as the official language. At that time, a movement to promote Pashto as the language of administration and the arts began with the establishment of a Pashto Society (1931) and the establishment of the University of Kabul (1932) and the Pashto Tolana Pashto Academy (1937). In 1936, Pashto was declared the official language under the regent Sardar Hashim Khan , although even the Pashtun regents and civil servants often used Persian in private and business. The status as an official language was confirmed at the constitutional assembly in 1964. At this point, Persian was officially renamed Dari.

Status as a literary language

Pashto produced a literature that was worth mentioning, but hardly noticed or little known outside the Pashtun-speaking area.

The most famous poets and writers of this language are Khushal Khan Khattak (1613–1689), who is considered a man of the sword and the pen, Rahman Baba (around 1651–1709), a mystic, Abdul Hameed Mashokhel (also called Abdul Hamid Baba, bis 1732), a sensitive love poet, and Kabir Stori (1942–2006), a patriotic poet. But even the first king of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Durrani (1724–1773), went down in the country's history not only as a ruler but also as a great poet.

Four lines from a poem by Ahmad Shah Durrani
Afghan	Transcription	translation
که هر څو مي د دنيا ملکونه ډير شي	kə hər co mi də dunyā məlkunə ḍer ši	How many countries in the world are in my possession
زما به هېر نه شي دا ستا ښکلي باغونه	zmā bə her nə ši dā stā ṣ̌kuli bāghunə	I will not forget your beautiful gardens.
د ډهلي تخت هېرومه چي راياد کړم	də ḍehli taxt herəwəmə či rāyād kṛam	I forget the throne of Delhi when I remember it
زما د ښکلي پښتونخوا د غرو سرونه	zmā dә ṣ̌kuli paṣ̌tunkxwā dә ghro sәrunә	the tops of the mountains of my beautiful Pakhtunkhwa

Phonology (اواز پوهه or غږپوهنه)

Pashtun differs from Persian (Dari), which is also the lingua franca of Afghanistan, in that it has a larger number of consonants . The relatively high number of retroflex sounds is rarely found in other languages ​​of the Iranian-Aryan language family . It is likely that these phonemes will be adopted through language contact with the neighboring Indo-Aryan languages . Similar explanations can be found for the ejective consonants in Eastern Iranian Ossetian .

Consonants (اصلي اوازونه)

The consonants are listed in phonetic transcription according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and in scientific transcription according to the German Oriental Society for the Persian Alphabet, which is based on Manfred Lorenz because of the additional retroflexes .

	labial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Postalveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasals	​m​ m	​n​ n		​ɳ​ ṉ
Plosives	pb pb	t̪ d̪ td		ʈ ɖ ṯ ḏ			k ɡ kg	​q​ q	​ʔ​ (')
Affricates		t͡s d͡z c dz			t͡ʃ d͡ʒ č ǧ
Fricatives	f f		sz sz	ʂ ʐ x 'g'	ʃ ʒ š ž	ç ʝ x 'g'	x ɣ x ġ		​h​ h
Approximants		​l​ l				​y​ y	​w​ w
Rhotic		​r​ r		ɺ̢ r̝

• ʂ ʐ and ç ʝ are allophones.
• f is often replaced by p .
• ​q​ is often replaced by k .​​
• ​ʔ​ is often left out in transliteration.

Vowels (کومکي اوازونه or غږلرونکي)

	Front	Central	Back
Closed	​i​		​u​
medium	​e​	​ə​	​O​
Open		​a​	​ɑ​

Pashtun also has the diphthongs (دوه غږي) / ai /, / əi /, / ɑw /, / aw / .

Alphabet (الفبې)

→ Main article : Pashtun script

In direct comparison with Persian, Pashtun is characterized by a more complex phonology (اواز پوهه synonyms: غږپوهه or غږپوهنه or ږغ پوهنه or د اوازونو څېړل) and morphology (ګړپوهه or ګړ څېړل).

The Pashtun alphabet is a modified form of the Persian alphabet , which in turn is derived from the Arabic alphabet . The Pashtun alphabet contains specific letters for Pashto that do not appear in either the Persian or Arabic ( Semitic ) languages . Since the 17th century, Pashtun scripts have usually been found as Naschī instead of Nastaliq . The Pashtun alphabet contains up to 44 letters with multiple diacritical marks , depending on your point of view . That is, compared to the Persian alphabet , the Pashtun alphabet has up to twelve additional letters. The following table shows the isolated form of the letters with a transliteration as well as the corresponding IPA sounds .

Afghan letters 1-12
12/۱۲	11/۱۱	10/۱۰	9/۹	8/۸	7/۷	6/۶	5/۵	4/۴	3/۳	2/۲	1/۱	Number of the letter
خ	ح	څ	ځ	چ	ج	ث	ټ	ت	پ	ب	ا	Isolated shape of the afghan letter
x	H	c or ts	dz	č	j	s	ṭ or tt	t	p	b	ā, '	Transliteration
x	H	t͡s	d͡z	t͡ʃ	d͡ʒ	s	ʈ	t̪	p	b	ɑ , ʔ	IPA
Che	Hey	Tse	Dze, Dzim	Che	Jim	Se	Tte	Te	Pe	Be	Alif	Name of the letter
Afghan letters 13-24
24/۲۴	23/۲۳	22/۲۲	21/۲۱	20/۲۰	19/۱۹	18/۱۸	17/۱۷	16/۱۶	15/۱۵	14/۱۴	13/۱۳	Number of the letter
ص	ښ	ش	س	ږ	ژ	ز	ړ	ر	ذ	ډ	د	Isolated shape of the afghan letter
s	ṣ̌ (SW), x̌ (Z), x (NO)	š	s	ẓ̌ (SW), γ̌ / ǵ (Z), g (NO)	ž	z	ṛ or rr	r	z	ḍ or dd	d	Transliteration
s	ʂ , ç , x	ʃ	s	ʐ , ʝ , ɡ	ʒ	z	ɻ , ɺ̢	r	z	ɖ	d̪	IPA
Swād / Sād	Ssin , Xin	Shin	Sin	Zze, Ge	Že	Ze	Rre	re	Zāl	Ddāl	Dāl	Name of the letter
Afghan letters 25-36
36/۳۶	35/۳۵	34/۳۴	33/۳۳	32/۳۲	31/۳۱	30/۳۰	29/۲۹	28/۲۸	27/۲۷	26/۲۶	25/۲۵	Number of the letter
ن	م	ل	ګ	ک	ق	ف	غ	ع	ظ	ط	ض	Isolated shape of the afghan letter
n	m	l	G	k	q	f	gh or γ	'	z	t	z, d	Transliteration
n	m	l	ɡ	k	q	f	ɣ	ʔ	z	t̪	z , d̪	IPA
Now	Mim	Lam	Gāf	Kāf	Qaf	Fe	Ghayn	Ayn	Zwe / Zā	Twe / Tā	Zwād / Dwād / Dād	Name of the letter
Afghan letters 37-44
				44/۴۴	43/۴۳	42/۴۲	41/۴۱	40/۴۰	39/۳۹	38/۳۸	37/۳۷	Number of the letter
		هُ	ء	ئ	ۍ	ی	ې	ي	ه	و	ڼ	Isolated shape of the afghan letter
		ə		əi / əy, y	əi / əy	ay, y	e	y, ī	h, a, ə	w, ū, o	ṇ or nn	Transliteration
		ə		əi , j	əi	ai , j	e	j , i	h , a , ə	w , u , o	ɳ	IPA
		He-Hamza (in Peshawar )	Hamza (همزه)	Verbal Ye / Fe'liya Ye (فعليه يې)	Feminine Ye / Schadzina Ye (ښځينه يې)	Male Ye / Narina Ye (نارينه يې)	Soft Ye / Pasta Ye (پسته يې)	Hartes Ye / Zakhta Ye or Klaka Ye (کلکه / سخته يې)	Hey	Wāw	Just, well	Name of the letter
Remarks
SW = southwest group ( Kandahar ), Z = central group ( Kabul ), NE = northeast group ( Peshawar )
A long a (ā) in the initial position of a word is represented with Alif + Madda (آ). In the middle and end positions, Alif (ا) is a long a (ā). Otherwise, Alif (ا) represents vowels in the initial position, depending on the historical context. The remaining long vowels in the initial position are formed with Alif and a vowel. Long e becomes through اېـ (Alif + Pasta Ye), long i through ايـ (Alif + hard Ye), long o and u through او (Alif + Wāw). The diphthong aw / au is formed by او (Alif + Wāw) and ai by ايـ (Alif + Sakhta Ye).
The ten letters ق ف ع ظ ط ض ص ح ﺫ ث only appear in loan words . Most of the loan words are of Arabic origin . Seven of these letters do not represent a separate phon in Afghan , but their pronunciation corresponds to other letters. These letters are ظ ط ض ص ح ﺫ ث.
ح (He) tends to be omitted from pronunciation when it is at the end of a word, e.g. B. in the word اصلاح [isˡlɑ].
The letter ړ (Rre) is pronounced as a lateral retroflexer flap / ɺ̢ / if it is not the last letter of a syllable. If it is the last letter of a syllable, then it corresponds to a voiced retroflex approximant / ɻ /
The letter ک can also be written as ك (especially historical texts).
The letter ګ can also be written as گ.
The letter و (Wāw) is pronounced w if it is the first letter of a syllable, e.g. B. ولي (walí) "why" or کول (kawәl) "do". If it is not the first letter of a syllable, then it corresponds to a long o, ū or au / aw (diphthong), e.g. B. کور (kor) "house", سوله (sola) "peace" or يو (yau) "one".
In informal texts, the Ye's ی as well as ې, ۍ and ئ are sometimes replaced by the letter ے, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (with capital ( Peshawar )).
The hard Ye (ي) can take any position within a word يـ, ـيـ and ـي. The soft and verbal ye can be in the middle or at the end of a word ـېـ or ـې or ـئـ and ـئ. The male and female Ye's always come at the end of a word ـی (male) and ـۍ (female).
ی (Male Ye) is pronounced as a diphthong ai when it follows a consonant (e.g. لرګی - largay, "wood"), which corresponds to the masculine gender. If ی (masculine Ye) follows a vowel, then ی corresponds to the pulmonary consonant [j] (transliteration y) according to the International Phonetic Alphabet (e.g. دوی - duy, "she").
The verbal Ye (ئ) corresponds to a vowel [j] (transliteration y) (e.g. جدائي - judāyī, "separation").
The verbal Ye (ئ) is the ending of a verb in the second person, plural and is pronounced as “əy”, e.g. B. دوی غواړئ (duy ghwāṛəy) "they want / want" (see personal endings ).
The Hamza sign of the verbal Ye can also be shifted to the right: instead of ﺉ, ٸ is written.
Arabic loanwords with Ye (ی) at the end of a sentence are pronounced as a long a (ā), e.g. B. in مصطفی (mustafā). This symbol is not a Ye in Arabic, but the Alif maqsūra ی and must not be confused with the Afghan male Ye ی or the Arabic letter Yā ' ي.
Words of Arabic origin have words with a ء (hamza) over vowels, which is pronounced as ع (ayn). For example, ؤ, أ and ئ occur, e.g. B. سؤال (suʼāl) "question" or دائمى (dāʼimī) "permanent". The hamza is often left out.
In the spelling of Peshawar , instead of a ـه, a He-Hamza ـهُ is used at the end of the sentence, which represents an unstressed e ( ə ), e.g. B. نهٔ (nə) "not".
The doubling sign Tashdīd (تشديد) occurs in words of Arabic origin and is used to double letters, e.g. B. اوّل (awwal) "first". Often the Tashdid is left out.
The nunation by Tanwin ً occurs in the final syllables in words of Arabic origin and represents an “an”, e.g. B. مثلاً (masalan) "for example" or اولاً (awwalan) "firstly".

In the English-speaking world , the ALA-LC transcription is used to transcribe the Afghan letters into Latin script .

Pashtun dialects (د پښتو ګړدودونه)

There are several Pashtun dialects. In principle, the dialects can be divided into two main groups.

The two main dialects
Dialect groups	center
Southwest or western group with Paṣ̌to (Pashto)	Kandahar in Afghanistan
Northeast or east group with Pakhto (Pachto, Paxto)	Peshawar in Northern Pakistan (historically part of the Durrani Empire )

A central group with its center in Kabul is sometimes mentioned, but it can be counted as part of the Eastern group because they are very similar.

Further subdivisions of the dialects are e.g. B. According to MacKenzie the southwest group (Kandahar), southeast group ( Quetta ), northeast group (Peschawar) and the northwest group ( Kabul ).

A major difference is the pronunciation of the letters and some words. The three following letters in the table in particular are pronounced very differently from each other.

Common letters that are pronounced differently in the respective dialects.
Common letter	Western group (Pashto)	central group (Paxtó)	Eastern group (Pakhto)
ژ (ž)	ژ (ž)	ز (z)	ج (j)
ږ (ẓ̌)	retroflexes ژ (ž)	ګ (g)	ګ (g)
ښ (ṣ̌)	retroflexes ش (š)	خ (x)	خ (kh)

Examples of words with the same meaning and spelling but different pronunciation
translation	Afghan	Western group (Pashto)	central group (Paxtó)	Eastern group (Pakhto)
deep	ژور	žawár	zawár	yesar
Life	ژوند	žwall	zwand	jwand
moon	سپوږمۍ	spoẓ̌mә́y	spogmә́y	spogmә́y
woman	ښځه	ṣ̌ә́dza	xә́dza	khә́dza
Pashto	پښتو	paṣ̌tó	paxtó	pakhtó

Also, some “Ye's” are sometimes pronounced differently at the end, but this is not very relevant in the mutual understanding of the different dialects.

Examples of words with the same meaning and spelling but different pronunciation
translation	Western group (Pashto)	Eastern group (Pakhto)
where)	چېري (čérí)	چېرته (čérta)
how many	څونه (cúna)	څومره (cúmra, cómra)
so many	دونه (dúna)	دومره (dúmra)
become (perfective)	سول (swəl)	شول (šwəl)
there is / exists	سته (sta)	شته (šta)

In addition to these standard groups, there are many Pashtun dialects, some of which are unknown or unexplored and are spoken in different regions and by the different Pashtun tribes . One example is the wasirische dialect Wasiri (وزیري), which in Waziristan (formerly the Afghan in today's northern Pakistan Durrani empire belonging), and a semi-autonomous region in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is. Historically, Wasiristan has repeatedly got into conflicts against external influences and is today unfortunately a victim of the globally ignored but against the European Convention on Human Rights , American drone war , which is tolerated by the Pakistani government and the Pakistani army and which resulted in numerous civilian victims and mass exodus of 3.44 million people in the region. For these reasons, it is difficult for foreign linguists to visit the mountainous region of Wasiristan and analyze its Afghan accent, Wasiri. Wasiri has sounds that do not appear in the standard pashto alphabet. The sounds ش [ʃ] and ښ [ʂ] as well as ژ [ʒ] and ږ [ʐ ] are pronounced like [ɕ] and [ʑ] after the IPA . So far, no Waziran scripts are known abroad that contain the spoken language in written form. As a written language , used the Standardpaschto as with many other unexplored strains with their dialects. The word مونږ (muʐ (west) or mung (east)) “we” is pronounced as [miʑ] and the word لږ ([ləʐ] (southwest) or ləg (northeast)) “little” as [ləɕki].

Like every language, Pashto has influences from other languages. Above all, there are similarities between the Pashtun (Afghan) and Persian languages , as there is a geographical proximity to the Persian-speaking countries Iran and Tajikistan and the Persian language Dari is spoken in Afghanistan in addition to Pashto (see also Khorasan ). Due to its geographical proximity to the Urdu- speaking countries Pakistan and India, the Afghan northeast group has many terms from Urdu and, accordingly, from English (see British India ).

As in all the languages ​​of Islamic, but also European countries (see list of German words from Arabic ), there are many Arabic influences in the Pashtun language, which can a. shows in vocabulary. The Pashtun language rarely contains Turkish , Dardic , French and, in the military field, very seldom Russian terms (see Soviet-Afghan War ), e.g. B. the کلشنکوف " Kalashnikov ".

The Afghan language academy “Pashto Tolana” (پښتو ټولنه) tries to develop a common written language and Pashtun neologisms .

Differentiated classification of the Pashtun dialects

1. Southern variants

• Kandahari dialect (or southern dialect)
• Kakar dialect (or southeastern dialect)
• Mandokhel-Shirani dialect
• Marwat-Lodi-Bettani dialect
• Wanetsi dialect
• Southern Karlani Group

• Khattak dialect
• Banuchi dialect
• Dawarwola dialect
• Masidwola dialect
• Wazirwola dialect

2. Northern variants

• Central Ghilji Dialect (or Northwestern Dialect)
• northern dialect (or eastern dialect)
• Yusufzai dialect (or northeastern dialect)
• Northern Karlani Group

• Taniwola dialect
• Khosti dialect
• Zadran-Mangal dialect
• Bangash-Orakzai-Turi-Zazi dialect
• Afridi dialect
• Khogyani dialect
• Wardak dialect

Lexical comparison of the Pashtun dialects

German translation	Kandahari	Kakar	Wanetsi	Marwat	Khattak	Banuchi	Wazirwola	Taniwola	Afridi	Khogyani	Wardak	Central Ghilji	Northern Pashto	Yusufzai	Pashtun lexeme
Pashto	Paṣ̌to	Pašto	Pašto	Pašto	Pāštȫ	Paste	Paste	Paxes	Pāxtȫ	Pāxtȯ	Pāx̌tȯ	Pax̌to	Puxto	Puxto	پښتو
four	tsalor	tsalor	tsalor	čalor	tsālȫr	sāler	tsālwer	tsāler	tsālwȫr	tsālȯr	tsālȯr	tsalor	tsalor	salor	څلور
six	špaẓ̌	špaž	špož	špaž	špež	špež	špež	špeg	špeg	špeg	špeǵ	špaǵ	špag	špag	شپږ
woman	ṣ̌ədza	šədza	šəza	šəǰa	šəzā	šəzā	šəzā	xəzā	xəzā	x̌əzā	x̌ədzā	x̌ədza	xəza	xəza	ښځه
father	plār	plār	piyār	plār	plår	plor	plor	plor	plår	plain	plain	plār	plār	plār	پلار
much	ḍer zyāt	ḍer zyāt	tsaṭ	ḍer zyāt	ḍer zyåt	pirā zyot	rəṭ zyot	rəṭ zyot	ḍer zyåt	ḍer zyât	ḍer zyât	ḍer zyāt	ḍer zyāt	ḍer zyāt	ډېر زيات
little	ləẓ̌	ləž	ləž	ləž	ləž	ləški	ləški	ləg	ləg	ləg	ləǵ	ləǵ	ləg	ləg	لږ
how	tsənga	tsənga	tsona	čərang	tsərāng	sərāng	tsərāng	tsərge	tsərāng	tsəngā	tsəngā	tsənga	tsənga	singa	څنګه
who	tsok	tsok	čok	čok	tsȫk	sec	tsek	tsek	tsȫk	tsȯk	tsȯk	tsok	tsok	so	څوک
drink	čṣ̌əl	čšəl	ğwətang	čšəl	čšəl	čšəl	čšəl	tsəxəl	tsəxəl	tsəxəl	čx̌əl	čx̌əl	tskəl	skəl	څښل
foot	pṣ̌a	pša	špa, ğədəi	pša	pšā	pšā	pšā	pxā	pxā	pxā	px̌ā	px̌a	pxa	xpa	پښه
we	must	must	moš	must	must	miž	miž	mig	must	must	must	must	mung	mung	موږ
my	zmā	zmā	mā eğē	emā	emå	emo	emo	emo	emå	emâ	emâ	zmā	zəmā	zamā	زما
your	stā	stā	tāğa	etā	etå	eto	eto	eto	etå	etâ	etâ	stā	stā	stā	ستا
girl	nǰiləi	nǰiləi	čuwara	ǰinkəi	wȫṛkəi	weṛkye	weṛkye	weṛkye	wȫṛkye	wȯṛkəi	wȯṛkəi	ǰiləi	ǰinəi	ǰinē	نجلۍ
Boy	halək	halək	waṛīz, čorī	kṛāčay	wȫṛkāi	weṛkā	weṛkāi	weṛkāi	wȫṛkāi	wȯṛkāi	wȯṛkāi	halək	halək	halək	هلک
Sun	lmar	lmar	mērə	nmar	merə stərgā	myerə stərgā	ğormə stərgā	myerə stərgā	merə stərgā	lmerə stərgā	lmer	lmar	nmar	nwar	لمر
egg	hagəi	hagəi	hoya	angəi	wȫyā	yeyā	yeyā	yeyā	wȫyā	ȯyā	ȯyā	hagəi	hagəi, hā	hagē, hā	هګۍ
Yes No	where / ya	where / na	where / na	ya / na	wȫ	ē / nā	ē / nā	yē / nā	ē / nā	wȯ / nā	wȯ / nā	where / na	where / na	ao / na	هو \ نه
House	kor	kor	kor	kor	kȫr	ker	ker	ker	kȫlə	kȯr	kȯr	kor	kor	kor	کور
I am	yəm	yəm	ī	yəm	yəm	yə	yə	yə	yəm	yəm	yəm	yəm	yəm	yəm	یم
I go	dzəm	dzəm	drimī	ǰəm	tsəm	sə	tsə	tsə	tsəm	tsəm	tsəm	dzəm	zəm	zəm	ځم
tongue	žəba	zəba	zbə	zəba	žəbā	žəbā	žəbā	žəbā	ǰəbā	žəbā	zəbā	zəba	žəba	ǰəba	ژبه
it exists	sta	sta	sta	sta	štā	štā	štā	štā	štā	štā	stā	sta	šta	šta	شته
bear	yiẓ̌	yiž	yirž	yiž	yiž	yiž	yiž	yig	yig	yig	yiǵ	yiǵ	yig	yig	ايږ
ant	meẓ̌ay	mežay	merža	mežay	mežāi	mežāi	mežāi	megāi	megāi	megāi	məǵātāi	meǵay	megay	megē	مېږی
German translation	Kandahari	Kakar	Wanetsi	Marwat	Khattak	Banuchi	Wazirwola	Taniwola	Afridi	Khogyani	Wardak	Central Ghilji	Northern Pashto	Yusufzai	Pashtun lexeme

In general, the Karlani dialects (south and north) show more vocabulary differences than the non-Karlani dialects. Wanetsi shows the greatest difference between the Pashto dialects. Although Wanetsi follows the normal phonetic rules of the southern dialects, it differs significantly in vocabulary.

