Symbols
63Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
Indus Kohistani is written right to left in Arabic script; these are the Urdu letters it shares, in Urdu order. It has further letters not shown here and no single agreed spelling yet. Letters marked "Arabic words" sound like a neighbour and mostly appear in borrowed religious and learned words; آ and ئ sit with the letter they are built on, ں and ھ with ن and ہ.
Vowel marks (aʿrāb)
Usually left out, as in Urdu; useful for spelling out an unfamiliar Kohistani word. Each sits on the letter before it.
Punctuation
Urdu punctuation: the dash-like ۔ ends a sentence; ، ؛ ؟ face right to left.
The Eastern Arabic digits used in Urdu-script text; plain 0–9 are just as common.
Currency
Prices in Kohistan are in Pakistani rupees, written Rs, ₨ or روپے.
Where it's spoken
CLDR places all its speakers in Pakistan.
On the map
Loading…
The Indus Kohistani language and its name
Indus Kohistani is a Dardic language of the Indo-Aryan family, spoken in the mountains along the west bank of the Indus in Kohistan, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Kohistan is Persian for "land of mountains", and the name is used for more than one valley, so "Kohistani" can mean several different languages. Indus Kohistani is the one spoken along the west bank, with settlements around Pattan and Jijal. Kalam Kohistani, also called Kalami or Gawri, is spoken in the upper Swat valley, and Shina, a separate Dardic language, is also spoken in parts of Kohistan; the "Kohistani Shina" people search for is that Shina.
Speakers call their language Kostayn; Maiyã and Shuthun were names used by early researchers, but are not confirmed locally. CLDR, the Unicode project's language database, keeps no letter list for Indus Kohistani, so this page gathers common Urdu letters, but the Arabic-based orthography also includes characters distinct from Urdu and Pashto.
The Indus Kohistani alphabet in Arabic script
Indus Kohistani is written right to left in Arabic script. Its orthography includes characters distinct from Urdu and Pashto, so the Urdu letters collected on this page represent only the script it shares with those languages, not the complete Kohistani alphabet.
Indus Kohistani orthography has letters of its own beyond those it shares with Urdu, so the examples here do not show its full spelling system. Language-specific characters are part of the developed Arabic-based orthography.
In Urdu, short vowels are often left unwritten; zabar َ, zer ِ and pesh ُ can mark them, while jazm ْ and tashdīd ّ are Urdu spelling marks. These Urdu marks do not form a complete Kohistani spelling system. The page also includes Arabic-script punctuation ۔, ،, ؛ and ؟, plus Urdu digits ۰ ۱ ۲ ۳ ۴ ۵ ۶ ۷ ۸ ۹ or plain 0–9.
How to type the Kohistani language alphabet
An Indus Kohistani keyboard for Android has been released by the Forum for Language Initiatives on Google Play; an Urdu keyboard can type shared letters but does not cover the full Kohistani orthography. Windows: add Urdu under Settings › Time & language › Language & region and switch with Win Space. Mac: add Urdu in System Settings › Keyboard › Input Sources. Phones: add the Urdu keyboard in Gboard or in the iPhone keyboard settings and switch with the globe key.
In Microsoft Word you can type a code and press Alt X: 0679 for ٹ, 0688 for ڈ, 0691 for ڑ, 06BE for ھ, 06BA for ں and 06D2 for ے. On the web the same letters can be written as HTML entities, such as ٹ for ٹ. Or simply tap any letter on this page to copy it.
Where the Indus Kohistani language is spoken
Pakistan's 2023 census recorded roughly a million people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the broader mother-tongue label “Kohistani”; it did not give a separate total for Indus Kohistani. Their homeland lies along the west bank of the Indus, mainly in Lower Kohistan, from just below Dasu southward; the Karakoram Highway runs through it, past Dasu and Pattan. Most Kohistanis are Sunni Muslims, and many also speak Pashto, the main language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Urdu, the language of school, media and government, and Kohistani has borrowed many Urdu, Persian and Arabic words.
For the full Urdu alphabet see the Urdu collection; Pashto, Khowar, Northern Hindko and Gujari are other languages of northern Pakistan with their own pages, and the Pakistan collection covers the country's emoji. Prices in Kohistan are in Pakistani rupees, written Rs or .
How to use them
5 situationsClick to copyIndus Kohistani Language Alphabet combos
11Worth knowing
- At least three different languages of northern Pakistan are called "Kohistani", because Kohistan, "land of mountains", names several valleys: Indus Kohistani, Kalam Kohistani of upper Swat, and the Shina spoken in Kohistan.
- Speakers call their language Kostayn; Maiyã and Shuthun were names used by early researchers, but are not confirmed locally.
- The Karakoram Highway, one of the highest paved international roads in the world, follows the Indus straight through the Indus Kohistani homeland on its way to China.
Questions people ask
6What script is the Kohistani language written in?
Indus Kohistani is written right to left in an Arabic-based orthography that includes characters distinct from Urdu. This page includes shared Urdu letters, but not every character in the language's writing system.
Does Kohistani have its own alphabet?
An Arabic-script orthography has been developed with characters distinct from Urdu and Pashto. This page contains common Urdu letters, not the complete Kohistani inventory.
Is Kohistani the same as Shina?
No. Indus Kohistani and Shina are both Dardic languages and are spoken side by side in parts of Kohistan, but they are separate languages; "Kohistani Shina" means the Shina spoken in Kohistan.
Is Kohistani related to Urdu?
Yes, distantly: both are Indo-Aryan languages, but Kohistani belongs to the Dardic group of the northern mountains. It borrows many Urdu, Persian and Arabic words and uses an Arabic-based writing system with characters distinct from Urdu and Pashto.
Where is the Indus Kohistani language spoken?
Along the west bank of the Indus in Kohistan, from just below Dasu to Ranolia, especially around settlements such as Pattan, Jijal, Duber, Kandia and Seo. The 2023 Pakistan census recorded roughly a million people under the broader category “Kohistani,” with no separate Indus Kohistani total.
How do I type Kohistani on my phone?
On Android you can install the Indus Kohistani keyboard from the Forum for Language Initiatives on Google Play, which includes characters beyond Urdu. An Urdu keyboard covers shared characters only; tap a letter here to copy it.
