Ingilizikurdi PDF

M.L.
Chyet / Em hînî Kurmancî dibin
STANDARD KURDISH ORTHOGRAPHY TABLE

h 1990 Michael L. Chyet, updated 1998, 1999
Roman (Hawar) Cyrillic Arabic

A a А a
B b Á á
C c Щ щ
Ç ç × ÷
Ç’ ç’ ×’ ч’
D d Д д
[²] [±]
E e  
‘E ‘e ’ ’
(E') (e')
Ê ê E e
F f  
G g  
H h  h
H h ’ h’
(H’) (h’)
I i  
Î î  
J j  
K k K k
K’ k’ K’ k’
L l  
— –  
M m  
N n  
O o O o
P p  
P’ p’ ’ ’
Q q Q q
R r  
R rr ’ ’
S s  
Ş ş  
[Ş/S] [ş/s]
T t  
T’ t’ ’ ’
[®/T] [/t]
U u  
Û û  
V v  
• 1 •
M.L. Chyet / Em hînî Kurmancî dibin
W w W w
X x X x
Ù x ’ ’
Y y  
Z z  
‘ ‘
• 2 •
Pronunciation Guide
Vowels
a as in father Dara ga kiras mal nav Zana
e as a in cat, but shorter ders dest ez Ferhad Leyla ser xwendekar
ê as ay in day erê kitêb nêr wê Xecê
i as first i in divine, but shorter kiras kitêb mezin min
î as i in machineBengîn enî jî kî pêçî Şîrîn tilî wî
o pronunciation varies from region to region:

may be /o/ o in bone; /û/ oo in boot
Cano mamosta Memo Zeyno
u wi as in twig, but shorter guh gund tu tune
û pronunciation varies from region to region:

may be /û/ oo in boot; /î/ i in machine; /y/ ~ /ü/ German ü in
kühl
hûn namûs piçûk pirtûk
Consonants
c as j in jack Cano Xecê
ç as ch in chat birçî çav çi Miço pêçî piçûk
‘e as Arabic H [’ayn] + e ‘enî [variant of enî] ‘Eyşan ‘eşîret ‘erebe
h as Arabic `[hÐ’] hişk Mihê
j as s in measurejî dirêj
q as Arabic ¶ [qÐf] deqe qedandin qelew qîçik quloz
r trilled as in Spanish birçî ders kiras ser xwendekar

rr, rr double trill as in Spanish perro rreş terr
• 3 •
s always unvoiced, as s in soon sivik ders pisîk
ş as ş in show hişk şil Şîrîn
x as German ch in machen Xecê xwendekar
ğ(x) as Arabic ®[ghayn] ağa Meğrebzemîn
y only used as a consonant: tilîya-- enîya--

or as the second part of a diphthong (ay, ey, oy):
Zeyno
ç, k, p, and t occur both aspirated and non-aspirated. In written Kurdish, only

Kurdish materials from the former Soviet Armenia maintain this distinction, by
adding an apostrophe after the aspirated variant of each pair, yielding:
ç [non-aspirated] - ç’ [aspirated]; k [non-aspirated] - k’ [aspirated];
p [non-aspirated] - p’ [aspirated]; t [non-aspirated] - t’ [aspirated].
This distinction will be indicated in the vocabularies only.

All other consonants as in Engliş
• 4 •
Dersa Pêşîn [1]

{Pikkert 1.12; 2.1, 2.2, 2.3}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan [proverb]: Navê gund namûsa gund e.
DIALOGUE:
I. Zeyno: Tu kî yî?
Lezgîn: Ez Lezgîn im. Tu kî yî?
Z: Ez Zeyno me.
L: Ew kî ye? Navê wî çi ye?
Z: Ew -- mamostayê min e. Navê wî Zana ye.
L: Ev kî ye?
Z: Ev hevala wî ye. Navê wê Dîlan e. Ev çi ye?
L: Ev kitêba min e.
Z: Tu xwendekar î?
L: Erê, ez xwendekar im.
Z: Dersdarê te kî ye?
L: Dersdara a min Leyla ye. Tu jî xwendekar î?
Z: Nexêr, ez dersdar im. Ez mamosta me. Bengîn kî
ye?
L: Bengîn hevalê min e. Tu dersdara min î?
Z: Nexêr. Ez dersdara Bengîn im -- ez mamostaya
wî me.
II. Dara: Ev çi ye?

Şîrîn: Ev destê te ye!
D: Lê ev çi ye?
Ş: Ev jî tilîya destê te ye.
D: Ew kî ye?
Ş: Ew hevala min e. Navê wê ‘Eyşan e.
D: ‘Eyşan kî ye?
Ş: ‘Eyşan mamostaya min e.
D: Ew çi ye?
Ş: Ew kitêba hevalê min e. Navê wî Bengîn e.
D: Lê ev çi ye?
Ş: Ew? Ew gayê wî ye!
D: Ev çi ye?
Ş: Ev kiras e.
D: Kirasê te ye?
Ş: Erê, kirasê min e.
D: Ev enîya min e?
Ş: Nexêr, ew tilîya te ye --- Ev enîya te ye!
• 5 •
DIALOGUE (translation):
I. Zeyno: Who are you?
Lezgîn: I am Lezgîn. Who are you?
Z: I am Zeyno.
L: Who is he? What is his name?
Z: He is my teacher. His name is Zana.
L: Who is this?
Z: This is his friend (f.). Her name is Dîlan. What is this?
L: This is my book.
Z: Are you a student?
L: Yes, I am a student.
Z: Who is your teacher?
L: My teacher (f.) is Leyla. Are you a student too?
Z: No, I am a teacher. I am an instructor. Who is
Bengîn?
L: Bengîn is my friend. Are you my teacher?
Z: No. I am Bengîn's teacher -- I am his instructor.
II. Dara: What is this?

Şîrîn: This is your hand!
D: But what is this?
Ş: This is the finger of (on) your hand.
D: Who is şe?
Ş: Şe is my friend. Her name is Eyşan.
D: Who is Eyşan?
Ş: Eyşan is my teacher.
D: What is that?
Ş: That is the book of my friend. His name is Bengîn.
D: But what is this?
Ş: That? That is his ox!
D: What is this?
Ş: This is a şirt.
D: Is it your şirt?
Ş: Yes, it is my şirt.
D: Is this my forehead?
Ş: No, that is your finger --- This is your forehead!
VOCABULARY:
çi? what k’î? who
ders, f. lesson mal, f. house
dersdar, m.&f. teacher mamosta, m.&f. teacher
dest, m. hand me [I] am
e is min my, of me
enî, f. forehead mê feminine
• 6 •
erê yes namûs, f. honor

ev this nav, m. name
ew that; he, şe, it nexêr no
ez I nêr masculine
ga, m. ox, bull pêçî, f. [also: bêçî] finger
gotina pêşîyan, f. proverb
gund, m. village ser, m. head
heval, m.&f. friend te your, of you
hûn you (pl.) t’ilî, f. finger
im [I] am tu you (sing.)
in [they] are wê her, of her
î [you] are wî his, of him
jî also, too xwendek’ar, m.&f. student
kiras, m. şirt ye is
k’itêb , f.
1
book yî [you] are
GRAMMAR:
a. Ez … im = I am …
Ez Lezgîn im.
im I am Lezgîn. Ez Dîlan im.
im I am Dîlan.
Ez Bengîn im.
im I am Bengîn. Ez ‘Eyşan im.
im I am Eyşan.
If the name ends in a vowel, instead of im we say me:
Ez Simko me.
me I am Simko. Ez Xecê me.
me I am Khej.
Ez Zana me.
me I am Zana. Ez Leyla me.
me I am Leyla.
Ez kî me?
me Who am I? [literally: I who am?]
Remember: Ez Lezgîn im ; Ez Simko me
b. Tu … î = You (singular [sing.]) are …
Tu Bengîn î? Are you Bengîn? Tu Dîlan î? Are you Dîlan?
If the name ends in a vowel, instead of î we say yî:
Tu kî yî?
yî = Who are you?
Tu Simko yî?
yî Are you Simko? Tu Xecê yî?
yî Are you Khej?
c. Ew … e = He/Şe/It is …
Ew Ferhad e = HE is Ferhad (or, It is Ferhad)

Ew Şîrîn e = SHE is Şirin (or, It is Şirin)
1Note that the k- in k’itêb and in k’î is aspirated, while the k- in kiras in non-aspirated.
• 7 •
If the name ends in a vowel, instead of e we say ye:

Ew kî ye?
ye Who is he/she/it?
Ew Cano ye He/it is Jano Ew Zeyno ye Şe/it is Zeyno
d. Ev çi ye? What is this?
Ew çi ye? What is that?
Remember: ev = this ; ew = he/şe/it and that
e. Tu kî yî? Navê te çi ye?
Ez : Min •My Navê min Dara ye. My name is Dara.

Tu : Te •Your Navê te çi ye? What is your name?
Navê te Bengîn e. Your name is Bengîn.
Navê te Memo ye. Your name is Memo.
Ew : Wî •His Navê wî çi ye? What is his name?
(masculine [m.]) Navê wî Memo ye. His name is Memo.
Wê •Her Navê wê çi ye? What is her name?
(feminine [f.]) Navê wê Zîn e. Her name is Zîn.
f. Kurmanji nouns have gender. A noun is either masculine or feminine.
One way of telling a noun's gender is the ending it takes before pronouns like
min, te, wî, wê. This ending is called ezafe:
-[y]ê (nêr = masc. [m.]) -[y]a (mê = fem. [f.])

navêê min [my name] malaa min [my house]
destêê te [your hand] kitêba a te [your book]
kirasêê wî [his şirt] tilîya
ya wî/pêçîya
ya wî [his finger]
gayê
yê wê [her ox] enîya
ya wê [her forehead]
g. Some nouns can be of either gender, depending on the sex of the person.
For example, heval = friend. If the friend is a man or boy (Memo, Bengîn), heval
will be masculine. If the friend is a woman or girl (Xecê, Zeyno), heval will be
feminine.
heval [friend]
hevalê
ê min my friend (m.) hevala
a min my friend (f.)
xwendekar [student]
xwendekarê
ê te your student (m.) xwendekara
a te your student (f.)
dersdar [teacher/instructor]
• 8 •
mamosta [teacher/instructor]
dersdarê
ê min my instructor (m.) dersdaraa min my instructor (f.)
mamostayêyê te your teacher (m.) mamostaya
ya te your teacher (f.)
Ez kî me? Who am I?
Ez dersdar im = Ez mamosta me I am a teacher.
Ez dersdarê
ê te me = Ez mamostayê
yê te me I am your teacher (m.).
Tu kî yî? Who are you?

Xwendekar
Memo, tu xwendekarêê min î. Memo, you are my student (m.).
Zeyno, tu xwendekara
a min î. Zeyno, you are my student (f.).
Hûn kî ne? Who are you (plural [pl.])?

Hûn … in You [pl.] are …
Hûn xwendekarên
ên min in You [pl.] are my students.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate:1) What is this? It is my book. 2) What is that? It is her head (ser
[m.]). 3) Who is this? He is my friend. His name is Dara. 4) Who is that? Şe is my
student. Her name is Zeyno. 5) Who are you? I am your friend [f.]. 6) What is the
name of your [sing.] village? The name of my village is Axirmat. 7) What is that?
It is the ox of my teacher [m.]. 8) What is her name? Her name is Leyla. Şe is my
friend. 9) What is the honor of the village? The name [=reputation] of the village
is the honor of the village. 10) What is that? That is your şirt.
II. Make up ten sentences using the vocabulary and structures from this lesson.
For example: What is this? This is …; What is that? That is…; What is
my/your/his/her name? My, etc. name is…; Who is he/şe? He, etc. is my, etc. …
III. Fill in the blanks with the correct forms: <im/me ; î/yî ; e/ye>
1) Ez hevalê te ____. 2) Navê wê Zeyno ____. 3) Navê gundê min Gozelderê ____. 4)
Navê gundê wî Soybilax ____. 5) Leyla kî ____? Ew hevala min ____. 6) Tu dersdarê
wê ____. 7) Cano hevalê mamostayê te ____? 8) Ez Şîrîn ____. Navê hevala min
Xecê ____. 9) Ez Zeyno ____. Ez Dîlan ____. 10) Ew Memo ____. Ew ‘Eyşan ____. 11)
Ev kitêba min ____. Ew kitêba te ____. 12) Tu Zîn ____? Tu Memo ____? 13) Ez
Bengîn ____. Navê min Bengîn ____. 14) Ez Xecê ____. Navê min Xec ____. Navê min
Xecê ____. 15) Ew çi ____? Ew gayê min ____.
KURDIŞ PERSONAL NAMES
• 9 •
Male: Female:
Bengîn Dîlan
Cano ‘Eyşan
Dara Leyla
Ferhad Şîrîn
Lezgîn Xecê
Memo Zeyno
Zana Zîn
• 10 •
Dersa Didua [2]

{Pikkert 1.3; 2.4}
FOLKLORE:
Mamik, f. [riddle]: Qîz pîr e, dê cahil e. Ev çi ye? [pembû]
Sê bira ne: hersê bira jî zikrreş in. [dûstan]
DIALOGUE:
I. Dara: Çawan î ? Baş î?
2
Miho: Ez baş im. Tu çawan î?

D: Ez jî baş im.
M: Hûn kî ne?
D: Em xwendekar in. Tu kî yî?
M: Navê min Miho ye. Ez mamosta me. Ez mamostayê we me.
D: Ez Dara me. Ev jî hevalê min Rêbaz e. Em xwendekarên
te ne.
M: Ev du keç kî ne?
D: Ew -- xûşkên min in. Navên wan Zîn û Xecê ne.
M: Herdu xûşkên te jî xwendekar in?
D: Nexêr, Zîn xwendekar e, lê Xecê xwendekar nîne .3
M: Xecê xwendekar nîne?!

D: Nexêr, ew hêj piçûk e! Mamosta, çend xwendekarên te
hene?
M: Gelek xwendekarên min hene!
D: Gelek hevalên me jî hene!
Northern version:
II. Leyla: Ferhad, çend birayên te hene?
Ferhad: Sê birayên min hene.
L: Navên wan çi ne?
F: Navên wan Bêkes, Rêdûr û Bûrhan in.
L: Çend xûşkên te hene?
F: Çar xûşkên min hene.
L: Navên wan çi ne?
F: Navên wan jî ev in: ‘Eyşan, Şîrîn, Dilxwaz û Dilvîn.
Em çar kurr in û çar keç in: Em çar bira ne û çar xûşk in.
L: Xûşk û birayên te hemî xwendekar in?
F: Hemî xûşkên min xwendekar in, û birayên min Rêdûr û
Bûrhan jî xwendekar in. Lê Bêkes hêj piçûk e!
L: Hemî xûşkên te mezin in?
F: Nexêr, ‘Eyşan û Şîrîn mezin in, lê Dilxwaz û Dilvîn
2Çawa yî? is also possible.

3or: lê Xecê ne xwendekar e.
• 11 •
piçûk in.
L: Du xûşkên te mezin in, û didu jî piçûk in!
F: Erê! Du birayên min jî mezin in, û didu jî piçûk in!
III. Abûzer: Ev çi ye?

Meryem: Ev -- kitêba min e.
A: Ew çi ne?
M: Ew -- kitêbên birayê min in.
A: Çend kitêbên wî hene?
M: Pênc kitêbên wî hene -- û hemî piçûk in.
A: Çend çavên te hene?
M: Du çavên min hene.
A: Çend guhên bavê te hene?
M: Du guhên wî hene.
A: Herdu destên dîya min piçûk in. Herdu pîyên bavê min
mezin in.
M: Tilîyên destê min çend in?
A: Tilîyên destê te pênc in.
Southern version:
II. Leyla: Ferhad, te çend bira hene?
Ferhad: Min sê bira hene.
L: Navêt wan çi ne?
F: Navêt wan Bêkes, Rêdûr û Bûrhan in.
L: Te çend xûşk hene?
F: Min çar xûşk hene.
L: Navêt wan çi ne?
F: Navêt wan jî eve ne: ‘Eyşan, Şîrîn, Dilxwaz û Dilvîn.
4
Em çar kurr în û çar kiç în: Em çar bira yne û çar

xûşk în.
L: Xûşk û birayêt te hemî xwendekar in?
F: Hemî xûşkêt min xwendekar in, û birayêt min Rêdûr û
Bûrhan jî xwendekar in. Bes Bêkes hêj piçûk e!
L: Hemî xûşkêt te mezin in?
F: Nexêr, ‘Eyşan û Şîrîn mezin in, bes Dilxwaz û Dilvîn
piçûk in.
L: Du xûşkêt te mezin in, û du jî piçûk in!
F: Erê! Du birayêt min jî mezin in, û du jî piçûk in!
III. Abûzer: Eve çi ye?

Meryem: Eve -- kitêba min e.
A: Ew çi ne?
4Insouthern dialects, eve is used as a pronoun (without a noun), and ev…-e with a noun: Eve çi
ye? = What is this; Ev kitêbee kitêba min e = This book is my book.
• 12 •
M: Ew -- kitêbêt birayê min in.

A: Wî çend kitêb hene?
M: Wî pênc kitêb hene -- û hemî piçûk in.
A: Te çend çav hene?
M: Min du çav hene.
A: Babê te çend guh hene?
M: Wî du guh hene.
A: Herdu destêt dayka min piçûk in. Herdu pîyêt babê min
mezin in.
M: Tilîyêt destê min çend in?
A: Tilîyêt destê te pênc in.
 Please note that dialogues II and III are provided in separate Northern and
Southern dialect versions. We recommend that all students familiarize
themselves with both varieties, and for the purposes of actively speaking Kurdiş
choose the one that is best suited to their needs.
VOCABULARY: [*Southern dialect forms will be designated as S: ]

baş good in (we, you,
they) are
bav, m. [S: bab] father în (we) are
bes [S] but keç’, f. [S: kiç] girl, daughter
bira, m. brother kurr, m. boy, son
cahil [also: cihêl] young; ignorant law, m. boy, son
ç’av, m. eye lê but
çawa[n]? how? ling, m. leg
çend? how many? mamik, f. riddle
dest, m. hand me our
dê, f. (dîya-) [also: dayk]mother mezin big, large
dûstan, f. tripod (one of three stones on which a pot is placed over
the fire);
em we ne [1] (we, you, they)
are
ev [pl.] these ne [2] not
ew [pl.] they; those pembû, m. cotton
gelek much, many; very p’ê, m. (p’îyê-) foot
guh, m. ear piçûk [also: biçûk] little, small
hemî all pîr old (of
people)
hene there are qîz, f. girl, daughter
herdu both wan their
hersê all three we [also: hewe, hingo] your [pl.]
heye there is xûşk , f. 5
sister
hêj [also: hê] still, yet -yne (we) are
5Colloquially, such forms as xweh, xuh, xayîng, xweyîng, xang may also be encountered.
• 13 •
hûn [also: hûng] you [pl.] zikrreş black-bellied; hostile, jealous

NUMBERS:
yek [S: êk] one, 1 çar four, 4
didu - du two, 2 pênc five, 5
sisê - sê three, 3
In southern dialects, du (2) and sê (3) are used throughout. In northern dialects,
du (2) and sê (3) are used before a noun, but when counting, or without a noun,
didu and sisê are used. E.g.:
Sê k’itêb = three books; but
Çend k’itêb? Sisê = How many books? Three.
GRAMMAR:
a. Em … in = We are …
Em xwendekar in.
Em heval in.
Em dersdar in.
If the name ends in a vowel, instead of in we say ne:
Em mamosta ne.
ne
Em bira ne.
ne
Em kî ne?
ne = Who are we? [literally: We who are?]
Remember: Em dersdar in ; Em mamosta ne
 In southern dialects (Behdinan in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Hekkari across the

border in Turkey), there is a special form for the first person plural (=WE form) of
the verb:
Em … în before a consonant, e.g.:

Em xwendekar în ; Em heval în ; Em dersdar în
and Em … yne before a vowel, e.g.:

Em mamosta yne ; Em bira yne;
yne Em kî yne?
yne
Remember: Southern dialects: Em dersdar în ; Em mamosta yne
b. Hûn … in = You (plural [pl.]) are …

6
Hûn xwendekar in? Hûn heval in?
Hûn kî ne?
ne = Who are you?
6Hûn has a variant hon. In Behdinan, one often encounters the form hûng.
• 14 •
Hûn mamosta ne?

ne Hûn bira ne?
ne
c. Ew … in = They/Those are …
Ew dest in = They/Those are hands
Ew çav in = They/Those are eyes
Ew xwendekar in = They/Those are students
Ew kî ne?
ne = Who are they/those?
Ew bira ne Ew mamosta ne
d. To sum up: in northern dialects, plural verbs have the same ending in all three
persons (we, you, they): in after a consonant, and ne after a vowel. However, in
southern dialects, the first person plural (=WE) has a special form: în after a
consonant, and yne after a vowel. 7
Em kî ne? Em heval in. [Southern: Em kî yne? Em heval în.]

Ew çi ne? Ew xwendekar in.
e. Plural possessives:
Em : Me •Our Bavê me Dara ye. [=Our father is Dara]
Hûn : We •Your [pl.]
8
Mamostayê we kî ye?[=Who is your
teacher?]
Ew : Wan •Their Xûşka wan kî ye? [=Who is their sister?]
f. Plural ezafeh:
Whereas in the singular, the gender of a noun can be told by the ezafeh ending (-
ê is masculine; -a is feminine), there is no such distinction in the plural. The plural
ezafeh is -ên in all northern dialects and in Hekkari, and -êt (or -êd) in Behdinan:
Hûn kî ne? Hûn xwendekarên ên min in. [S: Hûn xwendekarêt êt min in.]
Ev çi ne? Ev dest in -- Ev destên
ên min in [S: Eve destêt êt min in.]
Ev çav in -- Ev çavên
ên te ne [S: Eve çavêt
êt te ne.]
Ev guh in -- Ev guhênên wî ne [S: Eve guhêtêt wî ne.]
Ev pê ne -- Ev pêyênên (pîyên
ên) wê ne [S: Eve pîyêtêt wê ne.]
Ev ling in -- Ev lingên
ên me ne [S: Eve lingêt
êt me ne.]
g. Negatives:
There are two ways to make the verb to be (he is, they are) negative: either the
negative particle ne is placed before the predicate, or the verb form (e.g., e) is
7Thisdistinction is standard in Sorani (Central) Kurdish dialects.

8In
some southern dialects, the form is hewe; in Behdinani dialects which have hûng instead of
hûn, the corresponding oblique form is hingo: Mamostayê hewe/hingo kî ye? Remember:
Southern dialects: hûn : [he]we & hûng : hingo
• 15 •
replaced with nîne . Both are correct, but some regions seem to prefer one over
9
the other. E.g.:
Ew hevalê min e = He is my friend ;

Ew ne hevalê min e = Ew hevalê min nîne = He is not my friend.
Plural:
Ew hevalên me ne = They are our friends ;
Ew ne hevalên me ne = Ew hevalên me nînin = They are not our friends.
Remember: nîne / ne … e [= is not]
Ev destê min e?
Ne, ev ne destê te ye, ev guhê te ye!
Ne, ev destê te nîne,
nîne ev çavê te ye!
h. There is/are
The way to say there is in Kurdish is heye; the plural there are is hene. The
negative of this (particularly in northern dialects) is tune (=there isn't), with
plural tunin (=there aren't). E.g.:
Çi heye, çi tune? [=What's new, lit. 'What is there, what isn't there']
 In southern dialects, the forms nîne and nînin are more common.
There is no separate verb to have in Kurdish. The idea of having is expressed with
heye (infinitive: hebûn). In Kurdiş, instead of saying "I have two hands" one says
"To me there are two hands" [southern] or "There are my two hands" [northern].
Although the southern and northern variants are similar, they are different enough
that we will explain each one separately, beginning with the northern
construction.
•In the north, the ezafeh-plus-pronoun construction is used, e.g.:

du çavênên min = my two eyes [+ hene = there are]
Du çavên min hene = I have two eyes.
yek serê ê min = my one head [+ heye = there is]
Yek serê ê min heye = I have one head.
Çend destên ên te hene? Du destên ên min hene.
Çend xûşkên ên te hene?
Çend birayên ên te hene?
 In the south, a construction consisting of possessive pronoun plus the simple

10
form of the noun is used, e.g.:
9Some prefer to put a space between nîn and the verb to be: nîn e and nîn in.
10or, oblique pronoun
• 16 •
min = my (or, to me) + du çav = two eyes [+ hene = there are]

Min du çav hene = I have two eyes
Te çend dest hene? Min du dest hene . 11
Te çend xûşk hene?

Te çend bira hene?
EXERCISES:
I. Translate:1) These are my hands. 2) Those are not your [sing.] ears, they are
my ears. 3) What are these? These are his şirts. 4) Who are they? They are our
friends. 5) They are not your students. 6) We are his teachers. 7) How many eyes
do I have? You have two eyes. 8) Their village is large. It has many houses [Say
this in two ways!]. 9) Are your sisters little? Are their ears big? No, they are not
big, they are small. 10) How many names do you have? How many names does
your father have? He has many names.
II. Make up ten sentences on the following pattern: Is this your ear? No, it is not
my ear, it is my eye.
III. Turn your sentences from exercise II. into the plural (or into the singular), e.g.:
Is this your ear? --> Are these your ears?
IV. Fill in blanks with correct forms: <in/ne ; în/-yne>
1) Herdu xûşkên min mezin __. 2) Ev sê kurr birayên wê __. 3) Destên te piçûk __.
4) Herdu birayên te hevalên min __. 5) Birayên we xwendekarên me __. 6) Navên
wan çi __? 7) Ev kirasên min __ yan kirasên te __? 8) Ev ling û pê __; Ev pê û ling
__. 9) Sê bira __: hersê bira jî zikrreş __; 10) Guhên herdu mamostayên me piçûk
__.
V. Make the sentences in exercise IV. negative, giving two ways of saying each
one. [Skip sentences 6 and 7]
VI. Şow the gender of the following nouns, by using them in an ezafeh phrase.
E.g.: guh (= ear) is masculine, as in guhê
ê min; ders (=lesson) is feminine, as in
dersa a wî.
1) kurr; 2) xûşk; 3) bira; 4) çav; 5) dest; 6) ling; 7) mal; 8) tilî; 9) kiras; 10) dê; 11)
bav [bab]; 12) kitêb; 13) heval; 14) mamosta; 15) xwendekar; 16) mamik; 17) zik;
18) pembû; 19) dûstan; 20) gund.
11or, Min du dest yêt heyn. This construction is too complex for beginners. For fuller treatment
of it, see: "Demonstrative Izafe" in: D.N. MacKenzie. Kurdish Dialect Studies - I (Oxford : Oxford
University Press, 1961 [reprinted 1981 by London School of Oriental and African Studies]), ¶266, p.
162-163 .
• 17 •
KURDISH PERSONAL NAMES

Male: Female:
Abûzer Bêrîvan
Bêkes Dilvîn
Bûrhan Dilxwaz
Miho Meryem
Rêbaz Nalîn
Rêdûr Nesrîn
• 18 •
Dersa Sisîya [3]

{Pikkert 2.8, 2.9}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan: Dizî dizî ye, çi hêkek, çi gamêşek.
DIALOGUE:
I. Miho: Roj baş! Ez mamostayê we me. Navê min Miho ye.
Navên we çi ne?
Rêbaz: Navê min Rêbaz e.
Dara: Ez jî Dara me. Rêbaz hevalê min e.
Bêrîvan: Navê min Bêrîvan e.
Gelawêj: Û ez Gelawêj im. Bêrîvan hevala min e.
Miho: Dara, çend xûşk û birayên te hene?
Dara: Birayekî min heye. Navê wî Bahrî ye. Du xûşkên
min jî hene. Navên wan Xecê û Zîn in.
Miho: Û tu, Gelawêj?
Gelawêj: Xûşkeke min heye. Navê wê Mehabad e.
Miho: Birayên te tunin?
Gelawêj: Belê, birayekî min heye: navê wî Sebrî ye.
Bêrîvan: Mamosta, xûşkeke te jî heye, ku navê wê Gulistan
e, ne wisa?
Miho: Belê! Gulistan xûşka min e. Hevaleke wê jî
heye, ku navê wê Bêrîvan e.
Bêrîvan: Ez im, mamosta! Xûşka te Gulistan hevala min e!
Miho: Bi rastî?! Dinya çend piçûk e!
II. Gulistan: Bêrîvan! Pisîka te heye?

