[8] Pothwari (پوٹھواری), also spelt Potwari, Potohari and Pothohari (پوٹھوہاری),[9] is spoken in the north-eastern portion of Pothohar Plateau of northern Punjab,[10] an area administratively within Rawalpindi division.

[12] Pothwari extends southwards up to the Salt Range, with the city of Jhelum marking the border with Majha dialect.

[13] In Attock and Talagang districts of Pothohar, it comes in contact with other Lahnda varieties, namely Chacchi, Awankari and Ghebi.

[17] Mirpuris possess a strong sense of Kashmiri identity that overrides linguistic identification with closely related groups outside Azad Kashmir, such as the Pothwari Punjabis.

[18] The Mirpur region has been the source of the greater part of Pakistani immigration to the UK, a process that started when thousands were displaced by the construction of the Mangla Dam in the 1960s and emigrated to fill labour shortages in England.

[19] The British Mirpuri diaspora now numbers several hundred thousand, and Pahari has been argued to be the second most common mother tongue in the UK, yet the language is little known in the wider society there and its status has remained surrounded by confusion.

For example, on the road from Murree northwest towards the city of Abbottabad, Pahari gradually changes into Hindko between Ayubia and Nathiagali.

[26] A closely related dialect is spoken across the Jhelum River in Azad Kashmir, north of the Mirpuri areas.

The latter name has been variously applied to either the Chibhali variety specific to the district of Poonch,[29] or to the dialect of the whole northern half of Azad Kashmir.

[37] Pahari is also spoken further east across the Line of Control into the Pir Panjal mountains in Indian Jammu and Kashmir.

The population, estimated at 1 million,[38] is found in the region between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers: most significantly in the districts of Poonch and Rajouri, to a lesser extent in neighbouring Baramulla and Kupwara,[39] and also – as a result of the influx of refugees during the Partition of 1947 – scattered throughout the rest of Jammu and Kashmir.

Labour shortages after World War II, and the displacement of peoples caused by the construction of the Mangla Dam, facilitated extensive migration of Pahari-Pothwari speakers to the UK during the 1950s and 1960s, especially from the Mirpur District.

Academics estimate that between two thirds and 80% of people officially classified as British Pakistanis originate as part of this diaspora, with some suggesting that it is the second most spoken language of the United Kingdom, ahead of even Welsh, with hundreds of thousands of speakers.

Examples: ہالا فیر کے آخیا ہیس/ہس؟ ہالا مُڑکی آکھیُس؟ ہالا مُڑ کی آکھیا سُو؟ اچھا فیر کی اکھیا سُو؟ ہتھّ پَیر بھجّے / ترُٹّے نی؟ ہتھّ پَیر بھجّے نی؟ ہتھّ پَیر بھجّے نی؟ (یا ٹُٹّے) ایہہ میں تہاڑے واسطے آݨنا ای ایہہ میں تیرے واسطے لیاندا ای ایہہ میں تیرے واسطے آݨدا ای روٹی کھادی نے؟ روٹی کھادی ہِنے؟ روٹی کھادی جے؟ اتنا وی نہیں٘س آخیا ایتݨاں وی نِسُو آکھیا اِنّا وی نہیں آکھیا سُو A peculiar feature of Pahari-Pothwari is to end the basic root form of verbs with an "i" sound.

This is common in Majhi (e.g: Noor Jehan's "chann māhi teri rāh pyi takkni ãã) and as well as in Jhangochi, Shahpuri, etc "tusā̃ báhū̃ changā kamm karne ò pa'e", meaning "you (plural/sing.

[55] It should also be noted that in Pahari-Pothwari, the present form of verb does not end with the standard dā sound either, and is replaced with nā.

For example: The dative and definite object marker in Pothwari is kī (ਕੀ /کی) as opposed to nū̃ (ਨੂੰ / نوں) in standard Punjabi.

[56] Similarly, Pothwari, Majhi and other western Punjabi dialects use "yārā̃" (یاراں) for "gyarā̃" (گیاراں), "trei" (ترئی) for "tei" (تئی) "panji" (پنجِی) for "pachchi" (پچّی) and "trih" (ترِیہہ) for "tih" (تِیہہ), for the numbers 11, 23, 25, and 30.

Some words unique to Pothohari include: Names of body parts are the same throughout Punjabi dialects with minimal differences.

(e.g.: vikhālṇā) Not all causative verbs are formed like this, e.g. to play -kheṛṇā to khaṛāṇa, Commonly observed in the Lahnda dialects is the use of ghinṇā (گھِننا)[59][60] and ānṇā (آننا)[61][62] instead of the eastern Punjabi words laiṇā (لَینا) and lyāṇā (لیانا).