Wanetsi	Kandahari	translation
sī	səl	hundred
šwī	šəl	twenty
(a) ğa	there	from, des
tərža	təẓ̌ay	thirsty
tōw, tōwa	death, tawda	hot
ğandəm	ğanəm	wheat
mast	myāšt	month
atā	atyā	eighty
wžəndz	ẓ̌mundz	Hair comb
sunzən	stən	needle
brēstəṇ	bṛastən	Duvet
činostang	kṣ̌enāstəl	sit down
wayang	wayəl	say
ze kī	zə kawəm	I do

Examples of sentences show the differences between Wanetsi and the regional standard Kandahari:

Wanetsi	Kandahari	translation
اندي وګوړي چي موښ پيار غه څټ لېژدي وي indī waguṛī čī mōš piyār ğa tsaṭ lēždī wī	په دې کلي کې زموږ د پلار ډېر غوايان وه pə de kəli ki zmuẓ̌ də plār ḍer ğwāyān wə	There were many of our father's cows in this village.
شمزې و خوارږه شوې مي دې غوزين šamze o xwāržə šwe mī de ğōzīn	شلومبې او خواږه شیدې هم چښي šlombe aw xwāẓ̌ə šide ham čṣ̌i	(They) also drink buttermilk and sweet milk.

Grammar (ګرامر)

Noun (نوم or اسم)

The nouns are divided into two genera in the Afghan language: masculine and feminine. They are declined according to the following grammatical categories :

• Case: rectus, obliquus
• Number: singular, plural

The declension of the Afghan nouns is relatively easier than the declension of German nouns, as there is less variety of possible declension options. There are only two cases for the case , namely the rectus and the obliquus . Afghan does not use the neuter gender , only masculine and feminine .

Gender (جنس)

Pashtun has two genera, namely masculine (نارينه) and feminine (ښځيني). The gender of the nouns can almost always be recognized by their ending (= suffix ). An exception to this rule applies to living beings in which the gender can be derived from the natural sex of these living beings :

Examples with living beings whose gender can be deduced from their gender.
genus	Example (Afghan)	translation
masculine (male)	پلار (plār)	father
	زوی (zoy)	son
	اکا (akā)	uncle
feminine (female)	مور (mor)	mother
	خور (xor)	sister
	لور (lur)	daughter

Masculine

Masculine noun suffixes
suffix	Example (Afghan)	translation
Consonant (e.g. -r, -b)	کاريګر (kārigar)	Workers
ه (-ə)	زړه (zṛə)	heart
و (-u)	بازو (bāzū)	poor
ی (-ay or less often i)	ملګری (malgəray)	Friend, comrade, companion, colleague

Feminine

Suffixes of feminine nouns
suffix	Example (Afghan)	translation
ا (-ā)	شا (šā)	move
ه (-a)	چپلاخه (čəpəlāxa)	Slap in the face, slap
و (-o)	آرزو (ārzó)	wish
ی (-i)	بدی (badí)	Evil
ۍ (-əy)	چوکۍ (čokəy)	chair

Exception : some nouns are feminine despite consonant suffixes:

Examples of feminine nouns with a consonant suffix
Afghan	translation
لار (lār)	path
ورځ (wradz)	Day
څرمن (carmən)	Skin, fur
لوېشت (lwešt)	A hand's breadth, range
ږمنڅ (ẓ̌məndz)	Comb
اوريځ (uryádz)	cloud

Number (تعداد)

The singular (singular) (یو or مفرد) becomes the plural (plural) (ډېر or جمع) by changing the suffix of the noun. The following are the suffixes of the singular and the corresponding suffix for the plural.

Plural masculine nouns

Ending in the rectus / singular	Ending in the rectus / plural	Example (Afghan)	translation
Consonant (e.g. -b, -r, -t)	ونه (-úna)	غوږ (ghwaẓ̌) → غوږونه (ghwaẓ̌úna)	Ear → ears
ه (-ə)		زړه (zṛə) → زړونه (zṛúna)	Heart → hearts
و (-u)	ګان (gān)	بازو (bāzú) → بازوګان (bāzúgān)	Arm → arms
ی (-ay)	ی (-í)	سړی (saṛay) → سړی (saṛí)	Man → men
		more often سړيان (saṛiyān)
a + consonant (e.g. -ar, -al)	Failure of stem vowel + ه (ə) (sometimes also ونه (-úna))	غل (ghal) → غله (ghlə)	the thief → the thieves
		خر (xar) → خره (xrə)	the donkey → the donkey
		ور (war) → وره (wrə) or more often ورونه (wruna)	the door → the doors

Persons with a consonant as a suffix have the ending ان (-ān) for the plural. For animals, ان (-ān) and ونه (-úna) can be used as an ending. For living beings with the ending ی (-ay) you can use یان (-iyān) as well as ی (-í) for the plural.

Plural feminine nouns

Ending in the rectus / singular	Ending in the rectus / plural	Example (Afghan)	translation
ه (-á) (accented a)	ې (-e)	کوټه (koṭá) → کوټې (koṭé)	the room → the room
ه (-a) (non-accented a)	ی (-i)	غاړه (ghā́ṛa) → غاړی (ghā́ṛí)	the neck → the necks
ۍ (-əy) (for inanimate nouns)	ۍ (-əy)	المارۍ (almārә́y) → المارۍ (almārә́y) (also الماریاني (almāriyāní))	the closet → the closets
		غالۍ (ghālә́y) → غالۍ (ghālә́y)	the carpet → the carpets
ی (-i)		بازی (bāzí) → بازۍ (bāzә́y)	the game → the games
		دوستی (dostí) → دوستۍ (dostә́y)	friendship → friendships
ا (-ā) or و (-o)	وی (-wi) or ګانی (-gā́ni)	شا (šā) → شاوی (šā́wi) or شاګانی (šāgā́ni)	the back → the back
		خوا (xwā) → خواوی (xwā́wi) or خواګانی (xwāgā́ni)	the page → the pages
		دوا (dawā) → دواوی (dawā́wi) or دواګانی (dawāgā́ni)	the drug → the drugs
		ارزو (ārzó) → ارزووی (arzówi) or ارزوګانی (arzogā́ni)	the wish → the wishes

Casus obliquus

The above examples are given as casus rectus. The casus obliquus of the Afghan language is used very often, e.g. B. nouns are in the obliquus when an adposition refers to them (see application of the case rectus and obliquus ). Only masculine nouns that end in the rectus singular on a consonant (e.g. -r, -b, -k), on ه (-ə), ی (-í) or و (-u) have the in the oblique singular same ending. For all other masculine and all feminine nouns, the rectus plural corresponds to the obliquus singular. For the plural of the obliquus, a و (-o) is always appended or replaced to the rectus plural of the noun. The following applies:

Formation of the obliquus / singular
	Obliq./Sg.	Example (Afghan)	Translation of the rectus
For masculine nouns on a consonant, ه (-ә), ی (-í) (stressed i) and و (-u):	Rek./Sg. = Obl.Sg.	هالک (halәk) → هالک (halәk)	the boy
		بندی (bandí) → بندی (bandí)	the prisoner
		زړه (zṛә) → زړه (zṛә)	the heart
		دارو (dārú) → (dārú)	the drug
For all other masculine and feminine nouns:	Rec./Pl. = Obl.Sg.	سړی (saṛí) → سړی (saṛí)	the men
		کوټې (koṭé) → کوټې (koṭé)	the rooms
		بازۍ (bāzә́y) → بازۍ (bāzә́y)	the games

Formation of the obliquus / plural
Rec./Pl. → Obliq./Pl.	Example (Afghan)	Translation of the rectus
ونه (-una) → ونو (-úno) or occasionally just و (-o) possible	کورونه (korúna) → کورونو (korúno) or کورو (koro)	the houses
ان (-ān) → انو (-āno)	چرګان (čәrgān) → چرګانو (čәrgāno)	the taps
ی (-í) (stressed i) → یو (-íyo)	سړی (saṛí) → سړيو (saṛíyo)	the men
ی (-i) (unstressed i) or ې (-e) → و (-o)	ژبی (žә́bi) → ژبو (žә́bo)	the languages
	کوټې (koṭé) → کوټو (koṭó)	the rooms

The infinitive can be formed as an obliquus, plural by adding و (-o) (see nominalization ), e.g. B. the verb ګټل (gaṭә́l) “win” can be understood as the nominative “to win” and become an obliquus by adding و (-o) to د ګټلو (dә gaṭә́lo) “of winning”. Some nouns also experience a stem gradation ( see there ).

Obliquus II

If a noun ends in a consonant and a preposition refers to it, then the Obliquus II (singular) is often used instead of the usual Obliquus I (singular) by adding a ـه (-a) to the consonant, e.g. B. instead of تر ښار پوری (tər ṣ̌ār póri) (Obliquus I), تر ښاره پوری (tər ṣ̌āra póri) (Obliquus II) "to the city" is also used. After the preposition په (pә), the obliquus II is rarely used. An example with په (pә) is that instead of په لار (pә lār) “on the way”, په لاره (pә lāra) “on the way” is also possible.

Irregular plural forms

Some kinship names and certain people have irregular plural forms.

Irregular plural forms
Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural	translation
پلار (plār)	پلرونه (plarúna)	پلار (plār)	پلرونو (plarúno) or پلرو (plaró)	Father / fathers
مور (mor)	مندی (mándi) or مېندې (ménde)	مور (mor)	مندو (mándo) or مېندو (méndo)	Mother mothers
ورور (wror)	وروڼه (wrúṇa)	ورور (wror)	وروڼو (wrúṇo)	Brother brothers
خور (xor)	خوندی (xwándi) or خوېندې (xwénde)	خور (xor)	خوندو (xwándo) or خوېندو (xwéndo)	Sister / sisters
زوی (zoy)	زامن (zāmә́n)	زوی (zoy)	زامنو (zāmә́no)	Son sons
لور (lur)	لوڼی (lúṇi)	لور (lur)	لوڼو (lúṇo)	Daughter daughters
نجلۍ (njәlә́y)	نجونی (njúni)	نجلۍ (njәlә́y)	نجونو (njúno)	Girl / girl
Exceptions: Relationships with ـه (-ә) as an ending have the regular plural
Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural	translation
تره (trә)	ترونه (trúna)	تره (trә)	ترونو (trúno)	Uncle (paternal side)
نیکه (nikә́)	نیکونه (nikúna) or نیکه ګان (nikә́gā́n)	نیکه (nikә́)	نیکونو (nikúno) or نیکه ګانو (nikә́ gānó)	grandfather

Singular tantum and plural tantum

The singular tantum is used in Afghan to describe e.g. B. only reproduce a certain substance or type. The case rectus is used in the singular and in German as an indefinite plural (without article).

Singular tantum
Examples (Afghan)	translation
کتاب (kitāb)	book
مڼه (maṇá)	Apple

A plural tantum is a noun that is only used as a plural. They usually end with ه (-ə) and that includes many metals that end in consonants.

Plural tantum
Examples (Afghan)	translation
اوبه (obə)	water
شیدې (šidé)	milk
سرپ (srəp)	lead
مس (mis)	copper
ژېړ (ẓ̌eṛ)	Brass, bronze
ساړه (saṛә́)	Frost, cold
اوړه (oṛә́)	Flour

In contrast to German, the word خلک / خلق (xalk / xalq "the people") is always interpreted as plural.

Application of the cases rectus and obliquus

The case rectus is used for the nominative and the accusative in the present and future tense. There is one exception, namely the Obliquus is used in the personal pronouns to represent the German accusative. The case obliquus is always used when an adposition refers to the noun. The exception is often the circumposition په ... کښی (pә ... ki) "in, auf, zu, an", where the rectus is often used. In addition, the case obliquus is also used in the nominative of the past tense.

Nouns in Afghan as rectus or as obliquus
		Tenses ( property of the verb )
		Present and future (intransitive / transitive)	Past (intransitive)	Past (transitive) (= ergative)
case	Nominative	Rectus	Rectus	Obliquus
	Genitive	Obliquus	Obliquus	Obliquus
	dative	Obliquus	Obliquus	Obliquus
	accusative	Rectus (exception: personal pronouns)	-	Rectus

Dative construction by ته (ta)

The reference word for the postposition ته (ta) (English to ) is an obliquus and corresponds to the English word "to" (an, zu, nach). In the German language it corresponds to the case dative (Wemfall) and also has the function as a post position of the target direction (where?) "To, to". The word کره (kará) is a short form of کور ته (kor ta) "to / home".

Dative with ته (ta)
Examples (Afghan)	translation
زمونږ کره ځو (zmuẓ̌ kará dzu)	We go home
دی عبدالرحمن‌ ته خط وراستوی (day Abdur-Rahman ta xat wár-astawi)	He sends the letter to Abdur Rahman.

Genitive construction by د (də)

The German genitive (Wessenfall) is formed with د (də). The preposition د (də) corresponds to the English preposition "of" with the difference that د (də) and its reference word are at the beginning. I.e. instead of “The beautiful garden of the house” one says in Afghan in the figurative sense “Of the house the beautiful garden” (the beautiful garden of the house).

The reference word to د (də) is in the obliquus.

Genitive construction with د (də)
Afghan	translation
د پلار کور (də plār kor)	The father's house
د ښځو کارونه (də ṣ̌ә́dzo kāruna)	The work of women
د اسلام مینه (də islā́m mína)	The love of Islam

Some nouns do not prefix د (d nicht) to form a genitive and the reference word is given in the rectus.

Words without د (də) in front
Afghan	translation
ډله (ḍála)	group
لړ (laṛ)	Series, series
لوېشت (lwešt)	A hand's breadth, range
example
هغه ډله پوهان (hagha ḍála pohān)	that group of scientists

Vocative (د غږ کولو حالت)

The salutation is formed in Pashtun using a special vocative form. All masculine nouns [including accented ی (-áy)] get an ه (-a) as an ending, except for masculine nouns with an unstressed ی (-ay), which get a ې (-e) as an ending.

Examples of vocative / singular / masculine
Rek./Sg. → Vok./Sg.	translation
ورور (wror) →! وروره (wrora!)	the brother → (my) brother!
غل (ghal) →! غله (ghála!)	the thief → (you) thief!
سړی (saṛā́y) →! سړیه (saṛáya!)	the man → oh man!
ملګری (malgә́ray) →! ای ملګرې (ey malgә́re!)	the friend → o (my) comrade !; O my friend!

The following applies to feminine: rectus singular = vocative singular. Exceptions apply to the following three feminine words in the table that have a ی (-i) as a suffix.

Examples of vocative / singular / feminine with ی (-i)
Rek./Sg. → Vok./Sg.
مور (mor) - mother → موری (mori) - mother!
خور (xor) - sister → خوری (xori) - sister!
لور (lur) - daughter → لوری (luri) - daughter!

The general rule for the plural of the vocative is that vocative / plural = obliquus / plural.

Examples of vocative / plural
Rek./Sg. → Vok./Sg.	translation
ګران دوستان (grān dostān) →! ګرانو دوستانو (Grāno dostāno!)	dear friends → (My) dear friends!
ښځی (ṣ̌ә́dzi) →! ای ښځو (ey ṣ̌ә́dzo!)	the women → O (you) women!

The vocative should always be used in Pashtun language usage when addressing, because it is usually meant more polite and more respectful than the German exclamation "He!" The vocative expresses a close affiliation in Pashto, but depending on the intonation and depending on the word , it can also show an aversion, amazement and much more (e.g. "you thief!").

Pronouns (ضميرونه)

Personal pronouns (شخصي ضميرونه)

In the Pashtun language there are personal pronouns as case rectus and obliquus .

case	Afghan	Person , number , gender	case	Afghan	Person , number , gender	translation
Nominative in the accusative construction and accusative in the ergative construction (passive construction)	زه (zə)	1st person, singular	Nominative in the ergative construction (passive construction)	ما (mā)	1st person, singular	I
	ته (tə)	2nd person, singular		تا (tā)	2nd person, singular	you
	دی (day)	3rd person, singular, masculine		ده (də)	3rd person, singular, masculine	he
	دا (dā)	3rd person, singular, feminine		دې (de)	3rd person, singular, feminine	she
	مونږ (mūẓ̌ (west) or mung (east))	1st person, plural		مونږ (mūẓ̌ (west) or mung (east))	1st person, plural	we
	تاسی / تاسو (tāsi / tāsu)	2nd person, plural		تاسی / تاسو (tāsi / tāsu)	2nd person, plural	her
	دوی (duy)	3rd person, plural		دوی (duy)	3rd person, plural	she
More expressions
Afghan	Person , number , gender	translation
تاسی / تاسو (tāsi / tāsu)	2nd person, singular, form of courtesy	She; them
سړی (saṛáy) "man"	3rd person, impersonal	man
خلک (xalk) "people"

case	Afghan	Person , number , gender	translation	case	Afghan	Person , number , gender	translation
Accusative in the accusative construction	ما (mā)	1st person, singular	me	dative	ما ته (mā ta)	1st person, singular	me
	تا (tā)	2nd person, singular	you		تا ته (tā ta)	2nd person, singular	to you
	دی (day)	3rd person, singular, masculine	him		ده ته (də ta)	3rd person, singular, masculine	him
	دا (dā)	3rd person, singular, feminine	she		دې ته (de ​​ta)	3rd person, singular, feminine	her
	مونږ (mūẓ̌ (west) or mung (east))	1st person, plural	us		مونږ ته (mūẓ̌ ta (west) or mung ta (east))	1st person, plural	us
	تاسی / تاسو (tāsi / tāsu)	2nd person, plural	to you		تاسی / تاسو ته (tāsi / tāsu ta)	2nd person, plural	to you
	دوی (duy)	3rd person, plural	she		دوی ته (duy ta)	3rd person, plural	them

Enclitic pronouns

In the Pashtun language, as for example in the Persian, Romance (Italian, Spanish or Portuguese) or ancient Greek languages, enclitic pronouns are found .

Enclitic pronouns
Afghan	Person and number
می (-mi)	1st person, singular
دی (-di)	2nd person, singular
ئی (-e, -ye)	3rd person, singular
مو (-mu)	1st person, plural
مو (-mu)	2nd person, plural
ئی (-e, -ye)	3rd person, plural

Sentence examples and the four functions of the enclitic pronouns
Functions	Example (Afghan)	translation
possessive pronouns	ته می زوی ئې (tә mi zoy ye)	You are my son.
	زه دی مور یم (zә di mor yәm)	I am your mother.
Direct object in transitive verbs (present / future)	زه ئی اخلم (zә ye axlәm)	I take him / her / it.
	ته می به وينې (tә mi bә wine)	You will see me
Agent in the ergative construction	ما ئی واخيسته (mā ye wāxista)	I took it.
	چای می وچښه (čāy mi wú-čәṣ̌ә)	I drank the tea.
3. Person is translated by numbers as "from them" or "from them"	دوه ئی ښيدې کوی (dwa ye šide kawi)	Two of them produce milk.
	يو من ئی په څو دئ (yau man ye pә co dәy?)	How much does it cost a man?

Possessive pronouns (د څښتنوالي ضميرونه)

Possessive pronouns (pronouns indicating possession) are formed from the oblique personal pronouns with the prefixes د (d), ز (z) or س (s).

possessive pronouns
Afghan	Person , number , gender	translation
زما (zmā)	1st, singular	my
ستا (stā)	2nd, singular	your
دده (dadә́)	3rd, singular, masculine	be
ددې (də de)	3rd, singular, feminine	her
زمونږ (zmuẓ̌)	1st, plural	our
ستاسی (stāsi)	2nd, plural	your
ددوی (də duy)	3rd, plural	her
خپل (xpəl)	Inflection like an adjective	be own

خپل (xpəl) is a reflexive- possessive pronoun and follows the noun according to an adjective with the case, the number and the gender. With خپل one emphasizes the meaning of a property or an affiliation.

