The dutar (also dotar; Persian: دوتار‎, romanized: dutâr; Russian: Дутар; Tajik: дутор; Uighur: دۇتتار, romanized: Duttar; Uzbek: dutor; simplified Chinese: 都塔尔; traditional Chinese: 都塔爾; pinyin: Dū tǎ ěr; Dungan: Дутар) is a traditional long-necked two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. Its name comes from the Persian word for "two strings", دوتار do tār (< دو do "two",تار tār "string"), although the Herati dutar of Afghanistan has fourteen strings. When played, the strings are usually plucked by the Uyghurs of Western China and strummed and plucked by the Tajiks, Turkmen, Uzbeks. Related instruments include the Kazakh dombra. The Dutar is also an important instrument among the Kurds of Khorasan amongst whom Haj Ghorban Soleimani of Quchan was a noted virtuoso. In Kurdish one w