Bêrîvan: Erê! Pisîkeke min heye, û kûçikekî min jî!
Gulistan: Bi rastî? Pisîka te çawa ye? Mezin e yan piçûk e?
Bêrîvan: Pisîka min mezin û qelew e. Ew bi xwe spî ye û
gelekî pîr e jî. Çavekî wê heşîn e, û yek kesk
e. Ew tim birçî ye!
Gulistan: Navê wê çi ye?
Bêrîvan: Navê wê Dîcle ye. Navê kûçikê min jî Devrreş e.
Gulistan: Devê wî bi rastî rreş e?
Bêrîvan: Erê! Ew hemî rreş e! Lê çavên wî zer in.
Gulistan: Baş e, Devrreş -- kûçikekî qelew e?
Bêrîvan: Nexêr! Pisîka min Dîcle qelew û pîr e, lê kûçikê
min Devrreş ze‘îf û piçûk e.
• 19 •
Southern version:
I. Miho: Roj baş, xwendekarêt min! Ez mamostayê we me.
Navê min Miho ye. Navêt we çi ne?
Rêbaz: Navê min Rêbaz e.
Dara: Ez jî Dara me. Rêbaz hevalê min e.
Bêrîvan: Navê min Bêrîvan e.
Gelawêj: Û ez Gelawêj im. Bêrîvan hevala min e.
Miho: Dara, te çend xûşk û bira hene?
Dara: Min birayek heye . Navê wî Bahrî ye. Min du
12
xûşk jî hene . Navêt wan Xecê û Zîn in.

13
Miho: Û tu, Gelawêj?

Gelawêj: Min xûşkek heye. Navê wê Mehabad e.
Miho: Te bira nînin?
Gelawêj: Belê, min birayek heye: navê wî Sebrî ye.
Bêrîvan: Mamosta, te xûşkek jî heye, ku navê wê Gulistan
e, ne wisa?
Miho: Belê! Gulistan xûşka min e. Wê hevalek jî heye,
ku navê wê Bêrîvan e.
Bêrîvan: Ez im, mamosta! Xûşka te Gulistan hevala min e!
Miho: Bi rastî?! Dinya çend piçûk e!
II. Gulistan: Bêrîvan! Te kitik heye ? 14
Bêrîvan: Erê! Min kitikek heye, û seyek jî!

Gulistan: Bi rastî? Kitka te ya çawan e? Ya mezin e? Ya
piçûk e ? 15
Bêrîvan: Kitka min ya mezin û qelew e. Ew bi xwe ya spî ye

û gelek ya pîr e jî. Çavekê wê yê şîn e, û
yek yê kesk e. Ew her û her ya birsî ye!
Gulistan: Navê wê çi ye?
Bêrîvan: Navê wê Dîcle ye. Navê seyê min jî Devrreş e.
Gulistan: Devê wî bi rastî yê rreş e?
Bêrîvan: Erê! Ew hemî yê rreş e! Lê çavêt wî t zer in.
Gulistan: Baş e, Devrreş -- seyekê qelew e?
Bêrîvan: Nexêr! Kitka min Dîcle ya qelew û pîr e, lê seyê
min Devrreş yê zirav û cihêl e.
12or, Min birayek yê hey. This construction is too complex for beginners.
13or, Min du xû¤k jî yêt heyn.
14or, Te kitikek ya hey.
15In Behdinani, all predicate adjectives are preceded by what D.N. MacKenzie calls demonstrative
ezafeh. In other words, all adjectives are marked for gender and number by an ezafeh marker
preceding the adjective: yê for masculine singular; ya for feminine singular; t (for yêt) for plural of
both genders. The prevalence of this gender marking is one of the distinctive characteristics of
Behdinani speech. Whereas in the north, 'Are you well?' is simply Tu ba¤ î?, in Behdinan it is Tu yê
ba¤ î? to a male, and Tu ya ba¤ î? to a female.
• 20 •
VOCABULARY:
baş good kurt şort
belê yes kûç’ik, m. dog
bi rastî really ne wisa? isn't that so?
birçî [S: birsî] hungry nû new
bi xwe oneself p’isîk, f. cat
bor grey qelew fat
dev, m. mouth rreş black
dinya, f. world rroj, f. day
dirêj long, tall Roj baş! Hello
diz, m.&f. thief se, m. [S] dog
dizî, f. theft sor red
gamêş, m.&f. buffalo spî white
gelekî very şil* wet
her û her [S] always terr* wet
heşîn [S: şîn] blue t’êr full, sated
hêk, f. egg t’im always
hişk *
dry t’î [S: t’êhnî] thirsty
ji from, of xirab bad
k’esk green yan [also: an] or
kevn old (of things) ze‘îf thin, lean
k’itik, f. [S] cat zer yellow
ku that, which ziwa* dry
(relative pronoun)
NUMBERS:
şeş six, 6 neh nine, 9
heft seven, 7 deh ten, 10
heşt eight, 8
GRAMMAR:
a. In Kurmanji, all nouns are definite unless they are specifically made indefinite.
A noun is made indefinite by adding -ek to it. For example, dest = 'the hand' or
'hand', while destekek = 'a hand' or 'one hand'. Nouns that end in a vowel add -yek,
e.g. tilîyek
yek = 'a finger' or 'one hand'. Note that the indefinite suffix never receives
the stress (e.g., dééstek, never *desté ék). Here are some examples of nouns with
the indefinite article:
* of animate things and parts of living beings, e.g., earth, hair, lips,
Note: Ziwa is dry
whereas ©i¤k is dry of inanimate things, e.g., trees and plants. Likewise, ¤il is wet of
living things, and te¢ is wet of inanimate things. Remember: ziwa / ¤il for living things; ©i¤k / te
¢ for inanimate things.
• 21 •
-ek [indefinite article = a/an (or one)]
(nêr = masc. [m.]) (mê = fem. [f.])

dest-ek
-ek [=a/one hand] mal-ek-ek [=a/one house]
nav-ek
-ek [=a/one name] enî-yek
-yek [=a/one forehead]
kiras-ek
-ek [=a/one şirt] tilî-yek
-yek [=a/one finger]
ser-ek
-ek [=a/one head] pêçî-yek
-yek [=a/one finger]
çav-ek
-ek [=an/one eye] kitêb-ek-ek [=a/one book]
guh-ek
-ek [=an/one ear] pirtûk-ek -ek [=a/one book]
heval-ek
-ek [=a/one friend]
xwendekar-ek -ek [=a/one student]
dersdar-ek
-ek [=a/one teacher]
mamosta-yek-yek [=a/one teacher]
b. Whereas the simple form of the indefinite article does not change for gender,
when an indefinite noun is followed by a modifier such as a possessive pronoun
(min, te, wî, wê, etc.) or an adjective, the indefinite article (-ek) must have an
ezafeh ending. 16
-ek + ezafeh
(-ek-î = masc. [m.]) (-ek-e = fem. [f.])

dest-ek-î-î min mal-ek-e
-e min
[a hand of mine/one of my hands] [a house of mine/one of my…]
nav-ek-î
-î te tilî-yek-e
-e te
kiras-ek-î-î wî pêçî-yek-e
-e wê
çav-ek-î
-î wê kitêb-ek-e
-e me
heval-ek-î -î me heval-ek-e
-e we
dersdar-ek-î -î wan mamoste-yek-e-e wan
 In Behdinan, the indefinite article -ek takes the same ezafeh endings as the
definite form of the noun: -ê for masc. (hence -ekê), and -a for fem. (hence
-eka). E.g.:
dest-ek-ê
-ê min mal-ek-a-a min
nav-ek-ê
-ê te tilî-yek-a
-a te
çav-ek-ê
-ê wê kitêb-ek-a-a me
16Although one will also come across the indefinite article + modifier without ezafeh, this is most
probably due to foreign (Turkish and Persian) influence. Because grammatical gender does not
exist in Turkish or Persian (or Armenian, for that matter), whereas Kurmanji does have gender,
there seems to be a tendency -- which needs to be resisted -- to simplify constructions that require
a knowledge of gender. For the purposes of this course, omitting the ezafeh ending on an indefinite
noun + modifier will be considered a grammatical error.
• 22 •
c. The indefinite article -ek can mean one as well as a/an. Consider the following
sentences:
Çend xûşkên te hene? Xûşkeke min heye.

How many sisters do you have? I have one sister.
Xûşkeke te heye?
Do you have a sister?
Çend birayên wan hene? Birayekî wan heye.
How many brothers do they have? They have one brother.
Birayekî wê tune?
Doesn't şe have a brother?
 The same sentences in the southern dialects will look like this:
Te çend xûşk hene? Min xûşkek heye . 17
How many sisters do you have? I have one sister.

Te xûşkek heye?
Do you have a sister?
Wan çend bira hene? Wan birayek heye.
How many brothers do they have? They have one brother.
Wê birayek nîne?
Doesn't şe have a brother?
Consequently, there are two ways to express 'one' + noun. For example, 'one
sister' can be: yek xûşk or xûşkek. The difference between them is a matter of
emphasis. Yek xûşk means 'one sister', as opposed to 'two sisters', whereas
xûşkek means 'one sister', as opposed to 'one brother'. So, unless you want to
stress the word 'one', use the indefinite form of the noun when speaking of one
thing or one person.
d. Note again that some nouns may be masculine or feminine, depending on

whether the person in question is male or female. The gender is reflected in the
indefinite form of the noun as well.
Hevalekîî min heye, ku navê wî Bahrî ye.

Hevaleke
e min heye, ku navê wê Gulistan e.
e. Another way of rendering 'one of her fingers', 'one of our şirts', etc., is to say 'a
finger of her fingers', 'a şirt of our şirts', etc. E.g.:
Tilîyek ji tilîyên wê
Kirasek ji kirasên me
Malek ji malên wan
Kûçikek ji kûçikên we
17or, Min xû¤kek ya hey. This construction is too complex for beginners.
• 23 •
Pisîkek ji pisîkên wî
f. When a noun is modified by an adjective, the adjective will follow the noun, and
be connected to it by ezafeh. This holds true for both definite and indefinite
nouns . E.g.:
18
mala piçûk the small house

kitêbeke sor [S: kitêbeka sor] a red book
kurrê birçî the hungry boy
gundekî mezin [S: gundekê mezin] a large village
çavên rreş [S: çavêt rreş] black eyes
Here are some simple rrengdêr = adjectives that you will need. As much as
possible, they have been arranged in groups of opposites:
mezin [big] piçûk [small]

nû [new] kevn [old]
baş/xweş/qenc [good] xirab [bad]
dirêj [long, tall] kurt [şort]
qelew[fat] zirav [thin]
şil/terr[wet] hişk/ziwa [dry]
birçî [S: birsî] [hungry] têr [full, sated]
birçîtî [S: têhnî] [thirsty] têr [full, sated]
Colors:
spî [white] rreş [black] sor [red] heşîn [S: şîn] [blue]
kesk [green] bor [grey] zer [yellow]
g. In a phrase such as 'one of my dogs is big and one [of my dogs] is small', it is
not necessary to repeat the entire noun phrase [one of my dogs - kûçikekî
min/seyekê min]. Instead, in the second part,
yek can be used. Hence, one can say:
Kûçikekî min mezin e, û yek piçûk e.

Kirasekî min kevn e, û yek nû ye.One of my SHirts is old, and one is new.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) This is a white şirt. 2) He has a green eye and a blue one [=One of
his eyes is green and one blue]. 3) I have two houses: one of my houses is grey
and one is green. 4) Şe has two legs: one of her legs is long, and one of them is
şort. 5) We have three brothers: one of our brothers is old and two of them are
young. 6) They have four books: one of their books is new and big, and three of
them are old and small. 7) You (s.) have two friends: one of your friends is tall and
18See note 16 above.
• 24 •
thin, and one is şort and fat. 8) You (pl.) have two teachers: one of your teachers
is very good, and one is very bad. 9) He has many şirts: one of his şirts is wet, and
two of them are dry. 10) My father has two sons: one of them is always hungry,
and one is a good student.
II. a) Fill in the blank with the correct ezafeh form (m. or f.); b) then change each
noun to the indefinite form; c) then translate both.
E.g.: ders_ min: a) dersa min; b) derseke min; c) my lesson; a lesson of mine.
1) kitêb_ min. 2) kiras_ wî. 3) dest_ bavê me. 4) tilî_ hevala we. 5) kurr_ wê. 6)
heval_ te. 7) diz_ gundê we. 8) hêk_ me. 9) mamosta_ wan. 10) pisîk_ xûşka min.
III. Make sentences combining the indefinite forms from exercise II. with
adjectives, and translate. E.g. derseke min: Derseke min dirêj e = One of my
lessons is long.
IV. Make up ten sentences using the numbers 1-10.

Male: Female:
Bahrî Gelawêj
Ramazan Gulistan
Sebrî Mehabad
• 25 •
Dersa Çara [4]

{Pikkert 3.3}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan:
1. Şûr kalanê xwe nabirre.
2. Filan gund deh mal in, dwazdeh rrîspî ne.
3. Ew dibêje, lê napêje.
DIALOGUE:
I. Miho: Roj baş, xwendekarên min! Hûn çawan in, baş in?
Rêbaz/Dara/Gelawêj/Bêrîvan:
Sax bî, bijî, mamosta Miho! Em
baş in.
Miho: Hûn çi dikin?
Gelawêj: Em dixwînin. Em dersa xwe dixwînin.
Miho: Gelekî baş e! Hûn dersa xwe fêm dikin?
Rêbaz: Erê, mamosta Miho! Em dersa xwe baş fêm dikin!
Miho: Ez kurrekî nû dibînim. Ew kî ye? Navê wî çi ye?
Dara: Navê wî Bêkes e, mamosta. Ew birayê min e.
Miho: Ew çi dike? Bêkes, tu çi dikî?
Dara: Ew nan dixwe, mamosta!
Bêkes: Ez nan dixwim, mamosta!
Miho: Bêkes, tu çima nan dixwî?
Bêkes: Ez nan dixwim, ji ber ku ez birçî me!
Miho: Ez fêm dikim ku tu birçî yî, lê em niha nan naxwin.
Hêj zû ye! Niha em dersa xwe dixwînin.
Bêkes: Baş e, mamosta. Ez êdî nan naxwim.
Miho: Sipas, Bêkes! Tu kurrekî baş î! … Niha ew çi dike?
Dara: Ew digrî, mamosta!
II. Gelawêj: Mamosta, bavê te hêj sax e?

Miho: Erê, bavê min sax e! Ew rrîspîyê gundê me ye.
Dara: Bavê te çi dike?
Miho: Bavê min gelekî hiz ji mamik û gotinên pêşîyan
dike. Ew gelek mamikên kevn dibêje. Hûn jî
hiz ji wan dikin?
Rêbaz: Mamosta, em mamikên kevn nizanin. Tu çend
mamikên bavê xwe nabêjî?
Miho: Hûn mamikeke bavê min dixwazin! Baş e. Yek ji
wan wisa ye: "Dixwe, dixwe, têr naxwe." Çi
ye?
Bêrîvan: Ez dizanim, mamosta! Ga ye, ne wisa?
Miho: Nexêr! Ga nîne! Kî dizane çi ye?
• 26 •
Dara: Em nizanin, mamosta. Çi ye?

Miho: Aş e! Aş! Hûn fêm dikin? Aş dixwe û dixwe, lê têr
naxwe.
VOCABULARY:
aş, m. mill
ji ber ku because
Bijî! Live long! (greeting)
kalan, m. şeath (of a sword)
çend some
k’ê? [obl. of k’î?] whom?
çima? why?
li k’u? where?
dibêjim I say
ná- [+ pres. ind.] not
dibirrim I cut
nan, m. bread
dibînim I see; I find
nan dixwim I have a [meal, I eat
didim [S: didem] I give
digrim I take, catch; I close
niha now
digrîm I cry
nizanim I don't know
dikim [S: dikem] I do
p’irtûk, f.[=kitêb] book
dipêjim I bake, cook
dişom I wash
rrîspî, m. village elder
dixwazim I want; I ask for
sax alive, healthy
dixwim [S: dixom] I eat
Sax bî! Be well!(greeting)
dixwînim I read, I study
sipas! Thank you!
dizanim I know
şûr, m. sword
êdî no longer, no more
t’êr dixwim I eat my fill
fêm dikim I understand
wisa so, such
filan so and so, such and such
zarok, m.&f. child
goşt, m. meat
zû early; fast
hiz dikim ji… I like, I love
• 27 •
NUMBERS:
yanzdeh 19
eleven, 11 çardeh fourteen, 14
dwazdeh [also: donzdeh]twelve, 12 panzdeh fifteen, 15
sêzdeh thirteen, 13
GRAMMAR:
a. We are ready to start learning how to conjugate simple verbs (fêl, f. or lêker, f.
). In the present tense , practically all verb forms consist of three parts: a prefix
20
(di-); a verb stem (e.g., -bîn- = 'see'); and a personal ending (-im, -î, -e, -in). The
stress falls on the verb stem, occasionally on the personal ending, but never on
the di- prefix (e.g., dibî´
î´nim, or dibîníím, but never *dííbînim). Consider the
following example for the verb 'to see':
'to see'
Ez di-bîn-im
di im 'I see' Em di-bîn-in
di in 'we see'
21
Tu di-bîn-î
di î 'you (s.) see' Hûn di-bîn-in
di in 'you (pl.) see'
Ew di-bîn-e
di e 'he/şe/it sees' Ew
22
di-bîn-in
di in 'they see'
This pattern can be applied to practically every verb in the language. So, for
example:
Ez di-xwaz-im
di im 'I want or ask for'
Tu di-xw-î
di î 23
'you (s.) eat'
Ew di-gr-e
di e 24
'he/şe takes or closes'
Em di-bêj-in
di in 25
'we say'
Hûn di-d-in
di in 26
'you (pl.) give'
Ew di-k-in
di in 27
'they do'
19In western regions such as Dersim [Tunceli], Adiyaman, and Bingöl the forms deha û yek, deha
û didu, deha û sisê, etc. are more common.
20Present indicative active, to be more precise.
21[S: di-bîn-în
di în]
22[S: di-bîn-ît
di ît/di
di-bîn-îtin
îtin/di
di-bîn-it
it/di
di-bîn-itin
itin]
23[S: di-xo-y
di y]
24[S: di-gr-ît
di ît/di
di-gr-îtin
îtin/di
di-gr-it
it/di
di-gr-itin
itin]
25[S: di-bêj-în
di în]
26[S: di-de-n
di n]
27[S: di-ke-n
di n]
• 28 •
A few verbs have a long vowel throughout the personal endings, such as Ez
digrîm = I cry. The full conjugation of this verb in the present tense is like this:
Ez di-grî-m
di m 'I cry' Em di-grî-n
di n 'we cry'
Tu di-grî
di 'you (s.) cry' Hûn di-grî-n
di n 'you (pl.) cry'
Ew di-grî
di 28
'he/şe/it cries' Ew di-grî-n
di n 'they cry'
Note that Tu digrî could theoretically mean either 'You take or close' or 'You cry',
and in southern dialects, Em digrîn could mean either 'We take or close' or 'We
cry'. Context will usually make the meaning clear.
Here is another common verb with a stem in a different vowel: di-şo- = 'to wash':
Ez di-şo-m
di m 'I waş' Em di-şo-n
di n 'we waş'
29
Tu di-şo-yî
di yî 'you (s.) waş' Hûn di-şo-n
di n 'you (pl.) waş'
Ew di-şo
di 30
'he/şe/it waşes' Ew di-şo-n
di n 'they waş'
b. Remember the set of pronouns that we use to express possession (min for
'my', te for 'your' (s.), wî for 'his' or 'its', wê for 'her' or 'its', me for 'our', we for
'your' (pl.), and wan for 'their')? Those are called oblique pronouns (or object
pronouns), and they are also used to express the direct object of transitive verbs
in the present tense.
In this case, min = me (as in 'He sees me'); te = you (s.) (as in 'Şe knows you');
wî = him or it (as in 'You like him', 'You like it'); wê = her (as in 'I ask her'); me =
us (as in 'They hear us'); we = you (pl.) (as in 'We see you'); wan = them (as in
'You hear them'). When serving as direct object, these objects come before the
verb. Consider the following examples.
Ez wî di-bîn-im 'I see him' Em wan di-bîn-in 'we see them'

Tu min di-bîn-î 'you see me' Hûn me di-bîn-in 'you see us'
Ew wê di-bîn-e 's/he sees her'Ew te di-bîn-in 'they see you'
Note that all masculine nouns will be referred to with wî, and all feminine nouns
will be referred to with wê. Hence, depending on the context, Ew wê dibîne
could mean either 's/he sees her' or 's/he sees it' -- in referring to a feminine
noun, such as kitêb or mal. Likewise, Ez wî dibînim could mean either 'I see
him' or 'I see it' -- if it refers to a masculine noun, such as kiras or dest.
c. To form the negative of the present indicative, we must replace the affirmative
prefix di- with the negative prefix na-. Note that this prefix always receives the
stress (e.g., ná
ábînim, ná
áxwaze). Here is the full negative conjugation of the
28[S: di-grî-t
di t/di
di-grî-tin
tin]
29[S: di-¤o-yn
di yn]
30[S: di-¤o-t
di t/di
di-¤o-tin
tin]
• 29 •
present indicative of dibînim
'I see':
Ez na-bîn-im
na im 'I don't see' Em na-bîn-in
na in 'we don't see'
31
Tu na-bîn-î
na î 'you (s.) don't see' Hûn na-bîn-in
na in 'you (pl.) see'
Ew na-bîn-e
na e 'he/şe/it
32
doesn't see' Ew na-bîn-in
na in 'they don't see'
In the second person (i.e., tu and hûn), this form is often used in making polite
commands, or in inviting people to do something. E.g.:
Tu derîyê min nagrî?

Won't you close my door? or, Please close my door!
Tu navê xwe nabêjî?

Won't you say your name? or, Please tell [us] your name!
Tu nan naxwî?
Won't you have something to eat? or, Please have something to eat!
Note also that the verb dizanim = 'I know' is slightly irregular. It is one of two
verbs that forms the negative of the present indicative with ni- rather than with
na-. Here is the complete conjugation of the negative present indicative:
Ez ni-zanim
ni 'I don't know'
Em ni-zanin
ni 'we don't know'
33
Tu ni-zanî
ni 'you (s.) don't know'
Hûn ni-zanin
ni 'you (pl.) know'
Ew ni-zane
ni 'he/şe/it doesn't know'
34
Ew ni-zanin
ni 'they don't know'
d. A word about word order! Kurdiş is an SOV [Subject - Object - Verb] language.
In other words, the normal word order in a Kurdiş sentence is:
Subject (Direct) Object Verb

1 2 3
e.g.,
Ez te dibînim
I you (thee) see = I see you.
Bûrhan destê xwe dişo
31[S: na-bîn-în
na în]
32[S: na-bîn-ît
na ît/na
na-bîn-îtin
îtin/na
na-bîn-it
it/na
na-bîn-itin
itin]
33[S: ni-zan-în
ni în]
34[S: ni-zan-ît
ni ît/ni
ni-zan-îtin
îtin/ni
ni-zan-it
it/ni
ni-zan-itin
itin]
• 30 •
Burhan his hand washes = Burhan waşes his hand.
Xwendekar dersa dirêj dixwînin

(The) students the long lesson read/study = The students study
the long lesson.
•Question words (interrogatives) take the place in the sentence that their
grammatical function requires. E.g.,
Ew çi dixwazin?
They what want? = What do they want?
Bavê te li ku ye?
Your father (at) where is? = Where is your father?
Tu kê dibînî?
You whom see? = Whom do you see?
•Most verbal complements are placed before the verb, similarly to the direct
object. E.g.,
Kûçik ji goşt hiz dikin

Dogs from meat derive pleasure = Dogs like meat.
Bavê min li mal e

My father at home is = My father is at home.
e. Xwe. When the subject and the object refer to one and the same person, a
special pronoun will be used instead of min, te, wî, wê, etc. That special pronoun
is xwe. So, for example, if in Engliş we say ‘I waş my hands’, where I and my both
refer to the same person, in Kurdiş we will say Ez destên xwe dişom instead of:
*Ez destên min dişom. Note that xwe is used for all persons and numbers. Here
are some more examples:
Tu xûşka xwe dibînî?

'Do you see your sister?'instead of:
*Tu xûşka te dibînî?
Em dersa xwe fêm nakin
'We don't understand our lesson.' instead of:
*Em dersa me fêm nakin.
Hûn kitêbên xwe dixwînin
'You read your books.' instead of:
*Hûn kitêbên we dixwînin
Therefore, we must distinguish between: Ew destên xwe dişo = 'He washes his
(i.e., his own) hands' and Ew destên wî dişo = 'He washes his (i.e., someone
• 31 •
else's) hands'.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) What do you want? I want my book. 2) Why is he waşing his
hands? He is waşing them because they are red. 3) My sister waşes her hands. My
sister is waşing her (=Dilvîn's) hands. 4) What are they doing? They are eating
(=having a meal). 5) Whose book is this? (=This is the book of whom?). Memo
knows, but he won't (=doesn't) say. 6) Who does not understand his/her lesson?
All the girls understand it, but the boys are not reading it. 7) Why are you (pl.)
closing your books? Ferhad says that you are all studying your lesson. 8) The
eleven students are reading fifteen big books. 9) The thirteen young boys do not
understand the riddle of the old village elder. 10) Why is Bêkes crying? He is
crying because he can't catch (=doesn't catch) my cat.
II. In the following sentences, replace the underlined words (direct objects) with
the correct object pronoun, then translate both. E.g., Bêkes pisîka te nabîne -->
Bêkes wê nabîne. Bêkes doesn't see your cat-->Bêkes doesn't see it.
1) Gulistan destên xwe naşo. 2) Kî nanê min dixwe? 3) Şûr kalanê xwe nabirre. 4)
Em xwendekarên birçî dibînin. 5) Xwendekar dersa xwe naxwînin? 6) Hûn mamika
rrîspîyê me fêm dikin? 7) Mamosta deh pirtûkên kevn digre. 8) Mamosta pirtûka
kevn digre. 9) Em mamikên rrîspîyê we nizanin. 10) Ew xwendekara xwe nabîne.
III. Fill in the blanks with xwe or with another object pronoun, as appropriate.
1) Bêkes destên _____ naşo. Ez destên _____ (=destên Bêkes) dişom. 2) Bavê te sê
kitêbên _____ nagre. Tu kitêbên _____ (=kitêbên bavê te) digrî. 3) Dilxwaz xûşka
_____ nabîne. Abûzer xûşka _____ (=xûşka Dilxwazê) dibîne. 4) Rîspî mamikên
_____ dizane. Zarok mamikên _____ (=mamikên rrîspî) nizanin. 5) Ev sêzdeh kurr
dersên _____ naxwînin, lê ew panzdeh keç dersên _____ dixwînin. 6) Ew kurr
hêkên _____ naxwe. Ez hêkên _____ (hêkên kurr) dixwim! 7) Dara kirasê _____
naşo. Dîya wî kirasê _____ dişo. 8) Birayê min ji mamostayê _____ hiz dike, lê
xûşka min ji mamostayê _____ (mamostayê birayê min) hiz nake. 9) Xûşka min ji
dersdara _____ hiz dike, lê ew ji dersdarê birayê _____ hiz nake. 10) Em hiz ji
gundê _____ dikin, lê ew sê kurr hiz ji gundê _____ (=our village) nakin.
IV. a) Take three verbs from this lesson, and conjugate them fully in the present
tense, both affirmative and negative forms. b) Make three sentences with each
verb. Be sure to use both affirmative and negative forms!
• 32 •
Dersa Pênca [5]

{Pikkert 1.9, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16}
FOLKLORE:
Mamik: Li kêvir dixim, naşkê; li avê dixim, dişkê [pelê cixarê]
DIALOGUE:
I. Bêrîvan: Dara, tu çend kitêban dixwînî?
Dara: Ez sê kitêban dixwînim.
Bêrîvan: Tu sê kitêban dixwînî!?
Dara: Erê! Hersê kitêb jî baş in! Bavê min jî gelek kitêban
dixwîne. Tu kitêban naxwînî?
Bêrîvan: Nexêr, ez kitêban naxwînim.
Dara: Çima tu naxwînî? Ez fêm nakim.
Bêrîvan: Ez naxwînim ji ber ku çavên min baş nabînin.
Dara: Tu wî çîyayî nabînî?
Bêrîvan: Belê, Dara, ez wî çîyayî dibînim!
Dara: Tu tilîyên destê min nabînî?
Bêrîvan: Belê, Dara, ez tilîyên destê te jî dibînim!
Dara: Tu çend tilîyan dibînî?
Bêrîvan: Ez pênc tilîyan dibînim.
Dara: Çavên te baş dibînin, ez dibêjim!
Bêrîvan: Ez wan tiştan baş dibînim, lê ez tiştên piçûk baş
nabînim.
Dara: Niha ez fêm dikim çima tu naxwînî!
II. Rêbaz: Gulistan, tu wê xwendekara nû nabînî?