Reflexive and reciprocal pronouns (د غبرګون ضميرونه)

Reflexive pronouns or reflexive adverbs
Afghan	translation
ځان (dzān)	yourself, me, you, us, you
خپل (xpəl)	be own
پخپله or په خپله (pəxpә́la)	by itself, by itself

Reciprocal facts are formed by the combination of یو (yau) "one" and بل (bә́l) "other":

Afghan	translation
یو (yau)	one (number); an (indefinite article)
بل (bəl)	another
Reciprocal facts
یو له بله (yau lə bә́la)	one from the other, from each other
یو له بل څخه / نه (yau lə bəl cxa / na)
یو د بل سره (yau də bəl sará)	together
یو او بل ته (yau au bəl ta)	each other
یو ووبل ته (yau wobəl ta)

Demonstrative pronouns (اشاري ضميرونه)

Demonstrative pronouns (rectus)
distance	Afghan	number	translation
close	دا (dā)	Singular	this one, this one, this one, this one
medium	دغه (dagha)	Singular	this one there
remote	هغه (hagha)	Singular	that (r)
close	دا (dā)	Plural	this one, this one
medium	دغه (dagha) (دغوی (daghóy) less often)	Plural	Those ones
remote	هغه (hagha) (هغوی (haghóy) less often)	Plural	those

Demonstrative pronoun (obliquus)
distance	Afghan	Number, gender	Meaning / derivation
close	دې (de)	Singular	from دا (dā)
medium	دغه (dagha)	Singular, masculine	by دغه (dagha)
remote	هغه (hagha)	Singular, masculine	from هغه (hagha)
medium	دغې (daghe)	Singular, feminine	by دغه (dagha)
remote	هغې (haghe)	Singular, feminine	from هغه (hagha)
close	دې (de)	Plural	from دا (dā)
medium	دغو (dagho)	Plural	by دغه (dagha)
remote	هغو (hagho)	Plural	from هغه (hagha)

More demonstrative pronouns
Afghan	translation
دومره (dúmra)	so much, so (close)
هومره (húmra)	so much, so (far)
هغومره (haghúmra)	so many, such (distant)
... دومره ... څومره (dúmra ... cúmra ...) (Northeast dialect)	as much as...
... دونه ... څونه (dúna ... cúna ...) (Southwest dialect)
دغسی (dághasi) (western group)	such a, so
دغسی (dághase) (eastern group)
داسی (dāsi) (western group)
داسی (dāse) (Eastern group)
همدا (hamdā)	same
همدغه (hamdágha)	this very one
همدغسی (hamdághasi)	as well
ها (hā)	that one there (colloquial)

Directional pronouns

In connection with postpositions, directional particles become directional pronouns. Some examples are given here:

Direction pronouns
Afghan	translation
راته (rā-ta)	(to) me, (to) us
ورته (wár-ta)	(to) him, (to) them
درته (dár-ta)	(to) you, (to) you
درسره (dár-sará)	with you, with you
ورپسې (wár-pase)	after him, after them, afterwards etc.
ورباندی (wár-bāndi)	on / over him, on them; about that

Interrogative pronouns (د پوښتني ضميرونه)

Interrogative pronouns
Afghan	Case , number , gender	translation
څوک (cok)	Rectus	who
چا (čā)	Obliquus	by څوک
څه (cə)		What
څو (co)		how much
څومره (cúmra, cómra) (north / east dialect)		how much (quantity, weight)
څونه (cúna) (south / west dialect)		how much (quantity, weight)
کوم (cum)		which one
کم (kom)
کومه (kúma)	feminine	Which
کومی (kúmi)	Obliquus, feminine	by کومه
څووم (cowəm)	masculine	the how many
څوومه (cowəma)	feminine	the how many
څوومی (cowəmi)	Obliquus, feminine	by څوومه
څنګه (cənga)		what a
څه رنګه (cə ránga)

Indefinite pronouns (ناتړلی ضميرونه)

Indefinite pronouns
Afghan	translation
څوک (cok)	any (of persons)
څه (cə)	something, any (of things)
څو (co)	some
کم (kəm)	any one, a certain one
کوم (kom)
يو شی (yau šāy)	something
يو څوک (yau cok)	someone, someone
يو چا ته (yau čā ta)	someone
د يو چا (dә́ yau čā)	from someone, someone
څومره (cómra)	so much, so far (less often)
ځینی (dzíni)	some
هر (har)	everyone
ټول (ṭol)	the whole, all
نور (nor)	other (pl.)
هیڅ (hic)	no, no, nothing
هیچ (hič) (rare)

Indefinite pronouns with preceding words
Afghan	translation
یو څوک (yau cok)	someone
یو څه (yau cə)	something
یو څو (yau co)	some
لږ څه (ləẓ̌ cə)	something, a little
هر څوک (har cok)	everyone
هیڅ څوک (hic cok)	no one

Indefinite article

Indefinite article یو
Rectus	Obliquus	genus	Translation (rectus)	Translation (Obliquus)
یو (yau)	یوه (yawә́)	m	a	one / one / one
یوه (yawá)	یوې (yawé)	f	a	one / one / one

Adjectives (صفتونه)

Adjectives are congruent to their noun in case, gender and number . They come before their noun, as in the German language.

Adjectives can also substantive and adverbial use. So z. B. مړ (mәṛ) denotes both 'dead' and 'der Leichnam' or المانی (ālmāní) 'German' and 'the German'. In adverbial use, they are often doubled, e.g. B. ژر ژر (žәr žәr) 'fast'.

Declination of adjectives

Ending of adjectives on consonants (e.g. -m), وی (-uy, -oy) or ه (-ə)
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	unchanged	unchanged	unchanged	و (-o)
Feminine	+ ه (-a) or instead of ه (-ə) a ه (-a)	ی (-i)	ی (-i)	و (-o)
Examples
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	تور کور (tor kor)	تور کورونه (tor korúna)	د تور کور (də tor kor)	د تورو کورونو (də toro korúno)
	the black house	the black houses	of the black house	of the black houses
Feminine	توره تخته (tóra taxtá)	توری تختې (tóri taxté)	د توری تختې (də tóri taxté)	د تورو تختو (də tóro taxtó)
	the black board	the black boards	the black board	of the black boards

Exception rule for some adjectives based on consonants (e.g. -m) with an accented ending, e.g. B. the word زرغون (zarghún) "green"
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	unchanged	+ ه (-ә́)	+ ه (-ә́)	و (-o)
Feminine	+ ه (-á)	ې (-e)	ې (-e)	و (-o)
Examples
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	زرغون کور (zarghún kor)	زرغونه کورونه (zarghunә́ korúna)	د زرغونه کور (də zarghunә́ kor)	د زرغونو کورونو (də zarghunó korúno)
	the green house	the green houses	of the green house	of green houses
Feminine	زرغونه تخته (zarghuná taxtá)	زرغونې تختې (zarghuné taxté)	د زرغونې تختې (də zarghuné taxté)	د زرغونو تختو (də zarghunó taxtó)
	the green board	the green tablets	the green chalkboard	of the green tablets

Ending of adjectives in accented ی (-áy)
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	unchanged	ی (-i)	ی (-i)	يو (-iyo)
Feminine	ۍ (-ә́y)	ۍ (-ә́y)	ۍ (-ә́y)	يو (-iyo)
Examples
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	کوچنی کور (kučnáy kor)	کوچنی کورونه (kučni korúna)	د کوچنی کور (də kučni kor)	د کوچنيو کورونو (də kučniyo korúno)
	the little house	the little houses	of the little house	of the little houses
Feminine	کوچنۍ تخته (kučnә́y taxtá)	کوچنۍ تختې (kučnә́y taxté)	د کوچنۍ تختې (də kučnә́y taxté)	د کوچنيو تختو (də kučniyo taxtó)
	the small table	the small tablets	the small table	of the small tablets

Ending of adjectives in non-accented ی (-ay)
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	unchanged	ی (-i)	ی (-i)	و (-o)
Feminine	ې (-e)	ی (-i)	ی (-i)	و (-o)
Examples
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	نوی کور (nә́way kor)	نوی کورونه (nә́wi korúna)	د نوی کور (də nә́wi kor)	د نوو کورونو (də nә́wo korúno)
	the new house	the new houses	of the new house	of the new houses
Feminine	نوې تخته (nә́we taxtá)	نوی تختې (nә́wi taxté)	د نوی تختې (də nә́wi taxté)	د نوو تختو (də nә́wo taxtó)
	the new board	the new boards	the new board	of the new boards

Ending of the adjectives on vowels, e.g. B. و (-u), ه (-a), ی (-i), ې (-e)
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	unchanged	unchanged	unchanged	و (-ó)
Feminine	unchanged	ې (-e)	ې (-e)	و (-ó)
Examples
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	ښايسته کور (ṣ̌āyistá kor)	ښايسته کورونه (ṣ̌āyistá korúna)	د ښايسته کور (də ṣ̌āyistá kor)	د ښايستو کورونو (də ṣ̌āyistó korúno)
	the beautiful house	the beautiful houses	of the beautiful house	of beautiful houses
Feminine	ښايسته تخته (ṣ̌āyistá taxtá)	ښايستې تختې (ṣ̌āyisté taxté)	د ښايستې تختې (də ṣ̌āyisté taxté)	د ښايستو تختو (də ṣ̌āyistó taxtó)
	the beautiful table	the beautiful tables	the beautiful table	the beautiful tables

See also the stem gradation of some adjectives .

Increase in adjectives

There are no special forms of increase, such as B.

• good (positive) - better (comparative) - best (superlative)

The adjectives / positives are reinforced by other words.

Words to reinforce the adjective
Afghan	translation
لا (lā)	yet
ډېر (ḍer)	very
خورا (xwarā)	very, extremely
زیات (ziyāt)	a lot
تک (tәk)	deep, dark, intense (only to enhance colors, e.g. تک تور (tәk tor) 'deep black')

Comparative / comparison
Afghan	translation
تر (tər)	as
له ... څخه / نه (lə ... cxa / na)	as (literally: from)

Words to form the superlative
Afghan	translation
تر / له ټولو (tər / lə ṭólo)	than all
له هر چا (lə har čā)	than anyone

Stem gradations of nouns and adjectives

There are some nouns and adjectives that change their stem when declining (inflection).

These nouns and adjectives have a consonant ending in the rectus singular, i.e. H. So masculine nouns and adjectives , and before the consonant is a vowel -u, -o or adjectives also a -i. In the following, K is the abbreviation for the consonant:

Stems of masculine nouns
	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Afghan	K + ـو	ـه + K + ا	ـه + K + ا	ـو + K
Transcription	-u / -o + K	-ā + K + ә́	-ā + K + ә́	-a + K + ó
Examples
translation	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
coal	سکور (skor)	سکاره (skārә́)	سکاره (skārә́)	سکارو (skaró)
Afghan	پښتون (paṣ̌tún)	پښتانه (paṣ̌tānә́)	پښتانه (paṣ̌tānә́)	پښتنو (paṣ̌tanó)

Special note

• There are three forms of the Obliquus singular for the masculine noun کور (kor) 'Haus'.

translation	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
House	کور (kor)	کورونه (korúna)	کور (kor) / کاله (kālә́) / کره (kará)	کورو (koró)

Gradations of the stem of the adjectives with retention of the stem vowel
		Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	Afghan	K + ـو	ـه + K + ا	ـه + K + ا	ـو + K
	Transcription	-o / -u + K	-ā + K + ә́	-ā + K + ә́	-a + K + ó
Feminine	Afghan	K + ـه	ـې + K	ـې + K	ـو + K
	Transcription	-a + K + á	-a + K + é	-a + K + é	-a + K + ó
Examples
	translation	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	ripe	پوخ (pox)	پاخه (pāxә́)	پاخه (pāxә́)	پخو (paxó)
Feminine		پخه (paxá)	پخې (paxé)	پخې (paxé)

Some adjectives lose the stem vowels of -o / -u or -i of the rectus / singular / masculine when declining. This also includes the adjective مړ (mәṛ) 'dead'.

Gradations of the stem of the adjectives with loss of the stem vowel
		Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	Afghan	K + ـو	ـه + K	ـه + K	ـو + K
	Transcription	-o / -u + K	- K + ә́	- K + ә́	K + ó
Feminine	Afghan	K + ـه	ـې + K	ـې + K	ـو + K
	Transcription	K + á	K + é	K + é	K + ó
Masculine	Afghan	K + ـي	ـه + K	ـه + K	ـو + K
	Transcription	-i + K	- K + ә́	- K + ә́	K + ó
Feminine	Afghan	K + ـه	ـې + K	ـې + K	ـو + K
	Transcription	K + á	K + é	K + é	K + ó
Examples
	translation	Rectus / singular	Rectus / plural	Obliquus / Singular	Obliquus / plural
Masculine	red	سور (sur)	سره (srә́)	سره (srә́)	سرو (sró)
Feminine		سره (srá)	سرې (sré)	سرې (sré)
Masculine	angry	تریو (triw)	تروه (tәrwә́)	تروه (tәrwә́)	تروو (tәrwó)
Feminine		تروه (tәrwá)	تروې (tәrwé)	تروې (tәrwé)
Masculine	dead	مړ (mәṛ)	مړه (mṛә́)	مړه (mṛә́)	مړو (mṛó)
Feminine		مړه (mṛá)	مړې (mṛé)	مړې (mṛé)

Word formation

The word education is the formation of new words from existing words.

The following is shown:

1. Formation of nouns
2. Formation of adjectives

Formation of nouns

Nouns can be formed by substantiating them or from nouns themselves.

A German example would be:

• pure (adjective) purity (noun) ${\displaystyle \rightarrow }$

This example of noun formation would be a derivation , i. H. a change of the part of speech adjective to noun, in this case by suffixing with -heit on the adjective 'pure'.

Formation of nouns through prefixation (derivation)
Prefixation	meaning	Afghan example	translation
نا (nā-)	U.N-; Negation particle	ناسازی (nāsāzi)	Disagreement
لا (lā-) (less often)	Arabic "un-"; Negation particle	لامذهبی (lā-mazhabí)	impiety
بې (be)	without (mostly separated)	بې طرفی (be-tarafí)	neutrality
غیر (ghayr)	arabic "without"	غیر پښتون (ghayr-paṣ̌tún)	Non-Afghans

Formation of nouns through suffixation (derivation)
Suffification of ...	suffix	meaning	Afghan example	translation	annotation	common ground
Adjectives, more rarely nouns	تیا (-tiyā́)	Formation of abstractions	پراخ (prāx) → پراختیا (prāxtiyā́)	wide, wide → extension, width		these 3 suffixes have the same meaning and often appear with the same word.
Adjectives, more rarely nouns	توب (-tób)	Formation of abstractions	اریان (aryān) → اریانتوب (aryāntób)	amazed → amazement	Words with the suffix توب (-tób) have the suffix تابه (tābә́) in the rectus / plural and obliquus / singular [s. Stem gradation ]
			سړی (saṛáy) → سړیتوب (saṛitób)	Man → humanity, manliness	Words with the ending ـی (-ay) change them to ـي (-i)
Adjectives, less often numerals	والی (-wā́lay)	Formation of abstractions	پښتون (paṣ̌tún) → پښتونوالی (paṣ̌túnwā́lay)	Afghan, Pashtane, Afghan → Afghanism, code of honor of the Pashtans
			یو (yau) → یووالی (yauwā́lay)	one → unity, union
Adjectives, nouns	ی (-í)	Formation of abstracts from adjectives as well as professions / activities from nouns	خپلواک (xpәlwāk) → خپلواکی (xpәlwākí)	independent → independence
			ترکاڼ (tarkāṇ) → ترکاڼی (tarkāṇí)	Carpenter → Profession of carpenter
Adjectives, verb stems	ښت (-ә́ṣ̌t)	Formation of abstractions	برابر (barābar) → برابرښت (barābarә́ṣ̌t)	equal → correspondence, agreement
			جوړول (joṛwә́l) → جوړښت (joṛә́ṣ̌t)	build → construction
			زوړ (zoṛ) → زړښت (zaṛә́ṣ̌t)	old → age	The feminine form is used for stem-grading adjectives .
			بیدا (paydā́) → پیدایښت (paydā́yә́ṣ̌t)	visible, created → origin, creation	If adjectives end in a vowel, a ی (-y) is added between the suffix ښت (-ә́ eint) and the vowel
Verb stems	ندوی (-әndóy)	Formation of noun actoris	ساتل (sātә́l) → ساتندوی (sātәndóy)	protect, preserve → Guardian, Heger	often neologisms
			څارل (cārә́l) → څارندوی (cārәndóy)	supervise, monitor → scouts, today: police
Verb stems	نه (-ә́na)	Formation of abstractions	پالل (pālә́l) → پالنه (pālә́na)	educate, worry → education	Other words can precede the verbal noun for expansion, e.g. B. ژب پوهنه (žәb-pohә́na) → Linguistics
			ساتل (sātә́l) → ساتنه (sātә́na)	protect, preserve → preservation, protection
Nouns	ولی (-walí)	Designation of relationship or tribal affiliation	ورور (wror) → ورورولی (wrorwalí)	Brother → brotherhood, brotherhood
			مور (mor) → مورولی (morwalí)	Mother → motherhood
			پښتون (paṣ̌tún) → پښتونولی (paṣ̌tunwalí)	Afghan, Pashtane, Afghan → Afghanism, code of honor of the Pashtans
Nouns	وال (-wā́l)	Designation of people	لیک (lik) → لیکوال (likwā́l)	Letter, document → writer
			ښار (ṣ̌ār) → ښاروال (ṣ̌ārwā́l)	City → Mayor
-	ګر (-gár)	Name of offender or occupation	کاریګر (kārigár)	Workers
Nouns	ستان (-stā́n)	Designation of countries and areas	رېګ (reg) → رېګستان (registā́n)	Sand → sand, stone desert
			عرب (aráb) → عربستان (arabistā́n)	the Arab → Arabia
Verbs	ځی (-dzáy)	Designation of buildings (parts) and institutions	پخول (paxawә́l) → پخلوځی (paxlodzáy)	bake, cook, ripen → kitchen
			وتل (watә́l) → وتوځی (watodzáy)	go out → exit
Adjectives, nouns	تون (-tún)	Designation of locations and institutions	روغ (rogh) → روغتون (roghtún)	healthy, unharmed → hospital
			وړوکی (waṛúkay) → وړوکتون (waṛuktún)	Toddler → Kindergarten
More suffixes
Suffification of ...	suffix	meaning	Afghan example	translation	annotation	common ground
	ګلی (-galí)	Formation of abstractions	ورورګلی (wrorgalí)	Brotherhood
	ون (-ún)	Formation of abstractions	تړون (taṛún)	contract
	ا (-ā)	Formation of abstractions	خندا (xandā́)	the laugh
	ه (-a)	Formation of abstractions	پوهه (pohá)	understanding
	یځ / یز (-idz / -iz)	Formation of abstractions	ختیځ (xatídz)	east

Formation of nouns through conversion
Conversion of ...	Afghan example	Translation / example	Specialty
Verbs (infinitive)	خوړل (xwaṛә́l)	eat → the food	Is understood as rectus / plural, i.e. H. the verb is inflected after the plural.
	کار کول (kār kawәl)	Doing work → work	Supplements can come before the infinitive, e.g. B. کار (kār) "work".
	خوړل (xwaṛә́l) → خوړلو (xwaṛә́lo)	د خوړلو ندئ (də xwaṛә́lo ná-dəy) → It is not for eating.	Obliquus / plural is formed by adding و (-o) to the infinitive.

Compounds are combinations of several words to form a compound word, e.g. the compound “front door” consists of the words “house” and “door”.

Formation of nouns through composition
Often borrowed from Persian
Composition of nouns with ...	morpheme	Translation of the morpheme	Afghan example	translation
Nouns, adjectives, verb stems	خانه (xāná)	House	کارخانه (kār-xāná)	Workshop, factory
	فروشی (furuší)	sale	کتابفروشی (kitāb-furuší)	Book trade
	فروش (furuš)	Seller	مېوهفروش (mewá-furuš)	Fruit seller
	ښه (ṣ̌ə)	Well	ښه مرغی (ṣ̌ə-mərghí)	Luck, good omen
	بد (bad)	bad	بدمرغی (bad-mərghí)	Bad luck, bad omen
	سر (sar)	Head; above	سرپوښ (sar-póṣ̌)	cover
	شاه (šāh)	King, head; big	شاهتوت (šāh-tút)	black mulberry

Formation of adjectives

Formation of adjectives through prefixation (derivation)
Prefixation of ...	Prefixes	meaning	Afghan example	translation
Nominal stems	نا (nā-)	U.N-; Negation particle	ناپوه (nāpóh)	ignorant
			ناشناس (nāšinās)	unknown
	لا (lā-) (less often)	Arabic "un-"; Negation particle	لاانتها (lā-intihā́)	endless
	بې (be)	without (mostly separated)	بې پروا (be-parwā́)	carefree
	غیر (ghayr)	arabic "without"	غیررسمی (ghayrrasmí)	unofficially

Formation of adjectives through suffixation (derivation) of nominal and verbal stems
Suffification of ...	suffix	meaning	Afghan example	translation	annotation
Noun (place and country names)	ی (-áy)	Formation of adjective place and country names	آلمن (ālmā́n) → آلمانی (ālmānáy)	Germany → German; German	ی (-í) can also be used, e.g. B. آلمانی (ālmāní) 'German', s. next suffix
			کابل (Kābúl) → کابلی (kābuláy)	Kabul → from Kabul; a Kabul (resident)
Nouns	ی (-í)	Formation of adjectives from nouns	اسلام (Islā́m) → اسلامی (islāmí)	Islam → Islamic
			روح (rúh) → روحی (Ruhí)	Spirit → spiritual
Mainly adverbs of time and place	نی (- (a) náy)	Formation of adjective time and place adverbs, but also people like 'paternal'	ورځ (wradz) → ورځنی (wradzanáy)	Day → daily
			کال (kāl) → کالنی / کلنی (kālanay / kalanáy)	Year → annually
			منځ (mandz) → منځنی (mandzәnáy)	Middle → middle
			پخوا (pәxwā́) → پخوانی (pәxwānáy)	earlier, before → earlier, previous, older
			مور (mor) → مورنی (moranáy)	Mother → maternal
Nouns	وال / والا (- wā́l / wālā́)	Identification of possessions	معنا (ma'nā́) → معناوال (ma'nāwā́l)	Meaning → significant
			کور (kor) → کوروالا (korwālā́)	House → owning house or family
Nouns	ین (-ín)	Indicating a material	مالګه (mā́lga) → مالګین (mālgín)	Salt → salty
			زر (zar) → زرین (zarín)	Gold → golden
More adjectival suffixes
Suffification of ...	suffix	meaning	Afghan example	translation	annotation
	یځ / یز (-idz / -iz)	-	هفته (hafta) → هفته ایز (hafta'iz)	Week → weekly
	ور (-wár)	-	زړه (zṛә) → زړه وړ (zṛә-wár)	Heart → brave, courageous
	مند / من (-mand [d])	-	هنر (hunár) → هنرمند (hunarmán [d])	Art → artful
	ژن / جن (-žәn / -jәn)	-	غم (gham) → غمجن (ghamjә́n)	Grief → sad
	ناک (-nā́k)	-	خطر (xatár) → خطرناک (xatarnā́k)	Danger → dangerous
	دار (-dā́r)	-	مېوه (mewa) → مېوه دار (mewadā́r)	Fruit → fruit bearing

Formation of adjectives through composition
Composition of adjectives with ...	morpheme	Translation of the morpheme	Afghan example	translation	comment
Adjectives	بد (bad)	bad	بدنام (bad-nām)	contemptuous
			بدګمان \ بدګومان (bad-gumā́n)	suspicious
	وړ (waṛ)	fitting, worthy	د ستایلو وړ (də stāyә́lo waṛ)	praiseworthy (ستایل praise)	Either nouns or oblique verbal nouns are prefixed as attribute connection , i.e. H. with د (də)
			د یادولو وړ (də yādawә́lo waṛ)	noteworthy (to mention یادول)
			د اعتبار وړ (də i'tibā́r waṛ)	trustworthy (اعتبار trust)

Verbs (فعلونه or افعال)

The Afghan verbs have a lot in common with the verbs of the German language .

properties
Type of verb	Transitive	Intransitive
person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
Number (number) of all persons	Singular	Plural (plural)
Gender of the 3rd person	Masculine (male)	Feminine (female)

One difference between Afghan and German verbs is that the Afghan verbal system in the 3rd person also has a conjugation according to gender in the past tense (past tense, perfect past and past perfect) as well as in the word "sein".

example

• He, she, it is. (In German you can use "ist" for all three genera .)
• . دی دﺉ
  • He is. (for masculine دﺉ)
• . دا ده
  • She is. (for feminine ده)

In addition, Afghan has the special feature that in addition to the accusative construction (as in the German language) there is also an ergative construction corresponding to the tenses of the verbs.

