page_title: Languages of Peru
section_title: Quechua
hierarchical_section_title: Languages of Peru / Indigenous Languages / Quechua
context_page_description: This article is part of a series on theCulture of Peru
  Norte Chico civilization 3500 BC-1800 BC
  Chavín culture 900 BC-200 BC
  Moche culture 100-700
  Tiwanaku empire 550-1000
  Wari Empire 6th century-1438
  Kingdom of Cusco 1197-1438
  Inca Empire 1438-1572
  Viceroyalty of Peru 1542-1821
  Republic of Peru 1821-present
context_section_description: Quechua is the second language of Peru, in terms of number of speakers. It is the official language in areas where it is the dominant language, even though from a linguistic point of view, it is a family of related languages. (Ethnologue assigns separate language codes to more than 25 varieties of Quechua in Peru.)
caption: Geographic distribution of the first divisions of the Quechua family