Gulistan: Belê, ez wê dibînim. Çima tu dipirsî?
Rêbaz: Ji ber ku ez nizanim navê wê çi ye.
Gulistan: Ez jî nizanim navê wê çi ye.
Rêbaz: Tu ji mamosta Miho napirsî, navê wê çi ye?
Gulistan: Çima tu bi xwe jê napirsî?
Rêbaz: Ji ber ku ez fedî dikim.
Gulistan: [dikene.]
Rêbaz: Gulistan, çima tu dikenî?
Gulistan: Niha ez fêm dikim! Tu ji wê xwendekara nû hiz
dikî, ne wisa?
Rêbaz: Nexêr!!! Ez hêj jê hiz nakim...
Gulistan: Tu HÊJ jê hiz nakî!? Ez bawer nakim!
Rêbaz: Tu çi dibêjî?
*****
Gulistan: Roj baş mamosta!
• 33 •
Miho: Roj baş Gulistan! Çawan î?

Gulistan: Sax bî, bijî. Tu jî baş î?
Miho: Sipas. Gulistan, tu wî derî nagrî?
Gulistan: Ser çava, mamosta. [Ew dêrî digre.] Mamosta
Miho, dibêjin ku xwendekareke nû heye. Tu
navê wê nizanî?
Miho: Ez bawer dikim ku navê wê Ziyawer e. Tu wî kurrê
çavrreş jî dibînî?
Gulistan: Erê mamosta, ez wî dibînim. Ew kî ye?
Miho: Ew jî xwendekarekî nû ye. Ez dibêjim, ku Ziyawer
xûşka wî ye.
Gulistan: Mamosta Miho, tu navê wî nizanî?
Miho: Nexêr, ez navê wî hêj nizanim.
*****
Gulistan: Rêbaz! Mamosta Miho bawer dike ku navê wê

Ziyawer e.
Rêbaz: Ziyawer. Navekî xweş e, ne wisa?!
Gulistan: Belê. Û tiştekî din jî heye!
Rêbaz: Çi ye?
Gulistan: Birayekî wê jî heye. Em nizanin navê wî çi ye, lê
ew çavrreş e.
Rêbaz: [dikene.]
Gulistan: Tu çima dikenî?
Rêbaz: Ji ber ku tu ji wî xwendekarê çavrreş hiz dikî!
Gulistan: Nexêr!! Ez navê wî jî nizanim!
Rêbaz: Lê tu çawa dibêjî ku ez ji xûşka wî hiz dikim, û tu
baş dizanî ku ez navê wê jî nizanim!?
Gulistan: Xebera te ye!
VOCABULARY:
av, f. water
li… dixim I hit
bawer dikim I believe
nan, nên, vî nanî, m. bread
cixare, f. cigarette
niha [S: noke] now
ç’avrreş black-eyed
p’el, m./f. leaf, sheet of paper
ç’îya, ç’îyê, vî ç’îyayî, m. mountain
ser çava gladly
derî, dêrî, vî derî,m.door
sipas! Thank you!
din [S: dî] other, another
tişt, m. thing
• 34 •
dik’enim I laugh
tiştek [m.] something
dipirsim [+ ji] I ask (someone)
van, pl. obl. these
dişkê it breaks (vi.)
vê,f.obl.; vî,m.obl.this
wan, pl. obl. those
fedî dikim I am shy, ashamed
wê,f.obl.; wî,m.obl.that
jê [=ji wî/wê] from him/her/it
xebera te ye! You're right!
kevir, kêvir, vî kevirî, m. rock, stone 35
xweş pleasant, nice
NUMBERS:
şanzdeh sixteen, 16 nozdeh nineteen, 19
hivdeh seventeen, 17 bîst twenty, 20
hijdeh eighteen, 18
GRAMMAR:
a. We have seen that pronouns have a special form when they are the object of a
present tense verb or of a preposition (e.g., min vs. ez, or in Engliş me vs. I). This
special form is called the oblique case. In Kurdiş, this is also true of nouns. The
gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of a Kurdiş noun
determine the ending that a noun will have in the oblique case.
I. Let us start with feminine nouns. These are nouns that take an -a in the singular
ezafeh form, e.g. kitêba a min, xûşka a te, etc. The corresponding oblique case
form ends in -ê (-yê after a vowel). Hence, for kitêb the oblique case is kitêbê ê,
and for tilî it is tilîyê
yê. This -ê şould not be confused with the masculine singular
ezafeh form! The oblique case has many uses, but for right now we will focus on
one of its most common uses: to express the direct object of a transitive verb in
the present tense. Note that in the feminine singular ev and ew become vê and
36
wê respectively in the oblique case. Hence, the oblique case of ev kitêb [this
book] is vê kitêbê; likewise, ew tilî [that finger] becomes wê tilîyê in the
oblique case. Here are some examples of the oblique case in use. Again, note the
word order!:
Em wê pisîkê
ê digrin. We catch that cat.
Ew dersê
ê dixwînin. They study the lesson.
35In Behdînan, kevir is used only for large rocks. For small stones, ber, m. is used. In Turkey
[except Hekkari and environs], kevir does duty for both.
36In the past tenses of transitive verbs, this is not true. More on this in a later chapter!
• 35 •
Tu devê vê pirtûkê
ê digrî. You close this book . 37
Ez xwendekarê
ê dibînim. I see the student (f.).
Note also that feminine indefinite nouns also take the ending -ê in the oblique
case (-ek-êê): kitêb-ek-ê, tilî-yek-ê. Here are the same sentences, but with
indefinite direct objects:
Em pisîkekê
ê digrin. We catch a cat.
Ew dersekê
ê dixwînin. They study a lesson.
Tu devê pirtûkekê
ê digrî. You close a book.
Ez xwendekarekê
ê dibînim. I see a student (f.).
It is important to note that when a noun is used as an object at the same time that
it has an ezafeh (e.g., 'my book' = kitêba min in 'He reads my book' = Ew
kitêba min dixwîne), the ezafeh takes precedence over the oblique case.
Hence, while one says Ew kitêbê dixwîne for 'He reads the book', with kitêbê =
'the book' as the direct object in the oblique case, if we change kitêb to kitêba
min = 'my book', the sentence will read Ew kitêba min dixwîne = 'He reads my
book'. With this in mind, let us take the same sample sentences again, this time
with direct objects that have ezafeh + modifier:
Em pisîka te digrin. We catch your cat.
Ew dersa dirêj dixwînin. They study the long lesson.
Tu devê pirtûka nû digrî. You close the new book.
Ez xwendekareke nû dibînim. I see a new student (f.).
One last point. Suppose we have the sentence Ew vê kitêbê dixwîne = 'He
reads this book'. What will happen to the demonstrative vê if we add a modifier to
kitêb? In other words, how do we say 'He reads this new book' or 'He reads this
book of mine'? In the direct case (or nominative case), 'this new book' would be
ev kitêba nû, and 'this book of mine' would be ev kitêba min. However, when
functioning as an object, 'this book' would change from ev kitêb to vê kitêbê.
But what happens when there is a modifier? Here is the answer: while ev will
change to vê, thereby şowing that kitêb is in the oblique case, kitêba nû will
remain kitêba nû. Consequently, when ev kitêba nû is used as an object, it will
become vê kitêba nû. Consider the following examples:
37Literally:
"You close the mouth of this book". Without the word dev [=mouth; front part], the
sentence might mean "You take this book".
• 36 •
Em vê pisîkê digrin. We catch this cat.

but: Em vê pisîka
a te digrin. We catch this cat of yours.
Ew wê dersê dixwînin. They study that lesson.

but: Ew wê dersa
a dirêj dixwînin. They study that long lesson.
Tu devê vê pirtûkê digrî. You close this book.

but: Tu devê vê pirtûka
a nû digrî. You close this new book.
Ez wê xwendekarê dibînim. I see that student (f.).

but: Ez wê xwendekara
a nû dibînim.I see that new student (f.).
II. Plural nouns. Whereas in the direct or nominative case, all nouns are identical in
the singular and plural (e.g., kitêb can mean either '[the] book' or '[the] books'),
in the oblique case, all nouns end in -an (sometimes şortened to -a, particularly in
southern dialects). Hence, the oblique plural of kitêb is kitêbanan (or kitêbaa in the
south), and for heval -- regardless of gender -- it is hevalan
an (or hevalaa). Here are
some sample sentences with plural oblique forms:
Hûn keçan
an dibînin. You (pl.) see the girls.
Em hêkan
an dixwin. We eat [the] eggs.
Ez sê kitêban
an dixwînim. I read [the] three books.
The oblique plural forms of ev and ew are van (these) and wan (those)
respectively. Let us add them to the above sentences:
Hûn van keçan

an dibînin. You (pl.) see these girls.
Em wan hêkan
an dixwin. We eat those eggs.
Ez van sê kitêban
an dixwînim. I read these three books.
Once again, if an object has modifiers, the ezafeh will take precedence over the
oblique case. Observe the following:
Hûn keçên
ên birçî dibînin. 38
You (pl.) see the hungry girls.
Em hêkên
ên te dixwin. We eat your eggs.
Ez sê kitêbên
ên nû dixwînim. I read the three new books.
38These three sentences in Behdinani would look like this:

Hûn [or hûng] kiçêt
êt birsî dibînin; Em hêkêt
êt te dixoyn; Ez sê kitêbêt
êt nû dixwînim.
• 37 •
However, as mentioned above, if an object has both a demonstrative (these,

those) and another modifier, the demonstrative will şow the oblique case, while
the noun will take the ezafeh form followed by the modifier. For example:
Hûn van keçan

an dibînin. You (pl.) see these girls.
but: Hûn van keçên
ên birçî dibînin. You (pl.) see these hungry girls.
Em wan hêkan
an dixwin. We eat those eggs.
but: Em wan hêkên
ên te dixwin. We eat those eggs of yours.
Ez van sê kitêban
an dixwînim. I read these three books.
but: Ez van sê kitêbên
ên nû dixwînim.I read these three new books.
III. We have left masculine singular nouns for last, because they are a little bit
more complicated. In all Kurmanji dialects, whether northern or southern, in
conjunction with the demonstratives, masculine singular nouns take -î (-yî before
final vowels) in the oblique case. The demonstratives ev and ew have the
masculine singular oblique forms vî and wî respectively. Hence, 'this hand' (ev
dest ) and 'that brother' (ew bira) have the oblique forms vî destîî and wî birayî
39
yî.
Consider the following sample sentences:
Ew vî tiştîî dixwaze. Şe wants this thing.
Em wî kûçikîî digrin. We catch that dog.
Tu çima vî nanîî dixwî? Why do you eat this bread?
Ez wî çiyayî
yî dibînim. I see that mountain.
As with feminine nouns, note that masculine indefinite nouns also take the same
oblique case ending as their definite counterparts: -î in (-ek-îî): dest-ek-î, bira-
yek-î. Let's look at our sample sentences for more examples:
Ew tiştekîî dixwaze. Şe wants something.
Em kûçikekîî digrin. We catch a dog.
Tu çima nanekîî dixwî? Why are you eating a [loaf of]

bread?
Ez çiyayekîî dibînim. I see a mountain.
By now it şould come as no surprise that when a masculine noun is an object at
39ev deste
e in some dialects -- including, among others, Behdinan.
• 38 •
the same time that it has an ezafeh (e.g., 'my brother' = birayê min in 'Şe sees
my brother' = Ew birayê min dibîne), the ezafeh will take precedence over the
oblique case. Our sample sentences will demonstrate this:
Ew tiştê te dixwaze. She wants your thing.
Em kûçikê birçî digrin. We catch the hungry dog.
Tu çima nanê min dixwî? Why do you eat my bread?
Ez çiyayê mezin dibînim. I see the large mountain.
Once again, if the object has a demonstrative as well as another modifier, the
demonstrative (ev or ew) will go into the oblique case (vî or wî), while the noun
will take the ezafeh + modifier.
Examples are:
Ew vî tiştîî dixwaze. She wants this thing.

but: Ew vî tiştê
ê te dixwaze. She wants this thing of yours.
Em wî kûçikîî digrin. We catch that dog.

but: Em wî kûçikê
ê birçî digrin. We catch that hungry dog.
Tu çima vî nanîî dixwî? Why do you eat this bread?

but: Tu çima vî nanê
ê min dixwî? Why do you eat this bread of mine?
Ez wî çiyayî
yî dibînim. I see that mountain.
but: Ez wî çiyayê
yê mezin dibînim. I see that large mountain.
So far, the masculine singular has not differed from the feminine singular or from
the plural. Here comes the hard part: simple masculine singular nouns in the
oblique case are treated differently in the northern dialects than they are in the
south. In the south, i.e., in Behdinan and in Hekkari, the pattern is simple: all
masculine singular nouns get -î (or -yî before a vowel ) in the oblique case, e.g.
40
çavîî, birayî
yî, nanîî. However, in the north, the situation is a bit more complex:
when accompanied by a demonstrative (vî or wî), masculine oblique nouns take
the ending -î (e.g., vî çavîî, wî birayî
yî, vî nanîî). But, simple nouns (without a
demonstrative) do not take the ending -î. Instead, many (but not all) of them
change the last -e- or -a- in the word to -ê ê-, e.g. çavî --> çê
êv; birayî --> birê
ê;
nanî --> nê ên. The technical term for such stem-changing vowels is ablaut.
Masculine nouns that do not have an -a- or an -e-, such as gund (village), remain
unchanged in the simple oblique case (although with the demonstrative it
becomes vî/wî gundî). Three principle parts of masculine nouns şould be
40 In Behdinan, often just -y before a vowel, e.g. biray

y, çiyay
y.
• 39 •
memorized: direct case, simple oblique case, and oblique case with
demonstrative.
The following is a list of the three principle parts of the masculine nouns we have
had thus far which manifest ablaut:
aş êş vî aşî
bira birê vî birayî
çav çêv vî çavî
dest dêst vî destî
dev dêv vî devî
ga gê vî gayî
heval hevêl vî hevalî
kiras kirês vî kirasî
nan nên vî nanî
At the end of this chapter, you will find a chart summarizing the declensions for
masculine singular, feminine singular, and plural nouns. Please study it carefully,
and refer to it whenever you need it.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) Ez te nabînim. 2) Tu tiştekî naxwazî. 3) Ew nagrî. 4) Em pisîkan
nagrin. 5) Hûn dêrî nagrin. 6) Ew dersê naxwînin. 7) Ew dersa pêşîn naxwîne, ew
dersa didua dixwîne. 8) Tu destê min dibînî. 9) Hûn kitêban dibînin. 10) Em hêkan
dixwin. 11) Ew tiştan dibînin. 12) Ew tiştekî dixwaze. 13) Tu pirtûkê digrî. 14)
Mamosta dêrî digre. 15) Dara çiyê dibîne?
II. Change the affirmative sentences in exercise I to negative, and change the
negative sentences to affirmative. Then translate.
III. Where possible, add demonstratives (ev and ew) to the sentences in exercise
one. Then translate. (e.g., Ez xwendekarê dibînim --> Ez wê xwendekarê dibînim).
IV. Where possible, add modifiers (min, te, etc. or adjectives) to the sentences in
exercise one. Then translate. (e.g., Ez xwendekarê dibînim --> Ez xwendekara
nû/xwendekara te dibînim).
V. Where possible, add demonstratives and modifiers to the sentences in exercise

one. Then translate. (e.g., Ez xwendekarê dibînim --> Ez wê xwendekara nû
dibînim).
VI. Where possible, add numbers (1-20) and any combination you choose (from
exercises II, III, IV, and V) to the sentences in exercise one. Then translate.
Declension of Nouns
• 40 •
Masc. Fem. Pl.

Direct - - -
Ezafeh -ê -a -êt/-êd/-ên
Oblique (-ê-) ø [S: -î] -ê -a[n]
vî -î
Direct çav jin çav : jin

Ezafeh çavê te jina te çavên te : jinên
te
Oblique çêv jinê çava[n] :
vî çavî jina[n]
Direct bira tilî bira : tilî

Ezafeh birayê te (birê tilîya te birayên te :
te) tilîyên te
Oblique birê tilîyê biraya[n]
vî birayî (bira[n]) :
tilîya[n]
Declension of Indefinite Nouns
Masc. Fem. Pl.

Direct -ek -ek -in
Ezafeh -ekî -eke -ine
Oblique -ekî -ekê -ina
Dir Çav-ek jin-ek *çav-in :

*jin-in
Ezaf çavekî te jineke te çavine te :
jinine te
Obl çavekî jinekê çavina :
jinina
Dir bira-[ye]k tilî-yek *bira-yin :

*tilî-yin
Ezaf birakî/ tilîyeke te birayine te :
birayekî te tilîyine te
Obl birakî/ tilîyekê birayina :
birayekî tilîyina
• 41 •
Dersa Şeşa [6]

{Pikkert 3.1; 3.7}
FOLKLORE:
Mamik: Vedikim naçe, girêdidim diçe. Ew çi ye? [çarix]
another version:
Tiştek heye, ku girê didim, diçe; ku divekim, disekine. [çarox]
DIALOGUE:
I. [Kesek li dêrî dixe.]
Helîme: Bextiyar, hinek li dêrî dixin. Rabe, dêrî veke û
bibîne, kî ye!
Bextiyar: Baş e. Ser çava. [Bextiyar dêrî vedike.] … Roj
baş, Mamosta Miho! Bi xêr hatî! Kerem ke! Kerem ke!
Miho: Nav xêrê da bî! Çawan î, Bextiyar? Baş î?
Bextiyar: Ser serê min! Kerem ke, rrûne! Ser pîyan nesekine!
Tu çi vedixwî? Çay? Qawe?
Miho: Ez gelek hiz ji çayê dikim!
Bextiyar: Ser çava. Helîme, mêvanekî me heye! Tu bo me
çayê çê nakî?
Helîme: [Ji mezela din tê.] Mêvanê me kî ye? [Mêvên
dibîne.] Ah! Mamosta Miho! Gelek bi xêr hatî!
Çawan î? Baş î?
Miho: Nav xêrê da bî! Sax bî, bijî. Ez baş im.
Tu jî baş î?
Helîme: Ser serê min! Çay niha tê! [derdikeve.]
*****
Helîme: [Çayê tîne.] Çay hazir e! Kerem ke!

Miho: Keremdar bî! … [Çayê vedixwe.] … Hmm! Helîme
Xan, çaya te gelek xweş e! Germ e, û şîrin e!
Destê te sax be!
Helîme: Noşî can be! [derdikeve.]
II. Bextiyar: Eh, Mamosta. Tu nabêjî, xwendingeh çawan e?

Xwendekarên te çawan in?
Miho: Xwendekarên min baş in!
Bextiyar: Çend xwendekarên te hene?
Miho: Bîst û pênc xwendekarên min hene.
Bextiyar: Baş e, çend kurr û çend keç in?
Miho: Deh kurr û panzdeh keç in.
Bextiyar: Û hemî xwendekarên te her rroj tên û dersên xwe
dixwînin?
• 42 •
Miho: Erê! Her rroj tên.

Bextiyar: [Dibîne ku Miho çayeke din dixwaze.] Helîme!
Çayeke din bo Mamosta Miho dagre û bîne!
Helîme: [Ji mezela din] Ser çava! Çay niha tê!
Bextiyar: Hemî xwendekarên te zû tên?
Miho: Xwendekareke min heye ku tim dereng tê. Lê hemî
xwendekarên din zû tên.
Bextiyar: Ew xwendekara te ku tim dereng tê -- kî ye?
Navê wê çi ye?
Miho: Navê wê Perwîn e.
Bextiyar: Perwîn! Lê navê keça min jî Perwîn e! Tu nabêjî ku
keça min Perwîn tim dereng tê xwendingehê!?
Miho: Belê Bextiyar! Ez wisa dibêjim!
VOCABULARY:
bo, prep. for
çarix/çarox, f. peasant şoe
çay, f. [S: ça] tea
çêdikim I make, fix, repair,
prepare (e.g., a meal)
dadigrim I fill up (vt.)
derdik’evim + ji I leave, exit, go out of
derdixim I cause to leave,
I throw/take/bring out
dereng late
destê te sax be greeting said to anyone
who does stg. for you, e.g. serves you tea
diçim I go
diherrim I go
disekinim I stand, I stop
germ warm, hot
girêdidim I tie, bind
hinek [pl.] someone, somebody,
some people
hazir ready
K’erem ke! greeting said to a guest
when offering or inviting
K’eremdar bî! response to Kerem ke.
mezel, f. room, chamber
mêvan, mêvên, vî mêvanî, m.&f. guest
Nav xêrê da bî! response to Bi xêr hatî.
Noşî can be! Bon appetit!
qawe, f. coffee
rradibim I get up, rise
rradizêm I lie down, go to sleep
rrûdinim I sit
• 43 •
ser pîyan standing, on one's feet

ser serê min expression denoting that one is pleased to see someone
[lit.'on my head']
şîrin sweet
têm I come
tînim I bring [towards the
(neg. naynim/naînim; imperative bîne) speaker]
vedikim I open
vedixwim I drink
wisa so, thus; such
Xan respectful title after names
xwendingeh, f. school
NUMBERS:
bîst û yek twenty one, 21 çil forty, 40
bîst û pênc twenty five, 25 pêncî fifty, 50
sî [also: sih, sîh] thirty, 30 şêst sixty, 60
GRAMMAR:
a. Compound verbs. Some verbs have prefixes. Let us begin by giving an Engliş
parallel: we have in Engliş the verb to stand, and the verb to understand.
under The
verb understand is conjugated the same way as the verb to stand, e.g. both
have the same past tense form: stood, understood.
under Under- is a prefix. In Engliş,
we also have verbs that change meaning when accompanied by a separate word
or particle, e.g. to stand up,
up to stand for,
for to stand still.
still The meanings of Kurdiş
verbs can be modified in a similar faşion with the addition of prefixes. In most
dialects, the prefixes precede the present stem marker di- (e.g., ve-di di-kim = 'I
open'). For the purposes of this course, we will use this structure. However, it is
important to note that in some dialects, the di- comes first (e.g., di-ve-kim
di = 'I
open').
Common prefixes (or preverbs) include: da-, der-, hil-, jê-, lê-, pê-, rra-, tê-,
ve-, wer-. Less common ones are: çê- and rrû-.
I. Here is the present tense affirmative of some common verbs: rrû-di-nim = 'I
sit'; ve-di-kim = 'I open'; and rra-di-bim = 'I get up'.
'to sit'
Ez rrû-di
di-nim 41
'I sit'
Em rrû-di di-nin 'we sit'
Tu rrû-di
di-nî 'you (s.) sit'
Hûn rrû-di di-nin 'you (pl.) sit'
Ew rrû-di di-ne 'he/şe/it sits'
Ew rrû-di di-nin 'they sit'
41[S: Ez di-¢û-nim;
di Tu di-¢û-nî;
di Ew di-¢û-nît(in);
di Em di-¢û-nîn;
di Hûn di-¢û-nin;
di Ew di-¢û-nin]
di
• 44 •
'to open'
Ez ve-di
di-kim 'I open'
42
Em ve-di di-kin 'we open'

Tu ve-di
di-kî 'you (s.) open '
Hûn ve-di di-kin 'you (pl.) open'
Ew ve-di di-ke 'he/şe/it opens'
Ew ve-di di-kin 'they open'
'to get up, rise'

Ez rra-di
di-bim 43
'I get up'
Em rra-di di-bin 'we get up'
Tu rra-di
di-bî 'you (s.) get up'
Hûn rra-di di-bin 'you (pl.) get up'
Ew rra-di di-be 'he/şe/it gets up'
Ew rra-di di-bin 'they get up'
II. The negative of the present indicative of compound verbs is formed the same
way as it is with simple verbs, i.e. by replacing di- with an accented (stressed)
ná-. Here is the negative present indicative of rrû-di-nim:
'not to sit'
Ez rrû-náná-nim 44
'I don't sit'
Em rrû-ná ná-nin 'we don't sit'
Tu rrû-náná-nî 'you (s.) don't sit'
Hûn rrû-ná ná-nin 'you (pl.) don't sit'
Ew rrû-ná ná-ne 'he/şe/it doesn't sit'
Ew rrû-ná ná-nin 'they don't sit'
Other compound verbs include:

•çê-di
di-kim I make, fix, repair, prepare (e.g., a meal)
•da-di
di-grim I fill up (vt.)
•der-di
di-kevim + ji I leave, exit, go out of
•der-di
di-xim I cause to leave, I throw/take/bring out
•girê-di
di-dim I tie, bind
•rra-di
di-zêm I lie down, go to sleep
•ve-di
di-xwim I drink
b. Imperatives. When we want to give someone a command, we use the

imperative form of the verb, e.g. 'Close the door!' or 'Come here!'. Imperatives are
always addressed to the second person (you): 'Close the door' means 'Hey you,
close the door!'.
42[S: Ez di-ve-kem;
di Tu di-ve-key;
di Ew di-ve-ket(in);
di Em di-ve-keyn;
di Hûn di-ve-ken;
di Ew di-ve-
di
ken]
43[S: Ez di-¢a-bim;
di Tu di-¢a-bî;
di Ew di-¢a-bît(in);
di Em di-¢a-bîn;
di Hûn di-¢a-bin;
di Ew di-¢a-bin]
di
44[S: Ez ná-¢û-nim;
ná Tu ná-¢û-nî;
ná Ew ná-¢û-nît(in);
ná Em ná-¢û-nîn;
ná Hûn ná-¢û-nin;
ná Ew ná-¢û-
ná
nin]
• 45 •
I. In English, the imperative is very easy to form: it is the simple form of the
present tense and infinitive. However, in Kurdish, the situation is slightly more
complex. To form a simple imperative in Kurdish, the di- of the present tense
must be replaced with bi-, and the personal ending will change, depending on
whether one or more people are being commanded to do something. The ending
for the singular will be -e (-ø or no ending after a vowel), and for the plural, -in (-
45
n after a vowel). The 'formula', then, is:
singular: bi-X
X-e (bi-AA)
plural: bi-X
X-in (bi-A
A-n),
where X = verb stem ending in a consonant, and A = verb stem ending in a vowel.
So, for example, from di-k-im = 'I do', we will get bi-k-e (s.) and bi-k-in (pl.) =
'Do!' Here are some more examples:
Singular Plural English

bi-bîn
bîn-e bi-bîn
bîn-in See!
bi-xw
xw-e bi-xw
xw-in Eat!
bi-gr
gr-e bi-gr
gr-in Take! Close!
bi-şo
şo bi-şo
şo-n Waş!
bi-xwaz
xwaz-e bi-xwaz
xwaz-in Want! 46
II. The negative imperative (e.g. 'Don't close the door!', 'Don't go!') is formed by
replacing the bi- prefix of the affirmative imperative with an accented (stressed)
né-, or with an accented mé- . Hence, 'Don't do!' would be né-k-e/mé
47
né mé-k-e (s.)
and né-k-in/mé
né mé-k-in (pl.).
**Note that whereas the negative of the simple present tense is ná

