Khowar is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 250,000 native speakers in Chitral, which is in the far North West corner of Pakistan.

Khowar has 42 phonemes, including 5 vowels. Several of the phonemes are not found in any other language of the region. The letters /t/, /th/, /d/, /l/, /sh/, /ch/, /chh/, and /j/ all have two different forms, one retroflexed and the other dential-veolar non-retroflexed. Every Chitrali who learned the language on his mother's knee can readily distinguish these forms, whereas others can never learn them, regardless of how long they have lived in Chitral. There are four different kinds of CH sounds, plus a similar TS sound and two different SH sounds.

Among these, the most interesting are the /chh/ aspirated and /ch/ non-aspirated sounds, of which the word Chitral itself is an example. This word is never pronounced correctly by outsiders. The word "chuchi" meaning "tomorrow morning" has two completely different 'ch' sounds. The first is aspirated palato-alveolar and the second is unaspirated palato-alveolar. "Chuy" meaning "night" is palato-alveolar whereas "chuy" meaning "hungry" is retroflex. "Char" meaning "a cliff" is unaspirated palato-alveolar whereas "char" meaning "a dry leaf" is unaspirated retroflex.

Because there are 42 phonemes, it would be difficult to write Khowar in the Roman alphabet, which has only 26 letters. The Roman alphabet is still more suitable that the Urdu alphabet, but, nevertheless, for religious reasons, most efforts have been made to write Khowar in the Urdu alphabet, by adding dots to the bottoms of several Urdu letters. These efforts have not met with much success, however, and Khowar remains primarily an unwritten language. No major book has been translated into Khowar.

Due to the winding nature of the valleys in Chitral, there is no word for "north" or "south" in Khowar. There is also no distinction between "he" and "she" in Khowar.

Here is a short sample list of more than 500 Khowar words, which gives examples of the difficult phonemes.

abi ........... irrigated land
achi ........... go away!
ademzada ........... an aristocrat, a member of the ruling class of Chitral
Alghaniwar ........... the Pashtu language
amadan ........... income
ambokhchan ........... a co-wife
anus ........... day
asum ........... I am
asumi ........... you (plural) are
asuni ........... they are
asur ........... he, she is
asur (short vowel) .......... ice formed from frozen water
asus ........... you are
asusi ........... we are
awa ........... I
awrat ........... a woman
awratani ........... menstrual period
ayh ........... up
ayh korik ........... to push up
ayi ........... a snake
aynak ........... eyeglasses
ayukun ........... eggs
azhik ........... to be born
baghatam ........... I went
baghay ........... he went
bah ........... a kiss
bah bos ........... Let me kiss you!
bahder ........... brave
bakh ........... a cave
balah ........... a ghost
Balghamzhuni ........... the name of a demon who takes away the lives of young babies
baliyak ........... a person who is stronger than his enemy
balu ........... fur which has been shed
band ........... closed
banj ........... a holly oak tree
bap ........... grandfather
bas bik ........... to spend the night
bashaleni ........... a house where Kalash women sit during menstrual periods or in labor
bashir ........... it rains
bathan ........... native country
bazuband ........... the wrist
be ........... without
belu ........... a unit of weight
beluw ........... a flute
beysh ........... a lamb
bezemik ........... to sell
bi (long) ........... seed
bi (short)........... going
bik ........... to go
biko ........... right!
bim ........... I will go
birmogh ........... walnut
bisa ........... Are you going?
bishir ........... twenty
bizbar ........... a vulture
bo ........... many
boghdu ........... they went
boghe ........... go away!
