| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Baba | The father of Hassan and Amir. He is a wealthy merchant He immigrated to America after the Soviet invasion. He is a Pashtun |
| Amir | The protagonist in the book. He saw the assault on Hassan which scared his life forever. He is in America and married to Soraya and adopted Sohrab. He is a pashtun |
| Sohrab | Son of Hassan, newphew of Amir. Assualted by Assef, he was torn apart when Amir told him that Amir would take Sohrab to the orphanage |
| Ali | Hassan's "father" and Baba's "adopted brother." He had polio, which crippled one of his legs (pg.8) and makes him walk with a "sweeping arc." In the middle we find he is not really Hassan's father |
| Hassan | Amir's half-brother, servant, and friend. He was assaulted by Assef after he ran a kite for Amir. He evantually was killed by the Taliban. He is a Hazara |
| Soraya | Amir's wife, daughter of general Taheri and Khala-Jamila. She has a hooked nose and a sickle-shaped birthmark |
| Assef | A half afghan-german boy who believes in the ethnic cleansing of all hazara's in the world. He assualted Hassan and later, his son, Sohrab. He is later (presumed) killed or greviously injured after he dueled with Amir. |
| Sanaubar | Ali's wife who abandoned him after the birth of Baba and her's child, Hassan. She is said to have left with musicians and singers. Later she come back to her son, gouged instead of beautiful, and helps mantain Sohrab, until she passes away |
| Hazara | The ethnic minority of Afghanistan [9%] living in the mountains of central Afghanistan [Hazarajat]. They are geographically and culturally isolated because they live in the most rugged and least traveled mountains in the world. Predominately Shia Muslim and believe to be Hazara is to be Muslim. Mongolian features distinguish them and they are easily persecuted against. Lower/middle classes relating through family and clan groups. |
| Pashtun | A group of people living in southern Afghanistan who are traditionally nomadic, but organized through a loyalty to their individual tribes, clans or sub-clans. They are predominately followers of the Sunni-Muslim sect, meaning that they value hospitality, courage, revenge and protecting one's honor. They are "The major ethnic group in Afghanistan". Different Pashtun clans fight between each other, resulting in many deaths in Afghanistan and Pakistan. |
| Naan | type of bread |
| Kabob | cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables |
| Sherjangi | Battle of the poems |
| Rahim Khan | A buisness partner and good friend of Baba. He encouraged Amir, and suspected that Amir saw Hassan getting assaulted |
| Farid | The man who drove Amir throughout Afghanistan. He initially disliked Amir, |
| Kalashnikov | a type of submachine gun made in Russia |
| Wahid | Farid's brother, gave Amir food and defended him againist Farid's insults |
| Peshawar | city in northern Pakistan at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass |
| Kabul | the capital and largest city of Afghanistan |
| San Francisco | united states, a port in western California near the Golden Gate that is one of the major industrial and transportation centers |
| "Salaam alaykum" | "peace be with you" in Arabic; traces lineage to Christianity & Judaism |
| adobe | sun-dried brick |
| Dr. Faruqi | The name of the doctor who attended to Amir in his visit to the hospital |
| Roussi | Russian |
| Dr. Amani | The doctor who attened Baba after Babe refused doctor Schneider |
| Dr. Schneider | A doctor, born in Michigan, yet of Russian desent, so Baba, refused him |
| Kamal | A bully along with Assef, later he stops breathing and dies |
| Rio Bravo | The first western movie Hassan and Amir saw |
| kite fighting | A popular sport in Afghanistan, where the goal is to cut the oppenets kite down |
| bazaar | a street of small shops (especially in Orient) |
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