Transitive and intransitive verbs (لازمي او متعدي فعل)

Transitive verbs are verbs that require an object in addition to the subject (two arguments ). Intransitive verbs, on the other hand, suffice with one subject, i.e. H. they don't need an object (an argument ). Whether a verb is transitive or intransitive can be seen from its meaning. But also from the structure of the verb it can often be deduced whether a verb is transitive or intransitive. The following applies:

Type of verb	Auxiliary verb or suffix of the verb	translation	Example (Afghan)	translation
Transitive	کول (kawəl)	do	پرې کول (pre kawəl)	to cut
	ـول (-wəl)	Suffix for "make"	خرڅول (xarcəwəl)	to sell
Intransitive	کېدل (kedəl)	become	لېونی کېدل (lewanáy kedəl)	getting crazy
	ـېدل (-edəl)	Suffix for "will"	تنګېدل (tangedəl)	get tight

کول / کېدل are used after a vowel or after ی (-áy) and ول / ېدل after a consonant. Transitive verbs with کول / ول are active in their direction of action , intransitive verbs with کېدل / ېدل are passive or reflexive.

Infinitive stem and present tense stem

The Afghan verbs have two stems:

1. Infinitive stem (= preterital stem)
2. Present stem

The infinitive stem (= preterital stem) is the infinitive without the ending (suffix) ل (-əl). The infinitive stem and present stem can be identical, but there are usually strong deviations between the present stem and the infinitive stem. The infinitive and the infinitive stems (= preterital stems) are used to form the past tense.

Verbs with the same infinitive and present stem
infinitive	translation	Present stem	Infinitive stem (= preterital stem)
کول (kawəl)	do	کو (kaw-)	کو (kaw-)
لیکل (likəl)	write	لیکـ (lik-)	لیکـ (lik-)
چښل (čəṣ̌əl)	drink	چښـ (čəṣ̌-)	چښـ (čəṣ̌-)
وهل (wahəl)	beat	وهـ (wah-)	وهـ (wah-)

Verbs with a difference between the infinitive and present stem
infinitive	translation	Present stem	Infinitive stem (= preterital stem)
اخیستل (axistəl)	to take	اخلـ (axl-)	اخیستـ (axist-)
الوتل (alwatəl)	to fly	الوز (alwúz- / alúz-)	الوتـ (alwat-)
ویستل / ایستل ([w] istəl)	take out, pull out	باسـ (bās-)	ویستـ / ایستـ ([w] is-)
ایښودل (iṣ̌odəl)	provide place	ږد (ẓ̌d-)	ایښود (iṣ̌od-)
بلل (baləl)	call	بولـ (bol-)	بلـ (bal-)
پرېښودل (preṣ̌odəl)	to let	پرېږد (preẓ̌d-)	پرېښود (preṣ̌od-)
پوهېدل (pohedəl)	understand	پوهېږ (poheẓ̌-)	پوهېد (pohed-)
تلل (tləl)	go	ځـ (dz-)	تلـ (tl-)
ختل (xatəl)	rising up	خېژ (xež-)	ختـ (xat-)
خوړل (xoṛəl)	eat	خور (xor-)	خوړ (xoṛ-)
خندل (xandəl)	laugh	خاند (xānd-)	خند (xand-)
راوستل (rāwustəl)	fetch	راولـ (rāwal-)	راوستـ (rāwust-)
ژړل (žaṛəl)	cry	ژاړ (žāṛ-)	ژړ (žaṛ-)
ښودل (ṣ̌odəl)	demonstrate	ښیـ (ṣ̌əy-)	ښود (ṣ̌od-)
ښوول (ṣ̌owəl)	demonstrate	ښیـ (ṣ̌əy-)	ښوو (ṣ̌ow-)
غوښتل (ghoṣ̌təl)	want	غواړ (ghwāṛ-)	غوښتـ (ghoṣ̌t-)
کتل (katəl)	look	ګور (gor-)	کت (kat-)
کښل (kṣ̌əl)	pull	کاږ (kāẓ̌-)	کښـ (kṣ̌-)
کښېښودل (kṣ̌eṣ̌odəl)	provide place	کښېږد (kṣ̌eẓ̌d-)	کښېښود (kṣ̌eṣ̌od-)
کښېنستل (kṣ̌enastəl)	sit down, sit down	کښېنـ (kṣ̌en-)	کښېنستـ (kṣ̌enast-)
لوستل (lwastəl)	read	لولـ (lwal-)	لوستـ (lwast-)
لیدل (lidəl)	see	وینـ (win-)	لید (lid-)
میندل (at least)	Find	مومـ (mum-)	میند (mind-)
موندل (mundəl)	Find	مومـ (mum-)	موند (mouth)
ننوتل (nənawatəl)	go inside	ننوز (nənawúz-)	ننوتـ (nənawat-)
نیول (niwəl)	hold / catch / grab (sth./jmd.)	نیسـ (nis-)	نیو (niw-)
وتل (watəl)	going out	وځـ / وز (wu [d] z-)	وتـ (wat-)
وژل (wažəl)	kill, delete	وژنـ (wažn-)	وژ (waž-)
ویل (wayəl)	say	وایـ (way-)	ویـ (way-)
یووړل (yowṛəl)	bring	یوسـ (yos-)	یووړ (yowṛ-)

Accusative and ergative construction (passive construction)

The German language is an accusative language . The Afghan language is also an accusative language, but in the past tenses (past perfect, past tense and perfect) of the transitive verbs so-called ergative constructions are used and thus Afghan is also an ergative language (split ergativity) .

The only difference between the accusative and ergative construction is that in the ergative construction the transitive verbs are inflected after the case obliquus, which is also the agent in this case. The patient, on the other hand, is represented as a rectus (see application of the cases rectus and obliquus ).

This is why the ergative construction is also referred to as a passive construction.

In short : The personal ending of the transitive verb in the ergative construction in the past tense is based on the non-acting person (patient) who has the rectus.

Accusative construction
Agent (rectus)	Patiens (rectus)	Verb inflected after agent (rectus)

Ergative construction
Agent (obliquus)	Patiens (rectus)	Verb inflected after Patiens (rectus)

To understand this, one should be able to distinguish between the following grammatical terms:

Case	Semantic (thematic) role	Syntactic (grammatical) function
Rectus	Agent	Subject
Obliquus	Patiens ("suffering" person)	Object (sentence completion)

An accusative construction in the present tense would be grammatically the same in both German and Afghan:

German example in the present tense
I	see	the people.
agent	Predicate (present tense)	Patiens
subject	Predicate (present tense)	object
Nominative (rectus)	Predicate (present tense)	Accusative (rectus)

The transitive verb “see” is inflected after the nominative “I” to the predicate “see” and not after the accusative “to see the people”. “I” is at the same time the agent, ie the person who acts (active), and “the people” are the patients, ie those who are seen (passive).

• . زه انسانان وینم
  • Agent (rectus) - Patiens (rectus) - predicate.
  • I - the people - I-see. (literally)
  • I see the people. (analogous)

Since German is a pure accusative language, this also applies in the German language to the past tense of "see", i.e.:

German example
I	saw	the people.
agent	Predicate (past tense)	Patiens
subject	Predicate (past tense)	object
Nominative	Predicate (past tense)	accusative

The past tense of "see", ie "saw", refers to "I", which is given in the nominative. But in Afghan this sentence is:

• . ما انسانان لیدلې
  • Agent (obliquus) - Patiens (rectus) - predicate.
  • (Of) me - the people - were seen. (literally)
  • The people were seen by me. (analogous, passive)
  • I saw the people. (analogous, active)

In the ergative construction, as you can clearly see here, the agent has the obliquus as a case and the transitive verb “see” in the past tense becomes “were seen” (passive) and is congruent to the patient “the people”, who is in the rectus. We clearly see the passive construction (ergative) here, but the sentence is understood as active.

Ergative construction of some intransitive verbs

There are also some intransitive verbs that have an ergative construction in the past tense. These are intransitive verbs with human and animal actions, such as B. "cry", "laugh", "bark", "sneeze", also "do", but not z. B. for "go". This applies to short statements like "I was crying" or "He spat". The agent is in the obliquus and the verb in the infinitive.

Examples of intransitive verbs with an ergative construction
Afghan	translation
ما خندل (mā xandә́l)	I laughed
ده ټوکل (də ṭukә́l)	he spitted
زمریانو غړومبل (zmariyā́no ghṛumbәl)	the lions roared

Verb conjugation (د فعلونه تصريف)

Aspects

There are two aspects (directions) of the Afghan verbs:

1. imperfect (unfinished) aspect
2. perfect (consummate) aspect

If a process or an action is completed / completed or only once, this is illustrated with the perfective aspect. On the other hand, if you use the imperfective aspect of a verb, you make it clear that an action or process has either not yet been completed or is iterative (repeated).

There are three ways in which Afghan verbs change from the imperfective to the perfect aspect:

1. Append the prefix و (wú-) to the imperfective verb
   1. This always applies to imperfective verbs without a nominal part.
   2. If the verb begins with ا (a), و (wú-) becomes وا (wā-).
   3. If there is a directional preverb را (rā-), در (dar-) or ور (war-), then و (wú-) follows these pre-verbs.
2. Perfective verb stem
3. Shift of accent from the last syllable to the first syllable
   1. This happens with imperfective verbs with the pre-verbs کښې (kṣ̌e-), پوری (pori-), پرې (-pre), ننـ (nəna-), را (rā-), در (dar-) and ور (war-).

Some imperfective verbs have their own perfective verb stems that you should know.

Imperfective and perfect verbs
Imperfect verbs	perfective verbs	translation
Perfective verbs with the prefix و (wú-)
لیدل (lidә́l)	ولیدل (wú-lidә́l)	see
رسېدل (rasedә́l)	ورسېدل (wú-rasedә́l)	arrive
ووتل (wotә́l)	وووتل (wú-wotә́l)	come out
اخیستل (axistә́l)	واخیستل (wāxistә́l)	to take
الوتل (alwatә́l)	والوتل (wālwatә́l)	to fly
ورختل (war-xatә́l)	وروختل (war-wú-xatә́l)	climb up
Perfective verbs with a different verb stem
کول (kawә́l)	کړل (kṛəl)	do
کېدل (kedә́l)	شول / سول (šwəl / swəl)	become
تلل (tləl)	لاړل / ولاړل ([w] lāṛә́l)	go
راتلل (rātlә́l)	راغلل (rāghlә́l)	come
Accent shifted perfective verbs
کښېنستل (kṣ̌enastә́l)	کښېنستل (kṣ̌énastəl)	to sit down
پوریوهل (poriwahә́l)	پوریوهل (póriwahəl)	bump
پرېښودل (preṣ̌odә́l)	پرېښودل (préṣ̌odəl)	(leave
ننوتل (nənawatә́l)	ننوتل (nә́nawatəl)	enter
راوړل (rāwṛә́l)	راوړل (rā́wṛəl)	bring here

Compound verbs, i.e. verbs from an adjective / noun with an auxiliary verb, become a perfect verb, as their imperfective auxiliary verb / ending becomes a perfect auxiliary verb / ending:

Perfect aspect of compound verbs
Imperfect verbs	perfective verbs	Example (Afghan)	translation
کول / ـول (kawəl / -wəl) + adjective / noun	کړل (kṛəl) + adjective / noun	پیدا کول (paydā kawəl) → پیدا کړل (paydā kṛəl)	create; Find
کېدل / ـېدل (kedəl / -dəl) + adjective / noun	شول / سول (šwəl / swəl) + adjective / noun	تیارېدل (tajāredəl) → تیار شول / سول (tayār šwəl / swəl)	get ready / ready

Infinite verb forms

In the infinite verb forms , we differentiate between the infinitive , the present participle (= participle I) and the past participle (= participle II).

Infinite verb form	Verb structure	conjugation	Example (Afghan)	translation
infinitive	ل (-əl) + infinitive stem	-	تلل (tləl)	go
Present participle	ونکی (-únkay) + infinitive stem	Singular, masculine	تلونکی (tlúnkay)	going
	ونکې (-únke) + infinitive stem	Singular, feminine	تلونکې (tlúnke)	going
	ونکي (-únki) + infinitive stem	Plural, m./f.	تلونکي (tlúnki)	going
past participle	ی (-ay) + infinitive	Singular, masculine	تللی (tləlay)	went
	ې (-e) + infinitive	Singular, feminine	تللې (tləle)	went
	ي (-i) + infinitive	Plural, m./f.	تللي (tləli)	went

There are few exceptions to this structural rule for the past participle, which are shown below:

1. The verbs کول ، کېدل and راتلل (will, make and come) become the past participle, as their perfect infinitives (کړل ، سول and راغلل) take on the corresponding endings (e.g. کول becomes سوی (səway), thus "make." "To" become ")
2. In some verbs, the ل (-əl) of the infinitive is left out or it does not appear in principle (e.g. اخیستل only becomes اخیستی)
3. Compound verbs with the suffixes ول (-wəl) / ېدل (-edəl) break down into the nominal part and the past participle ک‌ړی (kəṛay) / سوی (səway) [Sg., M.] (E.g. becomes خوړول to خوړ کړی / کړې / کړي, so "build" to "built" with the respective conjugations)

There are special features of the Afghan infinite verb forms:

1. The participles are conjugable! In German, the two participles I and II have no conjugation to number and gender.
2. The infinite verb forms can also be used as an adjective or noun. The following applies:
   1. The infinitive also corresponds to a noun, e.g. B. can do کول (kawəl) both as a verb “; to do; act ”as well as the noun“ doing ”or“ acting ”.
   2. The present participle can also be understood as an adjective and noun. For example, وژونکی (wažúnkay) can be used as “killing” (m.) Or “the killing; The murderer ”(m.) Or وژونکې (wažúnke) correspondingly“ killing ”(f.) Or“ the killing; The murderess ”(f.) Can be understood. In combination with other nouns they can e.g. B. form neologisms , for example ميکروب وژونکی (mikrób-wažúnkay) "the microbicide" or literally "the microbe killer".
   3. The past participle can also be used as an adjective or noun, e.g. B. can لوستی (lwástay) as “read” (past participle), as “educated; well-read ”(m.) (adjective) or as“ the educated ”(noun).

Personal endings

The personal endings are usually always the same, but there are few exceptions or additions such as the inflection or conjugation of the word "sein". These exceptions or additions apply in particular to the 3rd person, but also to the 2nd person / plural. E.g. in the 2nd person / plural there is occasionally the personal ending است (-āst).

Personal endings	Case and number
ـم (-әm)	1st person, singular
ـې (-e)	2nd person, singular
ـی (-i)	3rd person, singular
ـو (-u)	1st person, plural
ـئ (-әy)	2nd person, plural
ـی (-i)	3rd person, plural

Conjugation of "to be"

The Afghan language has no infinitive for the copula “to be”.

Conjugation of "to be"
Conjugation parameters	Afghan	translation
Present tense of "to be"	یم (yәm)	(I am
	ئې (ye)	(you are
	دئ (dәy)	(he is
	ده (da)	(she is
	یو (yu)	(we are
	یاست (yāst)	(you are
	ئئ (yәy)
	دی (di)	(you are
Past tense of "sein"	وم (wәm)	(I was
	وې (wé)	(you were
	وُ (wu)	(he was
	وه (wa)	(she was
	وو (wu)	(we were
	وئ (wәy)	(you were
	واست (wāst)
	وه (wә)	(they) were (m)
	وو (wu)
	وې (we)	(they) were (f.)
Present II of "to be", the وی (wi) (only 3rd person)	وی (wi)	it be; it may
Conditional form of "to be", the وای (wāy)	زه وای (zә wāy)	I would
	ته وای (tә wāy)	you would be
	دی وای (daj wāy)	he would be
	دا وای (dā wāy)	she would be
	مونږ وای (muẓ̌ wāy)	we would be
	تاسی وای (tā́si wāy)	you would be
	دوی وای (duj wāy)	they would be

mode

The formation of the following modes (statements) is shown below:

1. indicative
2. Conditionalis
3. Potentials
4. imperative

indicative

With the indicative (reality form) we differentiate the tenses (tenses) in the future (future tense) , present (present tense) and past . Sorted in chronological order from past to future (left to right), the usual tenses of the indicative in the Afghan language can be formed:

Past perfect → past tense → perfect → present → future II → future I

or.

completed past → past → completed present → present → completed future → future

Formation of the tenses using the example of the infinitive of the intransitive verb تلل (tləl) "geht" and the transitive verb لیدل (lidә́l) "see" is shown below (see tense formation )

The ergative construction of the transitive verbs of the three past tenses (past perfect, past tense and perfect) are formed in exactly the same way as the past tense of intransitive verbs, but you have to make sure that you conjugate the transitive verbs after the patient who has the rectus.

Conditionalis

The conditional expresses an unreal wish or a condition.

Formation of the conditional (= subjunctive II)
Tense (time)	Afghan	structure	example	translation
Present	آی -Infinitive	Infinitive ay	لیدلای (lidəlāy)	would see
	آی -Infinitive stem	Infinitive stem-āy	لیدای (lidāy)
preterite	وای + participle II	Past participle + wāy	لیدلی وای (lidəlay wāy)	would / would have seen

وای (wāy) is the conditional form of “to be”.

Frequent introduction of the conditional clause
Afghan	translation
کاشکی (kā́ški)	But if!
مبادا (mábādā)	If only not!

Potentials

The potentialis, i.e. H. the representation of a possible event is formed in Afghan by a verb with the conditional form (the ending آی (-āy)) and the inflection of شول (šwәl) (east) or سول (swәl) (west) "can".

Formation of potential using the example of اخیستل (axistә́l) "take"
Tense (tense)	construction	Person, number, gender	Afghan	translation
Past tense with شوای (šwāy) or سوای (swāy)	آی سوای- infinitive ما (mā infinitive-āy swāy)	1st person, singular	ما اخیستلای سوای (mā axistә́lāy swāy)	I could take or I could have taken
	آی سوای- infinitive تا (tā infinitive-āy swāy)	2nd person, singular	تا اخیستلای سوای (tā axistә́lāy swāy)	you could take or you could have taken
	آی سوای- infinitive ده (də infinitive-āy swāy)	3rd person, singular, masculine	ده اخیستلای سوای (də axistә́lāy swāy)	he could take or he could have taken
	آی سوای- infinitive دا (dā infinitive-āy swāy)	3rd person, singular, feminine	دې اخیستلای سوای (de axistә́lāy swāy)	she could take or she could have taken
	آی سوای- infinitive مونږ (muẓ̌ infinitive-āy swāy)	1st person, plural	مونږ اخیستلای سوای (muẓ̌ axistә́lāy swāy)	we could take or we could have taken
	آی سوای- infinitive تاسی (tā́si infinitive-āy swāy)	2nd person, plural	تاسی اخیستلای سوای (tā́si axistә́lāy swāy)	you could take or you could have taken
	آی سوای- infinitive دوی (duy infinitive-āy swāy)	3rd person, plural	دوی اخیستلای سوای (duy axistә́lāy swāy)	they could take or they could have taken
Present
	آی سم- infinitive (infinitive-āy sәm)	1st person, singular	اخیستلای سم (axistә́lāy sәm)	i can take
	آی سې- infinitive (infinitive-āy se)	2nd person, singular	اخیستلای سې (axistә́lāy se)	you can take
	آی سی- infinitive (infinitive-āy si)	3rd person, singular	اخیستلای سی (axistә́lāy si)	he / she can take
	آی سو- infinitive (infinitive-āy su)	1st person, plural	اخیستلای سو (axistә́lāy su)	we can take
	آی سئ- infinitive (infinitive-āy sәy)	2nd person, plural	اخیستلای سئ (axistә́lāy sәy)	you can take
	آی سی- infinitive (infinitive-āy si)	3rd person, plural	اخیستلای سی (axistә́lāy si)	you can take
Future tense I.
	آی به سم- infinitive (infinitive-āy bә sәm)	1st person, singular	اخیستلای به سم (axistә́lāy bә sәm)	I will be able to take
	آی به سې- infinitive (infinitive-āy bә se)	2nd person, singular	اخیستلای به سې (axistә́lāy bә se)	you will be able to take
	آی به سی- infinitive (infinitive-āy bә si)	3rd person, singular	اخیستلای به سی (axistә́lāy bә si)	he / she will be able to take
	آی به سو- infinitive (infinitive-āy bә su)	1st person, plural	اخیستلای به سو (axistә́lāy bә su)	we will be able to take
	آی به سئ- infinitive (infinitive-āy bә sәy)	2nd person, plural	اخیستلای به سئ (axistә́lāy bә sәy)	you will be able to take
	آی به سی- infinitive (infinitive-āy bә si)	3rd person, plural	اخیستلای به سی (axistә́lāy bә si)	they will be able to take
Conditionalis	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	1st person, singular	زه کولای سم چي واخلم (zә kә́wәlāy sәm či wāxlә́m)	i could take
	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	2nd person, singular	ته کولای سې چي واخلې (tә kә́wәlāy se či wāxlé)	you could take
	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	3rd person, singular, masculine	دی کولای سي چي واخلی (dәy kә́wәlāy si či wāxlí)	he could take
	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	3rd person, singular, feminine	دا کولای سي چي واخلی (dā kә́wәlāy si či wāxlí)	she could take
	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	1st person, plural	مونږ کولای سو چي واخلو (muẓ̌ kә́wәlāy su či wāxlú)	we could take
	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	2nd person, plural	تاسي کولای سئ چي واخلئ (tāsi kә́wәlāy səy či wāxlә́y)	you could take they could take
	-کولای س- چي واخل personal pronouns (… kә́wәlāy s- či wāxl-)	3rd person, plural	دوی کولای سی چي واخلئ (duy kә́wәlāy si či wāxlí)	they could take
Instead of آی (-āy) as an ending on the infinitive, the ending ی (-ay) is now used more frequently.
example
Form with آی (-āy)	Form with ی (-ay)	translation
زه اخیستلای سم (zә axistә́lāy sәm)	زه اخیستلی سم (zә axistә́lay sәm)	I can take

Imperative (امر)

The imperative (command form) is formed from the present stem and the respective affixes .