bok ........... wife
bokht ........... a rock, a stone
bolmuzhi ........... an earthquake
bom ........... I can
bond ........... a bridge consisting of a few logs
bong ........... hashish
boni ........... they will become
bos ........... Be! (imperative)
botik ........... to bind, to tie up
boy ........... he will become
brar ........... brother
brargini ........... brothers
brik ........... to die
bu ........... an owl
Budalak ........... a Kalash religious festival
bukhtuyak ........... a coward
bulbul ........... a nightingale
bum ........... land, the earth
but ........... shoe
chachk ........... a type of wasp
chafdik ........... to peck as a bird does
chamut ........... finger
chan ........... naked
chan (retroflex) ........... a leaf
Chanchori Mas ........... the month of October
chani ........... a baby goat
changik ........... to lie
chaqu ........... a knife
char ........... a cliff
char ........... a dry leaf
char ........... dry
charbu ........... a village headman
charwelu ........... a local government official
chik ........... to be finished
chhir ........... milk
chhirnan ........... a wet-nurse
chhirzhaw ........... a foster child
chhor ........... four
chhoy ........... six
chibi ........... a path to water
chichibon ........... a chickadee, a type of bird
chichik ........... to learn
chik ........... to be ended
Chitrar ........... Chitral
chogh ........... a switch
chong ........... the clitoris
chuchi ........... tomorrow morning
chum hosik ........... to smile
chuy ........... night
chuy ........... hungry
dalum ........... a pomegranate
dami ........... a baby horse, a foal
dang kol ........... the ankle
dani ........... a melody
daq ........... a boy
daqan ........... boys
daray ........... a type of mat for the floor
dartochak ........... a carpenter
dasparan ........... the mating of horses
dat ........... a pit
dek ........... leg
dew ........... a genie
dik ........... to give
dodor ........... a lizard
dohn ........... ghee
dok ........... a hill, a heap
dok korik ........... to carry on the back
dom ........... I give, I beat
don ........... a tooth
dor ........... cellar
doy ........... He will give, He will beat
drang ........... the vulva
drohanu ........... a rainbow
drokhum ........... silver
drukhik ........... to itch
drung ........... long
duderi ........... far
duk ........... a fine. Among Kalash, the double amount a man pays if he takes away another's wife
dukan ........... a shop
dumik ........... to card wool
dundik ........... to weave a carpet
dur ........... house
e ........... hey!
faqat ........... only
fayda ........... advantage
fil ........... elephant
gadiri ........... crazy
gah ........... a female yak
garam ........... warm
ghal ........... polo
ghalamus ........... a low class person
ghech ........... eye
gharib ........... destitute
ghot ........... dumb, unable to speak
gohl ........... the throat
gohl ........... a gully, a valley
gom ........... I will come
gomit ........... brother-in-law
gordogh ........... a donkey
gordoghzheri ........... a baby donkey
gosh ........... dough
gosnala ........... a filthy room, a place where dirt is thrown
grinj ........... rice in a field
gur ........... late
gut ........... a pony
hal ........... a goal in polo
hamal ........... pregnancy
hanu ........... a scabbard, a sheath for holding a sword
hanun ........... today
har ........... every
haramzada ........... a bastard
hardi ........... the heart
hatam ........... I came
hatera ........... there
hatet ........... they (far away or absent)
haya ........... here
helu ........... whey
hes ........... he, she
him ........... snow
him doyan ........... It is snowing
himdoyu ........... a person who carries snow
hon ........... a flood
hoq ........... a giant
hor ........... very beautiful
i ........... one
imdad ........... help
ishkama ........... the stomach, the belly
ishperu ........... white, gray, fair
iskim ........... silk
ispa ........... we, our
ispagh ........... a pauper
ispashur ........... father-in-law
ispusar ........... sister
istor ........... horse
jaam ........... good, yes
jamar ........... son-in-law
jangali ........... wild, a wild or course person
janjal ........... a fight, interference
jip kasiyak ........... a jeep driver
jjenjjer ........... a chain
johju ........... twelve
josh ........... fodder
josh ........... ten
joshi ........... eleven
ju ........... two
jubishir ........... forty
jubishir josh ........... fifty
juboki ........... a bigamist, a man with two wives
junali ........... the polo grounds
juwari ........... corn
ka ........... Who?
kacha ........... the covering of a well
kachgoghu ........... a silkworm
kagh ........... a crow, a type of bird
kahdat ........... a wish, a desire
kahdu ........... calabash
kahlaw ........... a mouse
kalapat ........... How long?
kam ........... How many? kan ........... a tree
kapal ........... the head, the skull
kara ........... Who?
karbeli ........... brown
kay ........... sister
kaygini ........... sisters
kham ........... the palate
khat ........... a letter, mail
khawsik ........... to request
khilik ........... a hiccup
khodba ........... a marriage contract
khonza ........... queen
ki ........... if
kicha ........... how?