á- [with an á],
the negative of the imperative is né
é- [with an é]**
Here are the negative imperatives of the verbs listed above:
Singular Plural English

né-bîn-e
né • mé-bîn-e
mé né-bîn-in
né • mé-bîn-in
mé Don't see!
né-xw-e
né • mé-xw-e
mé né-xw-in
né • mé-xw-in
mé Don't eat!
né-gr-e
né • mé-gr-e
mé né-gr-in
né • mé-gr-in
mé Don't take!
Don't close!
né-şo
né • mé-şo
mé né-şo-n
né • mé-şo-n
mé Don't wash!
né-xwaz-e
né • mé-xwaz-e
mé né-xwaz-in
né • mé-xwaz-in
mé Don't want!
45In some regions, such as Mardin in Turkey, there is no ending (-e) for the imperative singular.
Hence, instead of bi-k-e they say bi-k. The singular imperatives of the other verbs shown here in
Mardin dialect are: bi-bîn; bi-xu; bi-gir; bi-¤o; bi-xwaz.
46or, Ask for! Request!
47Negative imperatives with me- have a cognate in Persian as well.
• 46 •
III. Compound verbs. The imperative of compound verbs in the negative follows
the same principle outlined above, simply inserting an accented (stressed) -né-
between the preverb and the stem, e.g. çê-néné-k-e (s.) & çê-né
né-k-in (pl.) = 'Don't
make!'. In the affirmative, however, the -bi- is generally dropped. Hence, instead
of çê-bi
bi-k-e and çê-bi
bi-k-in, one generally finds çê-k-e and çê-k-in. Here are
some more examples:
Singular Plural Engliş

ve-xw-e ve-xw-in Drink!
neg. ve-né
né-xw-e ve-né
né-xw-in Don't drink!
ve-mé
mé-xw-e ve-mé
mé-xw-in
rrû-n-e rrû-n-in Sit!
neg. rrû-né
né-n-e rrû-né
né-n-in Don't sit!
rrû-mé
mé-n-e rrû-mé
mé-n-in
da-gr-e da-gr-in Fill!
neg. da-né
né-gr-e da-né
né-gr-in Don't fill!
da-mé
mé-gr-e da-mé
mé-gr-in
rra-b-e rra-b-in Get up!
neg. rra-né
né-b-e rra-né
né-b-in Don't get up!
rra-mé
mé-b-e rra-mé
mé-b-in
In some instances, the affirmative imperative can optionally take the -bi-, e.g.:
kerem [bi-]k-e kerem [bi-]k-in ~Please!

neg. kerem né-k-e
né kerem né-k-in
né ~Please don't!
kerem mé-k-e
mé kerem mé-k-in
mé
guh [bi-]d-e guh [bi-]d-in Listen!
neg. guh né-d-e
né guh né-d-in
né Don't listen!
guh mé-d-e
mé guh mé-d-in
mé
IV. Irregular imperatives. Some very common verbs form irregular imperatives.
•herr-e herr-in Go!

né-herr-e/né
né né-ç-e né-herr-in/né
né né-ç-in Don't go!
mé-herr-e/mé
mé mé-ç-e mé-herr-in/mé
mé mé-ç-in
•wer-e wer-in Come!
né-wer-e/né
né né-yê né-wer-in/né
né né-yên Don't come!
mé-wer-e/mé
mé mé-yê mé-wer-in/mé
mé mé-yên
•bêj-e bêj-in Say! Tell!
né-bêj-e
né né-bêj-in
né Don't say!
mé-bêj-e
mé mé-bêj-in
mé Don't tell!
c. Irregular verbs: to go and to come. These extremely common verbs şow

certainly irregularities which need to be explained.
I. to go. The verb 'to go' has two alternative stems for the present tense, 1) one
• 47 •
based on the imperative (herr-) -- extremely common in the north, and 2) one
based on the past tense (ç-) -- the norm in the south. Both form their negatives
regularly. Here is their conjugation:
1.
Ez di-herr
herr-im 'I go'
Em di-herr
herr-in 'we go'
Tu di-herr
herr-î 'you (s.) go'
Hûn di-herr
herr-in 'you (pl.) go'
Ew di-herr
herr-e 'he/şe/it goes'
Ew di-herr
herr-in 'they go'
negative:
Ez ná-herr-im,
ná etc.
2.
Ez di-ç
ç-im 'I go'
Em di-ç
ç-in 'we go'
Tu di-ç
ç-î 'you (s.) go'
Hûn di-ç
ç-in 'you (pl.) go'
Ew di-ç
ç-e 'he/şe/it goes'
Ew di-ç
ç-in 'they go'
negative:
Ez ná-ç-im,
ná etc.
II. to come. The original forms of this verb are still preserved in the southern
dialects (dihêm). However, in the north a şortened form has arisen (têm), with a
negative that needs a bit of attention. We will list the northern form first:
1.
Ez tê-m
tê 'I come'
Em tê-n
tê 'we come'
Tu tê-yî
tê 'you (s.) come'
Hûn tê-n
tê 'you (pl.) come'
Ew tê[-t]
tê 'he/şe/it comes'
Ew tê-n
tê 'they come'
note negative: Ez ná-yê-m,

ná etc.
2.
Ez di-hê
hê-m 'I come'
Em di-hê
hê-yn 'we come'
Tu di-hê
hê-y 'you (s.) come'
Hûn di-hê
hê-n 'you (pl.) come'
Ew di-hê
hê-t[in] 'he/şe/it comes'
• 48 •
Ew di-hê
hê-n 'they come'
negative:
Ez ná-hê-m,
ná etc.
d. Hev. There is a good deal of variety in the ways to say 'each other' or 'one
another' in Kurdiş. Some regions prefer hev, or hev û du or hev û din, while
others (largely in the south) prefer yek û du (êk û du). So, for example:
Em ji hev [ûû du]

du hiz nakin
We don't like one another
Note the use of hev, etc. in the following, where the Engliş does not require it:
Bêrîvan û Gulistan hevalên ên hev in

Bêrîvan and Gulistan are friends [literally, 'friends of each other'].
Dara û Bêkes birayên

yên hev in
Dara and Bêkes are brothers [literally, 'brothers of each other'].
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) Do you (s.) like this boy? Yes, I like him, we are friends [of one
another]; 2) Stand up (pl.)! Don't sit down!; 3) I don't know what you want. Say
what you want; 4) Our dogs are coming. Open (s.) the door!; 5) Our mother
likes both tea and coffee; 6) We are bringing eggs and white bread; 7) Why are
you (pl.) leaving [from] your house? Don't leave your house!; 8) Our friend (f.) is
making tea for her guest; 9) We like both our cats. Do you (s.) like our cats?
Don't you (pl.) like our cats?; 10) They are taking their dog out of their friend's
(m.) house. I am taking my dog out of my daughter's school.
II. a. Change these polite commands into simple imperatives. b. Then make them
into negative imperatives. E.g., a. Tu destên xwe naşoyî? --> Destên xwe bişo! -->
b. Destên xwe neşo!
1) Tu vê dersa xwe naxwînî? 2) Hûn çayê bo vê mêvana xwe çênakin û naînin? 3)
Hûn vê pisîka min naşon? 4) Tu navê xwe nabêjî? 5) Hûn vî derîyê kevn nagrin? 6)
Hûn çaroxên xwe girênadin? 7) Hûn nayên, hûn mêvanê me nabînin? 8) Tu naherrî,
tu xûşka xwe ji wê xwendingeha wê naînî? 9) Tu ji wan xwendekarên nû napirsî,
navên wan çi ne? 10) Hûn kerem nakin, hûn rrûnanin? 11) Tu vê qaweya germ û
şîrin venaxwî? 12) Tu rranabî, tu dêrî bo dîya xwe venakî?
III. Choose three simple verbs and three compounds verbs. Conjugate each one
in the affirmative present indicative; negative present indicative; affirmative
imperative; negative imperative.
IV. Write out and say the following numbers in Kurdiş: 34; 65; 28; 16; 18; 57; 39;
46; 52; 43.
• 49 •
KURDIŞ PERSONAL NAMES

Male: Female:
Bextiyar Helîme
Perwîn
• 50 •
Dersa Hefta [7]

{Pikkert 1.11; 2.6}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan: Deynê Sibatê li Adarê ye
READING:
Hevalekî min heye, navê wî Bahrî ye. Bahrî xelqê Sêwregê ye, lê ew îro li
Sêwregê najî. Ew li Îstanbolê dijî. Bahrî xwendekar e, li zanîngeha Îstanbolê
dixwîne. Bahrî xwendekarekî ze‘f baş e; ew her rroj pirr pirtûkan dixwîne. Gava
ku Bahrî naxwîne, li stranên Kurdî guhdarî dike, ji ber ku kêfa wî ji stranên Kurdî rra
tê. Bahrî pirr, pirr ji stranên Şivên hiz dike. Şivan stranbêjekî Kurdî ye: ew
Karagêçî ye. Karagêçî ‘Eşîreteke mezin e, nêzîkî Wêranşehrê, di herêma Rehayê
da. Bahrî û Şivan hev nas dikin, ji ber ku Karagêçî nêzîkî Sêwregê ne jî.
Bahrî bêjin e, lê jina Şivên heye; navê wê Gulistan e. Gulistan xelqê
Wêranşehrê ye. Kurrekî wan heye, navê wî Serxwebûn e. Şivan, Gulistan û
Serxwebûn li Tirkîyê najîn, ew li Swêdê dijîn. Herdu çavên Serxwebûn rreş in,
mîna çavên bavê wî. Gulistan jî dibêje ku çavên wê heşîn in. Kêfa te ji çavên
heşîn rra tê?
Kêfa xûşka min ji çavên heşîn rra nayê: kêfa wê ji çavên rreş rra tê. Gava ku
ez herdu çavên xwe di neynikê da dibînim, ez dibêjim ku “Herdu çavên min rreş
nînin! Tu çima dibêjî ku ez çavrreş im?!” Gava ku tu herdu guhên xwe di neynikê
da dibînî, tu çi dibêjî? Kêfa te ji guhên te rra tê? Guhên te dirêj in, yan jî kurt in?
Destên te jî: tu destên xwe çawa dibînî? Kêfa te ji wan rra tê yan ne? Destên te
biçûk in, yan jî mezin in?
Em lingên xwe çawa dibînin? Lingên me dirêj in yan kurt in? Bi pirç in yan
bê pirç in? Lingên van keçan bê pirç in, lê lingên wan kurran ze‘f bi pirç in.
Destên wî kurrî gelek mezin in! Tu wî nas dikî? Erê, ez wî nas dikim. Çima tu
dipirsî? Ji ber ku kêfa min ji destên mezin rra tê. Destên bavê min jî mezin in!
Hûn ji pisîka min hiz dikin? Kêfa we ji pisîkan rra tê? Pisîka min pirr bi aqil e.
Navê wê Reşê ye, ji ber ku rrengê wê rreş e. Kêfa wê ji solên mêvanan rra ze‘f tê.
Ew bi solên wan dileyîze. Pisîka hevalê min jî, ku navê wê Dîcle ye, bi qelemên
mêvanan dileyîze. Kerem kin, bi pisîkên me rra bileyîzin!
VOCABULARY:
Adar, f. March (the month)
• 51 •
ango that means, i.e.

bê without
bêjin unmarried (man)
bê p’irç’ hairless
bi with, by means of; in (a language)
bi aqil intelligent, smart
bi p’irç’ hairy
bi … rra with, together with
bo for
deyn, m. debt
digel [S] with, together with
dijîm I live
dileyîzim (bi) I play (with something)
‘Eşîret, f. tribe
gava ku when
guhdarî dikim, vt. [+li] I listen (to)
herêm, f. region, province, district
îro today
ji from
ji … rra to, for
jin, f. woman, wife
k’êfa min ji X rra [S: bi X] tê I like …
mêr, m. man
mîna like, similar to
nas dikim [S: dinyasim] I know (a person), recognize
nexweş sick, ill
neynik, f. mirror
nêzîkî near to, close to
p’irr [=gelek] very; much
p’irç’, f. body hair
qelem, f. pen
rreng, m. color
rrûp’el, f. page (of a book)
Sibat, f. February
sol, f. shoe
stran, f. song
stranbêj, m.&f. singer
Swêd, f. Sweden
şivan, şivên, vî şivanî, m. shepherd
T’irkîye, f. Turkey
xelqê… from,native of
zanîngeh, f. university
ze‘f [=gelek] very; much
NUMBERS:
Heftê seventy, 70 not ninety, 90
• 52 •
heştê eighty, 80 sed one hundred, 100
GRAMMAR:
a. The oblique case has several functions in Kurdiş. So far, we have covered the
use of it as direct object, e.g.
Ez te dibînim 'I see you'

Ez kitêbê dixwînim 'I read the book'
Ew dêrî vedike 'He opens the door'
Em wan pisîkan digrin 'We catch those cats'
The oblique case is also used as the second part of a possessive (or genitive or
ezafeh) construction. In English, we have such constructions as 'the hair of the
girl' (or, 'the girl's hair) or 'the hands of the teacher' (or, 'the teacher's hands').
The italicized part of these phrases is the second part of the possessive
construction. We already know how to do this in Kurdish with pronouns: kitêba
min = 'my book', or 'the book of me'. If we were to substitute the pronoun min =
'my' with a noun, that noun will always be in the oblique case, e.g.
kitêba keçê=
keçê 'the book of the girl' (or, 'the girl's book)
In this construction, the first part of the possessive (or genitive or ezafeh)
construction takes the ezafeh ending (kitêb-a
kitêb-a keçê; dest-ê vî kurrî; çav-ên
keçan); the second part takes the oblique case (kitêba keç-ê; keç-ê destê vî kurr-î;
kurr-î
çavên keç-an).
keç-an
Here are some sentences with this construction:
Navê keçê Gulbahar e The girl's name is Gulbahar.

Bavê xwendekarê mamosta ye The student's (f.) father is a teacher.
Birayên jinê nexweş in The woman's brothers are ill.
Guhên pisîkan dirêj in The cats' ears are long.
Rûpelên kitêbê pirr in The pages of the book are many.
b. Another use of the oblique case is as the object of prepositions. Engliş

prepositions include: in, on, to, with, for, beside, through, and many more
besides. Kurdiş prepositions include: bê = 'without', bo = 'for', ji = 'from', li = 'in,
at', mîna = 'like, similar to', and nêzîkî = 'near'.
Nouns and pronouns governed by prepositions are in the oblique case, e.g.:
ji wan from them

li Îstanbol-ê
ê in Istanbul
nêzîkî Wêranşehr-ê
ê near Viranşehir
It should also be noted that the four prepositions bi (with, by means of), di
(inside), ji (from), li (in, at) can combine with the third person singular pronouns
wî (him) and wê (her). The following transformations are then as follows:
• 53 •
bi + wî/wê pê with him/her/it

di + wî/wê tê inside him/her/it
ji + wî/wê jê from him/her/it
li + wî/wê lê in or at him/her/it
For example,
Ez jê hiz dikim I love him/her
Em lê dijîn We live in it.
c. Ambipositions. In addition to prepositions, Kurdiş also has constructions that

consist of a preposition coupled with a postposition, for example di … da = 'in,
48
inside'. This is sort of like a sandwich (a circumfix or ambiposition), in that di

precedes the noun, and da follows it, e.g. di xwendingeh-ê ê da = 'in school'.
Other examples of such 'sandwiches' are bi … rra = '[together] with' and ji ...
49
rra = 'to': bi min rra = 'with me'; ji te rra = 'to you'. Traditionally, students of
50
Kurmanji are taught that there are three postpositions: da [or de] indicating
position, rra [or rre] indicating motion towards or across, and ve indicating
togetherness. These meanings are only meant to be a general guide, but it şould
be noted that these postpositions can radically change the meaning of the
accompanying preposition, e.g.:
ji wan from them

ji wan rra to or for them
Note that the contractions mentioned above also apply to ambipositions, e.g.
ji + wî/wê + rra jê rra for him/her/it

di + wî/wê + da tê da in him/her/it
It şould be noted that in southern dialects (both Hekkari and Behdinan), the
simplest way to say 'with' is digel, equivalent to bi … rra in the north: digel min
= bi min rra = with me. Also, in Behdinan bo is used instead of ji … rra for 'to'
or 'for'.
d. I like, you like, etc. We have already learned the expression hiz dikim ji …,
which really means 'I love'. If I want to say that I like something, rather than love
it, another very common expression is used: Kêfa min ji … rra tê. In southern
dialects, they replace the sandwich ji … rra with the simple preposition bi , and51
say Kêfa min bi … têt. Here are a few examples of how this is used:
48Variant: di … dee
49Variant: bi … ¢ee
50Variant: ji … ¢e
e
51For this expression only -- NOT in general!
• 54 •
Kêfa wî ji hêkan rra [S: bi hêkan] nayê He doesn't like eggs.

Kêfa te ji pisîkan rra [S: bi kitikan] têt? Do you like cats?
Kêfa min ji vê kitêbê rra tê I like this book.
With the contractions mentioned above, we obtain the following:
Kêfa min jê rra tê [S: Kêfa min pê têt] I like it.
e. What do you think of this? In Kurdish, instead of asking someone what s/he
thinks of something, one asks how s/he sees it: Tu … çawa dibînî? For example:
Tu destên xwe çawa dibînî? = What do you think of your hands? In other
words, when asking someone his/her opinion about something, this construction
can be used.
f. Where are you from? The way to ask someone where s/he is from in Kurdish
is different from its English equivalent. One asks 'You are the people of what
place?' = Tu xelqê ku derê yî? Xelq, m. is a noun meaning 'people'. The
answer is: 'I am the people of [X]' = Ez xelqê [X]ê me. The place is in the
oblique case, as it is the second part of an ezafeh (genitive or possessive)
construction. E.g., Ez xelqê Rehayê me = I am from Urfa; Ew xelqê Dihokê ye
= S/he is from Dihok. Note that xelq is used for both genders and both numbers:
Bavê min xelqê Dihokê ye; Dîya min xelqê Wêranşehrê ye [never *xelqa a
Wêranşehrê ye]; Herdu xwendekarên te xelqê Swêdê ne [never *xelqên ên
Swêdê ne].
g. to know. As in many other languages, Kurdish has two different words for 'to
know'. Ez dizanim is used for facts, e.g. 'I know that he is a teacher' = Ez
dizanim ku ew mamosta ye. Note that this is often used with ku. Remember:
Ez dizanim ku … This is the equivalent of German wissen, French savoir,
Spanish saber, Turkiş bilmek, and Persian dÐnestan.
However, when one knows or is acquainted with a person, a different verb is used:
Ez nas dikim [S: Ez dinyasim ]. This can also mean 'to recognize'. Hence, this is
52
much the same as German kennen, French connaître, Spanish conocer, Turkish
tanışmak, and Persian şenÐkhtan.
Note the following distinction:
Ez wê keçê nas dikim, lê ez navê wê nizanim

I know that girl, but I don't know her name.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) What are the cats doing? They are playing with the guests' şoes.
2) The dogs are playing with the guest's (f.) books. 3) Do you like children? I like
the şepherd's children. 4) What do you think of that girl's eyes? They are green
52In Hekkari, they say Ez dinaysim, and near Akre they say Ez dinasim.
• 55 •
and very big. 5) Does Şivan live in Istanbul? No, he doesn't live in Istanbul, he
lives in Sweden with his {careful!} wife. 6) Are you sitting in the boy's room? No, I
am not sitting in the boy's room, I am sitting in his sister's room. 7) Why are you
reading that old book? Because I like the book's name! 8) Do you know that man?
I know him, but I don't know his name. 9) He knows that our teacher's friend lives
in that big house. 10) They don't know that our friends' teacher knows the
şepherd. 11) Don't you know where Şivan is from? He is from Urfa, isn't he? 12)
My mother is from Sweden.
II. Translate into English: 1) Navê xwendekarê Zîn e. Navê birayê wê jî Ehmed e.
2) Bavê wê hevala me li Sêwregê dijî. 3) Em navê wî stranbêjî nizanin. Em wî hêj
nas nakin. 4) Bahrî, tu nizanî ku dîya vê keçikê dersdar e? 5) Birayê rrîspîyê gundê
me nexweş e. 6) Hemî xwendekarên me xelqê Tirkîyê ne. 7) Tu nizanî ew stranbêj
xelqê ku derê ye? Nexêr, ez wî nas nakim. 8) Derîyê wê mezelê venekin! Di wê
mezelê da neleyîzin! 9) Em nizanin çima tu tim dixwînî, ji ber ku kêfa te bi dersan
nayê. 10) Kûçikê Gulistanê kirasên birayê wê dixwe. Kêfa wî bi kirasan têt.
III. Answer these questions in the negative, then give the affirmative answer in
parentheses: e.g.: Navê te Ramazan e? [nexêr; Dara] --> Nexêr, navê min
Ramazan nîne; navê min Dara ye.
1) Tu mêrê vê jinê nas dikî? [nexêr; wê jinê bi xwe]; 2) Ew navê wê zanîngehê

dizane? [nexêr; ez]; 3) Kêfa we bi/ji gotinên pêşîyan rra tê? [nexêr; bi mamikan];
4) Xûşka wî şivanî xwendekar e? [nexêr; stranbêj]; 5) Bavê wan zarokan li Tirkîyê
dijî? [nexêr; li Swêdê]; 6) Îro rrîspîyên wî gundî tên? [nexêr; li mala Şivên rrûdinin];
7) Jina Sebrî xelqê Sêwregê ye? [nexêr; xelqê ‘Efrînê]; 8) Mêvanê Lezgîn çayê
vedixwe? [nexêr; qawê]; 9) Ferhad û Bûrhan birayên hev in? [nexêr; hevalên hev];
10) Bêkes destên xwe dişo? [nexêr; destên Xecê].
IV. Translate the following prepositional phrases into Kurdiş; then change the noun
into the corresponding pronoun (plus contraction when appropriate), e.g. with the
girl --> bi keçê rra --> pê rra: 1) with my father; 2) inside the school; 3) to the
friends; 4) from the friends; 5) near the house; 6) in Istanbul; 7) with (=by means
of) a pen; 8) without a name; 9) for my sister; 10) in the book.
V. Write out and say the following numbers in Kurdiş: 73; 38; 61; 88; 46; 94; 97;
49; 76; 55; 82.

Male:
Serxwebûn
Şivan
KURDISH PLACE NAMES

Dihok Reha [=Urfa]
‘Efrîn Sêwreg [=Siverek]
Karagêçî [tribe] Wêranşehir
• 56 •
Dersa Heşta [8]

{Pikkert 6}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan: Çil heravî nikarin rrûtekî bişêlînin.
READING:
Rojekê xwendekarên Mamosta Miho dibêjin ku, “Îro em naxwazin herrin cem
Mamosta Miho. Em dixwazin ku ew bê mala me!” Ew dibêjin, “Bila îro Mamosta
Miho bê mala me!” Xwendekarek tê cem Mamosta Miho û jê rra dibêje ku,
“Mamosta, divê ku tu îro bêyî cem me, em naxwazin herrine xwendingehê. Eger
tu hazir nînî bêyî mala me, tu ji me hiz nakî!”
Mamosta Miho ji xwendekarên xwe rra dibêje ku, “Ez naxwazim ku hûn bêjin
ku ez ji we hiz nakim. Ez dikarim bêm cem we, lê divê (=lazim e) hûn çay û mêst
bidine min; ku hûn çay û mêst nedin, ez hazir nînim bême mala we!” Xwendekar
dibêjin ku, “Bila! Bila Mamosta Miho bê cem me, bila ew pisîka xwe jî bîne! Em
çayê didine mamostê, û em şîr didine pisîka wî.” Mamosta Miho dibêje ku, “Gelek
sipas dikim, lê divê ku hûn şîr nedine pisîka min: pisîka min hiz nake şîr vexwe, ku
ew şîr vexwe, ew nexweş dikeve.” Xwendekar dibêjin ku, “Wê gavê, pisîka xwe
neyne: tu bi tenê were, bila pisîk li malê bimîne!”
VOCABULARY:
bajar, bajêr, vî bajarî, m.[S: bajêr] city
bê aqil stupid
bila [or, bira] [+ subj.] let (something be); okay
bi t’enê alone; only
cem at/over someone's house
da [ku] [+ subj.] in order to/that
datînim I put, place
(neg. danaynim/danaînim;imperative dayne)
dibihîzim I hear
dibim 1) [S: dibem] I take [away from the
speaker]; 2) [S: dibim]I become, get
difroşim I sell
[di]karim [+ subj.] I can, am able
(neg. níkarim)
dik’irrim I buy, purchase
dimînim I stay, remain
dipeyivim I speak, talk
• 57 •
dişêlînim I undress, strip; I rob

dişêm [+ subj.] (neg. néşêm) I can, am able [S}
dişînim I send
divê[t] (neg. névê[t]) it is necessary, must
diyarî, f. gift, present
eger if
gerek it is necessary, must
her tişt everything
hingiv, m. [S: hingivîn] honey
heravî, m. [= diz] thief
ji bo[na] ku [+ subjunctive] in order to/that
ji … rra to
ku [+ subjunctive] if
lazim e it is necessary, must
mase (vê masê), f. table
mast, mêst, vî mastî, m. yoghurt
min divêt I want [S]
nexweş dik’evim I get sick, fall ill
nînim I am not
nînî you (s.) are not
pirsyar, f. question
qayîl willing
rrazî willing
rrojekê one day
rrût naked
şekir, şêkir, vî şekirî, m. sugar
şîr, m. milk
wê gavê then, in that case
NUMBERS:
dusid 200 heftsid 700
sêsid 300 heştsid 800
çarsid 400 nehsid 900
pêncsid 500 hezar 1,000
şeşsid 600
GRAMMAR:
a. Subjunctive. In Engliş, when we express a fact -- as opposed to a wiş -- we
say "All your wişes are coming true", or "It is". These may be contrasted with such
constructions as "May all your wişes come true" or "Let it be". In Kurdiş, these
latter notions are expressed with the Subjunctive Mood. First we will discuss
how the Subjunctive is formed; after that, we will learn how to use it.
I. Formation: The Subjunctive Mood is formed in much the same way as the
• 58 •
Imperative mood. In the affirmative, the di- prefix of the Indicative Mood is
53
replaced with bi-. In the negative, ná- is replaced by né-. Here is an example:
Subjunctive Affirmative
ez bi-bîn-im
bi im em bi-bîn-in
bi in 54
tu bi-bîn-î
bi î hûn bi-bîn-in
bi in
ew bi-bîn-e
bi e 55
ew bi-bîn-in
bi in
Subjunctive Negative
ez né-bîn-im
né im em né-bîn-in
né in
tu né-bîn-î
né î hûn né-bîn-in
né in
ew né-bîn-e
né e ew né-bîn-in
né in
NOTICE: Ez nabînim
na I don't see/find
Ez nebînim
ne (that) I may not see/find
With compound verbs, bi- is optional. Hence: Ez ve-kim or Ez ve-bi-kim (in

either case, the negative is Ez ve-né
né-kim).
IRREGULAR:
•Ez im (to be):
Ez bim, tu bî, ew be, em/hûn/ew bin 56
•Ez dibêjim (to say):

Ez [bi]bêjim, tu [bi]bêjî, ew [bi]bêje, em/hûn/ew [bi]bêjin.
Note that the bi- prefix is optional.
•Ez diherrim/diçim (to go):
Ez herrim, tu herrî, ew herre, em/hûn/ew herrin
[or: Ez biçim, tu biçî, ew biçe, …]
Note that with the stem herr-, the bi- prefix is absent.
•Ez têm (to come):
Ez bêm/werim, tu bêyî/werî, ew bê/were, em/hûn/ew bên/werin.
Note that with the stem wer-, the bi- prefix is absent. In Behdinani, the preferred
53One could even say that the Imperative is derived from the Subjunctive.
54S: bi-bîn-în
bi în
55S: bi-bîn-ît
bi ît(in
in)
56S: ew bît, em bîn
• 59 •
form is dihêm, with a regularly formed subjunctive bihêm.

•heye, hene (there is/are): hebe , hebin.
57
II. Usage.
1) After auxiliary verbs:
•Ez dixwazim = 'to want' + subj.:

e.g.: Ez dixwazim bibînim = I want to see [lit. 'I want that I see']
Note that in this construction that whereas in Engliş the infinitive remains
unchanged regardless of the subject of the verb 'to want', in Kurdish the
subjunctive takes the same person as the modal auxiliary
dixwazim:
Tu dixwazî bibînî You want to see [lit. 'You want that you see']
Em dixwazin bibînin We want to see [lit. 'We want that we see']
The subjunctive may be in a different person, in a construction such as the

following:
Ez dixwazim [ku] tu bibînî I want you to see
In Behdinan, dixwazim means only 'I request', 'I ask for'. For 'I want, you want,
he-şe wants' they use min divêt, te divêt, wî-wê divêt, etc. instead (see divêt
below). Note also that the negative is formed with né-: Min névêt = Ez
naxwazim:
e.g.:
Min divêt bibînim I want to see
Min divêt [ku] tu bibînî I want you to see
•Ez [di]karim = 'can, to be able' + subj.:

e.g.:
Ez [di]karim herrim I can go
57S: hebît
• 60 •
NEGATIVE:
Ez ní-karim,
ní tu ní-karî,
ní ew ní-kare,
ní em/hûn/ew ní-karin
ní
e.g.:
Em nikarin te bibihîzin We cannot hear you
In southern dialects, rather than dikarim, the most common way to say 'I can' is
Ez dişêm.
The negative is formed with né-: Ez neşêm = Ez nikarim:

e.g.: Ez dişêm biçim I can go
Em neşêyn te bibihîzîn We cannot hear you
•Ez [di]zanim = 'to know how to' + subj.:

e.g.: Ez [di]zanim bileyîzim I know how to play
NEGATIVE:
Ez ní-zanim,
ní tu ní-zanî,
ní ew ní-zane,
ní em/hûn/ew ní-zanin
ní
e.g.: Hûn nizanin bi Kurmancî bipeyivin?
Don't you know how to speak [in] Kurdish?
Note that for both dikarim and dizanim the di- prefix is optional.
•divê[t] (NEGATIVE: névê[t])
né = gerek = lazim e:
all three mean 'must, have to'
e.g.: Divê [ku] bixwî

You must eat (It is necessary that you eat)
With a negative subjunctive, it means '[you] must not', e.g.:
Divê [ku] néxwî

né
You must not eat (It is necessary that you not eat)
Lazim e [ku] dêrî vené

nékî
You must not open the door
As mentioned above, with oblique pronouns, divêt expresses 'to want' in southern
• 61 •
dialects (Min divêt = Ez dixwazim).
2) After conjunctions.
bila/bira = 'let ':

58
e.g.: Bila herrin Let them go
da ku/ji bo[na] ku = 'in order to/that':

e.g., Em diherrine bajêr ji bona ku nên bikirrin
We are going to town in order to buy bread
eger/heke/ku = 'if'
e.g., Eger pirsyareke wan hebe, bila niha bêjin
If they have a question, let them say so now
Ku hûn wisa nekin, ez hazir nînim bêm

If you don't do so, I'm not willing to come
3) After certain adjectives.
hazir = 'ready' or 'willing'

rrazî/qayîl = 'willing'
e.g.,Ez hazir im bixwînim I am ready to study
Ew qayîl nîne bê He's not willing to come
b. Word Order: Indirect Object. The indirect object can be expressed in two
alternative ways (which is also true of Engliş!):
1) With the ambiposition/circumfix/“sandwich” ji … rra/rre placed before the
verb. E.g.,
Dîya min ji min rra diyarîyekê dişîne
My mother to me a gift sends
My mother sends me a gift, or: My mother sends a gift to me.
Dersdar ji xwendekaran rra çîrokan dixwîne

The teacher to the students stories reads
The teacher reads the students the stories, or: The teacher reads the stories to
the students.
58Thisis known as the jussive in traditional grammar books. Note that in English, 'let' is an
imperative rather than a conjunction.
• 62 •
2) With the oblique case placed after the verb. We will call this the dative
construction. E.g.,
Dîya min goşt dide min

My mother (the) meat gives to me
Dersdar kitêban dide xwendekaran

The teacher the books gives to the students
This latter construction is also used to express motion to which (generally with a
verb of motion). Note that this construction is often preceded by the “preposition”
-e suffixed to the preceding verb . E.g.,
Em diherrin-e
e bajêr
We are going-to the city
Mêvan tên-e
e mala me
The guests are coming-to our house
Ez kitêba xwe didim-ee te

I my book am giving-to you
Note that in the third person, before this "preposition" the verb often takes the
ending -it-. E.g., Ew van kitêban tîne = 'He brings these books', but: Ew van
kitêban tînitite bavê xwe = 'He brings these books to his father'.
Question words (interrogatives) take the place in the sentence that their
grammatical function requires. E.g.,
Em diherrin-e
e
We are going-to ku?
} ku derê?
Mêvan tên-ee
The guests are coming-to where?
c. dibim #1 & #2. There are two verbs with the present tense dibim. One is a
transitive verb meaning 'to take or carry [away from the speaker]' . This 59
corresponds to tînim = 'to bring [toward the speaker]'. E.g.:
Vî nanî bibe bavê xwe! Take this bread to your father!

Ez van kitêban dibime xwendingehê I take these books to school.
59The infinitive of this verb is birin.
• 63 •
Note that dibim #1 often has both a direct object before the verb and an
indirect object after the verb.
 In southern dialects -- both Hekkari and Behdinan -- the form of dibim #1 is

dibem (dibey - dibet[in] - dibeyn - diben). 60
The second verb with dibim in the present tense is the verb to become. This 61
verb patterns with the dative construction. For example, to say 'I am becoming a
teacher' we would say 'Ez dibim[e] mamosta', with mamosta following the
verb. If we were to say 'Ez mamosta dibim' (or 'Ez mamostê ê dibim'), it would
mean 'I am taking the teacher (somewhere)'.
The most important point to remember here is that word order is essential in
distinguişing dibim #1 (=to take) from dibim #2 (=to become).
d. Oblique case. Another use of the oblique case is to express time. For
example, rrojekê = 'one day'. During the day, in the daytime is rrojê; at night is
şevê. In the summer is havînê; in the winter is zivistanê.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) I want to go to Bitlis [Bidlîs, f.]. Don't you want to come too?; 2)
They don’t want to go to Van [Wan, f.]. We don't want them to come; 3) They don’t
want us to go to Mehabad. But we must go; 4) You (s.) cannot eat my bread, but
you must drink your tea; 5) Şe must come to my house, but şe does not want to;
6) Let him sit beside [li ber] the table, and read his lesson; 7) The cats want to
drink their milk. I don’t want them to drink the milk; 8) I want her not to read
those books. I don’t want her to read that red book; 9) They do not know how to
say their (own) names. I am not ready to say that [ku] they are stupid; 10) We are
ready to go to the town of Urmiye in order to buy honey, sugar and yoghurt.
II. Give the present subjunctive, affirmative & negative, of the following verbs:
•dibînim •dikim •dixwim •didim •rradibim
•dibihîzim •vedixwim •tînim •dibim •difroşim
III. Translate the following into Engliş. 1) Birayê min dixwaze bibe mamosta. 2)
Xûşka min dixwaze mamostayê xwe bibite malê. 3) Tu nabihîzî, hevala te çi
dibêjite te? 4) Hûn van kitêbên xwe yên kevn nafroşine me? 5) Çima ew naxwaze
bêjite min [or, ji min rra bêje] ew çi dikirre gava ku ew diçite bajêr? 6) Ew sê
zarrok mastê dîya xwe tînine mamostayên xwe li xwendingehê. 7) Gava ku ew
mêst dixwe, ew tim nexweş dikeve. 8) Hevalên min diherrine bajêr da ku ew ji min
rra mêst bikirrin û bînin. 9) Divêt ku birayê te mastê dîya xwe bibite bajêr. 10) Ji
bona ku tu bibî xwendekarekî baş, ez dixwazim te bibime zanîngehê.
60Hence, in southern dialects the two verbs are distinct: dibem = 'to take' and dibim = 'to
become'.
61The infinitive of this verb is bûn. This is actually the verb 'to be'.
• 64 •
IV. Make up ten sentences using subjunctives and indirect objects.
KURDISH PLACE NAMES

Bidlîs Ûrmiye
Mehabad Wan
• 65 •
Dersa Neha [9]

{Pikkert 7}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan: Zikê tijê birinc be, wê tijê xencer be.
DIALOGUE:
I. Gulistan: Ez dixwazim tiştekî ji te bipirsim.
Bêrîvan: Kerem ke, bipirse! Navê[t] bitirsî, bipirse. Ango,
divê netirsî bipirsî!
Gulistan: Baş e: Heftêya tê tu yê çi bikî?
Bêrîvan: Heftêya tê ez ê herrime mala xwe.
Gulistan: Heta kengî tu yê li wê derê bimînî?
Bêrîvan: Ez ê pênc rrojan li wê derê bimînim. Tu çima dipirsî?
Gulistan: Çimkî heftêya tê ez naxwazim li vir bi tenê bimînim. Ez
dixwazim bi te rra bêm, lê ez ditirsim ku tu yê bêjî
‘Nexêr! Tu nikarî bi min rra bêyî! Lazim e ku tu li vî
bajarî bimînî.’
Bêrîvan: Ez nikarim tutiştî bibêjim bêî ku îzinê ji dê û bavê
xwe bixwazim. Tu li vir bimîne, ez ê herrim ji wan
bipirsim û bêm. [Bêrîvan derdikeve, telefonî dê û bavê
xwe dike, û tê].
Gulistan: Ew çi dibêjin?
Bêrîvan: Ew dibêjin ‘Ser seran û ser çavan!’ Heftêya tê em ê
pevrra [=bi hev rra] herrine mala dê û bavê min! Tu yê
mêvana me bî!
II. Miho: Meha tê ez ê hespê xwe bifroşim.

Rêbaz: Bi çendê tu yê wî bifroşî?
Miho: Ez ê wî bi hezar banqnotan bifroşim. Gelo tu dixwazî
wî bikirrî? Tu ji hespan hiz dikî?
Rêbaz: Ez gelekî ji hespan hiz dikim, lê sala tê bavê min dê
çêleka xwe bifroşe ü gamêşekê bikirre.
Miho: Ew ê li ku derê gamêşekê bibîne ku bikirre? Kêfa min
ji gamêşan rra nayê: ez ji wan ditirsim.
• 66 •
Rêbaz: Tu çima ji wan ditirsî?

Miho: Çimkî ez her ditirsim ku ew ê pê li min bikin û min
bikujin!
VOCABULARY:
banqnot, f.[also: panqnot](Turkish) lira
bêî ku [+ subjunctive] without ...-ing
bi çendê? for how much?
ç’êlek, f. [=mange] cow
çimkî [=ji ber ku] because
dê û bav, pl. parents
dikujim to kill
ditirsim [+ji] to fear [someone], be afraid of [someone]
gelekî very
gelo …? interrogative particle
hesp, m./f. horse
heyv, f. moon; month [S]
heftê, f. week
•heftêya tê next week
heta until
îzinê (dixwazim) (to ask for) permission
k’engî? when?
k’êfxweş happy
li vir here
li wê derê = li wir there
mange , f. [=ç’êlek]cow
meh, f. [S: heyv] month
•meha tê next month
nîvrro, f. noon
paş after
p’evrra [S: pêkve] together
p’ê li … dikim to cruş, stomp on
pê rra [=bi wî/wê rra]with him/her
sal, f. year
•sala tê next year
ser seran û ser çavan! welcome!
• 67 •
sib[eh]ê [S: subahî] tomorrow

telefonî … dikim to call … on the phone, ring up
t’ijî full
t’ucar never
t’utişt nothing
xencer, f. dagger
zik, m. tomach
NUMBERS:
du hezar 2,000 heft hezar 7,000
sê hezar 3,000 heşt hezar 8,000
çar hezar 4,000 neh hezar 9,000
pênc hezar 5,000 deh hezar 10,000
şeş hezar 6,000 mîlyon 1,000,000
GRAMMAR:
a. Future tense. The future tense (e.g., 'I will see') is formed as follows:
I. Affirmative: 'future marker' dê [variants: wê or -ê] + present subjunctive.

Personal pronouns combine with the future marker, as follows:
Affirmative
ez ê bi-bîn-im I will see
em ê bi-bîn-in we will see
tu [y
y]ê
ê bi-bîn-î you (s.) will see
hûn ê bi-bîn-in you (pl.) will see
ew ê bi-bîn-e s/he will see
ew ê bi-bîn-in they will see
 In Behdinan, the Future Affirmative is formed slightly differently. The particle dê

is followed by the naked present stem without any prefix, e.g.:
ez dê bîn-im I will see

em dê bîn-în we will see
tu dê bîn-î you (s.) will see
hûn dê bîn-in you (pl.) will see
ew dê bîn-ît[in] s/he will see
ew dê bîn-in they will see
• 68 •
II. Negative: identical with present indicative:
Negative
ez na-bîn-im
na I won't see
em na-bîn-in
na we won't see
tu na-bîn-î
na you (s.) won't see
hûn na-bîn-in
na you (pl.) won't see
ew na-bîn-e
na s/he won't see
ew na-bîn-in
na they won't see
Therefore,
Ez nabînim = I don't see; I don't find; I won't see; I won't find.
In some regions, forms such as Ezê nebînim exist, but many people consider this
to be unacceptable usage. There is no single answer regarding the correctness of
such forms. Because they do in fact exist, we are mentioning them, albeit only in
passing.
III. Note the future tense of the following verbs:
•to know:
Ez ê bizanibim, tu yê bizanibî, etc. (in Behdinan: Ez dê zanim)
negative: Ez nizanim, tu nizanî, etc.
•to be able:
Ez ê bikaribim, tu yê bikaribî, etc. (in Behdinan: Ez dê şêm)
negative: Ez nikarim, tu nikarî, etc.
•to be:
Ez ê bim, tu yê bî, etc.
negative: Ez nabim, tu nabî, etc.
•to go:
Ez ê herrim, tu yê herrî, etc.
[also: Ez ê biçim, tu yê biçî, etc.] (in Behdinan: Ez dê çim)
negative: Ez naherrim, tu naherrî, etc.
[also: Ez naçim, tu naçî, etc.]
•to say:
Ez ê [bi]bêjim, tu yê [bi]bêjî, etc. (in Behdinan: Ez dê bêjim)
• 69 •
negative: Ez nabêjim, tu nabêjî, etc.
•there is:
Dê hebe, dê hebin (in Behdinan: Dê hebît)
negative: Nabe, nabin
Strictly speaking, these are only irregular in the way that they form the
subjunctive.
b. Double negatives. In Kurdiş, it is correct to use double negatives, e.g.:
Ez nikarim
ni tutiştî bêjim
I can't say anything [lit. 'I can't say nothing']
Ew tucar naxwaze
na herre
He doesn't ever want to go [lit. 'He never doesn't want to go']
c. Nouns that end in -e e. There is some variety in the inflection of nouns that
end in -e. Let us take the noun qawe (f.) = 'coffee' as an example. There are two
inflections that are possible: 1) ezafeh and 2) the oblique case. The ezafeh of
qawe can be either qaweya ya- or qawaa-. Likewise, the oblique case can be either
qaweyê yê or qawê ê. So also mase (f.) = 'table' and mange (f.) = 'cow'
d. Interrogative particle. In Engliş, when we want to change a statement into a

question, we often need to change the verb. For example, if we wiş to change the
sentence "He wants to see my father" into a question, we must add the auxiliary
verb do, yielding "Does he want to see my father?". In Kurdiş, there are several
possible ways to change a statement into a question. The simplest way is simply
to change the intonation: "Ew dixwaze bavê min bibîne" --> "Ew dixwa aze
bavê min bibîîne?" with rising intonation on -xwaz- in dixwaze and -bîn- in
bibîne. A second way is to start the sentence with gelo. This can transform any
(yes-no) statement into a question, e.g., Gelo ew dixwaze bavê min bibîne?
e. For how much? When you tell how much you paid for something -- or intend
to charge for it -- in Kurdiş you use the preposition bi: e.g., Bi çendê tuyê wî
bifroşî? = How much will you sell it for? Ezê wî bi hezar banqnotan bifroşim
= I will sell it for 1,000 liras.
EXERCISES:
I. Translation: 1) He asks us what we are doing. He will ask us what we will do; 2)
Cats are afraid of dogs. When will dogs be afraid of cats?; 3) I cannot come study
with (bi…rra) you today, but (lê) I will come to your house tomorrow; 4) Next
week my sister will go to Diyarbakir with her husband in order to buy bread, milk,
and new şirts; 5) When will your parents sell their horse? They will take him to Van
next month in order to sell him; 6) For (bi) how much will your friends sell the
cow? They will sell her for 1200 liras; 7) Do you [pl.] want to stay in this city? We
• 70 •
will be very happy if you [will] stay; 8) Are her children afraid of their [own]
horses? When will they sell them?; 9) I must ask my brother if he will go to Zakho
(Zaxo, f.) next year. I want to go with him; 10) How many thieves will strip a
naked woman? I don’t know: you must ask your teacher.
II. Translate into English:

1) Ew du diz dê bavê te bikujin; 2) Ez ê hingiv û goşt bikirrim; 3) Tu yê hezar û yek
pirsyaran ji min bipirsî; 4) Hûn ê van sê pisîkan bifroşin; 5) Em ê wan çil kûçikan
bidine mamostayên xwe; 6) Ew xwendekara nû dê van pênc kitêban bixwîne; 7)
Ew ê li vî bajarî bimînin; 8) Paş nîvrro dîya min dê telefonî min bike; 9) Zarokên me
dê bi zarokên we rra bileyîzin; 10) Paş nîvrro ez ê gelek birçî bim.
III. Make the sentences in Exercise II. into questions.
IV. Change the sentences in Exercise II. into the negative.
V. Write out and say the following numbers in Kurdiş: 173; 238; 1,261; 8,847;
46,000; 494; 3,972; 493; 7,654; 5,508; 625.
KURDISH PLACE NAMES

Dîyarbekr [Amed]
Zaxo
• 71 •
Pronunciation drills
ev ew vê wê
van wan vîn viyan
xwe xwê bixwe bixwîne
kêç’ keç’ keys k’ês k’es
kirin k’irrîn karîn
digrim digrîm digerrim
kurr k’ûr kor
guh gû got
din dîn dên deyn
şiv şîv şev
şêr şîr şerr şî’ir
te tê terr t’êr
ji jî jê
beş bêş baş
dibe dibêje divê davêje
dev dêv dew dêw
ew dev ev dew wan devan
ew dew ev dev van devên wan
ew devê wê ev dewê wê ew devê we ev dewê we
keç’ keç’ik keç’ek keç’ikek
nîv nivîn nivistin nivîsîn
binive! binivîse! nîvişk
wê divêt we divêt navê we navê wê
navê vê keç’ê navê wî kurrî navê vê xwendek’arê
navê wê keç’ê navê vî kurrî navê wî xwendek’arî
• 72 •
Dersa Deha [10]

{Pikkert 9.4}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan : 62
•Ji guran birçîtir e, ji maran tazîtir e.

Hungrier than wolves, more naked than snakes (said of very poor people)
•Xew - ji hesin girantir e, ji şêkir şîrintir e.

Sleep -- it’s heavier than iron, sweeter than sugar.
•Şam şekir e - lê welat şîrintir e.

Damascus is sugar, but home is sweeter.
•Têjikên maran ji maran pîstir in.

The snakes’ young are dirtier than the snakes.
Mamik:
•Hilindir milindir, kurr ji bavê bilindtir.
Hilindir milindir, the son is taller than the father.
[kurr = dû; bav = agir]
DIALOGUE:
I. Miho: Xwendekarno! Îro ezê ji we bixwazim ku hûn
behsa xûşk û birayên xwe bikin. … Bêrîvanê!
Çend xûşk û birayên te hene?
Bêrîvan: Du xûşk û sê birayên min hene.
Miho: Tu ji hemiyan mezintir î?
Bêrîvan: Nexêr, birayê min Lezgîn ji min mezintir e. Du
birayên min yên din û herdu xûşkên min ji min
piçûktir in.
Miho: Baş e, Rêbazo! Birayê te Bêkes ji te piçûktir e,
ne wisa?
Rêbaz: Belê, Seydayê Miho. Ez çar salan jê mezintir im.
Miho: T’u xûşk û birayên te yên din tunin, Rêbazo?
Rêbaz: Belê! Xûşkeke min jî heye. Ew ji min gelekî mezintir
e. Navê mêrê wê Xemgîn e. Sê zarokên wan hene.
Miho: Tu ji zarokên xûşka xwe mezintir î? Ango, hemî
xwarzîyên te ji te piçûktir in?
Rêbaz: Ez pênc salan ji mezintirîn xwarzîyê xwe mezintir
im.
62See also Lescot #90-94, p. 202; #165, p. 212; #272, p. 225
• 73 •
Miho: Bi gotineke din, tu pênc salan ji nuxurîyê xûşka

xwe mezintir î.
Rêbaz: Erê, rrast e.
II. Miho: Ferhado! Mala te ji xwendingehê dûr e yan nêzîk e?

Ferhad: Mala min du kîlometreyan ji xwendingehê dûr e.
Miho: Û tu, Gelawêjê, mala te dûrtir e yan nêzîktir e?
Gelawêj: Mala min nêzîktir e, Mamosta. Mala min kêmtir ji
kîlometreyekê ji vir dûr e.
Bêrîvan: Seyda! Mala Gelawêjê ji hemiyan nêzîktir e!
Miho: Bi rrastî? Baş e, dûrtirîn mal --- mala kê ye?
Bêrîvan: Seyda, ez dibêjim ku mala Şêxmûs ji hemiyan
dûrtir e.
Miho: Mala wî çend dûr e?
Gelawêj: Mala wî ne li vî bajarî ye! Ew li gundekî dijî!
VOCABULARY:
agir, êgir, vî agirî, m. fire
baran, f. rain
behsa … dikim [S: behsê…]I discuss, talk about
bêtir more
bi gotineke din in other words
bilind high, tall
çêtir better
demsal, f. season (of the year)
dibare it rains, it falls (of rain or snow)
dinya, f. world
dû, m. smoke
dûr [+ ji] far [from]
gelî [+ oblique case plural] plural vocative particle: O [people]!
giran heavy; expensive
gundî, m. villager, peasant
gur, m. [S: gurg] wolf
here/herî most, -est
hesin, m. [S: asin] iron (mineral)
jê [=ji wî/wê] from him/her; than he/her
kêm little, few
k’itêbxane, f. library
k’îjan? which?
kîlometre, f. kilometer
lê feminine vocative particle
lo masculine vocative particle
mar, m. snake
mirîşk, f. chicken
nêzîk near, close
nîv half
• 74 •
nuxurî, m.&f. oldest child

p’itir more [S]
p’îs dirty
rrast right
sar cold
seyda, m. [=mamosta] teacher
Şam, f. Damascus
tazî [=rrût] naked
têjik, m. [also: çêjik] cub, whelp, young (of animal)
-tir more, -er
t’u [S: çu] no, none
welat, welêt, vî welatî, m. country, homeland
xew, f. sleep
xwarzî, m.&f. nephew, niece [child of one's sister] 63
SEASONS:
bihar, f. spring payîz, f. fall, autumn
biharê in the spring payîzê in the fall
havîn, f. summer zivistan, f. winter
havînê in the summer zivistanê in the winter
GRAMMAR:
a. The comparative degree of adjectives.
Add -tir to the positive (simple) degree. E.g.,
dirêj long dirêjtir

tir longer
xweş pleasant xweştir
tir more pleasant
xirab bad; ruined xirabtir
tir worse
kevn old (things) kevntir
tir older
kêm little, few kêmtir
tir less, fewer
A few common adjectives have irregular forms:
çêtir
tir better (also: baştir
tir, qenctir
tir)
bêtir
tir, pitir
tir more (also: pirrtir
tir, ze‘ftir
tir)
meztir
tir bigger (also: mezintirtir)
“Than” is expressed by the preposition ji, e.g.,
ji min bilindtir
tir higher/taller than me
63The children of one's brother are called birazî.
• 75 •
ji şêkir şîrintir
tir sweeter than sugar
b. The superlative degree. Several different constructions are used.

I. ji hemîyan + comparative adjective [-tir] (than all) (more [X])
ji hemîyan çêtir = the best (of all)
ji hemîyan pîstir = the dirtiest
II. li + noun + simple adjective 64
1 2 3
Li Kurdistanê Dîyarbekir mezin e.
Diyarbekir is the greatest/largest place in all of Kurdistan
III. here/herî + simple adjective

here mezin the largest
herî xweş the nicest
IV. simple adjective + -tirîn [under Persian & Sorani influence]

mezintirîn
tirîn the largest
Note that this precedes the noun it modifies:
Dîyarbekr mezintirîntirîn bajarê Kurdistanê ye.

Diyarbakir is the largest city in Kurdistan.
Did you notice that in the last sentence the Kurdish says literally "the largest city
of Kurdistan"? In English we can say "the best little boy in the world", "the
prettiest garden in the city", etc.; we also say "the shortest month of the year",
"the greatest day of my life", etc. In Kurdish, this is expressed with an ezafeh
construction, e.g.:
Xweştirîn rroja a payîzê ê or Roja
a payîzê ê ya ji hemîyan xweştir
the loveliest day in/of the fall
Dirêjtirîn rroja
a salê
ê or Roja
a salê
ê ya herî dirêj
the longest day of the year
c. Secondary ezafeh. We know how to say "my book" (kitêba min) and "the
new book" (kitêba nû), but how can we say "my new book"? As with most things
in Kurdiş, there are two ways to render this! The simplest way is with
independent ezafeh markers: yê for masculine singular, ya for feminine singular,
64see Pikkert 9.4, p. 36
• 76 •
and yên [S: yêt] for plural. Hence, "my new book" would be kitêba min ya nû.
Likewise, "his old şirt" would be kirasê wî yê kevn. Notice also that in the last
section, one way of saying "the longest day of the year" was rroja salê ya herî
dirêj. The rule is that when you have two modifiers for the same noun, one is
attached to the noun by ezafeh and the second follows with an independent
ezafeh marker . In other words, if we want to add a modifier to a noun which is
65
already modified (by a noun, adjective, or pronoun), we must use secondary

ezafeh. 66
The second way to render such constructions is like this: kitêba mine e nû. Instead
of the independent ezafeh markers, the endings -î (masculine singular and all
plural nouns) and -e (feminine singular) are added at the end of the first ezafeh
construction. E.g.:
qelema mine e dirêj = qelema min ya dirêj = my long pen

destê teyî
yî rrast = destê te yê rrast = your right hand
kitêbên wêyîyî nû = kitêbên wê yên nû = her new books
qelema mine e dirêjee nû = qelema min ya dirêj ya nû = my long, new pen
kitêbên wêyîyî nûyî
yî mezin = kitêbên wê yên nû yên mezin = her big,
new books
d. Vocative. When you address a person or call him or her by name, in many
dialects of Kurdiş a special form of the name is used: the vocative case. To form
this case, add -o to masculine singular nouns, -ê to feminine singular nouns, and
-no to plural nouns. In addition, the particles lo (masculine singular), lê (feminine
singular) and gelî (+ oblique plural [-an]) may be added as well, e.g.:
lo Bêkesoo! O Bêkes!
lê Bêrîvanêê! O Bêrîvan!
gundîno
no!
gelî gundîyan
yan! }O villagers!
e. Oblique case. In Lesson 8 we mentioned that the oblique case is used to
express time. For example, rrojekê = 'one day'. In the dialogue of this chapter,
we have seen more extended examples of the oblique case, to express
measurement:
Ez çar salan jê mezintir im = I am four years older than him.

[I am older than him by four years]
65Another way to put this might be as follows: when you have two modifiers for the same noun,
one is attached to the noun by primary ezafeh and the second follows with a secondary ezafeh
marker.
66This is a paraphrase of Pikkert #2.10, p. 16.
• 77 •
Ez pênc salan ji mezintirîn xwarzîyê xwe mezintir im = I am five years older

than my oldest nephew.
[I am older than my oldest nephew by five years]
Mala min du kîlometreyan ji xwendingehê dûr e = My house is two

kilometers [far] from the school.
[My house is far from the school by two kilometers]
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) My dog is smarter than your nephew; 2) Which is the coldest
season? Winter is the coldest; 3) Let your brother eat [bread, i.e., a meal]. He is
hungrier than you; 4) Are you your father's eldest child? In other words, are you
the biggest son of your parents or not?; 5) Is your niece fatter than your sister?
No, my niece is thin -- my sister is much fatter than her!; 6) Do you see those two
men? They are father and son. The father is much şorter than his son; 7) In the
winter, there is no city colder than Erzurum [a city colder than Erzurum there is
not]; 8) They say that Seattle is the wettest city in the world; every day it rains!;
9) What will you do in the summer? I will play with my nieces and nephews; 10)
My eldest child will come see me in the fall.
II. Say each of these sentences in more than one way: 1) The newest book in the
library; 2) The thirstiest student in the school; 3) My father's fattest sister; 4) The
wettest day of the year; 5) The bluest eyes in this world; 6) The coldest room in
the house; 7) Your brother's oldest şirt; 8) Our chicken's whitest egg; 9) The worst
school in the city; 10) The hottest month of the year; 11) Your old book; 12) Their
red chicken; 13) My new friend; 14) Our smart, new teacher; 15) Their large,
pleasant city.
III. Translate: 1) Hevlêr mezintirîn bajarê Kurdistana 'Îraqê ye? Nexêr, Kerkûk ji
Hevlêrê mezintir e; 2) Dihok ji Zaxoyê mezintir e, û Zaxo ji Amêdîyê mezintir e; 3)
Silêmanî ji Hevlêrê piçûktir e; 4) Kîjan bajar xweştir e: Silêmanî yan Kerkûk?; 5)
Hevlêr ji Mehabadê kevntir e, ne wisa?; 6) Şîrintirîn keça xwendingeha me -- xûşka
te ye!; 7) Mezintirîn bajarê Kurdistana Tirkîyê kîjan bajar e? Dîyarbekr e, yan bi
gotineke din, Amed ji hemîyan mezintir e; 8) Germtirîn demsal kîjan e? Havîn ji
hemîyan germtir e; 9) Xweştirîn demsal kîjan e? Bihar ji hemîyan xweştir e; 10)
Havînê, bajarekî ji Mêrdînê hişktir tune.
IV. Make up five sentences using comparative and superlative forms of

adjectives, and five sentences using secondary ezafeh.

