Hazara

American  

[huh-zahr-uh] / həˈzɑr ə /

noun

• Hazara,
  plural
• Hazaras
  plural

1. an Iranian ethnolinguistic group in central Afghanistan, north Pakistan, and Iran, most of whom are Shiʿite Muslims.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Hazara
  plural
• Hazaras
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Hazara

From Persian hazār “a thousand, a military unit of a thousand soldiers,” from Middle Persian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hazara Hazaras

The city grabbed international attention in 2001, when the Sunni Pashtun Taliban authorities destroyed two large Buddha statues cherished by the predominantly Shia Hazara community in the region.

From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026

She is a Pakistani Hazara and has been offering legal aid to many who have been arrested and threatened with deportation in the last few weeks.

From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2023

For example, I advocate on behalf of a group of Hazara women who previously worked in the security sector.

From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2023

The Hazara Express was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when 10 cars derailed near the Sarhari railway station off Nawabshah, said senior railway officer Mahmoodur Rehman Lakho.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 6, 2023

Used to sing too, over the hissing of the iron, sang old Hazara songs about tulip fields.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Under the previous Afghan government, Hazaras found new opportunities.

From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2023

The education center targeted Friday is in the Kabul neighborhood of Dashti Barchi, where many of the residents are Hazaras.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2022

But few Hazaras expect the Taliban to find the perpetrators, or to stop more attacks.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 30, 2022

Mohammad and his family are Hazaras, an ethnic minority that is overwhelmingly Shi'ite Muslim.

From Reuters ● Sep. 8, 2022

The following week, after class, I showed the book to my teacher and pointed to the chapter on the Hazaras.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini