Pahari is closely related to Newar, and has until recently been treated in the linguistic literature as a dialect of it.

Pahari shares 55–65% of its basic vocabulary with Newar, which suggests the two are not mutually intelligible, and their speakers consider them to be separate languages.

[4] Almost all Paharis speak Nepali, while some are also fluent in the ethnic languages of their neighbours, like Tamang or Newar.

[5] Pahari speakers are most numerous in Lalitpur district, but there are also communities in nearby regions: Sindhupalchok, Makwanpur, Ramechhap, Rautahat, Sindhuli and Kavre.

[8] The word Pahari is ambiguous: it is also sometimes used in rural areas to refer to Nepali,[9] and it is the common name for several other languages of South Asia.