Using the transitive verb پخول (paxəwəl) "to cook", the following table shows the formation of the imperative as an example.

Imperative structure	conjugation	Example (Afghan)	translation
ه (-a) + present stem	Present tense, active, 2nd person, sg.	پخوه (paxəwa)	Cook!
ﺉ (-әy) + present stem	Present tense, active, 2nd person, pl.	پخوئ (paxəwey)	Cooks!
و ... ه (wú -...- a)	Perfect, active, 2nd person, Sg.	وپخوه (wúpaxəwa)	I cooked!
و ... ﺉ (wú -...- әy)	Perfect, active, 2nd person, pl.	وپخوئ (wúpaxəwey)	Have cooked!

To negate by “not”, مه (má) is used, e.g. B.

• ! مه کوه
  • Don't do / do (that)!

Tense formation

Present

The present tense is formed by the present tense stem and the respective personal endings.

Formation of the present tense of an intransitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number and gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
م ...	Present stem + -əm	1st person, Sg., M./f.	زه ځم (zə dzəm)	I go
ې ...	Present stem + -e	2nd person, Sg., M./f.	ته ځې (tə dze)	you go
ی ...	Present stem + -i	3rd person, Sg., M./f.	دی / دا ځی (day / dā dzi)	he / she goes
و ...	Present stem + -u	1st person, pl., M./f.	مونږ ځو (muẓ̌ dzu)	we go
ئ ...	Present stem + -əy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی ځئ (tā́si dzəy)	you go
ی ...	Present stem + -i	3rd person, pl., M./f.	دوی ځی (duy dzi)	they go

Formation of the present tense of a transitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number and gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
م ...	Present stem + -əm	1st person, Sg., M./f.	زه وینم (zə winəm)	I see
ې ...	Present stem + -e	2nd person, Sg., M./f.	ته وینې (tə wine)	you see
ی ...	Present stem + -i	3rd person, Sg., M./f.	دی / دا وینی (day / dā wini)	he / she sees
و ...	Present stem + -u	1st person, pl., M./f.	مونږ وینو (muẓ̌ winu)	we see
ئ ...	Present stem + -əy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی وینئ (tā́si winəy)	you see
ی ...	Present stem + -i	3rd person, pl., M./f.	دوی وینی (duy wini)	You see They see

Future tense I.

To express a fact in the future tense , the future particle ب Sach (bə) is used, which can be placed anywhere, almost always in the middle of the sentence, but never at the beginning of the sentence.

So به + present tense form future I.

Formation of the future tense I of an intransitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number and gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
به ... م	bə present stem + -əm	1st person, Sg., M./w.	زه به ځم (zə bə dzəm)	I will go
به ... ې	bə present stem + -e	2nd person, Sg., M./w.	ته به ځې (tə bə dze)	you will go
به ... ی	bə present stem + -i	3rd person, Sg., M./w.	دی / دا به ځی (day / dā bə dzi)	he / she will go
به ... و	bə present stem + -u	1st person, pl., M./w.	مونږ به ځو (muẓ̌ bə dzu)	we will go
به ... ئ	bə present stem + -əy	2nd person, pl., M./w.	تاسی به ځئ (tā́si bə dzəy)	you will go
به ... ی	bə present stem + -i	3rd person, pl., M./w.	دوی به ځی (duy bə dzi)	they will go

Formation of the future tense I of a transitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number and gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
به ... م	bə present stem + -əm	1st person, Sg., M./w.	زه به وینم (zə bə winəm)	I will see
به ... ې	bə present stem + -e	2nd person, Sg., M./w.	ته به وینې (tə bə wine)	you'll see
به ... ی	bə present stem + -i	3rd person, Sg., M./w.	دی / دا به وینی (day / dā bə wini)	he / she will see
به ... و	bə present stem + -u	1st person, pl., M./w.	مونږ به وینو (muẓ̌ bə winu)	we will see
به ... ئ	bə present stem + -əy	2nd person, pl., M./w.	تاسی به وینئ (tā́si bə winəy)	you will see
به ... ی	bə present stem + -i	3rd person, pl., M./w.	دوی به وینی (duy bə wini)	You will see

preterite

The past tense is formed by the infinitive and the addition of the personal endings. In some verbs the infinitive is also formed without the ل (-əl) of the infinitive, v. a. this is the case with verbs with the ending ېدل (-edəl).

Formation of the simple past of an intransitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number, gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
م ...	Infinitive + -əm	1st person, Sg., M.	زه تللم (zə tlələm)	I walked
ې ...	Infinitive + -e	2nd person, Sg., M.	ته تللې (tə tləle)	you went
ئ without ل	Infinitive without -əl + əy	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی تلئ (day tləy)	he went
ه ...	Infinitive + -a	3rd person, Sg., F.	دا تلله (dā tləla)	she went
و ... or	Infinitive + u	1st person, pl., M./f.	مونږ تللو (muẓ̌ tləlu)	we went
است ...	Infinitive + -āst / -əy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی تللاست (tā́si tləlāst)	you went
-	infinitive	3rd person, pl.	دوی تلل (duy tləl)	they went

Formation of the past tense of a transitive verb (ergative construction)
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number, gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
م ...	Infinitive + -əm	1st person, Sg., M.	زه لیدلم (zə lidә́ləm)	I was seen (by) or saw myself
ې ...	Infinitive + -e	2nd person, Sg., M.	ته لیدلې (tə lidә́le)	you were seen (by) or saw you
without ل	Infinitive without -əl	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی لید (daj lid)	he was seen (by) or saw him
ه without ل	Infinitive without -əl + ə	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی لیده (day lidә́)
ئ without ل	Infinitive without -əl + əy	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی لیدئ (day lidəy)
ه ...	Infinitive + -a	3rd person, Sg., F.	دا لیدله (dā lidә́la)	she was seen (by) or saw her
و ... or	Infinitive + u	1st person, pl., M./f.	مونږ لیدلو (muẓ̌ lidә́lu)	we were seen (by) or saw each other
است ...	Infinitive + -āst / -əy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی لیدلاست (tā́si lidә́lāst)	you were seen (by) or saw yourselves
-	infinitive	3rd person, pl.	دوی لیدل (duj lidә́l)	they were seen (by) or saw them

Perfect

The perfect tense is formed by the past participle (= past participle = past participle) and the present tense of “sein”.

Formation of the perfect tense of an intransitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number, gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
Past participle + یم	Past participle + jəm	1st person, Sg., M.	زه تللی یم (zə tləlay yəm)	I went
Past participle + یم	Past participle + jəm	1st person, Sg., F.	زه تللې یم (zə tləle yəm)	I went
Past participle + ئې	Past participle + ye	2nd person, Sg., M.	ته تللی ئې (tə tləlay ye)	you're gone
Past participle + ئې	Past participle + ye	2nd person, Sg., F.	ته تللې ئې (tə tləle ye)	you're gone
Past participle + دئ	Past participle + dəy	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی تللی دئ (day tləlay dəy)	He is gone
Past participle + ده	Past participle + da	3rd person, Sg., F.	دا تللې ده (dā tləle da)	she's gone
Past participle + یو	Past participle + yu	1st person, pl., M.	مونږ تللي یو (muẓ̌ tləli yu)	we went
Participle II + یاست or ئئ	Past participle + yāst / yəy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی تللي ئئ / یاست (tā́si tləli yəy / yāst)	you left
Past participle + دی	Past participle + di	3rd person, pl., M./f.	دوی تللي دی (duy tləli di)	they left

Formation of the perfect perfect of a transitive verb (ergative construction)
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number, gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
Past participle + یم	Past participle + yəm	1st person, Sg., M.	زه لیدلی یم (zə lidә́lay yəm)	I've been seen (by)
Past participle + یم	Past participle + yəm	1st person, Sg., F.	زه لیدلې یم (zə lidә́le yəm)	I've been seen (by)
Past participle + ئې	Past participle + ye	2nd person, Sg., M.	ته لیدلی ئې (tə lidә́lay ye)	you have been seen (by)
Past participle + ئې	Past participle + ye	2nd person, Sg., F.	ته لیدلې ئې (tə lidә́le ye)	you have been seen (by)
Past participle + دئ	Past participle + dəy	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی لیدلی دئ (day lidә́lay dəy)	he has been seen (by)
Past participle + ده	Past participle + da	3rd person, Sg., F.	دا لیدلې ده (dā lidә́le da)	she has been seen (by)
Past participle + یو	Past participle + yu	1st person, pl., M.	مونږ لیدلي یو (muẓ̌ lidә́li yu)	we have been seen (by)
Participle II + یاست or ئئ	Past participle + yāst / yəy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی لیدلي ئئ / یاست (tā́si lidә́li yəy / yāst)	you have been seen (by)
Past participle + دی	Past participle + di	3rd person, pl., M./f.	دوی لیدلي دی (duy lidә́li di)	they have been seen (by)

past continuous

The past perfect tense (time before the past tense) is formed by the past participle (= past participle = past participle II) and the past tense of “sein”.

The past participle can be inflected according to gender and number (see under infinitive verb forms ).

Formation of the past perfect of an intransitive verb
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number and gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
Past participle + وم	Past participle + wəm	1st person, Sg., M.	زه تللی وم (zә tləlay wəm)	I had gone
Past participle + وم	Past participle + wəm	1st person, Sg., F.	زه تللې وم (zә tləle wəm)	I had gone
Past participle + وې	Past participle + we	2nd person, Sg., M.	ته تللی وې (tә tləlay we)	you were gone
Past participle + وې	Past participle + we	2nd person, Sg., F.	ته تللې وې (tә tləle we)	you were gone
Past participle + وً	Past participle + wu	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی تللی وً (daj tləlay wu)	he had gone
Past participle + وه	Past participle + wa	3rd person, Sg., F.	دا تللې وه (dā tləle wa)	she was gone
Past participle + وو	Past participle + wu	1st person, pl., M./f.	مونږ تللي وو (muẓ̌ tləli wu)	we were gone
Participle II + واست or و‍ئ	Past participle + wāst / wəy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی تللي وئ / واست (tā́si tləli wāst / wəy)	you were gone
Past participle + وو / وه	Participle II + wu / wə	3rd person, pl., M.	دوی تللي وه (duy tləli wə)	they were gone
Past participle + وې	Past participle + we	3rd person, pl., F.	دوی تللي وې (duy tləli we)	they were gone

Formation of the past perfect of a transitive verb (ergative construction)
Afghan	Construction (Latin)	Person, number and gender	Example (Afghan)	translation
Past participle + وم	Past participle + wəm	1st person, Sg., M.	زه لیدلی وم (zә lidә́lay wəm)	I was seen (by)
Past participle + وم	Past participle + wəm	1st person, Sg., F.	زه لیدلې وم (zә lidә́le wəm)	I was seen (by)
Past participle + وې	Past participle + we	2nd person, Sg., M.	ته لیدلی وې (tә lidә́lay we)	you had been seen (by)
Past participle + وې	Past participle + we	2nd person, Sg., F.	ته لیدلې وې (tә lidә́le we)	you had been seen (by)
Past participle + وً	Past participle + wu	3rd person, Sg., M.	دی لیدلی وً (daj lidә́lay wu)	he had been seen (by)
Past participle + وه	Past participle + wa	3rd person, Sg., F.	دا لیدلې وه (dā lidә́le wa)	she was seen (by)
Past participle + وو	Past participle + wu	1st person, pl., M./f.	مونږ لیدلي وو (muẓ̌ lidә́li wu)	we had been seen (by)
Participle II + واست or و‍ئ	Past participle + wāst / wəy	2nd person, pl., M./f.	تاسی لیدلي وئ / واست (tā́si lidә́li wāst / wəy)	you have been seen (by)
Past participle + وو / وه	Participle II + wu / wə	3rd person, pl., M.	دوی لیدلي وه (duj lidә́li wə)	they had been seen (by)
Past participle + وې	Past participle + we	3rd person, pl., F.	دوی لیدلي وې (duj lidә́li we)	they had been seen (by)

Present tense II

The present II expresses modalities such as wish, request, doubting question and many more in the main clause . out. In the subordinate clause, the present II expresses the subjunctive.

It is formed according to the same rules as the perfect past tense .

The formation of the present tense II
infinitive	Present tense II	Example (Afghan)	translation
Verbs with an accented prefix و (wú-)
لیکل (likә́l)	ولیکل (wú-likәl)	ولیکم (wú-likәm)	(that) I write
لرل (larә́l)	ولرل (wú-larәl)	ولرو (wú-laru)	(that) we have
Verbs with other verb stems
کول (kawә́l)	کړل (kṛəl)	کړل (kṛəm), also کم (kәm), وکړم (wúkṛәm)	(that) I do
تلل (tlә́l)	لاړ سول / شول (lāṛ swәl / šwәl)	دی لاړ سی / شی؟ (day lāṛ si / ši?)	Should he go?
Verbs with an accent shift
کښېنستل (kṣ̌enastә́l)	کښېنستل (kṣ̌énastəl)	کښېنم (kṣ̌énәm)	(that) I sit down
ننوتل (nənawatә́l)	ننوتل (nә́nawatəl)	ننوزم؟ (nә́nawudzәm)	May I come in

Present II of "to be"
Afghan	translation	annotation
وی (wi)	it be; it may; it wont be	only available as a 3rd person.
Example sentences
! که دی هلته نه وی ، زه به هم هلته نه يم (ka day halta nә wi, zә bә ham halta nә yәm)	If he is not there (is), I will not be there either!	Subjunctive I (possibility form)
! تل دی وی اسلام (tәl di wi islam)	Always live (literally be) Islam!	With دی (di) and opt (request form).
دلته هوا توده وی (dәlta hawā taudá wi)	The weather here tends to be hot.	Expression of a habit or frequency.

modal verbs

Modal verbs like may, can, like, must, should and want express the modality of a message.

غوښتل (ghuṣ̌tә́l) "want"

Expressing "want".
Afghan	Literal translation
غوښتل (ghuṣ̌tә́l)	want, want	want
آرزو لرل (ārzó larә́l)	Wish
ميل لرل (majl larә́l)	Wish

After “want”, چی (či) “that” (sometimes missing) can be used and the main verb in the subordinate clause is at the end of the sentence in present II . The “want” can also come at the end and the main verb precedes it as an infinitive.

Example sentences with "want".
Afghan	translation	annotation
زه غواړم چی خلک راته وګوری (ghwā́ṛәm či xalk rāta wú-góri)	I want people to look to me.	Present II from the main verb
دی کار کول نه غواړی (day kār kawә́l nә ghwā́ṛi)	He doesn't want to work.	Infinitive from the main verb; without چی (či) "that"
دوی غواړی کور ته ولاړ سی (duy ghwā́ri kor ta wlāṛ si)	You want to go home.	without چی (či) "that"
تاسی غوښتل چی پيسې وسپارم (tāsi ghuṣ̌tә́l či paysé wú-spārәm)	You wanted me to give the money.	Past tense of غوښتل (ghuṣ̌tә́l)
آرزو می لرله (درلوده) چی پوسته خانې ته ولاړ سم (ārzó mi larә́la (darlóda) či posta-xāné ta wlāṛ sәm)	I wanted to go to the post office (I had a desire to go to the post office).	Past tense of آرزو لرل (ārzó larә́l)

بايد (bā́yad) "must"

“Must” is expressed by the impersonal بايد (bā́yad) “it is necessary”. However, there are many other phrases as well, some of which are mentioned here. The main verb is in the present II .

Expressing "must"
Afghan	translation
بايد (bā́yad)	it is necessary
More twists
Afghan	translation
بايده ده (bā́yida da)	it is necessary
بايده دی (bā́yida di)
لازم دﺉ (lāzím dəy)
لازمه ده (lāzíma da)
لازم و (lāzím wu)	it was necessary
لازمه وه (lāzíma wa)
ضرور دﺉ (zarúr dəy)	it is necessary / necessary
ضرور و (zarúr wu)	it was necessary / necessary
بویه (bóya)	one has to, it is (morally) necessary, it belongs
ښایی (ṣ̌āyi)	you have to, it's proper
پکار دﺉ (pəkār dəy)	it is necessary

Example sentences with "must"
Afghan	translation	annotation
زه بايد ووايم (zә bā́yad wú-wāyәm)	I must say.
دوی بايد نه راسی (duy bā́yad nә́ rā́si)	You don't have to come.
دوی ته بايده نه ده چی راسی (duy ta bā́yida nә́ da či rā́si)	You don't have to come.	The subject here requires a ته (ta)

Diathesis

The diathesis ( direction of action) can be:

1. Active (type of activity)
2. Passive (suffering form)
3. Reflexive verb (reverse verb)
4. Causative (inducement word)

The active is not discussed as it is already stated above.

Passive (مجهول)

The auxiliary verb “werden” is often used in German for the passive voice (suffering form), e.g. B.

• I look at the house. (Active)
  • I look at the house. (Passive)

Afghan has two auxiliary verbs for "become":

Auxiliary verbs for the passive voice
Auxiliary verb (German)	aspect	Auxiliary verb (Afghan)
become	imperfectively	کېدل (kedəl)
	perfect	سول / شول (swəl / šwəl)

Before the auxiliary verb, the corresponding participle or the infinitive is used to express a certain fact or action. The infinitive can be used for any person, gender or number, which makes it easier to use:

Formation of the passive voice
Structure of the passive voice	Example (Afghan)	Person, number, gender	translation
Participle II / Infinitive + auxiliary verb	دی وهلی / وهل کېږی (day wahəlay / wahəl kéẓ̌i)	3rd person, Sg., M.	he is beaten
Participle II / Infinitive + auxiliary verb	دا وهلې / وهل کېږی (dā wahəle / wahəl kéẓ̌i)	3rd person, Sg., F.	she is beaten

Verbs with کول / ـول (kawəl / -wəl) [make] or کړل (kṛəl) become passive by replacing the passive auxiliary verbs:

Formation of the passive by substitution
aspect	Active → Passive	translation
imperfectively	کول / ـول (kawəl / -wəl) → کېدل / ـېدل (kedəl / -edəl)	make → become
perfect	کړل (kṛəl) → سول / شول (swəl / šwəl)	make → become

Reflexive verbs

Reflexive verbs are backward-referential verbs and they are formed using the reflexive pronoun "sich". In Afghan “sich” means ځان (dzān) and the reflexive verb is formed exactly as in German grammar by using “sich” ځان (dzān) in the sentence.

Formation of the reflexive verb
Structure (Afghan)	translation
ځان (dzān) + main verb	itself + main verb
Examples
not reflexive		with reflexive pronouns
وهل (wahəl)	beat	ځان وهل (dzān wahəl)	to hit yourself
ما وهئ (mā wahəy)	I hit	ما ځان وهئ (mā dzān wahəy)	I hit myself
Note: ځان (dzān) literally means "soul".

Causative

The causative (inducement word), which no longer exists as a morphological correlate in the newer German grammar, is a verb that expresses that someone causes something. In Afghan this is indicated by the suffix (ending) ـول (-wəl) on the present stem (rarely also on the preterital stem) on simple verbs, i.e. H. Verbs without کېدل / ـېدل (kedəl / -edəl), formed.

Formation of the causative
Basic verb	Causative	Translation (basic verb)	Translation (causative)
infinitive	Present stem + ـول (-wəl)
لوستل (lwastəl)	لولول (lwalawəl)	read	let read, cause to read
خوړل (xwaṛəl)	خورول (xorawəl)	eat	feed, entertain
کښېنستل (kṣ̌enastəl)	کښېنول (kṣ̌enawəl)	to sit down	so./sth. put, settle
ژړل (žaṛəl)	ژړول (žaṛawəl)	cry	make you cry
خندل (xandəl)	خندول (xandawəl)	laugh	make you laugh

Compound verbs

Certain words and auxiliary verbs can form compound verbs.

auxiliary verbs
	Afghan	translation
Classic auxiliary verbs	کول / ـول (kawә́l / -wә́l) (imperfective)	do
	کېدل / ـېدل (kedә́l / -edә́l) (imperfect)	become
	کړل (kṛәl) (perfective)	do
	شول (šwәl) (perfective)	become
	سول (swәl)
More auxiliary verbs	لرل (larә́l)	to have
	اخيستل (axistәl)	to take
	کښل (kṣ̌әl)	pull
	ميندل (mindә́l)	Find
	موندل (mundә́l)
	خوړل (xwaṛә́l)	eat, eat

If a word ends in a vowel or ـی (-ay), then کول (kawә́l) or کېدل (kedә́l) is used. If, on the other hand, the word ends in a consonant, the auxiliary verb is merged with the noun by ـول (-wә́l) or ـېدل (-edә́l). However, there are exceptions.

Example of compound verbs
Afghan	translation
پوښتنه کول (puṣ̌tә́na kawә́l)	ask
اعلامول (i'lāmawә́l)	proclaim
جوړېدل (joṛedә́l)	be built
معلوم کړل (ma'lúm kṛәl)	announce
معلوم سول (ma'lúm swәl)	become known
هيله لړل (híla larә́l)	to hope
زحمت کښل (zahmát kṣ̌әl)	strive
اور اخيستل (or axistә́l)	Catch fire, ignite
انکشاف ميندل (inkišā́f mindә́l)	develop
شکست خوړل (šikast xwaṛә́l)	suffer defeat
Indefinite pronouns
Afghan	translation
يو شی (yau šāy)	something
يو څوک (yau cok)	someone, someone
يو چا ته (yau čā ta)	someone
د يو چا (dә́ yau čā)	from someone, someone

Rection of some verbs

Some verbs are brought to the rectification with adpositions, which differ from German .