kimeri ........... a woman
klup ........... a pock on the face
komiyat ........... a tribe
kopes ........... the headgear worn by Kalash women
korak ........... one who does
korik ........... to do
korom ........... I do
korur ........... a boil
korur ........... ten million
kos ........... Whom?
krenj ........... a wrinkle
kruy ........... red
kulum ........... deep
kumal ........... a chimney, a skylight
kumoru ........... a girl
kumoru aluweik ........... to lure a girl into marriage
kumoru korak ........... a playboy, a Casanova
kura ........... Where?
kurkun ........... the elbow, an outside corner
kuru ........... a field
kushik ........... to kill for food, to slaughter
kushkomul ........... the armpit
kuy ........... where?
kyobachen ........... for what?
laghal ........... lapis lazuli
lakhe ........... Let me
leshu ........... a cow
loh ........... a red hot piece of metal
lot ........... big
lothoro ........... elder
low ........... a fox
lu ........... a language, a word
lu dik ........... to speak
ma ........... my
ma gani alos ........... Marry me!, Take me away!
machih ........... honey
madiyan ........... a mare, a female horse
magas ........... a fly, flies
malang mosh ........... a mentally defective person
malosh ........... a Kalash sacrificial alter
malum ........... awareness
mama ........... mother's brother, maternal uncle
mana ........... forbidden
manhus ........... a evil or ominous
maqsum ........... an innocent boy
marach ........... mulberry
marak ........... a murderer
marik ........... to kill
masum ........... with me
matsi ........... fish
mekh ........... a nail
mergi ........... epilepsy
meskin ........... a person whose mother has died
mik (long) ........... uncle
mik (short) ........... to urinate
mo boghe ........... Do not go!
moko ........... Please don't
moroy ........... deer
mosh ........... a man, a husband
mosh korak ........... a prostitute
mosha boghdu ........... an unchaste woman
mosim ........... the weather
mul ........... a bed made from hay
mula ........... under
mulan ........... lower
naf ........... the navel
nah ........... a trough, an aqueduct
nahang ........... an ogre
nahush ........... an ignorant child
nakh ........... a floor, the place in the house where the mul is located
nakhsha ........... a map
nakht ........... a legitimate child
nal ........... a horseshoe
nal ........... a rice paddy
nal chakiyak ........... a blacksmith
nal dik ........... to plant rice
nan ........... mother
napateli ........... a virgin
negzan ........... a virgin
nikanama ........... a marriage certificate
niki ........... there is not
nishe ........... Sit down!
nisik ........... to appear, to ascend, to recover, to ruse as the sun or moon
niskar ........... the nose
niweshik ........... to write
no ........... no, denial, refusal
nogh ........... new, fresh, a new moon
noghor ........... a fort, the royal palace
nola ........... Please, no!
nuqsan ........... an accident, an injury
nuwes ........... a niece or nephew on the brother's side
nuzhan ........... strange, wonderful, unknown, a stranger in a country
nyuf ........... nine
obritay ........... he died
och ........... green
ochro ........... blue or gray eyes
ohts ........... a bear
olin ........... millet, a type of grain
omidwar ........... pregnant
ondogh ........... a dive into a river
ongolik ........... to mimic
oq ........... vomit
oraru ........... sleep
oreik ........... to sleep
oseni ........... handkerchief
osht ........... eight
oyowa ........... Did you eat?
