Tajik phrasebook
Tajik (забо́ни тоҷикӣ́ / zaboni tojikī) is the main language of Tajikistan, and is closely related to Farsi, Dari and Kurdish. It is also used by Tajik speakers in Uzbekistan, especially in the areas around Samarkand and Bukhara. Since the late 1930s, it is written using a variant of the Cyrillic script (also used by many languages spoken in the former Soviet Union, including Russian). Whether or not travellers need to learn Tajik is a matter of debate as most citizens of Tajikistan are also able to speak Russian. Nevertheless, attempting to communicate in Tajik will most certainly please the locals. The "Tajik" language in China is not mutually intelligible with the Tajik language of Tajikistan, but is at least two distinct languages in the same family, namely Sarikoli and Wakhi.
Pronunciation guideThe modern Tajik alphabet was designed by the Soviets and is a modified version of the Russian alphabet. Travellers already familiar with Russian (or with other Cyrillic alphabets) will recognize most of the characters.
Phrase listTajik is a very dialectical language. What you may use/hear in one part of the country may be unintelligible in another part.
Learning moreTajik is a dialect of Persian, and - because it uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which does denote vowels - is a good way to dip your feet in the water before transitioning to the Perso-Arabic script, which doesn't use…
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- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Tajik phrasebook" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0