Rection of some verbs
Afghan	translation
د / له ... څخه مننه / تشکر کول (dә / lә ... cxa manәná / tašakkúr ​​kawә́l)	to thank so
د / له ... سره مينه کول / لرل (dә / lә ... sará mína kawә́l / larә́l)	so./sth. love
پر / په ... مينه کول / لرل (pәr / pә ... mína kawә́l / larә́l)
له ... څخه پوښتنه / تپوس کول (lә ... cxa puṣ̌tә́na / tapós kawә́l)	to ask so
د / له ... سره مرسته / کومک کول / لرل (dә / lә ... sará mrastá / kumák kawә́l)	to help sb., to support sth
په ... باندی پيل / شروع کول (pә ... bāndi payl / šurú 'kawә́l)	to begin sth
په ... پسې ګرځل (pә ... pasé gardzә́l)	to pursue sth., to be after sth
پر / په ... باور کول / لرل (pәr / pә ... bāwár kawә́l / larә́l)	believe in
د ... څخه / نه نفرت کول (dә ... cxa / na nafrát kawә́l)	despise / abhor sb
په ... اخيستل (pә ... axistәl)	buy for / to ...
ته اړېدل ... (... ta aṛedә́l)	to need sth
ته اړتيا لرل ... (... ta aṛtiyā́ larә́l)
په ... بوختېدل / بختېدل (pә ... búxtedә́l)	deal with …
په ... اخته / مصروف کېدل (pә ... axtá / masrúf kedә́l)
له ... څخه ډارېدل (lә ... cxa ḍāredә́l)	be afraid of …
په ... پوهېدل (pә ... pohedә́l)	to understand sth
په ... باندی پوهېدل (pә ... bāndi pohedә́l)

Prverbs

The Präverbien be written before the verb and give the verb a definite meaning. The formation of the present II and the perfective aspect are formed by shifting accents. Enclitic pronouns and the negation particle نه (nә) “not” are inserted in the past tense between the preverb and the verb, e.g. B. ننه ئی يوست (nә́na ye yost) "he put it in".

Preverb کښېـ (kṣ̌e-) "in-", "auf-"
Example (Afghan)	translation
کښېنستل (kṣ̌enastә́l)	to sit on; to sit down
کښېکښل (kṣ̌ekṣ̌ә́l)	press, massage

Preverb پوریـ (póri-) "over-", "to-", "to-"
Example (Afghan)	translation
پوری استل (pori-istә́l)	carry over
پوری وهل (pori-wahә́l)	(nudge

Preverb پریـ (pre-) "from"
Example (Afghan)	translation
پرې کول / پرېکول (pre-kawә́l)	cut off
پرېوتل (pre-watә́l)	fall

Preverb ننـ / ننه (nә́na- / nә́na) "into"
Example (Afghan)	translation
ننه ايستل (nә́na-istә́l)	put in, put in
ننوتل (nә́nawatә́l)	go in, penetrate

Preverb تېر (ter) "over", "crazy", "ver"
Example (Afghan)	translation
تېرايستل (ter-istә́l) = خطا ايستل (xatā-istә́l)	mislead, cheat, cheat, deceive
تېرېدل (teredә́l)	pass by, pass away

As a preverb, the directional particles indicate the direction of an action or a process.

Directional particles as prverbs
Afghan	Person and number	translation
را (rā)	to the 1st person Sg./Pl.	here
در (dar)	to the 2nd person Sg./Pl.	down
ور (was)	to the 3rd person Sg./Pl.	down

Infix را (rā́)

Through the infix را (rā) the repetition of nouns, adjectives or verbs expresses the meaning “mutually”, “against each other”.

Examples with infix را (rā)
Example (Afghan)	translation	With infix را (rā́)	translation
تاو (tāu)	Rotation, distortion	تاوراتاو (tāu-rā-tāu)	down, crooked
بدل (badal)	exchange	بدل رابدل (badal-rā-badal)	against each other, one against the other
پوهېدل (pohedә́l)	understand	پوهېدل راپوهېدل (pohedә́l-rā-pohedә́l)	mutual understanding
پوهول (pohawә́l)	communicate	پوهول راپوهول (pohawә́l-rā-pohawә́l)
تګ (day)	Hike, ride	تګ راتګ (day-rā-day)	Traffic, handling
تله (tlә)	Walk, run	تله راتله (tlә-rā-tlә)	Movement, circulation

Particles

Afghan	translation
هو (ho)	affirmation
نه (na or nә)	negation
يه (ya)
لا (lā)	yet
به (bә)	(Future tense and modality )
بيا (biyā́)	again
کاشکی (kā́ṣ̌ki)	but if
مبادا (mábādā)	if only not
آيا (ā́yā)	whether (question particle for questions with yes / no)
هم (ham)	also
يوازی (yawā́zi)	just
چه (čә)	(Introduction of subordinate clauses)
دی (di)	it may (invitation particle); Probably (doubtful assumption; with past participle + وی (wi))
خو (xo)	but
فقط (faqát)	just, just
حتی (hattā́)	even
مګر (magár)	about, but

The particles به (bә)

به (bә) has a temporal (future) and three modal functions. There is no fixed sentence order for به (bә), but it should be placed at the beginning of the sentence if possible.

Function به (bә)	Example (Afghan)	translation
Formation of the future tense	زه به ساتم (zә bә sātәm)	I will keep / protect
Expression of an iterative action (= permanently recurring action) in the past tense	سهار به ئی کار کاوه (sahā́r bә ye kār kā́wә)	He used to work in the morning.
Part of a conditional construction (see conditional clause )	ښه به وای (ṣ̌ә bә wāy)	It would be good!
Expression of a probability with past participle and وی (wi)	دا به حقيقت وی (dā bә haqiqát wi)	That will (probably) be the truth.
	تا به دا مقاله لوستلې وی (tā bә dā maqālá lwastә́le wi)	You have read this article for sure.

Directional particles

There are 3 directional particles:

1. را (rā)
2. در (dar)
3. ور (was)

These have two functions:

• As a pre-verb
• Part of a direction pronoun

negation

Afghan	translation
نه (na or nə)	Not
مه (má)	not (with imperative)
هیڅ (hic)	nothing, no, none
یه (ya)	No
... نه ... نه (nə ... nə ...)	Neither ... nor ...

For the negation “not” (almost) always the نه (nə) is used, e.g. B. زه نه ورځم (zə na war-dzəm): "I'm not going."

Sometimes the expression “he is not” is expressed by connecting نه (nə / na) with دئ (dəy) to ندئ (na-dəy), so instead of نه دئ ندئ is also possible.

Negation of compound tenses (perfect, past perfect). The participle is at the end of the sentence and the negation نه (nə) with the forms of the auxiliary verb “sein” in front of it.
Afghan	translation
دې څوان لوړ ښونڅی تمام کړی دئ (de dzawā́n lwar ṣ̌owәndzáy tamā́m kә́ṛay dәy)	This young man finished college.
دې څوان لوړ ښونڅی نه دئ تمام کړی (de dzawā́n lwar ṣ̌owәndzáy nә dәy tamā́m kә́ṛay)	This young man didn't finish college.
زه اخیستلای سم (zә axistә́lāy sә́m)	I can take it
زه نه سم اخیستلای (zә nәsә́m axistә́lāy)	I can't take it

مه (má) is used for the imperative and also in the greeting "Don't get tired!"

• ! مه ورځه
  • Do not go!
  • Don't go!

• ! ستړی مه شې (northeast)
• ! ستړی مه سې (southwest)
  • Don't get tired!
  • Don't get tired!
  • I wish you strength and endurance in what you do! (analogous)

نسته (nəsta) or نشته (nəšta) expresses a non-existence, means "there is not" and is a combination of

1. نه (nə)
2. سته (southwest) or شته (northeast)

• .نن دلته اوبه نسته
  • Today there is no water here.
  • There is no water here today.

Afghan	translation
... بې (be ...)	without, a-, des-, in-, in-, ir-, -los
... نا (nā ...)	a-, des-, un-, in-, ir-, -los
لا (lā-)	Arabic negative in Afghan
غیر (ghayr)

Negative statements like a-social, dis-oriented, unemployed etc. can be expressed by the preposition ب (be) [= without] or نا (nā) in front of a noun or adjective. By prefixing words with بې (be) or نا (nā), opposite words ( antonyms ) can be formed (e.g. stupid - clever). See also under word formation .

• Examples
  • بې احتياطه
    • careless, careless, careless (احتياط = cautiousness, caution, mindfulness)
  • بې ادبي
    • Rudeness, rudeness, rudeness (ادب = manners, politeness, literature)
  • بې خطره
    • safe, safe (خطر = danger, risk)
  • بې عقل
    • stupid, foolish, foolish, unwise (عقل = wisdom, intellect, understanding)
  • نااميده
    • hopeless, desperate (اميد = hope)
  • ناجوړتيا
    • Illness, illness (جوړتيا = health)

Adpositions

There are all three adpositions in the Pashtun language .

1. preposition
2. Post position
3. Circumposition

prepositions

preposition
Afghan	translation
... بې (be ...)	without...
... پر (pər ...)	on...
... په (pə ...)	With...; on...
... تر (tər ...)	on...; up to...
... له (lə ...)	from...

Compound prepositions are formed by adverbs before the preposition.

Examples of compound prepositions
Afghan	translation
... وروسته له (wrústa lә ...)	to …
... پس له (pas lә ...)
... سره له دې (sara lә de ...)	despite this ...; Nevertheless...

Post positions

Post position
Afghan	translation
ته ... (... ta)	to...; to...
څنګ ته ... (... cang ta)	Next
تر څنګه ... (... tər canga)
اړخ ته ... (... aṛx ta)

Examples

• .دی پلار ته دا واﺉی
  • He father for that says.
  • He says this / that to the father.

• .دوی جاپان ته ځی
  • You go to japan.
  • You go to Japan.

• زه ستا څنګ ته ناست يم
  • I'm sitting your side too.
  • I'm sitting next to you.

Circumpositions

Circumlocation with real postpositions
Afghan	translation
په ... کښی (pə ... ki)	in...; on...; to...; an ... (often with rectus!)
پر ... باندی (pər ... bāndi)	on...; on top of ...
تر ... لاندی (tər ... lāndi)	under...
د ... تر شا (də ... tər šā)	Behind...
د / په ... پسې (də / pə ... pasé)	to...
د ... په مخکښی (də ... pə məxki)	before ... (local)
د ... دمخه (də ... dməxa)	in front...
د / له ... څخه (də / lə ... cxa)	from...; out...
د / له ... نه (də / lə ... na)
تر ... وروسته (tər ... wrústa)	to...
د / له ... نه / څخه وروسته (də / lə ... na / cxa wrústa)
د / تر ... پخوا (də / tər ... pəxwā)	before ... (temporal)
تر ... پوری (tər ... póri)	up to)...
د ... دپاره (də ... dəpāra)	For...
د ... له پاره (də ... lə pāra)
د ... لپاره (də ... ləpāra)
د / په ... سره (də / pə ... sará)	With...
د ... په باره کښی (də ... pə bārá ki)	from...; over...

It should be noted here that the کښی (ki) is pronounced without ښ.

False post positions

The spurious post position consists of two parts:

• from one of these prepositions: په (pə), له (lə) or پر (pər)
• from a noun, e.g. حیث (hays) = respect, relationship

For circus positions with spurious postpositions , the preposition is always a د (də),

Circumpositions with false postpositions
Afghan	translation
د ... په وسیله (də ... pə wasilá)	by means of ...; by...
د ... په واسطه (də ... pə wāsitá)
د ... په ذریه (də ... pə zari'á)
د ... له خوا (də ... lə xwā)	on the part ...
د ... په برکت (də ... pə barakát)	thanks...
د ... په مناسبت (də ... pə munāsibát)	on the occasion of ...
د ... په حیث (də ... pə hays)	as...; in the role ...
د ... په اساس (də ... pə asās)	due to ...
د ... له کبله (də ... lə kabála)	due to ...; because of...
د ... له امله (də ... lə amála)	due to ...; because of...
د ... په سبب (də ... pə sabáb)	due to ...
د ... په موجب (də ... pə maujíb)	due to ...
د ... په غرض (də ... pə gharáz)	because of...
د ... په مطابق (də ... pə mutābíq)	corresponding...
د ... په مقابل (کښی) (də ... pə muqābíl (ki))	across from...
د ... په خلاف (də ... pə xilāf)	opposite...; contrary ...

Conjunctions

Conjunctions connect sentences, parts of sentences, words and parts of words with one another. The most important conjunctions are listed below and in the "Subordinate Clause" chapter :

Afghan	Latin transcription	translation
او	ouch	and
چه, چی	čə, či	that
کله چه	kəla čə	as if (temporal)
ځکه چه	dzəka čə	because
هم	ham	also
خو	xo	but, however
مګر	magár
لېکن	lékin
لاکن	lā́kin
اما	ammā́
که	ka	or
یا	yā
او یا	au-yā
ځکه	dzә́ka	therefore
Common paired conjunctions
... هم ... هم	ham ... ham ...	as well ... as
... نه ... نه	nә ... nә ...	neither ... nor
... یا ... یا	yā ... yā ...	either ... or
... نه یوازی ... بلکه هم	nә yawā́zi ... balki ham ...	not only but Also
... کله ... کله	kә́la ... kә́la ...	sometimes ... sometimes
... که ... که	kә ... kә ...	whether ... (or) whether ...

The Afghan چه or چی should be particularly emphasized grammatically . The چه or چی has many meanings, introduces subordinate clauses in combination with other words ( consecutive clauses , causal clauses , conditional clauses , etc.), serves as a relative pronoun , leads to direct speech and much more.

These many functions by چی made u. a. the constructions of the subordinate clauses are relatively simple compared to the German language . چه / چی is closest to the Latin ut .

Syntax (نحو)

Order of the parts of the sentence

Pashto is a so-called SOV language with split ergativity , i.e. That is , the word order is subject-object-verb (SOV) and the past tense contains ergative structures.

In the following example sentence, the word order SOV becomes clear:

• .زه کتاب اخلم (Zə kitāb axlám.) (Latin transcription)

Literally translated, this sentence means "I (I) take the book" or, in analogy, "I take the book". In the predicate, the person and the number can already be clearly derived, which means that a personal pronoun can also be omitted ( pro-drop language ).

More example sentences

Afghan	grammar	translation
دا موټر شاید کندهار ته لار شی (Dā motár šājad Kandahār ta lar̝ ši.)	This (es) car [casus rectus] probably Kandahar [casus obliquus] after (es-) will go [perfective]	This car is likely going to Kandahar.
زه المانی \ جرمنی يم (Zə Ālmānáj / Ghərmanáj jəm)	I am German (er) (I-)	I'm German.
مونږ څنګه دی پيدا کړو (Mug 'cənga di paidā kr̝u?)	We [absolute] like you [ergative-enclitic] found [1.Pers.Pl.perfektiv]?	How did you find us?
دا د ده د پاره دئ (Dā da də də pāra dəj.)	This (it) [casus-rectus] from [Circumposition (I)] is him [Casus-obliquus] from-for [Circumposition (II)].	This is for him (intended).
تاسی نن زموږ سره ډوډۍ به خوړی (Tāsi nən zmug'-sará ḏoḏəj bə xórəj?)	Today you eat bread future tense particles with us	Are you going to eat with us today?
هالکانو زه پوښتلم چه لاری چېري دی (Haləkāno zə pux'tələm čə lāri čéri di.)	Boys [Ergative] I [Absolutely] asked [1.Pers.Sg.] that paths are where.	The boys asked me where the roads were.

Question sentence

In interrogative sentences (interrogative) is the interrogative (interrogative) usually placed in front of the finite verb and also particularly emphasized (= intonation) , otherwise the question set by the corresponding sentence structure (syntax =) fro the declarative sentence (= declarative)

Afghan	translation
ته ولی نه راځې؟ (tə wali nə rādze?)	Why are you not coming?
تاسی چيری واست؟ (tasi čiri wāst?)	Where were you?

The question particle ايا (āyā) at the beginning of the sentence can be used to introduce decision-making questions . Sentence structure (= syntax) based on the declarative sentence (= declarative sentence)

Afghan	translation
ايا تا دا ليدلی دئ؟ (āyā tā dā lidelay di?)	Did you see that?

Subordinate clauses

The word چه or چی is used to construct subordinate clauses . In the following only the چی is noted, whereby it can also be replaced by چه.

Subject sentence

A subject clause is a subordinate clause that replaces the subject .

The subject sentence is constructed as follows in Pashtun:

1. The main clause can (but does not have to) be introduced with دا or هغه.
2. The subordinate clause (= subject clause) is introduced with indefinite pronouns + چی (see table below).

Afghan	translation
... څوک چی (cok či)	who …
... څه چی (cə či)	What …
… دا / دغه چی (dā / daghá či)	What …
... هر چی (har či)	everything that ...
... چا ته چی (čā ta či)	to the ...

Even after the following Pashtun expressions, which form the main clause, the following subordinate clause with introductory چی (či) is a subject clause.

Afghan	translation
لازم دﺉ (lāzím dəj)	it is necessary
لازمه ده (lāzíma da)
لازم و (lāzím wu)	it was necessary
لازمه وه (lāzíma wa)
ضرور دﺉ (zarúr dəj)	it is necessary / necessary
ضرور و (zarúr wu)	it was necessary / necessary
بویه (bóya)	one has to, it is (morally) necessary, it belongs
ښایی (ṣ̌āyi)	you have to, it's proper
پکار دﺉ (pəkār dəy)	it is necessary
ممکن دﺉ (mumkín dəy)	it is possible
ممکنه ده (mumkína da)
امکان لری (imkān lari)
احتمال لری (ihtimāl lari)	it is possible

example

• .امکان لری چی زه نه ورځم
  • It is possible that I will not go.
  • It is possible that I will not go.

• .څوک چی څپل پنځه ځله لمونځ هره ورځ کوی احتمال لری چی (هغه) مسلمان دی
  • Whoever says his prayer five times a day, it is likely that (that) is Muslim.
  • Whoever says his prayer five times a day, it is likely that (that person) is a Muslim.

Object set

The object clause is a subordinate clause that replaces the object . In the Pashtun language this is constructed as follows:

1. Verb of communicating, sensory perception, wanting etc., e.g. like ویل (to say), لیکل (to write), پوهېدل (to understand) in the main clause.
2. Introduction by چی (či) in the subordinate clause (= object clause).

Predicative clause

The predicative clause is a subordinate clause that replaces the predicative . Indicative elements in the main clause are demonstrative pronouns (هغه, دغه, دا etc.) and the predicative is introduced by چی (či).

Relative clause

چی (či) is the Pashtun relative pronoun .

Afghan	translation
چی (či)	der, die, das, which, which, which

Adverbial clause

In the adverbial sentences , چی and که (ka) are mainly used as conjunctions .

Pseudoconjunctions consist of a combination of

1. چی (či)
2. Words or phrases such as کله (kəla) or چیری (čiri)

The pseudoconjunctions are used for adverbial determination (temporal clause , conditional clause , etc.).

But if only چی (či) is used in the adverbial clause, then the type of subordinate clause can only be deduced from the context, i.e. whether it is a conditional, concessive, modal clause, etc.

Conditional clause

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... که چیری (ka čiri ...)	if...; if...
... که (ka ...)

The main clause often begins with نو (no) "then".

Forms of the conditional clauses and the corresponding inflection of the verbs
Type of conditional sentence	main clause	subordinate clause
Real conditional sentence	Indicative (present, future I etc.)	Present I
	Indicative (present, future I etc.)	Present tense II
Unreal conditional clause (= subjunctive II)	Conditionalis	Conditionalis
	Simple past + به (bә)	Conditionalis
Example sentences
Type of conditional sentence	Afghan	translation
Real conditional sentence	که زما سره مينه لرې دغه کار مه کوه (ka zmā sará mína laré dágha kār má kawa)	If you love me don't do that.
	که بزګران زيار ونه کاږی نو پنبه نه شی لو کولای (ka bazgarā́n zyār wú-nә-kāẓ̌i no pambá nә́ ši lau kawә́lā́y)	If the farmers don't strive, they can't harvest cottons.
Unreal conditional clause (= subjunctive II)	که دی ستا ورور ته پسې ورکولای دغه ډاکټر ته تللای سوای (ka day stā wror ta paysé war-kawәlā́y daghá ḍākṭár ta tlәlā́y swā́y)	If he gave your brother the money, he could go to that doctor.
	که باران اورېدای زه به لندېدلم (ka bārā́n oredāy zә bә landedә́lәm)	If it rained i would (get) wet

Temporal clause

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... کله چی (kəla či ...)	as....; if...
... هر کله چی (har kəla či ...)	whenever...; When ever...
... هغه وخت چی (hágha waxt či ...)	(currently) as ...; if...
... کوم وخت چی (kom waxt či ...)
... وروسته تر دې چی (wrústa tər de či ...)	after this...
... تر دې وروسته چی (tər de wrústa či ...)
... پخوا تر / له دې چی (pəxwā tər / lə de či ...)	before...
... دمخه تر دې چی (dməxa tər de či ...)
... لومړی تر دې چی (lumṛáy tər de či ...)
... له دې وخت نه / څخه چی (lə de waxt na / cxa či ...)	since...
... په داسی حال کښی چی (pə dāsi hāl ki či ...)	while...
... تر هغه وخت پوری چی (tər hágha waxt póri či ...)	as long as...
... تر څو چی (tər co či ...)
... د څو پوری چی (də co póri či ...)

Causal clause

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... څکه چی (dzəka či ...)	because...
... څه رنګه چی / څرنګه چی (cəránga či ...)
... ولې چی (wale či ...)
... له دې امله چی (lə de amála či ...)	because...; for the reason that ...
... له دې کبله چی (lə de kabála či ...)
... له دې سببه چی (lə de sabába či ...)
... په دې چی (pa de či ...)

Modal and comparative clauses

conjunction
group	Afghan	translation
1. Modal and comparative pseudoconjunction	... لکه چی (ləka či ...)	how...; as if...
	... څنګه چی (cənga či ...)	how...
	... لکه څنګه چی (ləka cənga či ...)	how...
2. Modal pseudoconjunction	... څومره چی (cómra či ...)	so far...; how much)...
	... څونه چی (cúna či ...)