paga ........... a race
paht ........... a furrow
pakhti ........... rice ready to eat
pakol ........... a Chitrali-style round cap
palogh ........... an apple
paloghan ........... the apples
panir ........... cheese
pap ........... the breast
par ........... away
par ganik ........... to take away
paranu ........... old
parashkoti ........... a catamite
parcham ........... the bangs of hair
pardah ........... the hymen, the maidenhead
pardanj ........... a camouflage used in hunting
pardik ........... to push
pari ........... a fairy
parikan ........... an exorcist
parir ........... he will fall asleep
Parun ........... a mythical village, said to have existed in what is now Nuristan
parwana ........... a moth
pariyan ........... fairies
pata niki ........... I don't know, It is not known
pathranzk ...........a scarecrow
patingel ........... tomato
pazhal ........... a shepherd, a herdsman
pech ........... hot
petsik ........... to leave behind, to give up, to shoot a gun
phal ........... the blade of a plow
phan ........... the hand, the palm of the hand
phat ........... half, a half hour, a part
phati ........... some
phatuki ........... a half moon
pherwanu ........... a fireplace, a hearth
Phething Mas ........... December
phi ........... a wooden spade
phik ........... quiet
phonik ........... to dance
phuk ........... a baby
phur ........... the summit, the top of a hill
pigish ........... a goatee, a small beard
pik ........... to drink
pilili ........... an ant
plinj ........... a polo ball
pon ........... a patch, a road
pong ........... the foot, the bottom of the valley
ponj ........... five
porik ........... to fall asleep
posh ........... dung
post ........... a skin, leather, animal hide
post wrazun ........... a bat
pot ........... a ball, a polo ball
poyi ........... a tendon
prash ........... a rib
prashal ........... a hayloft
pulmunduk ........... butterfly
pushi ........... a cat
purdum ........... a snow leopard, a probably extinct animal last seen in Chitral
qawf ........... a claw, a hook, a fork
qawm ........... a clan
qayi ........... heavy, uncondescending
qaymat ........... expensive
quma ........... a concubine
qumay ........... the mother of an illegitimate child
ragheshti ........... early in the morning
rambogh ........... black beans
ranki ........... He says that
riphe ........... Stand up!
roren ........... a nipple, a teat
rom ........... a flock, a herd
roy ........... people
rigish ........... a beard
riwish ........... grain for animals
saf ........... all
sardaway ........... an underground water tank
sareik ........... to resemble
sarhat ........... the high country, the border, the frontier
saruz ........... a juniper tree
sawz ........... green, something which is in working condition
sayi ........... soot
saza ........... punishment
ser ........... a bridge
sha ........... black
shabok ........... a bride, a bridegroom
shabok angyak ........... a matchmaker
shal ........... a barn, a shed, lice
shalak ........... a grasshopper
sham ........... evening, twilight, the sundown prayer
shangur brar ........... a brother born from the same womb
shapik ........... bread
shapir ........... a wolf
sheli ........... beautiful
shazda ........... a prince
sher ........... it is (inanimate)
shik ........... to be (inanimate)
shilogh ........... a story
shiman ........... a cloth belt
shinjur ........... a Russian olive tree
ship ........... the forearm
shokhtsik ........... to cross a pass
shor ........... one hundred
shor ........... salty
shot ........... an oath
shoy ........... close, near
shron ........... the buttocks, the hips
shum ........... bad
shunj ........... a needle
shutuk ........... the mating of cats or dogs
shutur ........... a thread
sin ........... a river
siri ........... barley
siriyay ........... bread made from barley
sora ........... next, above, over
sora bik ........... to go on top of
sora sal ........... next year
sot ........... seven
ta ........... your
tabut ........... coffin
tan ........... one's own
tat ........... father
tawan ........... extortion
tayar ........... ready
taza ........... fresh
tazim ........... thanks
tel ........... oil
Terichmir ........... the highest mountain in Chitral, 25,230 feet in elevation
teshtu ........... onion
thegar ........... afterwards
tho ........... a goat used for stud service
thor ........... falling
thul ........... fat
thurt ........... a ford
tong ........... a pear
tonj ........... lost
toq ........... a marsh
toren ........... upper
tori ........... reaching
traq ........... a crack in the ice
tringul ........... a pronged stick used for winnowing
troq ........... bitter, an intoxicant such as hashish
troy ........... three
trup ........... salt
tsapi ........... a tweezer
tseq ........... a child
tsipeik ........... to blink
tsoghu ........... an orphan
tu ........... you
tun ........... stretched
ugh ........... water
uhti anus ........... next day
ushak ........... cold
ushtureik ........... to abduct (usually a woman)
ushturik ........... to run away
ut ........... camel
wakht ........... a time
wam ........... a debt
wam dik ........... to lend
war ........... a language, Khowar is the language of the Khow tribe
waw ........... an old woman
yar ........... friend
yi ........... here
yiko ........... Give me!
yor ........... the sun
yoz ........... ice formed from snow
zhaw ........... son
zhen ........... a bed
zhur ........... daughter
zina ........... adultery
zogh ........... a yak
zom ........... mountain
zophik ........... to dig