Male:
Şêxmûs
KURDISH PLACE NAMES
• 78 •
Amêdî Kerkûk
Erzirom Mêrdîn
Hevlêr Silêmanî
• 79 •
Dersa Yanzdeha [11]

{Pikkert 4.1, 4.2, 4.6}
FOLKLORE:
•Roj rreş bû, tu jê rreştir be.

If the day is [lit. 'was'] black, you be blacker than it.
•Rûnişt li germa, rrabû li serma.

He sat around when it was warm, he got up when it got cold.
•Ber baranê rrevîm, bin zîpikê ketim.

I ran from the rain, I landed under the hail.
[ber = ji ber = from in front of]
DIALOGUE:
I. Bêrîvan: Heftêya çûyî, ez çûm dê û bavê xwe bibînim.
Ferhad: Tu çend rrojan li wir mayî?
Bêrîvan: Ez pênc rrojan li wir mam.
Ferhad: Û tu kengî zivirrî vî bajarî? Dihî yan pêr?
Bêrîvan: Dihî em zivirrîn.
Ferhad: Em?! Tu bi tenê neçûyî malê?
Bêrîvan: Nexêr, hevala min Gulistan bi min rra bû -- em
pevrra çûne serêdanê.
Ferhad: Çawa derbaz bû? Baş bû?
Bêrîvan: Erê! Gelekî xweş derbaz bû! Kêfa Gulistanê ji
bajarê min rra hat. Em di wî bajarî da gelekî
gerryan.
Ferhad: Gulistan çima bi te rra hat? Ew çima li vir nema, yan
jî ew çima neçû dê û bavê xwe bibîne?
Bêrîvan: Ew bi min rra hat ji ber ku mala dê û bavê wê gelekî
dûr e. Çêtir bû ku ew bi min rra hat, da ku heftêyekê
li vir bi tenê nemîne.
Ferhad: Xebera te ye!
II. Rêbaz: Seydayê Miho, tu kengî hatî vî bajarî?

Miho: Ez pêrar hatime vî bajarî -- ango berî du salan. Rêbaz:
Tu li kuderê mezin bûyî?
Miho: Ez li gundekî li bakura Diyarbekrê mezin bûm.
Rêbaz: Gundê te mezin e yan piçûk e?
Miho: Wê demê gundê me mezin bû, lê niha gelekî
• 80 •
piçûk e. Herkes rrevî, çû bajêr .

67
Rêbaz: Ma kes li gundê we nemaye, mamosta Miho?

Miho: Bi rrastî ez nizanim -- ji mêj ve ye ez neçûme gundê
xwe.
Rêbaz: Dê û bavê te jî ji gund derketin, yan li wir man?
Miho: Dîya min li gund ma, lê bavê min rrabû, çû bajêr.
Rêbaz: Bavê te çima ji gund derket? Ew çima çû bajêr?
Miho: Bavê min çûye bajêr da ku li kar bigerre.
Rêbaz: Li gund kar tune?
Miho: Di wextê xwe da kar hebû, lê êdî nema. Niha herkes
mecbûr e ji gund derkeve û herre bajêr.
VOCABULARY:
berî before (of time); ago
dem, f. time
derbaz bûn (derbaz dibe), vi. to pass
dihî [also: duh] yesterday
‘erd, f. earth, floor, ground
êdî nema it's all gone, there is no more
firrîn (difirrim), vi. to fly
gerryan (digerrim), vi. to roam, wander
herk’es everyone, everybody
heftêya çûyî last week
ji mêj ve for/since a long time
k’ar, m. work, labor
k’etin (dik’evim), vi. to fall
lê gerryan (li …digerrim), vi.to look for, search, seek
ma signals a question
mecbûr [+ subjunctive] forced, required (to do stg.)
meha çûyî last month
par last year
pêr two days ago, day before yesterday
(par na) pêrar two years ago, year before last
rrevîn (dirrevim), vi. to flee, escape, run away
serêdan, f. visit
serma, f. cold weather, the cold
sêv, f. apple
wê demê = di wextê xwe da formerly, once, in the past
zivirrîn (dizivirrim), vi. to return, go or come back
zîpik, f. hail [form of precipitation]
DIRECTIONS:
bakur, f. north başûr, f. south
rrojhilat, f. east rrojava, f. west
67or, çûye
ye bajêr.
• 81 •
Rojhilata Navîn Middle East
GRAMMAR:
a. Past Tense of Intransitive Verbs [vi.] With this lesson, we will be
introducing the past stem of the verb system. This is formed by removing the
final -[i]n from the infinitive, which we will also be introducing at this time. In
English, the infinitive is the basic form of the verb preceded by the preposition 'to',
e.g.: 'to eat', 'to be', 'to go', 'to see', etc. Up till now we have been referring to
verbs by the first person singular of the present tense, e.g., dikirrim = 'I buy';
dikim = 'I do'; dixwazim = 'I want'. From now on, we will refer to verbs by their
infinitive forms (kirrîn = 'to buy'; kirin = 'to do'; xwestin = 'to want'). Whereas
in Engliş it is necessary to learn three principal parts of every verb (e.g., see -
saw - seen; go - went - gone; walk - walked - walked, etc.), in Kurdish verbs only
have two principal parts: present stem (e.g., dikirrim) and infinitive (e.g., kirrîn).
If we know these two forms and whether the verb is transitive or intransitive, it
is possible to conjugate verbs fully. At the end of this chapter, we have included a
table showing the infinitives of all the verbs introduced thus far as well as whether
they are transitive (vt.) or intransitive (vi.).
This information will enable you to form the past tense. Note that infinitives with
consonant stems end in -in (e.g., hatin in = 'to come', xwestin
in = 'to want', dîtin
in =
'to see'), and those with vowel stems end in -n (e.g., çûn n = 'to go', bûn
n = 'to be',
girînn = 'to cry', dan
n = 'to give'). For this lesson, you need only concern yourself
with verbs marked as vi. [intransitive].
I. The endings for the past tense of intransitive verbs are the same as those for
the present tense, except that the third person singular receives no ending (-ø).
To form this tense, take the infinitive of the verb, and remove the final -[i]n. E.g.,
hatin
in --> hat; çûn
n --> çû. The endings are added to this past tense stem. The
negative is formed by prefixing né- to the affirmative form. Notice that ne- is
identical with the negative particle for the Present Subjunctive.
Paradigm:
I. hatin = 'to come'
Affirmative
Ez hatim
im 'I came'
Em hatin in 68
'we came'
Tu hatîî 'you (s.) came'
Hûn hatinin 'you (pl.) came'
Ew hat 's/he came'
Ew hatin in 'they came'
68S: em hatîn
în
• 82 •
Negative
Ez néhatim
né im 'I didn't come'
Em néhatin
né in 'we didn't come'
Tu néhatî
né î 'you (s.) didn't come'
Hûn néhatin
né in 'you (pl.) didn't come'
Ew néhat
né 's/he didn't come'
Ew néhatin
né in 'they didn't come'
II. çûn = 'to go'
Affirmative
Ez çûm
m 'I went'
Em çûn n 'we went'
69
Tu çûyî
yî 'you (s.) went'
Hûn çûn n 'you (pl.) went'
Ew çû 's/he went'
Ew çûn n 'they went'
Negative
Ez néçûm
né m 'I didn't go'
Em néçûn
né n 'we didn't go'
Tu néçûyî
né yî 'you (s.) didn't go'
Hûn néçûn
né n 'you (pl.) didn't go'
Ew néçû
né 's/he didn't go'
Ew néçûn
né n 'they didn't go'
It must be stressed that in this chapter we are dealing only with intransitive verbs
-- verbs that do not take a direct object. In the next chapters we will introduce
the past tense of transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object). This
distinction is basic to the Kurdiş verb system. To illustrate the difference between
transitive and intransitive verbs in Engliş, consider the following: We can say 'Şe
closes the door', or 'Şe sees the boy', or 'Şe reads a book'. In all three cases, we
can ask 'What (or whom) does şe close or see or read?':
What does she close? answer: the door

Whom does she see? answer: the boy
What does she read? answer: a book
This tells us that 'to close', 'to see' and 'to read' are transitive verbs: they require
direct objects. However, if we say 'She goes to the city', or 'She laughs', or 'She
lives in Paris', it would make no sense to ask
69S: em çûyn
yn
• 83 •
*What does she go?

*What does she laugh?
*What does she live?
This is because the verbs 'to go', 'to laugh' and 'to live' are intransitive . To test 70
whether verb X is transitive or intransitive, ask the question 'What does s/he X?'.
If the question makes grammatical sense and seems answerable, the verb is
probably transitive. However, if the question seems not to make sense
grammatically, the verb is more than likely intransitive.
The following verbs are intransitive:
•bûn (-im/dibim) 'to be; to become'

•çûn (diçim/diherrim) 'to go'
•derk’etin (derdik’evim) 'to leave, go out'
•firrîn (difirrim) 'to fly'
•girîn (dig[i]rîm) 'to cry'
•hatin (têm) 'to come'
•hebûn (heye, hene) 'to exist, there is/are' *
•jîn (dijîm) 'to live' (≠ to die)

•k’enîn (dik’enim) 'to laugh'
•k’etin (dik’evim) 'to fall'
•lê gerryan (lê digerrim) 'to seek, look for, search for'
•man (dimînim) 'to remain, stay'
•peyivîn (dipeyivim) 'to speak, talk'
•rrabûn (rradibim) 'to get up, rise'
•rrazan (rradizêm) 'to go to sleep, lie down'
•rrevîn (dirrevim) 'to flee, escape, run away'
•rrûniştin (rrûdinim) 'to sit'
•sekinîn (disekinim) 'to stand, stop'
•tirsîn (ditirsim) 'to fear, be afraid of'
•zivirrîn (dizivirrim) 'to return, go or come back'
70One can think of examples in which these verbs could be made transitive in English (although
not in Kurdish), e.g., 'to go an extra mile', or 'to live a long life', or 'to laugh up a storm'.
* Negative tune (pl. tunene), past tense tunebû (pl. tunebûn).
• 84 •
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) We stayed; We did not stay; 2) They fell; They have not fallen for a
long time; 3) You (sing.) flew; You didn't fly; 4) He laughed; He did not laugh; 5) I
lived; I didn’t live; 6) You (pl.) were; You were not; 7) Who fell? No one fell; 8)
What was there? There were two cats; 9) Did the child cry? No, he has not cried
for a long time -- he laughed; 10) When did the guests come? They did not come
yesterday; 11) What did you look for in Diyarbekir?; 12) I looked for work to the
south of [li başûra] that city.
II. Translate the following sentences into Kurmanji.

1) I will come to your house next month; 2) My friend (f.) will go to Van next year;
3) His şirt will fall on the floor ('erdê); 4) We will be afraid of your dogs tomorrow;
5) Your (pl.) sister is a student in this school; 6) You (pl.) have apples, and we have
eggs; 7) Your sister is laughing; 8) The boys come out of the school; 9) The
chicken will fly to Mardin tomorrow; 10) Why is Bêkes crying?
III. Put the sentences in Exercise II. into the negative.
IV. Put the sentences in Exercise II. into the past (negative) -- making all
necessary changes (e.g., tomorrow-->yesterday).
V. Put the sentences in Exercise II. into the past (affirmative).
VI. Make up ten questions using intransitive past tense verbs, and answer them.
Another proverb:
•Gerîyam dora dinê, xilas nebûm ji mirinê (Z-1440)
Infinitives of verbs introduced up to lesson 11:
Present Tense Meaning Infinitive ± Transitivity

çêdikim I make, fix çêkir-in vt.
dadigrim I fill up dagirt-in vt.
datînim I put, place danî-n [S: dana-n] vt.
derdik’evim I leave, exit derk’et-in vi.
derdixim I cause to leave derxist-in vt.
dibare it rains, falls barî-n vi.
dibêjim I say, tell got-in vt.
dibihîzim I hear bihîst-in vt.
dibim I I become bû-n vi.
dibim II [S: dibem] I take, carry [away]bir-in vt.
dibirrim I cut birrî-n vt.
dibînim I see; I find dît-in vt.
diçim I go çû-n vi.
didim [S: didem] I give da-n vt.
• 85 •
difroşim I sell firot-in vt.

digrim I take, catch; I close girt-in vt.
digrîm I cry girî-n vi.
diherrim I go çû-n vi.
dijîm I live jî[ya]-n vi.
[di]karim I can, am able karî-n vt.
dik’enim I laugh k’enî-n vi.
dikim [S: dikem] I do kir-invt.
dik’irrim I buy, purchase k’irrî-n vt.
dikujim I kill kuşt-in vt.
dileyîzim I play leyîst-in vt.
dimînim I remain, stay ma-n vi.
din[y]asim I know [S} n[y]asî-n vt.
dipeyivim I speak, talk peyivî-n vi.
dipêjim I bake, cook pat-in vt.
dipirsim I ask pirsî-n vt.
disekinim I stand, stop sekinî-n vi.
dişêlînim I strip, rob şêland-in vt.
dişêm I can, am able şiya-n vi.
dişînim I send şand-in vt.
dişkê it breaks şkest-in vi.
dişom I waş şûşt-in vt.
ditirsim I fear, am afraid tirsî-n vi.
divê[t] must, it is necessaryviya-n vt.
dixwazim I want; I ask for xwest-in vt.
dixwim [S: dixom] I eat xwar-in vt.
dixwînim I read, I study xwend-in vt.
dizanim I know zanî-n vt.
fedî dikim I am aşamed fedî kir-in vt.
fêm dikim I understand fêm kir-in vt.
girêdidim I tie girêda-n vt.
heye there is hebû-n vi.
-im I am bû-n vi.
lê digerrim I seek, look for lê gerrya-n vi.
nas dikim I know nas kir-in vt.
rradibim I get up, rise rrabû-n vi.
rradizêm I go to sleep rraza-n vi.
rrûdinim I sit rrûnişt-in vi.
têm I come hat-in vi.
tînim I bring anî-n [S: îna-n] vt.
vedikim I open vekir-in vt.
vedixwim I drink vexwar-in vt.
• 86 •
Dersa Donzdeha [12]

{Pikkert 4.3,4.4,4.6}
FOLKLORE:
•Me hingî got, me tu jê nesot.

We said [it] then, [but] we didn't burn anything of it
•Mirîşkê çav li betê kir, qûna xwe ç’irrand 71
The chicken imitated the bustard, and tore its own backside
•Xanima min, min tu li jêr jî dîtî, li jor jî dîtî 72
My lady, I have seen you from below, I have seen you from above
•Eger ez dîtim, ez im; eger nedîtim, diz im.

If they saw me, it's me; if they didn't see me, it is a thief
[lit., 'I am a thief']
READING:
Bavê min ez birime bajêr
Wextê ku ez biçûk bûm, bavê min ez birim bajêr. Bajar gelekî mezin bû, ji
gundê me mezintir bû. Li gund hesp ze‘f in, lê li bajêr min tu hesp nedîtin. Min
kerek didû dîtin. Gava em gihîştin bajêr, ez gelekî tirsîm. Min tutişt fêm nekir,
min tukes nas nekir.
Min ji bavê xwe pirsî, ku, “Bavo, te çima ez anîm vê derê, vî bajarî? Te çima
ez anîm vî bajarê mezin?” Bavê min got, “Lawo, tu mezin bûyî û lazim e ku tu
bibînî dinya çiqas mezin e.” Min fêm kir, û gotina bavê xwe rrast dît. Min dîsa jê
pirsî: “Bavo, wê gavê, te çima birayên min yên biçûk jî neanîn?” Got, “Lawo, ew
hê biçûk in, ji te biçûktir in, bila li malê, li cem dîya xwe bimînin. Wextê ku wek te
mezin dibin, ezê wana jî bînim bajêr.” Ez kenîm û min ji xwe rra got, “Ez çiqas
bextewar im ku bavê min merivekî wisa ye!”
Hinekî paşê, min tiştek dît, ku kêfa min gelek jê rra hat. Ez birçî bûm û min
ji bavê xwe rra got, “Bavo, ez birçî me. Emê kengî nan bixwin?” Bavê min tiştek
negot, wî destê min girt û ez birim cihekî, ku jêrra dibêjin “xwaringeh”. Em li ber
masekê rrûniştin, û merivek hat û ji me pirsî: “Hûn dixwazin çi bixwin?” Min fêm
nekir, min nezanî ev meriv kî bû û çi ji me xwest. Di gundê me da tiştekî wisa
tune. Bavê min kenî, û ji mêriv rra got, “Du dew û du döneran ji me rra bîne.”
Pênc deqe şûnda, ew zivirrî û xwarina me danî ser masê. Min zanî, dew çi ye -- li
gundê me jî dew pirr e. Lê min nezanî ‘döner’ çi ye. Nan e, û di nava nên da goşt
71Lescot #40, p. 194.
72Lescot #226, p. 220.
• 87 •
heye. Ev goşt jî goştê berxan e. Min di ‘emrê xwe da tiştekî wisa nexwaribû -- *
ze‘f kêfa min jê rra hat. Ez dikarim bêjim ku min hiz ji dönerê kir. Ji wê rrojê û
were, xwarina min ya here hizkirî, ev döner e.
VOCABULARY:
berx[ik], f. lamb
bet, f. type of duck, bustard
bextewar glad; lucky, fortunate
cih, m. [also: cî] place; bed
ç’av kirin, vt. [li] to copy s.o., imitate
çiqas? how much?; how
çiqas bextewar im how lucky I am
ç’irrandin (diç’irrînim), vt. to tear, rip
dew, dêw, vî dewî, m. drink made of yoghurt and water
[Turkish ayran]
di nava … da inside of, within, in the middle of
dîsa[n] again
döner [Turkish] gyros, şawermah, lamb cooked on a
rotating spit
'emir, m. (‘emrê min) life(time); age
gihîştin (-gih[êj]-), vi. to reach, arrive at
gotin (-bêj-), vt. to say
gotin, f. (one's) words, what one says
hinekî a little, a little bit
hinekî paşê a little bit later
hingî then, at that time
hizkirî belovèd, favorite
jêr below
ji … û were ever since [T -den beri]
jor above
k’er, m.&f. donkey
k’erek didû a donkey or two
li cem at the house of, over s.o.'s house
meriv, mêriv, vî merivî, m. man, person
paşê after(wards)
p’encere, f.(p’encera-; p’encerê) window
qûn, f. rear end, backside
rrast dîtin to consider [something] right or
correct
sotin (disojim), vt. to burn (vt.)
şûnda after(wards), later
t’u [S: çu] no, none
t’uk’es nobody, no one
wek like, as
*This is past perfect. See lesson 13.
• 88 •
wextê (ku) when (conj.)

wê gavê then, in that case
xwarin, f. food
xwaringeh, f. restaurant
DAYS OF THE WEEK:

Şemî, f. [S: Şembî] Saturday
Yekşem, f.[S: ‰kşembî] Sunday
Duşem, f. [S: Duşembî] Monday
Sêşem, f. [S: Sêşembî] Tuesday
Çarşem, f. [S: Çarşembî] Wednesday
Pêncşem, f. [S: Pêncşembî] Thursday
Înî, f. [S: (H)eynî] Friday
rroja ~ê on ~
rroja Duşemê on Monday
GRAMMAR:
a. Past tense of transitive verbs [vt.]. Transitive verbs (vt.), i.e., verbs that
take a direct object, behave differently in the past tenses from intransitive verbs
(vi.). The type of construction which occurs in the past tense of transitive verbs in
Kurdiş is called an ergative construction. 73
Historically, the past tense of a transitive verb in an ergative construction is

turned into a passive construction. E.g., 'I opened the door' becomes 'The door
was opened by me'. The logical direct object (the door) becomes the
grammatical subject, and the logical subject (I) becomes the grammatical agent
(by me). Therefore, instead of saying ‘I (you, he, şe, etc.) did something’, in
Kurdiş one is actually saying ‘something was done by me (you, him, her, etc.)'.
b. Formation:
1) As with intransitive verbs (vi.), the past stem is formed by removing the final -
[i]n from the infinitive, e.g.,
kir-in --> kir xwar-in --> xwar

girt-in --> girt dît-in --> dît
vekir-in --> vekir anî-n --> anî
2) The logical subject goes into the oblique case, while the verb takes no
73For the comparative linguists among our readers, the distinction which German, French, Italian,
Dutch, and Danish maintain between transitive and intransitive verbs in the past tense is
comparable to the distinction made in Kurdish. E.g., German 'ich habe gesehen' vs. 'ich bin
gegangen'; French 'j'ai vu' vs. 'je suis allé'; Italian 'ho visto/veduto' vs. 'sono andato', etc. For an
interesting discussion of this, drawing parallels with the ergative in Iranian languages, see: Émile
Benveniste. Problèmes de linguistique générale (Paris : Gallimard, 1966), esply chap. XV "La
construction passive du parfait transitif", vol. 1, pp. 176-186.
• 89 •
personal ending. (The personal ending of the verb is determined by the person
and number of the logical direct object -- see d. below). E.g.,
Ez dikim ----> Min kir

I do I did (by me was done)
Tu dikî ----> Te kir

You do You did (by you was done)
Ew dike ----> Wî/wê kir

S/he does He/şe did (by him/her was done)
Em dikin ----> Me kir

We do We did (by us was done)
Hûn dikin ----> We kir

You do You did (by you was done)
Ew dikin ----> Wan kir 74
They do They did (by them was done)
c. As with intransitive verbs, the negative of the past tense is formed by prefixing
stressed né- to the verb, e.g.,
min né-kir,
né te né-kir,
né wî né-kir,
né wê né-kir
né …
min ve-né
né-xwar, te ve-néné-xwar, wî ve-néné-xwar, wê ve-né
né-xwar …
d. If the logical direct object is plural, the verb must agree with it in number.
*Note that it is irrelevant whether the logical subject is singular or plural. E.g.,
1) Present tense:
I open the door. I open the doors
s.
Ez dêrî vedikim. Ez derîyan
yan vedikim.
Past tense:
I opened the door. I opened the doors
s.
Min derî vekir. Min derî vekirin
in.
historically
By me the door was opened. By me the doors
s were opened.
74In the north, forms such as wan kirinin, wan gotinin, etc. are very common, due to influence from
foreign languages and/or internal transformation. In this course, such forms will be considered
incorrect, unless they are agreeing with a plural direct object. For an in depth study of this curious
phenomenon, see: Margreet Dorleijn. The Decay of Ergativity in Kurmanci : Language Internal or
Contact Induced? (Tilburg : Tilburg University Press, 1996), 183 p.
• 90 •
Present tense:
You don’t see the girl. You don’t see the girls
s.
Tu keçikê ê nabînî. Tu keçikan
an nabînî.
Past tense:
You didn’t see the girl. You didn’t see the girls
s.
Te keçik nedît. Te keçik nedîtinin.
historically
By you the girl was not seen. By you the girls
s were not seen.
2) With a noun as the logical subject:
Present tense:
The şepherd finds the wolf. The şepherd finds the wolves
ves.
Şivan gur dibîne. Şivan guranan dibîne.
Past tense:
The şepherd found the wolf. The şepherd found the wolves
ves.
Şivê
ên gur dît. Şivê
ên gur dîtin
in.
historically
By the şepherd the wolf was found.
By the şepherd the wolves
s were found.
3) With a plural subject:
Present tense:
The şepherds
s find the wolf. The şepherds
s find the wolves.
Şivan gur dibînin
in. Şivan guran dibînin in.
Past tense:
The şepherds
s found the wolf. The şepherds
s found the wolves.
Şivanan
an gur dît. Şivanan
an gur dîtin.
e. Let us look once again at a pair of sentences from above:
Şivên gur dît

The shepherd found the wolf (By the shepherd the wolf was found)
and
Şivên gur dîtin
The shepherd found the wolves (By the shepherd the wolves were found)
In these paired sentences, the number of the verb is determined by the logical
• 91 •
direct object. As Pikkert states in 4.3, in an ergative past tense, “the verb will
agree with the object in number and person.” Since all nouns are by definition
third person, there is no question of person when the logical direct object is a
noun (gur in the above sentences). But what if the logical direct object is a
pronoun ? Suppose we want to say ‘The şepherd found me (you, us, etc.)’?
Let us begin by taking a look at the past tense endings for intransitive verbs,
using the verb hatin as an example:
Ez hatim
im Em hatin
in
Tu hatîî Hûn hatin
in
Ew hat Ew hatin
in
Transitive verbs can take these same endings, however, the meaning will be
passive rather than active. Observe:
Ez dîtim
im Em dîtin
in
Tu dîtîî Hûn dîtin
in
Ew dît Ew dîtin
in
‘Ez dîtim’ does not mean *‘I saw/found’, but rather ‘I was seen/found’ (passive);
another way of seeing this is to translate it as ‘[someone] saw/found me’. Hence,
the full paradigm of the transitive verb dîtin and the two possible translations for
each form are as follows:
Ez dîtim
im I was seen or [X] saw me
Tu dîtîî You (s.) were seen or [X] saw you (s.) Ew dît
S/he was seen or [X] saw him/her
Em dîtin
in We were seen or [X] saw us
Hûn dîtin
in You (pl.) were seen or [X] saw you (pl.)
Ew dîtin
in They were seen or [X] saw them
Now back to our earlier question: How does one say ‘The shepherd found me (you,
us, etc.)’? If we convert the sentence to its corresponding passive in English, we
come one step closer to the answer:
By the shepherd I was seen The shepherd saw me

Şivên ez dîtim
im
By the şepherd you were seen The şepherd saw you
• 92 •
Şivên tu dîtîî
Another example of this construction can be found in the reading passage at the
beginning of this chapter:
Bavê min ez birim[e] bajêr

By my father I was taken to town
My father took me to town [or, to the city]
f. Here is another way of looking at the formation of the past tense of transitive
verbs:
1- 2-
direct case oblique case
1. singular Ez min I (me)
2. singular Tu te you
3. singular Ew wî (masc.) he (him)
wê (fem.) şe (her)
1. plural Em me we (us)
2. plural Hûn we you
3. plural Ew wan they (them)
indef. sing. f. sêvek sêvekê an apple

def. sing. f. Keç keçê [the] girl
def. pl. Sêv sêvan [the] apples
def. pl. kitêb kitêban [the] books
Each clause with a transitive verb can have only one from column 1 and only one
from column 2.
In the present tense, the logical subject will be in the direct case (column 1), and
the direct object will be in the oblique case (column 2), e.g.:
Ez te dibînim
(1) (2)
I-dir. you-obl. see
I see you.
so also with nouns rather than pronouns:
Şivan min dibîne

(1) (2)
Shepherd-dir. me-obl. sees
The shepherd sees me.
• 93 •
Keç kitêban dixwîne

(1) (2)
Girl-dir. books-obl. reads
The girl reads the books.
For transitive verbs, in the past tense the logical subject will be in the oblique
case (column 2), and the direct object will be in the direct case (column 1), e.g.:
Min tu dîtî
(2) (1)
I-obl. you-dir. saw-2nd pers. sing.
I saw you.
[Ez (1) --> min (2); te (2) --> tu (1) ; {ez}dibînim --> {tu} dîtî]
Şivên ez dîtim
(2) (1)
Shepherd-obl. me-dir. saw-1st pers. sing.
The şepherd saw me.
[Şivan (1) --> Şivên(2); min (2) -> ez (1); {şivan}dibîne --> {ez}dîtim]
Keçê kitêb xwendin