The main clause can be introduced for group 1. by داسی, همدارنګه or هغسی or for group 2. by دغومره or هغومره.

Consecutive Clause

The consecutive clauses are expressed by ځکه (here چی does not appear).

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... ځکه (dzəka ...)	therefore...; so that...
... نو ځکه (no dzəka ...)

Concession rate

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... که څه هم (ka cə ham ...)	although...; although...
... سره له دې چی (sará lə de či ...)	although...
... پرته له دې / لدې چی (práta lə de či ...)	although...; apart from that...
... اګر چی (agár či ...)	although...

The introduction of the main clause takes place u. a. often by خو, ولی, اما, لېکن.

Adversative clause

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... حال دا چی (hāl dā či ...)	while...; whereas ...
... د دې پر ځای چی (də de pər dzāy či ...)	instead of...

Local rate

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... هلته چی (hálta či ...)	(there where...
... چیری / چېرته چی (číri / čérta či ...)	Where...
... هغه ځای چی (hágha dzāy či ...)
(په) کوم ځای کښی چی… ((pə) kom dzāy ki či ...)
other variants

Final movement

There are two ways in which the Pashtun language can form a final sentence.

The first option is to reproduce the conjunctions given in the following table:

conjunction
Afghan	translation
... چی (či ...)	in order to...; around...
... د دې دپاره چی (də de dəpāra či ...)

The other way to construct a final clause is to use the following combination in the Pashtun main clause

1. Infinitive phrase in the obliquus
2. the following words in the table

Afghan	translation
د ... دپاره (də ... dəpāra)	around …
د ... په غرض (də ... pə gharáz)
د ... په مقصد (də ... pə maqsád)

Direct speech

Direct speech is introduced by the particle چه (če) and written without quotation marks . Punctuation marks are also used in recent literature, e.g. B. Colon, to identify a direct speech.

Type of direct speech	Afghan	translation
With چه (če)	ده وويل چه زه ئې نه پېژنم (dә wú-wayәl če zә ye nә péžanәm)	He said, "I don't know him / her." (He said that he / she doesn't know him / her.)
With colon:	ده وويل: زه ئې نه پېژنم (dә wú-wayәl: zә ye nә péžanәm)	He said: "I don't know him / her."

Name and greeting

Names

Names are given from Arabic and Afghan. Only a few examples are given below. The Pashtuns are a people with a tribal system . The family names therefore very often come from the tribal name .

First names
gender	Surname	meaning	annotation
Male	توريالی (Turyāláy)	The brave	Afghan first names
	زمريالی (Zmaryāláy)	The lion hearted
	ننګيالی (Nangyāláy)	The honorable one
	زمرک (Zmarák)	The boy scout
	محمد (Muhammád)	The commendable one	Arabic first names
	صديق (Sadíq)	The believer
	حسن (Hassán)	The good
	ظاهر (Zāhír)	The shiny one
	عبدالرؤف (Abdurra'úf)	Servant of the indulgent	Arabic first names with عبد (Abd-) "servant"
	عبدالقيوم (Abdulqayúm)	Servant of the Eternal
	ميرعلی (Mir Ali)	Commander of the high one	Arabic first names with مير (Mir) "Commander" (from Emir )
	ميرحسين (Mir Husáyn)	Commander of good
	امان الله (Amanullā́h)	The protection of God	Arabic first names with الله (-ullā́h-) "Allah / God"
	حبيبالله (Habibullā́h)	The beloved of God
Female	زرلښته (Zarlā́ṣ̌ta)	The golden branch	Afghan first names
	زرغونه (Zarghuná)	The green
	غوټۍ (Ghuṭә́y)	The bud
	حبيبه (Habibá)	The beloved	Arabic first names
	حکيمه (Hakimá)	The way
	عليه (Aliyá)	The sublime
Surname / family name
gender	Surname	meaning	annotation
-	خټک (Xaṭák)		Pashtun tribal names
	پوپل (Popál)	Durrani tribe
	کاکړ (Kākáṛ)
	توخی (Toxí)	Ghilzai tribe
	تره کي (Tarákí)	Ghilzai tribe
	ميوندوال (Maywandwāl)	Citizens from Maiwand	Place names
	فراهی (Farrāhí)	One from Farah
	دوست (Dost)	friend	Pashto nouns and adjectives
	رښتين (Riṣ̌tín)	the truth
	حفيظ (Hafíz)	the guard	Arabic first names
	واحد (Wāhíd)	the unique one
	حکيمی (Hakimí)	wise	Arabic names with ی (-i) at the end
	واحدی (Wāhidí)	unique

Older and educated people are often not called by their name out of respect. B. are often nicknames or are referred to according to their professional group , as in Germany the teacher or doctor is not called by name, but as "Herr (last name)" or "Herr Doktor". For example, the uncle ګران ماما (grān māmā́) "dear / beloved uncle (maternal)" or the teacher معلم صاحب (mu'allím sāhíb) "master teacher".

Letter style

There are many forms of address and endings . Part of the possibility is reproduced here.

Salutation in letters
Afghan	translation
ښاغلی محترم (ṣ̌āǧә́lay muhtarám)	Dear Sir!
ښاغلو (ṣ̌āǧә́lo)	(Gentlemen!
محترم د ... رئس (صاحب) (muhtarám dә ... ra'ìs (sāhíb))	Dear (Mr.) President of ...
محترم ... صاحب (muhtarám ... sāhíb)	Dear Sir ...
ګرانه دوسته (grā́na dósta)	Dear friend
عزتمنده وروره (izzatmánda wróra)	Dear brother (also to non-relatives)
پس له احترام نه (pas lә ihtirā́m na)	After (with the expression of) respect!

Final turn in letters
Afghan	translation	annotation
په درناوی (pә drәnā́wi)	Sincerely!	Most frequently
په (ډېر) احترام (pә (ḍer) ihtirā́m)	With (great) respect	Further final turns
... ستاسې / ستاسو مخلص (stā́se / stā́su muxlís ...)	Your devotee ...
... په درناوی ستاسې مګری (pә drәnā́wi stā́se malgә́ray ...)	Sincerely your friend / colleague ...
... په مينه او درناوی (pә mína au drәnā́wi ...)	With love and respect ...
... ډېره دعا او سلام (ḍera du'ā́ au salā́m ...)	Best blessings and greetings ...

Interjections

There are a variety of interjections (throw-ins). Some interjections cannot be expressed in words, e.g. For example, calm horror or surprise at a bad deed by holding the tongue against the roof of the mouth and moving it forward (it sounds like a sharp smack). Some are listed in the following table.

Frequent interjections
Afghan	German equivalent	meaning
واوا (wā-wā), آها (āhā́), واه (wāh), آخ (āx)	Ah!	Amazement, joy
اخ (ax), اوف (uf), وای (wāy), وی (way)	oh! ouch!	Pain, fright
وا (wā), آ (ā), او (o), ای (ey)	hey !, hello!	Call
هو (ho)	Yes, but	affirmation
نه (na), يه (ya)	No	negation
افسوس (afsús), حيف (hayf)	Too bad!	regret
(په) رښتيا ((pә) riṣ̌tiā́)	really, really	Amazement, affirmation
خير (xayr)	Well!	approval
عجب (ajáb)	amazing !, oho!	astonish
وهوا (wahwā́), اشکی (aškí), شاباشی (šābāšáy), شاباش (šābāš), آپرين (āpirín), آفرين (āfirín)	Bravo!	praise

vocabulary

A few words in Pashto clearly indicate their Indo-European origin:

numbers

Afghan	translation
دوه (dwa)	two
درې (dre)	three
اته (atə)	eight
نهه (nəh)	nine

Words from other areas

Afghan	translation
ستوری (stóray)	star
نوی (nəway)	New
نه (na)	Not
کور (kor)	House
شایسته (ṣ̌āyistá)	beautiful

Family members

Afghan	translation
مور (mor)	mother
پلار (plār)	father
خور (xor)	sister
ورور (wror)	Brothers
لور (lur)	daughter
زوی (zuy)	son
عمه (amá)	Aunt (paternal side)
اکا (akā)	Uncle (paternal side)
خاله (xālá)	Aunt (maternal)
ماما (māmā)	Uncle (maternal)
مامي (māmi)	Uncle's wife (maternal)
انا (anā)	grandmother
نیکه (nikə)	grandfather
ورنيکه (wər-nikə)	Great grandfather
ترنيکه (tər-nikə)	Great grandfather
ترنه انا (tərnə-anā)	Great grandmother
سرنيکه (sər-nikə)	Great-great-grandfather
ميره (mirá)	Stepmother
پلندر (plandár)	Stepfather

Numbers (عددونه or اعداد)

The Afghan numbers are given in the decimal system and consist of the Arabic numerals .

Basic numerals (اصلي عددونه)

Basic numbers : 0 to 10
Afghan	translation	Afghan form of the Arabic numerals	European form of the Arabic numerals
صفر (sifər)	zero	٠	0
يو (yau)	one	١	1
دوه (dwa)	two	٢	2
درې (dre)	three	٣	3
څلور (calór)	four	۴ or ٤	4th
پنځه (pindzә́)	five	۵ or ٥	5
شپږ (špaẓ̌)	six	۶ or ٦	6th
اووه (ūwә́)	seven	٧	7th
اته (atә́)	eight	٨	8th
نه (nəh)	nine	٩	9
لس (read)	ten	۱۰	10

Except for “one” and also “two” in the Kandahari dialect, the numbers have no gender . The number “one” is also used as an indefinite article and as part of an indefinite pronoun .

Gender of the numbers یو "one" and دوه "two"
Rectus	Obliquus	genus	translation
یو (yau)	یوه (yawә́)	m	a
یوه (yawá)	یوې (yawé)	f	a
دوه (dwa)	دوو (dwo)	m	two
دوې (dwe)	دوو (dwo)	f	two

For "-zwanzig" ويشت "-wíšt" is used.

Further basic numbers
Afghan	translation	Afghan form of the Arabic numerals	European form of the Arabic numerals
يوولس (jawólas)	eleven	۱۱	11
دو (و) لس (d (w) ólas)	twelve	۱۲	12
ديارلس (dyā́rlas)	thirteen	۱۳	13
ديرلس (dyárlas)
څورلس (cwárlas)	fourteen	۱۴	14th
څوارلس (cwā́rlas)
پنځه لس (pindzә́las)	fifteen	۱۵	15th
پنځلس (pindzә́las)
شپاړلس (špāṛlas)	sixteen	۱۶	16
شپاړس (špāṛas)
اوه لس (owә́las)	seventeen	۱۷	17th
اولس (owlas)
اته لس (atә́las)	eighteen	۱۸	18th
اتلس (atә́las)
نولس (núlas)	nineteen	۱۹	19th
نونس (núnas)
یوویشت (yauwíšt)	twenty-one	۲۱	21st
دوه ويشت (dwawíšt)	twenty-two	۲۲	22nd
درويشت (dәrwíšt)	twentythree	۲۳	23
څلېرويشت (calerwíšt)	twenty four	۲۴	24
پنځه ويشت (pindzәwíšt)	twenty five	۲۵	25th
شپږويشت (špuẓ̌wíšt)	twenty six	۲۶	26th
اوه ويشت (owәwíšt)	twenty-seven	۲۷	27
اته ويشت (atәwíšt)	twenty eight	۲۸	28
نه ويشت (nәhwíšt)	twenty-nine	۲۹	29
يودېرش (yau derš)	thirty-one	۳۱	31
دوڅلوېښت (ducalwéṣ̌t)	forty two	۳۲	42
يوپنخوس (yau pindzós)	fifty-one	۵۱	51
دوپنخوس (dupindzós)	fifty-two	۵۲	52
درې پنخوس (drepindzós)	fiftythree	۵۳	53

Basic numbers: tens 10 to 90
Afghan	translation	Afghan form of the Arabic numerals	European form of the Arabic numerals
لس (read)	ten	۱۰	10
شل (šəl)	twenty	۲۰	20th
دېرش (derš)	thirty	۳۰	30th
څلوېښت (calwéṣ̌t)	Fourty	۴۰	40
پنځوس (pindzós)	fifty	۵۰	50
شېپته (špetә́)	sixty	۶۰	60
اویا (awyā́)	seventy	۷۰	70
اتیا (atyā́)	eighty	۸۰	80
نوی (nəwí)	ninety	۹۰	90

Basic numbers: powers of ten
Afghan	translation	Afghan form of the Arabic numerals	European form of the Arabic numerals
لس (read)	ten	۱۰	${\displaystyle 10^{1}}$
سل (səl)	hundred	۱۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{2}}$
زر (zər)	thousand	۱۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{3}}$
لس زره (las zә́ra)	ten thousand	۱۰۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{4}}$
لک (lak)	hundred thousand	۱۰۰۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{5}}$
ملیون (miljón)	million	۱۰۰۰۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{6}}$
کروړ (k (a) róṛ)	ten million (= 100 lak)	۱۰۰۰۰۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{7}}$
لس کروړه (las k (a) róṛa) or زر لکه (zər laka)	hundred million	۱۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{8}}$
ملیارد (milyā́rd)	billion	۱۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰۰	${\displaystyle 10^{9}}$

From 200, 2,000, 20,000 etc. the Obliquus II is used.

Basic numbers: Obliquus II
Afghan	translation	Afghan form of the Arabic numerals	European form of the Arabic numerals
دوه سوه (dwa sáwa)	two hundred	۲۰۰	200
درې سوه (dre sáwa)	three hundred	۳۰۰	300
دوه زره (dwa zә́ra)	two thousand	۲۰۰۰	2,000
پنځه کروړه (pindzә́ króṛa)	fifty million	۵۰۰۰۰۰۰۰	50,000,000

Note : Afghan is written from right to left, but the numbers and all other bills from left to right!

Ordinal Numbers (ترتيبي عددونه)

The ordinal numbers are formed from the basic numbers with the suffix م (-ә́m) or مه (-ә́ma, feminine), after vowels یم (-yә́m) or یمه (-yә́ma, feminine).

There are many variants for the ordinal number “the first” or “the first”.

Atomic number (Afghan)	translation
لومړی (lumṛáy)	The first, first
ړومبی (ṛumbáy)
اول (awwál)
دوهم (dwahә́m)	The second, second
دويم (dwayә́m)
څلورمه (calorә́ma)	The fourth, fourth
پنځم (pindzә́m)	The fifth, fifth
پنځمه (pindzә́ma)	The fifth, fifth

Duplication numerals

Multiplicatives (= multiplication numerals) can be formed in a variety of ways by adding certain suffixes to the basic numbers, such as in German by "-fach" or "-mal".

Afghan	translation
واره (wārá)	- times, times
ځله (dzalá)
ګون (gún)
Examples
درې واره (dre wara)	three times, -fold
درې ځله (dre dzalá)
درېګون (dregún)
يو وار (yau was)	once, -fold
يو ځل (yau dzál)

More numerals

Certain numerals are often inserted between the noun and the base number .

Examples of some numerals
Afghan	translation
کس (kas)	Person
تن (tan)
سر (sar)	Head, head (with cattle)
دانه (dāná)	Piece, grain (for objects)

Fractions

Fractions (= Rational numbers) are values of a quotient of two integers b a and, therefore . A is the numerator and b the denominator (see fraction calculation ). ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {a}{b}}}$

Words to form fractions through ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {Grundzahl}{Grundzahl}}}$
Afghan	translation
پر (pər)	on
پر (pər) stands between the two basic numbers
Examples
Afghan	Translation (literal)	Mathematical notation
دوه پر درې (dwa pər dre)	two thirds (two on three)	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {2}{3}}}$
څورلس پر اووه (cwárlas pər ūwә́)	fourteen sevenths (fourteen on seven)	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {14}{7}}=2}$
پنځه پر سل (pindzә́ pər sәl)	five hundredths (five to one hundred)	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {5}{100}}}$

Words to form fractions through ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {Grundzahl}{Ordnungszahl}}}$
Examples
Afghan	Translation (literal)	Mathematical notation
دوه درېیم (dwa dreyә́m)	two-thirds	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {2}{3}}}$
څورلس اووم (cwárlas ūwә́m)	fourteen sevenths	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {14}{7}}=2}$
پنځه سلم (pindzә́ sәlә́m)	five hundredths	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {5}{100}}}$

Words to form fractions with ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{b}}}$
origin	Afghan (romanization)	translation
Afghan word	برخه (bárxa)	Part, part
Arabic word	حصه (hissá)
Ordinal numbers (f.) Can stand alone or in front of the word “share”
Examples
Afghan	translation	Mathematical notation
پنځمه برخه (pindzә́ma bárxa)	A fifth; the fifth part	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{5}}}$
پنځمه حصه (pindzә́ma hissá)
پنځمه (pindzә́ma)
لسمه برخه (lasә́ma bárxa)	A tenth; the tenth part	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{10}}}$

Nouns for certain fractions
Afghan	translation
نیم (nim)	half, half
نیمائی (nima'í; f. And m.)	half, the middle
پاو (pāo / pāw)	the quarter
ربع (rub ')

Percentages

Percentages ("hundredths") can be formed as follows:

Words to form percentages
origin	Afghan	translation
Afghan word	په سلو کښی (pә sәlo ki)	to hundreds
Arabic word	فی صد (fi-sád)	to a hundred
Basic numbers are in front of "to the hundred"
Examples
Afghan	Translation (literal)	Mathematical notation
لس په سلو کښی (las pә sәlo ki)	ten percent (ten to hundreds)	10%
یوولس فی صد (yawólas fi-sád)	eleven percent (eleven to one hundred)	11%

Basic arithmetic

Basic arithmetic	Afghan (romanization)	translation	Math symbol
addition	جمع (jam ')	plus	${\displaystyle +}$
	او (au)	and (simple and childlike form)
subtraction	منفی (manfí)	minus	${\displaystyle -}$
multiplication	په [... کښی] (pə [... ki])	times	${\displaystyle \cdot }$
	ضرب (zarb-i)
division	پر (pər)	by	${\displaystyle :}$
Equal sign	مساوی (musāwí)	equal	${\displaystyle =}$
example
	Afghan	translation	invoice
	درې منفی دوه جمع څلور په دوه مساوی نه (dre manfí dwa jam 'calór pə dwa musāwí neh)	three minus two plus four times two equals nine	${\displaystyle 3-2+4\cdot 2=9}$

Times

Month names

The Afghan calendar (see Persian calendar ) uses the so-called Hijra solar calendar, i.e. That is, it is a solar calendar with the beginning of the Islamic calendar of the Hijra (emigration of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina).

The year begins with the beginning of spring نوروز (naurúz) on March 20th, 21st or 22nd.

From the Gregorian calendar (European calendar) you have to subtract 621 years, from January to March 622 years, in order to arrive at the year of the Afghan calendar. For example, the season of June 2013 after Christ in Afghanistan is the season 1392 after Hijra ( 5773 in the Jewish calendar ).

The month names are often named after the Arabic signs of the zodiac .

The month مياشت (myā́št)
Afghan	Arabic	Zodiac	European monthly time	number of days
وری (wray)	حمل (hamál)	Aries	March April	31 days
غویی (ghwajáy)	ثور (sour)	bull	April May
غبرګولی (ghbargoláy)	جوزا (jauzā́)	Twins	May June
چنګاښ (čingā́ṣ̌)	سرطان (saratā́n)	cancer	June July
زمری (zmaráy)	اسد (asád)	lion	July August
وږی (wáẓ̌ay)	سنبله (sumbulá)	Virgin	August September
تله (tәlá)	میزان (mizā́n)	Libra	September October	30 days
لړم (laṛám)	عقرب (aqráb)	Scorpio	October November
لنده, لینده (lindá)	قوس (qaus)	Sagittarius	November December
لندۍ, لیندۍ (lindә́y)
مرغومی (marghúmay)	جدی (jadí)	Capricorn	December January
سلواغه (salwāghá)	دلو (dawl)	Aquarius	January February
کب (kab)	حوت (hat)	fishes	February March	29 days (30 days in a leap year)

The English month names are rewritten for the European month names.
Afghan	translation
جنوري (jánwari)	January
فبروري (fábruari)	February
مارچ (mārč)	March
اپریل (April)	April
مې (me)	May
می (may)
جون (jun)	June
جولای (julā́y)	July
اګست (agә́st, agást)	August
سپتمبر (siptámbr)	September
سپتامبر (siptā́mbr)
اکتوبر (aktóbr)	October
نومبر (novámbr)	November
دسمبر (disámbr)	December

Days of the week

The names for the days of the week come from the Persian language.

The weekdays
Afghan	alternative	translation
هفته (haftá)	اونۍ (owәnә́y)	week
شنبه (šambá)	- Khaali	Saturday
یکشنبه (yakšambá)	اتبار (itbā́r)	Sunday
دوشنبه (dušambá)	- Gol	Monday
سه شنبه (sešambá)	نهی ورځ (nahí wradz)	Tuesday
چارشنبه (čā́ršambá)	- Shoro	Wednesday
پنجشنبه (panjšambá)	جمعې شپه (jum'é špá)	Thursday
جمعه (jum'á)	جمعې ورځ (jum'é wradz)	Friday

جمعه (jum'á), i.e. Friday, is the non-working day like Sunday in Germany and on this day the Islamic Friday prayer , the so-calledصلاة الجمعة salāt al-jumʿa (Arabic) orجمعې (ل) مونځ jum'é (l) mundz (Afghan) practiced.

Date

Date
Afghan	translation	annotation
نېټه (neṭá)	Date, period	Used to indicate the date.
په… کښی (pə ... ki)	at the...	کښی (ki) can also be missing.
کال (kāl)	year
سن (san)		This word occurs occasionally for “year”.

