Indo-European · ISO 639-3 glk
Gilaki Language گیلکی
Gilaki is an Indo-European language spoken by about 3.9 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Where Gilaki is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Gilaki
Language family
- Indo-European
- Classical Indo-European
- Indo-Iranian
- Iranian-Nuristani
- Iranian
- Central Iranian PBS
- Central Iranian PB
- Northwestern Iranian
- Caspian
- Gilaki-Rudbari
- Gilaki
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script
Related languages
About the Gilaki language
Gilaki (گیلکی) is spoken by about 3.9 million people, which makes it the 214th most spoken language in the world — just behind Borana-Arsi-Guji Oromo (3.9 million) and ahead of Lombard (3.9 million). It belongs to the Indo-European language family and, more precisely, to the Gilaki-Rudbari group within the Indo-Iranian branch.
Where is Gilaki spoken?
Gilaki is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Iran (4.1 million).
Gilaki is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Gilaki is written in the Perso-Arabic script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Mazanderani, Shahmirzadi, Northern Kurdish, Central Kurdish, Southern Balochi, Southern Kurdish and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 glk.
Frequently asked questions about Gilaki
How many people speak Gilaki?
Where is Gilaki spoken?
What language family does Gilaki belong to?
What is Gilaki called in Gilaki?
Is Gilaki an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.