Southern Kurdish (; ), also called
Pehlewani (; ) or
Pahlawanik, is a Kurdish dialect predominantly spoken in western
Iran and eastern
Iraq. In Iran, it is spoken in the provinces of
Kermanshah (Kirmasan) and
Ilam. In Iraq it is spoken in the region of
Khanaqin (Xaneqîn), all the way to
Mandali,
Pehle. It has more than one million speakers in the city of Baghdad. It is also the dialect of the populous
Kurdish Kakayî-Kakavand tribe near
Kerkuk and most
Yarsani kurds in Kermanshah province. There are also populous diasporas of Pehlewani-speakers found in the Alburz mountains.