Abbreviations to clarify different calendar systems
Afghan	Short for …	Calendar system	Position in the sentence
هـ ، ق	هجری قمری (hijrí-yi qamarí)	Moon hijra	All three abbreviations are written after the year when used. This abbreviation and the year are often written in round brackets.
هـ ، ش	هجری شمسی (hijrí-yi šamsí)	Sun hijra
ع	عیسوی (isawí)	Christian (Gregorian)

Time

Indication of the time
Afghan	translation	annotation
بجه (bajá)	Clock (time)
ساعت (sā'át)	Hour (period)
دقیقه (daqiqá)	minute
ثانیه (sāniyá)	second
نیم (nim)	half	Masculine form
نیمه (níma)		Feminine form
پاو (pāo, pāu)	quarter
څلورمه برخه (calorә́ma barxá)
دپاسه (dәpā́sa)	to	on it (literally)
باندی (bā́ndi)	to
بالا (bālā́)	to	over, more, higher
کم (came)	in front	little (literally)
پر (pәr)	around
په (pә)
له… څخه… تېره دی (lә ... cxa… téri di)	since .... have ... passed
ته… پاتی دی… (… ta ... pā́ti di)	Until ... are ... left	before ته (ta) there is the full hour (obliquus) and after ته (ta) there is the time, how much is left on the full hour.

Dimensions and currencies

Length measure
Afghan	translation	annotation
سانتیمتر (sāntimétr)	centimeter	Metric measures of length
متر (metr, mitr)	meter
میټر (miṭár)
کیلو متر (kilometer)	kilometre
د جریب ګز (də jaríb gaz)	0.74 m	Native measurements of length
ګز جریب (gaz-i jaríb)
د معمار ګز (də mi'mār gaz)	0.84 m
ګز معمار (gaz-i mi'mār)
د شاه ګز (də šāh gaz)	1,066 m
ګز شاه (gaz-i šāh)
دست (dast)	Hand length	Measures of length derived from body parts
وجب (wajáb)	A hand's breadth
قدم (qadám)	step
سپک (sәpák)	about 4 fingers wide
فرسخ (farsáx)	one hour (6–8 km)	Distance
فرسنګ (farsáng)

Area measure
Afghan	translation	annotation
مربع متر (murabbá 'metr)	square meters	Metric square measure
جریب (jaríb)	approx. 20 - 23 ares (1 acre = 2,000 - 2,300 m²)	Local area measurements
طناب (tanā́b)
بسوه (biswá)	${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{20}}}$ jaríb = approx. 1 ar (100 m²)
قلبه (qulbá)	approx. 12 hectares (12,000 m²)

Weight measure
Afghan	translation	annotation
کیلو ګرام (kilogrā́m)	kilogram	Metric weight measure
ټن (ṭan)	ton
مثقال (misqā́l)	approx. 4.6 g	Native weight measure
پاو (pā́u)	441.6 g (about one pound )
سیر (sir)	7.066 kg
چارک (čā́rák)	1.767 kg ( Sir) ${\displaystyle {\tfrac {1}{4}}}$
من (man)	7.26 kg (in Herat )
	32 kg (in Peshawar )
	56.5 kg (in Kabul )
خروار (xarwā́r)	approx. 565 kg

currency
Afghan	translation
افغنۍ (afghāní)	Afghani
پول (pul)	Pulse (100 pulse = 1 afghani)
روپۍ (rupә́y)	Rupee (formerly also the Afghan currency)
لیره (líra)	Pound Sterling
دلار (dalā́r)	dollar
روبل (rúbәl)	ruble
مارک (mā́rk)	mark

Adverbial determination

Adverbial determination
Semantic categorization	Afghan	translation
Local adverbs	دلته (dә́lta)	here
	هلته (hálta)	there
	کښته (kṣ̌ә́ta)	below
	پورته (pórta)	up, up
	مخ ته (mǝx ta)	front
	شاته (šā́ta)	back
	باندی (bā́ndi)	thereon
	لاندی (lā́ndi)	underneath
	دننه (dәnә́na)	inside, inside
	د باندی (dәbā́ndi)	outside, outside
	لوړ (lwaṛ)	high
	لری (líri)	far, far
	لیری (líri)
	نژدې (nәẓ̌dé)	Near
	کره (kará)	to / home
Temporal adverbs	وړمه ورځ (wәṛmә́ wrádz)	the day before yesterday
	پرون (parún)	yesterday
	نن (nәn)	today
	سبا (sabā́)	tomorrow
	بل سبا (bә́l sabā́)	day after tomorrow
	پخوا (pәxwā́)	earlier, before
	اوس (os)	now
	پس (pas)	after that
	وروسته (wrústa)
	سهار (sahā́r)	in the morning (the morning)
	څاښت (cāṣ̌t)	morning (the morning)
	ماپښين (māpṣ̌ín)	noon (the noon)
	مازديګر (māzdigár)	afternoon (the afternoon)
	مازيګر (māzigár)
	ماښام (māṣ̌ā́m)	in the evening (the evening)
	ماخستن (māxustán)	at night (the night)
	هر وخت (har waxt)	at any time
	هیڅکله (hickәla)	No way
	هیڅ وخت (hic waxt)
Modal adverbs	لا (lā)	yet
	ډېر (ḍer)	very much
	زيات (ziyā́t)
	لږ (lә́ẓ̌)	little
	کم (came)
	تل (tәl)	always
	بيا (biyā́)	again
	یوازی (yawā́zi)	only alone
	البته (albattá)	certainly
	ګوندې (ground)	maybe
	شاید (šāyád)
	دغسی (dághasi)	such; so; such a
	هسی (hási)	like those / -r
	ژر (žәr)	fast
	ورو (wro)	slowly
	کرار (karār)
	غلط (ghalát)	not correct
	سم (sam)	right, straight
	ښه (ṣ̌ә)	Well
	بد (bad)	bad
Interrogative adverbs	څنګه (cә́nga)	how
	چيری (číri)	where)
	جېرته (čérta)
	ولی (wáli)	Why
	کله (kә́la)	when
	څه وخت (cә́ waxt)
	څه مهال (cә́ mahā́l)
	د کمه (dә kә́ma)	where from

Elements of other languages

There are many elements of other languages ​​in Pashto, especially Arabic and Persian elements , but also foreign words of European origin. In the meantime, the foreign words are supplemented by Pashtun words that were introduced by the " Pashto Tolana " (پښتو ټولنه).

Basics of the Arabic language

To facilitate the use of Arabic words in Pashto, one should understand the basics of Arabic grammar . Arabic words do not include the specific Pashtun letters such as B. چ (č) and ښ (ṣ̌). Words of Arabic origin can often be recognized by the occurrence of ث (s) ص (s) ض (z) ط (t) ظ (z) ف (') ع (f) ق (q) as well as أ, ؤ and ـة.

Most Arabic words have a basic structure of three consonants, from which words with different meanings are created by adding affixes and vowels .

Example of the Arabic scaffolding consonant کتب "to write" and some derivations
Arabic	translation
کتاب (kitā́b)	the book
کتابی (kitā́bí)	Books, books
کاتب (kātíb)	Clerk; writing
مکتب (maktúb)	Place where you write; school
مکاتبه (mukātabá)	Correspondence

Formation of different parts of speech through affixes and / or vowels to the Arabic framework consonants
Formation of...	Affixes and vocalization	Examples	translation
Present participle	ـاـ (-ā-i-)	حاکم (hākím)	ruling; the governor
		قاتل (qātíl)	murdering; the killer
active present participle	مـ (mu-) with doubling of the second consonant (mu-a - í-)	معلم (mu'allím)	teaching; the teacher
		محصل (muhassíl)	receiving, studying; the student
passive present participle	مـ (mu-) with doubling of the second consonant (mu-a - á)	مفصل (mufassál)	in-depth, detailed
		مکمل (mukammál)	completed, complete
Past participle	مـ (ma-) and ـوـ (-u-) before the last consonant	مکتوب (maktúb)	written; letter
		معلوم (ma'lúm)	known
Nouns	تـ (ta-) and ي (-í-) before the last consonant	تعليم (ta'lím)	Lessons, education
		تصديق (tasdíq)	confirmation
Nouns of intention or of will	استـ (isti-) and ـاـ (-ā́-) before the last consonant	استقلال (istiqlā́l)	independence
		استعمار (isti'mā́r)	colonialism
Nouns of intention or of will with a feminine ending	استـ (isti-) and ـاـ (-ā́-) before the last consonant; Ending ـه (-á) or ـت (-át)	استفاده (istifādá)	Use
		استراحت (istirāhát)	recreation
participle	مستـ (musta-) = مـ (mu-) + استـ (isti-)	مستقيم (mustaqím)	directly
		مستحصل (mustahsál)	produced; product
Arabic words with Afghan auxiliary verbs or suffixes as compound verbs	ـول (awә́l) or ـېدل (-edә́l)	تعليم ورکول (ta'lím war-kawә́l)	teaching
		معلومېدل (ma'lumedә́l)	become known

In addition to the Afghan plural forms mentioned above, there are also Arabic plural forms.

Important Arabic plural forms
Plural form	Example singular	Plural	Translation of the plural	annotation
ـين (-ín)	محصل (muhassíl)	محصلين (muhassilín)	the students	With masculines
	مأمور (ma'mur)	مأمورين (ma'murín)	officials
ـون (-ún)	انقلابی (inqilābi)	انقلابیون (inqilābiyún)	the revolutionaries	For substantiated adjectives ending in ـی (-i)
	اشتراکی (ištirāki)	اشتراکیون (ištirākiyún)	the socialists
ـات (-ā́t)	انتخاب (intixāb)	انتخابات (intixābā́t)	the elections	Replaces the -a (t) in feminine words of Arabic origin
	ولايت (wilāyat)	ولايات (wilāyā́t)	the provinces
ـجات (-jā́t)	مېوه (mewá)	مېوجات (mewajā́t) (= مېوې (mewe))	the fruit, the fruit	Rarely instead of ـات (-ā́t)
Broken plural forms - grouping of vowels around the framework consonants
Plural form	Example singular	Plural	Translation of the plural	annotation
اــاـ (a - ā́-)	خبر (xabar)	اخبار (axbā́r)	the news; the newspaper
	قوم (qaom)	اقوام (aqwā́m)	the people
	اثر (asár)	آثار (āsā́r)	the works	If the word begins with Alif ا (a-), then the Alif is pronounced long آ (ā-), آــاـ (ā - ā́-)
	ورق (waráq)	اوراق (aurā́q)	the leaves	If the word starts with و (w-), it becomes the diphthong او (au-), i.e. اوــاـ (au - ā́-)
	حال (hāl)	احوال (ahwā́l)	the conditions; the condition	If the middle consonant is Alif ا (-ā-), this becomes ـوـ (-w-) before the second Alif, i.e. اــواـ (a - wā́-)
ـوـ (- u-ú-)	علم ('lәm)	علوم (ulúm)	the Sciences	The first u is not written.
	حق (haq)	حقوق (huqúq)	the right
ـا (-ua-ā́)	وزير (wazír)	وزرا (wuzarā́)	the ministers	Especially Arabic words with ـيـ (-a-í-) and present participles with ـاـ (-ā-i-). The u and a of ـا (-ua-ā́) are pronounced but not spoken
	رأيس (ra'is)	رؤسا (ru'asā́)	the presidents
	عالم ('ālim)	علما (ulamā́)	the (spiritual) scholars
ـائـ (- a-ā'i-)	وسيله (wasila)	وسائل (wasā'íl)	the means	Especially feminine words with the form ـيـ ـه (-ia). Instead of ئـ ('i-) you can also use يـ.
	قبيله (qabila)	قبائل (qabā'íl)	the (nomad) tribes
Examples of other rare plural forms	عنصر (anasír)	عناصر (anāsír)	the Elements
	سلطان (saltā́n)	سلاطين (salātín)	the sultans
	اسم (asám)	اسامی (asāmí)	the names
	مطلب (matláb)	مطالب (matālíb)	the issues, the problems

There are many irregular plural forms in the Arabic language that one needs to memorize. However, the regular plural form of the Pashtun language is often formed from the Arabic singular, e.g. B. علمان (ālimā́n) "the scholars", وسلې (wasilé) "the means", مطلبونه (matlabúna) "the subjects".

Other Arabic elements in Pashto
Arabic element	example	translation	annotation
ـاً (-án)	اساساً (asāsán)	basically, in principle	Arabic adverbial formans after nouns on ـة = ـةً (-át)
	حتمن (hatmán)	absolutely
الـ (al-)	السلام عليکم (as-salā́m alaykúm)	Peace be with you!	Is that certain Arabic article. The ل (l-) is pronounced like the following consonant when it is ت ث د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ل ن.
	عبدالرؤف (Abd-ur-Ra'úf)	(masculine proper name)
	الحمدلله (al-hámdu lillā́h)	Thank God!	The ل (l-) of ال (al-) is pronounced before the other consonants
	فلان ابن الفلان (fulā́n ibn-il-fulā́n)	so and so
	بين المللی (baynu'l milalí)	international	The Alif ا (a-) of ال (al-) becomes vowelless if it is preceded by another vowel.
	بالاخره (bi'l-āxirá)	finally, finally
لا (lā) and غير (ghayr)	لامذهبی (lā-mazhabí)	Atheism, godlessness	Both are the Arabic particles of negation
	غيرعادی (ghayr-ādi)	out of the ordinary
ذو (zu-) or ذی (zi-)	ذواليد (zu'l-yád)	authorized, responsible person	Designation of possession or property
	ذی روح (zi-rúh)	animates
	ذوالقرنين (zu'l-qarnáyn)	Alexander of Macedonia (literally: the one with two horns; the two-horned)
الله (- (a) llā́h)	بسم الله ارحمان ارحيم (bismi'llā́h ar-rahmā́n ar-rahím)	In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful!	"God"
	انشا ، الله (inšā'llā́h)	God willing; give it to God
دار (dār (u) -)	دارالعلوم (dāru'l-ulúm)	academy	literally "house"
	دارالتحرير (dāru't-tahrír)	office

Persian and Pashto

The Persian language Dari is spoken and understood by a large number of people in Afghanistan .

Since there are many similarities between the Persian languages and Pashto, Pashto (Afghan) is counted as the largest member of the southeast Iranian languages in linguistics . Many Southeast Iranian languages ​​are already extinct, and many of these languages ​​are threatened with extinction due to the low number of speakers .

Examples of words with the same meaning from both languages
Words with different pronunciation
translation	Dari	Afghan
Fire	آتش (ātáš)	اور (or)
Knowledge	دانش (dāníš)	پوهه (pohá)
heart	دل (díl)	زړه (zṛә)
always	همېشه (hamešá)	تل (tәl)
Words with Similar Pronunciation ( Cognates )
translation	Dari	Afghan
hand	دست (dast)	لاس (lās)
two	دو (you)	دوه (dwa)
Day	روز (roz)	ورځ (wradz)
sleeve	استين (astín)	لستوڼی (lastóṇay)
sister	خواهر (xwār)	خور (xor)
Words from the same origin, sometimes with different pronunciations
translation	Dari	Afghan
kitchen	آشپزخانه (āšpazxana)	آشپزخانه (ašpazxana)
servant	مزدور (mazdúr)	مزدور (muzdúr)
chair	چوکی (čawkí)	څوکۍ (cawkә́y)
Syrup (juice)	شربت (šarbát)	شربت (šarbát)
cucumber	بادرنګ (bā́dráng)	بادرنګ (bā́dráng)

Persian compositional parts
Persian compositional parts	Meaning of the composition parts	Example (Afghan)	translation
ـدار (-dār)	-having	خبردار (xabardār)	careful, taking care
ـدان (-dān)	-knowing	پښتودان (paṣ̌todān)	Pashto connoisseurs
ـشناس (-šinā́s)	-knowing	حقوقشناس (huquqšinā́s)	jurist

Persian words with Izafet connections still occur occasionally. These include B. the “-i” or “-yi”, which correspond to relative pronouns and link attributes to the reference noun.

Words with Izafet connections
example	translation
طرز عمل (tarz-i amál)	Action
شورای ملی (šurā́-yi milli)	National Council
وزير دفاع (wazīr-i difā́)	Defense Minister

European words and Pashto

Most of the European words in the Pashtun language come from English, less often from French. They are mostly foreign words from the scientific and technical fields, from certain objects and international words.

Words of English origin
Afghan	translation
بوټ (buṭ)	shoe
بايسکل (bā́ysikl)	bicycle
رېل (rel)	railroad
ډاکټر (ḍā́kṭár)	Doctor, doctor
فيلالوجی / فيلالوژی (filālojí / filāloží)	philology
پاسپورټ (pāspórṭ)	Passport
ټيليفون (ṭilifún)	phone
تيليويزيون (tiliwizyón)	TV

Pashto Tolana (پښتو ټولنه)

The Pashto Tolana (پښتو ټولنه) (also known as the Afghan Language Academy) has developed many foreign words through new words of Pashtun origin, which are becoming more and more established in the Afghan population.

Examples of new Afghan words
Foreign word	New Afghan word	translation
طياره (tayyārá)	الوتکه (alwutә́ka)	plane
پايتخت (pāytáxt)	پلازمېنی (plāzménay)	Capital
ادرس (adrә́s)	پته (patá, páta)	address
ترجومه (tarjumá)	ژباړه (žbā́ṛa)	translation
امضا (imzā́)	لاسليک (lāslik)	signature
دستخط (dastxát)
اخبار (axbā́r)	ورځپاڼه (wradzpā́ṇa)	newspaper
بيوګرافی (biyogrāfí)	ژوندليک (žwandlík)	Biography, résumé
سوانح (sawāníh)
New officer ranks
-	بريدمن (brídman)	lieutenant
	تورن (turán)	Captain
	جګرن (jagrә́n)	major
	سترجنرال (stәr-janrā́l)	Army General

See also

• Pashtun script
• Afghans
• Afghanyat

literature

• Erhard Bauer: Pashto word for word - for Afghanistan & Pakistan. Rump, Bielefeld 1996, ISBN 3-89416-282-1 .
• Manfred Lorenz: Textbook of Pashto (Afghan). Verlag Enzyklopädie, Leipzig 1982, DNB 820711489 .
• Herbert Penzl: A grammar of Pashto - a descriptive study of the dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan. American Council of Learned Soc., Washington 1955.
• Herbert Penzl: A reader of Pashto - a graded introduction to the reading of Pashto texts. University of Michigan, 1965.
• Akram Malakzay: Large German-Pashto Dictionary . Buske, Hamburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-87548-516-5 .

Web links

Commons : Pashtun language  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• Pashto language profile of the UCLA Language Materials Project (English)
• Free Pashto Online Dictionaries (English)
• Free Pashto-English Dictionary (English, Pashto )
• Pashtun alphabet (English)
• Learn Pashto Language (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ UCLA Languages ​​Project: Pashto ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Ethnologue
3. ^ Encyclopedia Iranica: Pashto
4. ↑ Michael Henderson: The Phonology of Pashto. (PDF; 155 kB) (No longer available online.) University of Wisconsin Madisson, archived from the original on October 4, 2012 ; Retrieved August 20, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ Michael Henderson: Four Variaties of Pashto . In: Journal of the American Oriental Society . No. 103.595-8, 1983.
6. ↑ James Darmesteter: Chants populaires des Afghans . Paris 1890.
7. ↑ Abdul Hai Habibi: Living Pashto words in Old Persian. Pashto Academy of Kabul (Pashto Tolana), accessed September 7, 2012 . 
8. ↑ Herbert Penzl, Ismail Sloan: A Grammar of Pashto A Descriptive Study of the Dialect of Kandahar, Afghanistan . Ishi Press International, 2009, ISBN 0-923891-72-2 , pp. 210 ( online [accessed October 25, 2010] " Estimates of the number of Pashto speakers range from 40 million to 60 million ... ").
9. ↑ ^{a b} Pashto. Omniglot.com, accessed October 25, 2010 : " The exact number of Pashto speakers is not known for sure, but most estimates range from 45 million to 55 million. " 
10. ^ Gale Thomson: Countries of the World & Their Leaders Yearbook 08 . tape 2 . Indo-European Association, European Union 2007, ISBN 0-7876-8108-3 , p. 84, 828 ( books.google.com [accessed October 25, 2010]).
11. ↑ Paul M. Lewis: Pashto, Northern. In: SIL International . Ethnologue : Languages ​​of the World, Sixteenth edition, 2009, accessed on September 18, 2010 : “ Ethnic population: 49,529,000 possibly total Pashto in all countries. " 
12. ↑ ^{a b} Yahya Modarresi: Iran, Afghanistan and Tadjikistan. 1911-1916. In: Ulrich Ammon, Norbert Dittmar, Klaus J. Mattheier, Peter Trudgill (Eds.): Sociolinguistics. Vol. 3, Part. 3. De Gruyter, Berlin 2006, p. 1915.
13. ^ ^{A b} Rizwan Hussain: Pakistan and the emergence of Islamic militancy in Afghanistan . Ashgate, Burlington 2005, p. 63.
14. ^ George L. Campbell: Concise compendium of the world's languages . Routledge, London 1999.
15. ^ Louis Dupree: Language and Politics in Afghanistan. In: Contributions to Asian Studies. Vol. 11/1978, EJ Brill, Leiden 1978, pp. 131-141, p. 131.
16. ↑ Bryan Spooner: Are we teaching Persian? In: Mehdi Marashi (Ed.): Persian studies in North America: studies in honor of Mohammad Ali Jazayery. Iranbooks, Bethesda 1994, p. 1983.
17. ↑ ketabkhana.com ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) 
18. ↑ lmp.ucla.edu ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
19. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t} Manfred Lorenz: Textbook of Pashto (Afghan). Leipzig 1982.
20. ^ ALA-LC Romanization Tables
21. ^ ^{A b} D. N. MacKenzie: A Standard Pashto . Khyber.org
22. ^ Pakistani Army Accused of Wasiristan Killings of Civilians
23. ↑ Pakistan air force pounds North Wasiristan, massacring scores of civilians
24. ^ Red Cross 'gravely concerned' about conditions in Swat Valley. CNN, May 31, 2009, accessed March 26, 2011 . 
25. ↑ Protracted relief emergency feared in Pakistan as 3.4 million flee conflict areas. Ekklesia, June 1, 2009, accessed April 19, 2014 . 
26. ^ Rozi Khan Burki: Dying Languages; Special focus on Ormuri . Originally published in the Pakistan Journal of Public Administration; Volume 6. No. 2 in December 2001. Khyber.ORG .
27. ↑ George Morgenstierne : AFGHANISTAN vi. Paṧto . December 15, 1983. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
28. ↑ de.pons.eu
29. ↑ deutsch.lingolia.com
30. ↑ khpalapashtu.com