(2) (1)
Girl-obl. books-dir. read-3rd pers. pl.
The girl read the books.
[Keç (1)--> Keçê (2); kitêban (2) --> kitêb (1); {keç}dixwîne --> {kitêb} xwendin]
In both past and non-past tenses, the verb agrees with whatever is in the direct
case. In the present tense , the logical subject is in the direct case, and the verb
75
agrees with it in person and number:
Ew sêvekê dixwe
e [Ew dixwe]
(1) (2)
She-dir. an-apple-obl. eats-3rd pers. sing.
She eats an apple.
Ew sêvekê dixwin
in [Ew dixwin]
(1) (2)
They-dir. an-apple-obl. eat-3rd pers. pl.
They eat an apple.
Ew du sêvan dixwe
e [Ew dixwe]
(1) (2)
She-dir. 2-apples-obl. eats-3rd pers. sing.
She eats two apples.
75i.e., in all non-past tenses of the transitive verb, and in all tenses of the intransitive verb.
• 94 •
Ew du sêvan dixwin
in [Ew dixwin]
(1) (2)
They-dir. 2-apples-obl. eat-3rd pers. pl.
They eat two apples.
Em te nas dikin
in [Em nas dikin]
(1) (2)
We-dir. you-sing.-obl. know-1st pers. pl.
We know you (s.).
In the past tense of the transitive verb, the logical direct object is in the direct
case, and the verb agrees with it in person and number:
Wê sêvek
ek xwar [sêvek xwar]
(2) (1)
She-obl. an-apple-dir. ate-3rd pers. sing.
She ate an apple.
Wan sêvek
ek xwar [sêvek xwar]
(2) (1)
They-obl. an-apple-dir. ate-3rd pers. sing.
They ate an apple.
Wê du sêv xwarin
in [du sêv xwarin]
(2) (1)
She-obl. 2-apples-dir. ate-3rd pers. pl.
She ate two apples.
Wan du sêv xwarin

in [du sêv xwarin]
(2) (1)
They-obl. 2-apples-dir. ate-3rd pers. pl.
They ate two apples.
Me tu nas kirîî [tu nas kirî]

(2) (1)
We-obl. you-sing.-dir. knew-2nd pers. sing.
We knew you (s.).
EXERCISES:
I. Translate:
1) I give; I don’t give; I gave; I didn’t give.
2) You (s.) see; You don’t see; You saw; You didn’t see.
3) She comes; She doesn’t come; She came; She didn’t come.
4) He reads; He doesn’t read; He read; He didn’t read.
5) We drink; We don’t drink; We drank; We didn’t drink.
• 95 •
6) You (pl.) open; You don’t open; You opened; You didn’t open.
7) They catch; They don’t catch; They caught; They didn’t catch.
8) The şepherd saw us on Wednesday. The şepherds did not see us on
Thursday.
9) Did they catch you (s.)? No, they did not catch me.
10) When did you (pl.) return home? We returned home on Sunday.
11) Our mother waşed us. Did your (s.) mother waş you?
12) The student (f.) took her to school. The students did not take them to
school.
13) You (s.) have not seen us for a long time.
14) Who brought you (pl.) home on Thursday? My friends brought me
home.
15) They heard us yesterday. We heard them two days ago.
II. Translate, giving the four forms (singular and plural direct object, present
and past tense):
1) She reads (read) the book(s).
2) The dogs catch (caught) the cat(s).
3) The boy opens (opened) the door(s).
4) The teacher does not (did not) read the lesson(s) on Tuesday.
5) The student waşes (waşed) his hand(s).
6) The woman does not (did not) sell her cow(s) on Saturday.
7) My sisters eat (ate) the bread(s).
8) You (pl.) do not (did not) close the window(s).
9) We bring (brought) the yoghurt home on Monday.
10) Your (s./pl.) mothers loves (loved) you (s./pl.).
11) They don’t (didn’t) tell me anything [=They don’t say a thing to me].
12) Do (did) the fathers take the children to school today (yesterday)?
III. Translate into English:

1) Te em dîtin, nedîtin? Me tu dîtî, nedîtî?; Roja înê min hûn negirtin. Roja
Pêncşemê we ez negirtim;
2) Wê destên xwe neşûştin;
3) Roja Çarşemê me dîya xwe bire Wanê. We dê û bavê xwe birine Sêrtê?;
4) Wan ez nas kirim, lê “rroj baş” negote min;
5) Ji mêj ve min tu nedîtî;
6) Wextê ku tu çûyî Rehayê rroja Şemîyê, te çi kirrî?
7) Min sê kirasên nû kirrîn;
8) Yên ku ez anîm, dê min dîsa bibin.
IV. Make up ten sentences using verbs in the past tense, both transitive and
intransitive.
KURDISH PLACE NAMES

Sêrt
• 96 •
Dersa Sêzdeha [13]

{Pikkert 4.5, 4.7, 5.3}
FOLKLORE:
Mêra mêr dikuştin, Cibo ûr dişûştin

Men were killing men, Jibo was waşing intestines.
Kelb bin sîya 'erebêda rrûniştibû, ewî tirê sîya boçika wî ye

The dog sat under the şade of the wagon, he thoughT it was the şade of his own
tail.
READING:
Merivekî gundîyek kuştibû û dirrevî. Gundîyan dabûye pey merivkuj ku
bigrin. Wî dît di rrê da çend rêwîyên din ber bi wî ve tên. Tirsî ku wî bigrin, xwe
zûzûka avête zevîya nîskan ya li devê rrê, baqek nîsk çinî û rrevî. Gundîyên ku
dabûye pey wî -- gazî rêwîyan kir, ku wî bigrin. Rêwîyên ku ji pêşber dihatin, mêrik
girt. Wan pirsî, çima gundî wisa bi pey wî ketin. Mêrik got: "Ez di rrê da dihatim,
min ji zevîya wan baqek nîsk çinî, niha dixwazin min bigrin, bikujin." Rêwîyan ew
berda û gundîyên ku dabû dû -- girtin, wan got: "Şerm e, şerm, ji ber baqek nîsk
hûnê mêr bikujin, çi ye?" Gundîyan ku ew yek bihîst 'ecêbmayî man, wan got: "Kî
zane -- zane, kî nizane -- baqê nîskan e." 76
VOCABULARY:
avêtin (davêjim), vt. to throw
xwe avêtin, vt. to jump, leap
bala xwe dan, vt. to realize, see
baq, m. handful
ber bi [… ve] towards
ber•dan (berdidim), vt. to let go, release
berî ku before (conjunction + verb)
bilûr, f. flute (Turkiş kaval)
bîr, f. memory
ji bîr kirin, vt. to forget
boç’ik, f. tail
carina sometimes
Cibo man's name
76Adapted from: Ordikhane Dzhalil & Dzhalile Dzhalil. Mesele û Met'elokê K'urda bi Zimanê K'urdî û
Rûsî = Kurdskie Poslovitsy i Pogovorki na Kurdskom i Russkom IAzykakh (Moskva : Glavnaia
redaktsiia vostochnoπ literatury, 1972), anecdote #18, p. 385. The punchline "Kî zane -- zane, kî
nizane -- baqê nîskan e" is a well known Kurdish proverb.
• 97 •
cînar, m.&f. [also: cîran] neighbor

çinîn (diçinim), vt. to pick (fruits)
dan pey/dû, vt. = k’etin pey to follow, chase, pursue
dev, dêv, vî devî, m. mouth; edge
devê rrê the side/edge of the road
dû = pey after
'ecêbmayî man, vi. to be amazed, şocked, stunned, surprised
'erebe, f. ('ereba-; 'erebê)cart, wagon
gazî kirin, vt. to call
gelek caran often, usually
gihandin (digihînim), vt. to cause to arrive, to bring someone to
hergav always
her heftê every week
her rroj every day
hiştin (dihêlim), vt.[hêlan (S)]to leave, let
heta until
ji ber because of, for the sake of
jin anîn, vt. to get married (of a man)
k’elb, m. = kûçik dog
k’etin pey, vi. to follow, chase, pursue
lê•xistin [li… dix(în)e],vt.to play (an instrument)
mal , m.
77
property
merivkuj, m. murderer
mêrik, m. man, fellow, chap
mêr kirin, vt. to be married off (of a woman)
nazik delicate, gentle
nîsk, f. lentil(s)
p’al, f. slope, side (of mountain)
pey = dû after
pê hesîn (pê dihesim), vi.to find out, become aware of
pêşber opposite, facing
p’irrîcar often, usually
piştî ku after (conjunction + verb)
qesr, f. castle
rrêwî, m.&f. traveller, here: people on the road
se‘at, f. hour; clock
sî, f. shade
sûk, f. market
şerm, f. shame, disgrace
t’eslîm kirin to deliver, hand over (to someone)
[(ji) oblique case] + t’irêit seems to [s.o.], [s.o.]
thinks (that stg. is so)
[ji] min t’irê it seems to me.
77Notice the gender difference between these two homonyms: mal, f. = house, home; mal, m. =
property.
• 98 •
ûr/’ûr, m. intestine(s)
wekî = ku that (conj.)
xort, m. young man
ze‘f caran often, usually
zevî, f. field
zûzûka quickly, fast, in a flaş
MONTHS:
K’anûna Paşîn, f. January Tîrmeh, f. July
Sibat, f. February T’ebax, f. August
Adar, f. March Îlon, f. September
Nîsan, f. April Çirîya Pêşîn, f. October
Gulan, f. May Çirîya Paşîn, f. November
Hezîran, f. June K’anûna Pêşîn, f. December
GRAMMAR:
a. Past Continuous Tense. The past continuous tense (Pikkert’s “Progressive
Past Tense”) is used for events which occurred repeatedly or habitually in the past.
This is rendered in Engliş by such constructions as: I was going, I used to go, I
would go 78
In Kurdish, there is a past continuous tense, formed by prefixing the present

indicative tense marker di- to the past tense. This holds true for both transitive
and intransitive verbs. E.g.,
Ez diçûm
di I used to go, I was going, I would go
Min dixwar
di I used to eat, I was eating, I would eat
Tu dihatî
di You used to come, you were coming, you would come
Te vedi
dikir You used to open, you were opening, you would open
Ew dikenî
di He used to laugh, he was laughing, he would laugh
Wî digot
di He used to say, he was saying, he would say
The negative is formed by prefixing a stressed né- to the prefix di-. Note that
unlike the present tense, in which the negative particle replaces the di-, in the
past continuous tense, these two prefixes stand side by side. E.g.,
Present:
Ez diçim
di Ez dixwim
di
Ez náçim
ná Ez náxwim
ná
Past continuous:
Ez diçûm
di Min dixwar
di
Ez nédidiçûm Min nédi dixwar
78In Turkish, both gidiyordum and giderdim correspond to this.
• 99 •
This tense is often signalled by adverbs indicating habitual activity, e.g., every
day (her rroj), every week (her heftê), sometimes (carina), always (her [û
her]/hergav/tim [û tim]), never (tucar), often or usually (gelek
caran/pirrîcar/ze‘f caran).
b. Relative clauses. In Engliş, typical sentences with relative clauses include the
following:
a) The man who was my friend is now a senator.

b) The book which you are reading is fabulous.
c) ... that live in the house that Jack built.
Relative clauses are often signalled, then, by such markers as who, which, and
that, although these markers could be omitted in examples b) and c) above.
Particularly from a Kurdiş perspective, but in other languages as well, we may

view relative clauses as equivalent to adjectives in that both modify their nouns.
The difference is that while an adjective is a single word, a relative clause is a
whole phrase.
A noun is connected to its modifying relative clause by an ezafeh construction. In

this way also, adjectives and relative clauses behave similarly. E.g.,
•Keçaa bedew xûşka min e.

The beautiful girl is my sister.
•Keçaa (ku) tu dibînî xûşka min e.
The girl (whom) you see is my sister.
•Em diherrine bajarêê mezin.
We are going to the big city.
•Em diherrine bajarêê (ku) tu têda dijî.
We are going to the city (which) you live in.
[lit., '(which) you live in it']
Therefore, relative clauses are constructed according to the following formula:
noun + ezafeh (+ ku) + phrase

A +-ê/-a/-ên (B) C
Because the ku is optional, sometimes a noun in its ezafeh form will be
• 100 •
encountered without any apparent modifier (i.e. adjective). In such situations,

one is undoubtedly in the presence of a relative clause. E.g.,
Rîya
a tu li ser The road (which) you are on
Mêrêê tu nas dikî The man (whom) you know
The following sentences contain embedded relative clauses. Try them on for size!:
1) Ew firrî û çû cem kevirê li pala çîyê bû.
[pal, f. = slope, side (of mountain)]
He flew and went to the rock which was on the side (or foot) of the mountain.
2) Gelo nabe, wekî em evê qîza nazik bigihînine ewî xortê tu dibêjî? [wekî
= ku; gihandin (digihînim), vt. = to cause to arrive, to bring someone to; xort,
m. = young man; nazik = delicate, gentle]
Why don't we bring this delicate girl to that young man you are talking about?
3) Ezê vê qesrê û malê tê de timam teslîmê te bikim.

[qesr, f. = castle; mal, m. = property; teslîm kirin = to hand over to someone]
I will hand over to you this palace and all the property [that is] in it.
c. To express such things as "he who…", "the one who...", two constructions are
possible:
1) the interrogative pronoun kî may be used, e.g.:

Kî zane -- zane, kî nizane -- baqê niskan e
He who knows knows, he who does not know [thinks] it's a handful of lentils
2) the independent ezafeh markers: yê for masculine singular, ya for feminine

singular, and yên [S: yêt] for plural + ku are used. E.g.,
79
Yên ku ez anîme dê min dîsa bibin

Those who brought me will take me back
d. Past Perfect Tense. The past perfect (or pluperfect) tense is used when
speaking of two past events, one of which is further back in time than the other,
e.g. ‘He had already left when I arrived.’ The formula for constructing this tense
in Engliş is: past tense of auxiliary verb have + past participle.
In Kurdish, the construction is similar, in that it also consists of an auxiliary verb

(bûn) plus a special participle. The participle is formed by removing the -n from
the infinitive, e.g.
79see Lesson Ten, c. Secondary ezafeh.
• 101 •
girti-n ---> girti-

çû-n ---> çû-
da-n ---> da-
kenî-n ---> kenî-
vekiri-n ---> vekiri-
The auxiliary verb bûn is attached (suffixed) to this participle. Hence, the past
perfect of girtin is girtibû.
As with other past tenses, the distinction between transitive and intransitive verbs
is preserved in this tense also. What follow are paradigms for the past perfect
tense with the transitive verb girtin and the intransitive verb hatin.
vt. min girtibû

bû 80
I had taken/caught
te girtibû
bû you (s.) had taken/caught
wî/wê girtibû
bû he/şe had taken/caught
me girtibû
bû we had taken/caught
we girtibû
bû you (pl.) had taken/caught
wan girtibûbû they had taken/caught
vi. ez hatibûm
bûm I had come
tu hatibûyî
bûyî you (s.) had come
ew hatibû
bû he/şe had come
em hatibûn
bûn we had come
hûn hatibûn
bûn you (pl.) had come
ew hatibûn
bûn they had come
The negative is formed by prefixing accented né- to the participle, e.g.

Ez néhatibûm
bûm = I had not come.
In Northern Kurmanji, for the verbs zanîn (to know) and karîn (to be able), the
past perfect is most often used to express the simple past tense, e.g.:
Dibêjin sultan Sulêman pêxember bi zimanên çûk û çivîka gişka zanibû

They say that Sultan Suleyman the Prophet knew the languages of all the birds.
EXERCISES:
80With a plural direct object, the form will be min girtibûn
n.
• 102 •
I. Translate into Kurdiş: 1) When I was a boy, I would go to school every day; 2)
When you were a student, you never studied your lessons; 3) We used to live in a
big house; 4) The şepherd used to play; 5) Our father used to bring small
chickens home from the market; 6) The boy who ate the apples is our neighbor;
7) I used to study in the room in which you are sitting; 8) My father brought the
chickens which you (pl.) were eating from the market; 9) My father had gone to
the city before it rained; 10) I had not seen my brother before he died; 11) He had
seen me in the winter, in the month of February; 12) Şe had [already] read the
lesson, when you asked her; 13) I didn’t know that you were (=are) from Malatya;
14) You had [already] seen the house we lived in [it].
II. Translate into Engliş: 1) Mamoste nan xwaribû berî ku mêvan bigihine mala wî;
2) Piştî ku tu bi rrê ketî, min bala xwe da ku te kitêba xwe li cem min hiştibû; 3)
Berî ku ew pê bihesin, em gihîştibûn çîyê; 4) Ehmedê Xanî ji Kurdan rra gotibû:
“Hon (=hûn), berî her tiştî, Kurd in.”; 5) Min dixwest tiştekî ji te bipirsim; 6) Bavê
min nedihişt ku ez piştî se‘at nehan ji malê derkevim; 7) Dihî birayê min hat me
bibîne. Ji meha Tebaxê û were -- ango ji havîna çûyî -- ew nehatibû malê û me ew
nedîtibû; 8) Gelo te ji bîr kir ku wan tiştek ji te xwestibû?; 9) Li mehên biharê û
havînê -- ango ji Adarê heta Tebaxê -- em diçûne mala wan û ew dihatine mala
me; 10) Bavê Meyroyê du hesp kirrîbûn gava ku Meyroyê ji bavê xwe xwest ku
jêrra hespekî bikirre.
III. Give the past continuous tense of the following verbs in the person and
number indicated in parentheses; indicate whether the verb is transitive (vt.) or
intransitive (vi.). E.g., dîtin (ez) --> min didît, vt.
1) gotin (tu); 2) bihîstin (em); 3) girîn (hûn); 4) derketin (ew, pl.); 5) vexwarin (ez);
6) xwestin (ew, sing. f.); 7) çinîn (em); 8) berdan (ew, sing. m.); 9) pirsîn (tu); 10)
tirsîn (hûn); 11) hiştin (em); 12) zivirrîn (ew, pl.).
IV. Give the negative of the past continuous tense for the verbs in Exercise III.
V. Give the past perfect tense of the verbs in Exercise III.
VI. Give the negative of the past perfect tense for the verbs in Exercise V.
VII. Make up ten sentences using verbs in the past continuous and past perfect
tenses. Make sure to include negative verbs and plural direct objects!

Male:
Cibo
Female:
Meyro
KURDISH PLACE NAMES

Meletîye
• 103 •
Dersa Çardeha [14]

{Pikkert 10.8 ff.}
FOLKLORE:
Ji gotinên pêşîyan: Bar min naêşîne, serbar diêşîne.
READING:
Rovîyekî xapînok hebû. Ew birçî bû, dilê wî diçû mirîşk û kewan. Da ku ew
mirîşk û kewan bixapîne, wî deholek kire stûyê xwe û li ber kuna xwe sekinî, li
dehola xwe xist û digot, "Xebereke mezin! Lîstika mişkan di vê kunê da! Rabin!
Rabin! Vê delîveya zengîn û rengîn winda nekin! Werin! Werin! Derbazbûna mirîşk
û kewan belaş e." Bi vî awayî rovî dixwest mirîşk û kewan bigihîne kuna xwe bêî
ku wan bitirsîne.
Kewek û mirîşkek hatin. Rovî ew sekinandin. Wan bangê rovî bihîst, û ji hev
ra got, "Were, em derbazî wê de’watê bibin, ji ber ku bê pere ye."
Gava ku derbaz bûn, rovî got, "De werin, werin, ez we bixwim. Hûn ketin
dava min." Bi vê gotinê, rovî dilê kew û mirîşkê şewitand.
Kew û mirîşkê dest bi girînê kir û got, "Apê rovî, dev ji me berde! Canên me
bihêle!"
Rovî got, De, îro xem nake, taştê û şîva min heye, ezê sibehê we bixwim," û
rovî kevirek danî ber kuna xwe û çû. Kew û mirîşkê got, 'Emê dersekê bi‘elimînine
wî rovîyê xirab!' Wan bi nikilên xwe kevir wergerrand, derketin û revîn. 81
VOCABULARY:
awa, m. way, manner, faşion
bi vî awayî in this way
bang, m. call, cry
bar, bêr, vî barî, m. load, burden
belaş free of charge
beş, f. part, section
bê p’ere free of charge
bi kurtayî shortly, briefly
can, m. soul, spirit, life
çarek, f. quarter, fourth
dan (didim), vt. + infinitive to have someone do something
dav, f. trap
dehol, f. (snare) drum
delîve, f. opportunity, chance
deqe, f. minute (60 seconds)
derbaz bûn (derbaz dibe), vi. here: to enter
dest pê [bi …] kirin (dikim), vt. to begin, start (doing stg.)
dev jê [ji …] berdan (berdidim), vt. to let go of, cease and desist
81adapted from: Stig Wikander. Antolojîya Tekstên Kurdî (Stockholm : Orfeus, 1996)
• 104 •
de’wat, f. (wedding) celebration

dibistan, f. elementary school
dil, m. heart
dilê wî diçe ... He feels like (eating something)
dîrok, f. history
dotin (didoşim), vt. to milk (cows, şeep, etc.)
'elimandin (di'elimînim), vt. to teach, accustom
'elimîn (di'elimim), vi. + dative construction to learn, get used to
82
êşandin (dêşînim), vt. to hurt, cause pain

êşîn (dêşe), vi. [also: êşan], to hurt (vi.), smart
[ê]xistin (têxim/dixim/dixînim), vt. to drop, insert; to take off
(clothes)
firrandin (difirrînim), vt. to cause to fly (off)
firavîn, f. lunch, midday meal
fîlm, f. film, movie
gihandin (digihînim), vt. to convey, bring, cause to reach
guneh, m. pity; guilt
hiştin (dihêlim), vt. here: to save from death
ji holê rra•bûn (rradibe), vi. to cease to exist, disappear
ji holê rra•kirin (rradike), vt. to get rid of, do away with
kew, m. partridge
kêm minus, less (-)
kun, f. hole, opening (to an animal's lair)
lîstik, f. game
ma interrogative particle signaling a negative
answer
mişk, m. mouse (pl. mice)
mî, f. [also: mih] female şeep, ewe
name, f. letter, epistle
nêç’îr, f. hunting
nikil, m. beak, bill (of bird)
nivîsîn (dinivîsim), vt. to write
p’adşa, p’adşê, vî p’adşayî, m. king
rasthatî, f. event, occurrence
rrengîn colorful
rrû•ç’ikandin (rrûdiç’ikîne), vt. to pluck, pull out (feathers)
sekinandin (disekinînim), vt. to stop (vt.), cause to stop, put a stop to
serbar, m. that which is on top of the load;
here: rider
sibehê tomorrow
stû, m. neck
kire stûyê xwe he hung it from (put it around) his
neck
şewitandin (dişewitînim), vt. to burn (vt.) [set on fire, consume]
82See Lesson 8, ¶b.2.
• 105 •
şewitîn (dişewitim), vi. to burn (vi.) [be on fire]

şîv, f. dinner, evening meal
taştê, f. [S: têşt] breakfast
t’emaşe kirin (~ dikim), vt. [+ li] to watch, look at (a movie)
tirsandin (ditirsînim), vt. to frighten, scare
vegerr, f. return[ing], coming/going back
wer•gerrandin (werdigerrînim),vt. to overturn, knock over
winda kirin (dikim), vt. to lose; to miss (an opportunity)
xapandin (dixapîne), vt. to deceive, fool
xapînok, m./adj. cheater, deceptive
xeber, f. news; words
zengîn rich
zivirrandin (dizivirrînim), vt.to return (vt.), give back
TIMES OF THE DAY: {all are feminine}

spêde = sehar early morning
rroj day; sun
berî nîvrro forenoon, mid morning
êvar [S: (h)êvarî] evening
nîvrro noon
şev night
piştî nîvrro afternoon
nîveşev midnight
GRAMMAR:
a. The Causative Verb. A causative verb is one which causes something to
happen, or causes someone to do or become something. As such, causatives are
by definition transitive, as they always take a direct object . They can often be
83
paired off with a corresponding intransitive verb. The follow are English
examples:
to rise to raise (to cause to rise)
to sit to seat (to cause to sit)
to lie to lay (to cause to lie)
to go to take (to cause to go)
to come to bring (to cause to come)
to die to kill (to cause to die)
to learn to teach (to cause to learn)
In English, other causatives are formed from adjectives, e.g.
83This is equivalent to Turkish ettirgen verbs (e.g., yapmak - yap-tðr-mak).
• 106 •
thick to thicken
large to enlarge
sad to sadden
In Kurdish, causatives are always transitive, and generally end in -andin in the
infintive, with a present stem in -în- . The -andin is generally added to the
84
present stem of the corresponding simple verb, as will be seen in the following
examples of verb pairs:
tirsîn 'to fear'

tirs-andin 'to frighten'
gihan/gihîştin 'to reach, arrive'

gih-andin 'to convey, bring, cause to reach'
'elimîn 'to learn, get used to'

'elim-andin 'to teach, accustom'
sekinîn 'to stop (vi.), stand'

sekin-andin 'to stop (vt.), cause to stop
zivirrîn 'to return (vi.), go back'

zivirr-andin 'to return (vt.), give back'
êşîn 'to hurt (vi.)'

êş-andin 'to hurt (vt.), cause pain'
şewitîn 'to burn (vi.)' [be on fire]

şewit-andin 'to burn (vt.)' [set on fire, consume]
Some very common verbs have causatives formed from different roots:
çûn 'to go' birin 'to take (away from speaker)'

hatin 'to come' anîn [S: înan] 'to bring (towards speaker)'
k’etin 'to fall, enter' [ê]xistin 'to drop, insert'
84-ên- in some dialects.
• 107 •
bûn 'to be, become' kirin 'to make, do'

man 'to remain, stay' hiştin [S: hêlan] 'to let, leave'
b. A second degree of causativity also exists . This is used when one has a third
85
party do something for one. In English, we express this by combining the verb to
have with another verb, e.g.:
to have someone cut one’s hair

to have someone fire the employee
to have someone removed by force
to have dinner brought to the room
In Kurdish, this is expressed by combining the verb dan with the infinitive (either
direct or oblique case) of a second verb . Here are some examples:
86
dan sekinandin[ê] 'to have someone stopped'

dan zanîn[ê] 'to have it made known, i.e., to announce'
dan rrûçikandin[ê] 'to have [birds] plucked'
This construction may involve three individuals: 1) the subject [person giving the
command]; 2) the intermediary [person charged with carrying out the subject's
command]; and 3) the recipient(s) [person(s) or thing(s) upon whom the
intermediary carries out the subject's command].
The intermediary (#2 above) can be identified by the preposition bi preceding it.
E.g.,
Padşê bi celaçî serên dizan dan birrîn

the king the executioner heads of the thieves caused to be cut off
1 subject 2 intermediary 3 recipient
The king had the executioner behead the thieves.
Şivan bi birayê xwe mîyan dide dotin

the şepherd his brother the ewes (şeep) causes to milk
The şepherd has his brother milk the ewes.
Note also that the verb dan must agree in number and person with the recipient,
85 Turkish yap-tðr-t-mak.
86Pikkert 10.12.
• 108 •
which is the logical direct object. In the first sentence above, if the king had the
executioner behead only one thief, the sentence would look like this:
Padşê bi celaçî serê

ê diz da birrîn
the king the executioner head of the thief caused to be cut off
The king had the executioner behead the thief.
c. Telling time. To ask what time it is, one says "Se‘at çend e?" 87
The four quarters of the hour are expressed as follows, using the hour of 5:00-6:00
as an example:
5:00 Se‘at pênc e.

5:15 Se‘at pênc û çarekek e.
5:30 Se‘at pênc û nîv e.
5:45 Se‘at şeş kêm çarekek e.
The following terms are essential to know in telling time:
çarek = quarter, fourth

nîv = half
kêm = minus, less (-)
The other fractions of the hour are expressed as follows:
5:05 Se‘at pênc û pênc e.

5:10 Se‘at pênc û deh e.
5:20 Se‘at pênc û bîst e.
5:25 Se‘at pênc û bîst-û-pênc e.
Notice that between half past the hour (5:30) and the next hour (6:00), one
figures the minutes remaining to the next hour, using kêm. (5:45 is Se‘at şeş
kêm çarekek). So also:
5:35 Se‘at şeş kêm bîst-û-pênc e. [6:00 minus 25]

5:40 Se‘at şeş kêm bîst e. [6:00 minus 20]
5:50 Se‘at şeş kêm deh e. [6:00 minus 10]
5:55 Se‘at şeş kêm pênc e. [6:00 minus 5]
d. Whereas Se‘at pênc e means "It is 5:00", to express at what time something
happens, the following construction is used:
87Other possibilities are: Çi ©în e? and Çi heyam e?
• 109 •
Se‘at di pêncê da or Se‘at di pêncan da = "at 5:00". 88
Consider the following distinctions:
Se‘at çar û çarekek e It is 4:15

Se‘at di çar û çarekekê
ê da at 4:15
Heft kêm çarekek 6:45

Se‘at di heft kêm çarekekê
ê da at 6:45
Neh û nîv 9:30

Se‘at di neh û nîvê
ê da at 9:30
Yanzdeh kêm deh 10:50

Se‘at di yanzdeh kêm dehan
an or dehê
ê da at 10:50
e. Other important time expressions include:

Tê neha[n] or nehê = It is coming up on 9:00; It is almost 9:00
A.M. is spêdê/siharê [in the morning] or berî nîvrro [before noon]
P.M. is piştî nîvrro [after noon] or êvarê [in the evening] or şevê [at night]
Şeş spêdê yan şeş êvarê? = 6:00 A.M. or 6:00 P.M.?
Yanzdeh û nîv berî nîvrro yan şevê? = 11:30 A.M. or P.M.?
EXERCISES:
I. Translate: 1) Ma ne guneh e, ku ji bona jina xwe tu me gişkan bidî rrûçikandin?;
2) Tu dikarî bi kurtayî xwe bidî nas kirin?; 3) Wextê ku Ûsib ji nêçîrê vegerre, emê
wî bidne sekinandinê; 4) Wî jê rra da zanîn ku sibehê naherre dibistanê; Wî jê rra
got ku sibehê neherre [neçite] dibistanê; 5) Îro mamostê ji me rra da zanîn ku
sibehê se‘at di heşt û nîvê da emê li fîlmekê temaşe bikin; 6) Ezê ji te rra roja
vegerra xwe bidim zanîn; 7) Ew dîrokê bi kurrê xwe dide xwendin; 8) Dîroka
dinyaê ji me re dide zanîn ku heta niha, gelek zimanên dinyaê ji holê rabûn; 9) Her
spêdê se’at di şeşan da bavê min bi xûşk û birayên min mî û çêlek didan dotin;
10) Berî nîvrro dîya min bi Birûskî çar nameyên dirêj dan nivîsîn.
II. Write out the following time expressions: E.g., 8:00 = se‘at heşt e. a) 4:30; b)
12:20; c) 7:15; d) 7:45; e) 1:45; f) 3:35; g) 11:05; h) 10:55; i) 9:25; j) 9:35; k)
2:10; l) 1:50.
III. Change the time expressions in Exercise II so that they tell at what time. E.g.,
8:00 = se‘at heşt --> se‘at di heştan or heştê da.
88In northern dialects, all numbers except one (and 21, 31, 41, etc.) are treated as plurals, and
receive the plural oblique ending -an. In southern dialects (including Hekkari), on the other hand,
all numbers are treated as feminine singulars, and receive the feminine oblique ending -ê.
• 110 •
IV. Make up ten sentences using causatives, e.g.: .

Male: Female:
Birûsk Gelawêj
Ûsib
• 111 •
Dersa Panzdeha [15]

{Pikkert}
FOLKLORE:
•Bende ji bende tê nas kirinê

A slave is recognized by another slave.
•Mêr bi te‘na tê kuştin

A man is (=can be) killed by reproach.
•Her çêlek tê dotinê, lê her gilî nayê gotinê

Every cow can be milked, but not every word can be said.
LECTURE:
Wek tê zanîn, li welatên demokratîk, serok ji alîyê gel ve tê hilbijartin. Piştî
hilbijartinê, dengên dengderan tên hejmartin, û çend rojên paştir, encamên
hilbijartinê tên ragihandin. Encamên hilbijartinê bi giringtirîn nûçeyên wê rojê tên
zanîn, û di hemî rojnameyan da û di destgehên ragihandinê yên din da -- wek
radyo û televîzyonê -- tên belav kirin. Gelek caran middeta heftîyekê di
bernameyên radyo û televîzyonê da, behsê tiştekî din ji bilî hilbijartinan naête
kirin. Rûpelên pêşîn yên rojname û kovaran bi wêneyên serokê nû-hilbijartî ve
têne xemilandin. Piştî çend rojan gelek kes dibêjin, "Êdî bes e! Gelo tiştekî din tune
ku em behs bikin? Gelo li radyo û televîzyonê ji bilî hilbijartinê, behsê bûyerên din
naête kirin? Bê guman li dinyayê bûyerên din hene ku hêjayê behs-kirinê bin!" Û
hêdî hêdî destgehên ragihandinê dev ji behs-kirina hilbijartinê berdidin, û tiştên
din peyda dikin ku behs bikin.
VOCABULARY:
behsê … kirin vt. to discuss, talk about
belav kirin vt. to distribute, spread; to broadcast
bende m. slave; human being
bername f. program
bê guman sans doute
• 112 •
bêguneh innocent
bi sedan [precedes its noun] hundreds of …
bi … ve with
bi … zanîn vt. to consider, regard
bûyer f. event, occurrence
civîn (dicivim) vi. to gather; (f.) gathering
civîn f. gathering
ciwan young; (S) beautiful
ciwanî f. (one’s) youth
çap kirin vt. to print
ç’îrrok f. story, tale
dawî f. end
demokratîk democratic
deng m. voice; vote
dengder m.&f. voter
destgeh f. apparatus, organization
destgehên ragihandinê the media
dev ji… ber•dan vt. to let go of, quit doing stg.
di dû … rra after
di nav … da inside, within, in
encam f. result
faşîst fascist
gel m. the people, the folk
gilî m. words, speech, talk; complaint
giring important
girtî arrested, imprisoned; (m.)
prisoner
hatin ser hukm to come to power (government)
hejmartin (dihejmêrim) vt. to count; to regard, consider
hêjayê … worth (doing, discussing),
worthy of
hilbijartin (hildibijêrim) vt.to elect; to choose, select
hilbijartin f. election
hilweşandin (hildiweşînim) vt. to wreck, ruin, destroy
hin some (+ plural noun)
hikûmet f. government
• 113 •
ji bilî except for, besides

ji dûr ve from afar
kerî m. herd, large flock
kovar f. magazine, journal, periodical
metre f. meter
middet f. period (of time)
middeta heftîyekê for (the period of) a week
nîşan dan vt. to şow
nûçe pl. news
nû-hilbijartî newly-elected
radyo f. radio
ragihandin (radigihînim) vt. to announce, report, communicate
rejîm f. regime
rojname f. newspaper
rrûpel f. page (of a book)
serok m. president
şerr, şêrr, vî şerrî m. war
şor kirin vt. to speak
televîzyon f. television
te‘n m. reproach, reproof
welat, welêt, vî welatî m. country, state
wêne f. picture, image
xemilandin (dixemilînim) vt. to adorn, decorate
zarrotî f. childhood
GRAMMAR:
a. The Passive Voice. Whereas in the active voice, it is generally the subject
that is the focus of attention, in the passive voice it is the direct object -- the
recipient of the action -- that is emphasized. As a general rule, only transitive
verbs can be made passive. For the purposes of those studying Kurdish, this
means that only those verbs which form an ergative past tense can be made
passive. Whereas the ergative itself is historically a type of passive construction,
it is not perceived as such today. There exists another, explicitly passive
construction formed with a helping (auxiliary) verb (i.e., in a periphrastic
construction), which can be used in all tenses, unlike the ergative, which in
Kurdish is limited to the past tenses. It should be noted, however, that the passive
• 114 •
is relatively little used in Kurmanji; although it seems to be more common in

journalistic language.
In English, the sentence
The boy closes the door

1 2 3
can be made passive by making the logical direct object (the door) into the
subject of the passive verb, and the logical subject (the boy) into the agent: the
verb will change from closes to is closed. The resulting construction yields:
The door is closed by the boy
3 2 1
In English, then, the passive verb is formed by using the auxiliary verb to be (or,
colloquially, to get) plus the past participle of the transitive verb. In Kurdiş,
passives are formed using the auxiliary verb hatin (to come) [in all tenses] plus
the infinitive (in the direct or oblique case). Consider the following:
hatin kuştin(ê) to be killed

Ew hat kuştin(ê) He was killed
Tuyê bêyî kuştin(ê) You will be killed
Bi sedan girtî tên kuştin(ê) Hundreds of prisoners are killed
The agent of the passive verb (by the boy) is expressed with ji alîyê … ve, or
less commonly with bi destê, e.g.:
Serok ji alîyê gel ve tê hilbijartin

The president is elected by the people.
Soro ji alîyê hikûmetê ve hat girtin

Soro was imprisoned by the government.
Axayê me bi destê Mîşo hat birîndar kirin
Our agha was wounded by Mişo.
b. Indefinite plural. There is an indefinite plural form which is more common in

some regions than in others . It consists of the morpheme -in added to the end of
89
89This form is particularly common in the region of Mardin, Kurdistan of Turkey.
• 115 •
the direct case of the noun, and has the following oblique case and ezafeh forms:
direct: -in
çîrok-in stories, some stories
oblique: -ina
çîrok-ina [I listen to] some stories
car-ina sometimes
ezafeh: -ine
heval-ine min some friends of mine
çîrok-ine dirêj (some) long stories
These forms can be found in the chart at the end of Lesson Five.
The form -in comes from the independent word hin = some, which can be used
independently as well, and precedes the noun it modifies:
hin çîrok = çîrok-in = some stories

hin meriv = meriv-in = some people
EXERCISES:
I. Translate into Engliş: 1) Serekî birrî nayê k’irrîn; 2) Xwîn bi xwînê nayê şûştin,
xwîn bi avê tête şûştin; 3) Di salên min ên zarotî û ciwanîyê de, di nav mala me da
bi Zazakî û Kurmancî dihat şorkirin; 4) Di sala 1960'an (hezar-û-nehsid-û-şêstan)
da hatim girtin. Di dû du salan re hatim berdan; 5) Di dû 1972'an re -- wek tê
zanîn -- ez tim girtî mam; 6) Gelek mirovên bêguneh; zarrok, jin, kal û pîr hatine
kuştin, xanîyên gundîyan hatine hilweşandin û zeviyên wan hatine şewitandin; 7)
Di dawîya civînê da fîlma Yilmaz Güney, “Kerî” hate nîşan dan; 8) Çawa tê zanîn,
di sala 1971-ê (hezar-û-nehsid-û-heftê-û-yekê) da rejîma faşîst hate ser hukm; 9)
Bi sedan metre ji dûr ve dengê muzîka kurdî dihate bihîstin; 10) Rûpelên wê
kovarê bi ç’îrrok û wêneyên rrengîn hatine xemilandin.
II. Translate into Kurdiş: 1) The people elect the president; 2) The students read
the newspapers; 3) The father killed his daughter; 4) My nephew prints that
magazine in Istanbul; 5) The newly-elected president announces the end of the
war; 6) The media report (on) that important event; 7) Hundreds of students will
buy the book and read it; 8) They hear the sounds of this war even (jî) in the
farthest villages; 9) The Kurdiş people will never forget the name (of) Ehmedê
• 116 •
Xanî [Ahmed-i Khani]; 10) Will the newly-elected president fool the people of this
country?; 11) The newspapers often frighten everyone; 12) The students lost
hundreds of colorful magazines; 13) The new government will not release the
prisoners; 14) This is the first time in history that a president milks hundreds of
cows.
III. Convert the sentences in Exercise II. into the passive voice. (The direct object
becomes the subject; the subject becomes the agent, e.g., He sees the boy -->
The boy is seen by him).
IV. Give the indefinite plural forms (direct case, oblique case, & ezafeh) of the
following nouns: 1) xwendekar; 2) dersdar; 3) mal; 4) pirtûk; 5) dest; 6) ling; 7)
çav; 8) kûçik; 9) pisîk; 10) xûşk.
More proverbs exhibiting the passive voice:

•Kirasê merîya tê guhastin, xeysetê merîya nayê guhastin (Z-1233)
•K’inc têne p’îne kirinê, gilî nayêne p’îne kirinê (Z-1246)
• 117 •
Dersa Şanzdeha [16]

{Pikkert }
FOLKLORE:
•Te hîn kir -- ji bîr neke, te ji bîr kir -- hîn neke.

What you've taught don't forget, what you've forgotten, don't teach.
•Yê dirreve jî gazî xwedê dike, yê dide pey jî gazî xwedê dike.
Both the one being chased and the chaser call on God.
•Zilamek got: "Ez ji kûç’kê xwe hînî mêranîyê bûm."

A man said: "I learned what is it to be a man from my dog."
READING:
Tê bîra min, gava ku ez piçûk bûm, bapîrê min gazî min kiribû û gotibû, "Lawo,
hindik ma ku ez terkî vê dinyaê bikim, û berî ku ez derbazî cennetê (bihiştê) bim,
çend gotinên min ji te ra hene. Serê min bi te bilind e -- paşeroja te ronahî ye. Ez
dizanim ku rojekê ji rojan tu yê bibî zanayekî mezin. Ji niha ve xwe hînî gelek tiştan
bike: çend ji te bê, hînî zimanên biyanî be, û kitêban bixwîne. Kitêb û pirtûk her
tiştî nîşanî me didin, û alîkarîya me dikin ku em vê dinyaê çêtir fêm bikin. Ji bona
vê yekê, ez dixwazim vê pirtûkê pêşkêşî te bikim." Û wî pirtûkek da min. Wan rojan
ez fêrî zimanên biyanî nebûbûm, û kitêba ku bapîrê min pêşkêşî min kiribû bi
zimanekî din bû. Dîsan min zanîbû ku ew pirtûka hanê diyarîyeke hêja ye. Min
dixwest sipasîya bapîrê xwe bikim, lê berî ku ez bikaribim bersiva wî bidim, bapîrê
min çavên xwe li dinyaê girtin, û çû ber dilovanîya Xwedê.
Niha ez mezin im, û çend ez behsê bapîrê xwe bikim, têrê nake. Ez
gelekî bêrîya wî dikim. Min gelekî jê hiz dikir. Min bi a wî kir, min xwe hînî gelek
zimanan kir, û rojekê ji rojan ez ê bibim mamosta.
VOCABULARY:
ft-î (filan tiştî) something, anything
fk-î (filan kesî) someone, anyone
alîkarî, f. help, aid, assistance
alîkarîya [fk-î] kirin, vt. to help, assist
bapîr, m. grandfather
bersiv, f. answer, response
bersiva [fk-î] dan, vt. to answer s.o.
bes enough, sufficient
beşdarî [ft-î] bûn, vi. to participate in
• 118 •
bêrîya [fk-î] kirin, vt. to miss s.o., long for s.o.

bi a [wî] kirin, vt. to do as [he] said, to follow
[his] advice
bi-dehan [pre-posed modifier] tens of; [loosely: dozens of]
bi-hezaran [pre-posed modifier] thousands of
bihişt, f. paradise, heaven
bilind high, tall
bi-mîlyonan [pre-posed modifier] millions of
bi-sedan [pre-posed modifier] hundreds of
biyanî foreign
bîr, f. memory
hatin bîra [fk-î], vi. to remember, recall
ji bîr kirin, vt. to forget
cennet, f. paradise, heaven
çavên xwe li dinyaê girtin, vt. to close one's eyes on the world
çûn ber dilovanîya xwedê, vi. to die, pass away
derbaz bûn, vi. to pass, cross over
derbazî [ft-î] bûn, vi. to pass into; to enter
derbaz kirin, vt. to pass (time) [vt.]
[fk-î] derbazî [ft-î] kirin, vt. to let s.o. pass
dilovanî, f. mercy, compassion
diyarî, f. gift, present
êkê [S] first
fêrî [ft-î] bûn, vi. [S] to learn
[fk-î] fêrî [ft-î] kirin, vt. [S] to teach
xwe fêrî [ft-î] kirin, vt. [S] to learn, study stg.
gazî [fk-î] kirin, vt. to call, summon s.o.
hêja precious, valuable
hînî [ft-î] bûn, vi. to learn; to get used to
[fk-î] hînî [ft-î] kirin, vt. to teach; to accustom to
xwe hînî [ft-î] kirin, vt. to learn, study stg.
îsal this year
ji bona vê yekê therefore, for this reason
ji niha ve (starting) from now
mêranî, f. manliness, bravery
miqatî [fk-î] bûn, vi. to take care of s.o.
navneteweyî international
[ft-î] nîşanî [fk-î] dan, vt. to şow s.o. stg.
paşeroj, f. future
peyiv, f. word
pêşîn first
[ft-î] pêşkêşî [fk-î] kirin, vt. to present stg. to s.o.
pişikdarî [ft-î] bûn, vi. [S] to participate in
rojekê ji rojan some day, one day (in the future)
ronahî, f. (source of) light, brightness
salvegerr, f. anniversary
• 119 •
serbilind proud [lit., 'with head high']

sipasîya [fk-î] kirin, vt. to thank s.o.
terkî [ft-î] kirin, vt. to leave (behind)
têr[ê] kirin, vt. to be enough, satiate
tixûb, m. border, limit, frontier
xwedê, m. god
yekem[în] first
zana, adj & m. learnèd, well-educated;
[m.] scholar
zilam, zilêm, vî zilamî, m. man
EXPRESSIONS:
Çend gotinên min ji te ra hene I have some things to tell you
Çend ji te bê [or tê] As much as you can
[lit.'how much it comes from you']
hanê: ev pirtûka hanê this here: this book here
Miqatî xwe be! Take care of yourself!
Serê min bi te bilind e I am proud of you
Tê bîra min I remember
Têra min dike It is enough for me
LANGUAGES:
inglîzî English firensî 90
French
elmanî German rûsî Russian
‘erebî Arabic tirkî Turkish
farisî Persian (Farsi) swêdî Swedish
spanyolî Spanish polonî Polish
GRAMMAR:
a. Generic ezafeh. In addition to the ezafeh endings that have been introduced
thus far (-ê masc. sing.; -a fem. sing.; -ên [S: -êt] pl.), there is also a generic
ezafeh ending in -î, which does not change for gender or number. It is used in
conjunction with adjectives that need a complement, e.g.:
bes enough:
Tu bes-î me yî You are enough for us.
dûr far:
Ew dûr-î me ye He is far from us.
nêzîkî near:
Em nêzîk-î te ne We are near you.
beşdar participating:
90The form firensizî can also be heard, from the Turkish form fransðz.
• 120 •
Ez beşdar-î civînê dibim I'm participating in the meeting.
The last example above exemplifies a special class of verbs which consist of a
noun or adjective + verb, most often bûn = 'to be' and kirin = 'to make, do'.
Such verbs employ the generic ezafeh to express the object or recipient of the
action.
For example, hîn bûn means 'to learn' or 'to get used to': Ez hîn dibim means 'I
learn' or 'I get used to'. If we wish to add an object to this phrase, e.g. 'I learn
Kurdish' or 'I am getting used to my new life', we must do so by adding a generic
ezafeh (-î) to hîn, yielding Ez hîn-îî Kurdî dibim and Ez hîn-îî jiyana xwe ya
91
nû dibim. (The title of this book is 'Em hînî Kurmancî dibin' = We are learning
Kurdiş).92
The following is a list of common verbal phrases which require the generic ezafeh:
•ft-î (filan tiştî) something, anything;

•fk-î (filan kesî) someone, anyone}
•hînî ft-î bûn to learn stg.; to get used or accustomed to
stg.
•fêrî ft-î bûn to learn stg.
•beşdarî ft-î bûn to participate in stg.
•pişikdarî ft-î bûn to participate in stg. [S]
•miqatî fk-î bûn to take care of s.o.
•telefonî fk-î kirin to call s.o. up (on the phone)
•gazî fk-î kirin to call, summon s.o.
•derbazî ft-î bûn to enter, pass over into
•terkî/terka ft-î kirin to leave off doing stg., quit doing
stg. (e.g., smoking)
•nêzîkî ft-î bûn to be close to, to approach
•dûrî ft-î bûn to be far from
Note that such verbs may take two objects. For example,
•hînî (fêrî) ft-î kirin 'to teach stg.' For example,

Ew hînî (fêrî) Kurdî dike '[S]he teaches Kurdish'.
If we wish to say '[S]he teaches me Kurdish', one must make the verb kirin take
an additional direct object, yielding:
Ew min hînî (fêrî) Kurdî dike.
91Cf. MacKenzie Kurdish Dialect Studies (London : Oxford University Press, 1961-62), vol. 1, §264
(d), p.161.
92Note that in speech one often hears such forms as: Ez Kurdî hîn dibim instead of Ez hînî Kurdî
dibim. For the purposes of this course, we will avoid this type of construction.
• 121 •
So also:
•fk-î suwarî ft-î kirin = to have s.o. mount [a horse, donkey]

e.g.,
Ezê te suwarî vî kerî bikim
'I will have you ride this donkey',
'I will put you on the back of this donkey'.
•ft-î/fk-î derbazî ft-î kirin = to let s.o. pass, cross, enter

e.g., Wan em derbazî tixûbê navneteweyî kirin
'They let us pass across the international border'.
With the following verbs, there are also two objects. However, the order is
reversed here: the direct object (stg.) is the object of the main verb, and the
indirect object (s.o.) is the object of the noun + generic ezafeh:
•ft-î nîşanî fk-î dan = to şow s.o. stg.

e.g., Ezê van kitêban nîşanî te bidim
'I will şow these books to you'
•ft-î pêşkêşî fk-î kirin = to present stg. to s.o.

e.g., Em vê bernamê pêşkêşî we dikin
'We present this program to you'
b. There are other verbs that consist of a noun + verb (often kirin, bûn or man)
which form their objects using a regular ezafeh construction, for example :
•alîkarîya fk-î kirin to help, assist

•bêrîya fk-î kirin to miss, long for s.o.
•bersiva ft-î/fk-î dan to answer, respond to
e.g., Ezê yeko yeko bersiva pirsyarên te bidim

'I will answer your questions one by one'.
•li hêvîya/benda fk-î bûn/man/sekinîn to wait for s.o.

•çavnihêrîya fk-î kirin to wait for s.o.
•behsa (behsê) ft-î kirin to discuss, talk about stg.
•qala ft-î kirin to discuss, talk about stg.
•têra ft-î kirin to be enough for, satisfy
•spasîya fk-î kirin to thank s.o.
c. Ordinal numbers. There are several possible inventories of ordinal numbers.
The traditional northern Kurmanji system is to use the plural oblique case of the
numbers, with a special word for 'first':
• 122 •
pêşîn (pêşin) first, 1st

diduya[n] second, 2nd
sisîya[n] third, 3rd
çara[n] fourth, 4th
pênca[n] fifth, 5th
şeşa[n] sixth, 6th
hefta[n] seventh, 7th
heşta[n] eighth, 8th
neha[n] ninth, 9th
deha[n] tenth, 10th
yanzdeha[n] eleventh, 11th
diwazdeha[n] <also: donzdeha[n]> twelfth, 12th
sêzdeha[n] thirteenth, 13th
etc.
bîsta[n] twentieth, 20th

sîya[n]/siha[n] thirtieth, 30th
çila[n] fortieth, 40th
pêncîya[n] fiftieth, 50th
şêsta[n] sixtieth, 60th
etc.
seda[n] hundredth, 100th
In southern Kurmanji, the numbers are in the feminine singular oblique case:
êkê first, 1st

duwê second, 2nd
sêyê third, 3rd
çarê fourth, 4th
pêncê fifth, 5th
şeşê sixth, 6th
heftê seventh, 7th
heştê eighth, 8th
nehê ninth, 9th
dehê tenth, 10th
yanzdehê eleventh, 11th
diwazdehê twelfth, 12th
sêzdehê thirteenth, 13th
etc.
bîstê twentieth, 20th

sihê thirtieth, 30th
çilê fortieth, 40th
pêncîyê fiftieth, 50th
• 123 •
şêstê sixtieth, 60th

etc.
sedê hundredth, 100th
A third system, borrowed from Sorani, suffixes -em or -emîn to the cardinal
number. Note that this type of ordinal number may precede or follow the noun it
modifies: dersa duwem or duwemîn ders = 'second lesson'.
yekem[în] first, 1st

duwem[în] second, 2nd
sêyem[în] third, 3rd
çarem[în] fourth, 4th
pêncem[în] fifth, 5th
şeşem[în] sixth, 6th
heftem[în] seventh, 7th
heştem[în] eighth, 8th
nehem[în] ninth, 9th
dehem[în] tenth, 10th
yanzdehem[în] eleventh, 11th
diwanzdehem[în] twelfth, 12th
sêzdehem[în] thirteenth, 13th
etc.
bîstem[în] twentieth, 20th

sihem[în] thirtieth, 30th
çilem[în] fortieth, 40th
pêncîyem[în] fiftieth, 50th
şêstem[în] sixtieth, 60th
etc.
sedem[în] hundredth, 100th
d. Preposed modifiers. This last group of ordinal numbers is one of several

categories of modifiers that precede the noun they modify. In all such cases, there
is no ezafeh connecting the modifier to its noun -- a situation markedly different
from modifiers that follow their nouns, always linked by an ezafeh construction.
Many of these preposed modifiers have to do with quantity or counting (nos. 1.,
2., 3., 6. [çend],
8., 9. below):
1. cardinal numbers: du kitêb, sê meh, çar jin
2. ordinal numbers (optional): Duwem[în] Şerrê Cîhanê = 'World War Two'

(note: Şerrê Duwem/Diduya[n]/Duwê yê Cîhanê is also possible)
3. bi-dehan = tens of (or dozens of), bi-sedan = hundreds of, bi-hezaran =
• 124 •
thousands of, bi-mîlyonan = millions of: bi-dehan xwendekar = 'dozens of

students'
4. superlatives of adjectives in -tirîn: dirêjtirîn roja salê = 'the longest day of

the year'
5. demonstratives: ev = this & these (oblique: vî [m.] - vê [f.] - van [pl.]) and ew
= that & those (oblique: wî [m.] - wê [f.] - wan [pl.])
6. question words: kîjan = which (di kîjan bajarî da = 'in which city?' -- note:
with masculine singular nouns in the oblique case, kîjan behaves like the
demonstratives
ev and ew: one cannot say *di kîjan bajêr da, just as one must say
di vî bajarîî da and not *di vî bajêr da); çend = how many; çi = what, which
7. xweş (xoş): Xoş mirov e = He's a nice person. 93
8. Words meaning 'some': çend, hin(ek): çend gotin = 'some words', hinek kes
= 'some people'
9. gelek - ze'f - pirr [much, many, lots of]: gelek kitêb = 'many books', pirr
tişt = 'lots of things'; kêm [few]: kêm jin = 'few women'; hemû - gişk - her [all,
each]: hemû zarok = 'all the children', her rroj = 'every day'.
EXERCISES:
I. Translate into Kurdiş: 1) I want to help you (pl.); 2) Without your help, we cannot
teach our children Kurdiş; 3) If the voters don't participate in the election, no one
will be elected; 4) If you don't take care of yourself, who will take care of you?; 5)
Şe did not answer her grandfather; 6) They want to present some books to their
teacher; 7) The [village] elder summoned all the young men of the village; 8)
Which stories do you want to şow us?; 9) Every night I telephone my friend and
speak with him for an hour; 10) What is the longest word in (of) the Kurdiş
language?; 11) Thousands of children crossed the international border yesterday,
and hundreds of women will cross it tomorrow; 12) We miss the stories and riddles
of our grandfather, who passed away last year.
II. Translate each of the following phrases in three (3) different ways: 1) the first
lesson; 2) in the fourteenth year; 3) the twentieth day; 4) after the third war; 5)
the hundredth book; 6) the eleventh president; 7) the sixty-fourth anniversary; 8)
the twenty-ninth student; 9) the happiest child; 10) before the second word.
III. Translate into Engliş: 1) Îsal emê hînî zimanekî bin; 2) Gişk xwendekarên min
zanayên mezin in, ku xwe fêrî her tiştî dikin; 3) Ez çend caran ji te dipirsim, lê tu
93This construction is borrowed from Turkish, although the word xwe¤ itself is originally of Iranian
origin: Persian khÝsh sËa - passed into Turkish as ho¤.
• 125 •
bersiva min nadî; 4) Îro se'at di nehan da li televîzyonê pêşkêşî bernameyeke nû

dikin; 5) Bapîrê min her digote min: "Serê min bi te bilind e; xwe hînî hemî
zimanên dinyaê bike, da ku paşeroja te ronahî be"; 6) Çend ji min bê, ez miqatî
xûşk û birayên xwe dikim; 7) Gelo tu yê beşdarî çaremîn civîna dersdaran bî?
Nexêr, ez beşdarî civînên wisa nabim; 8) Ev cara çaran e ku ez tême serêdana
mala bavê xwe; 9) Were bi me ra çayekê vexwe! Ev se'atek e ku em li hêvîya te
disekinin!; 10) Îsal heştemîn sal e ku ew beşdarî wê civînê dibe.
IV. Transform the following sentences: change bûn into kirin, adding a second
object: in the new sentence, the subject will always be in the first person plural
(we/us), e.g.: Ew hînî ingilîzî dibe = 'Şe learns Engliş' --> Em wî hînî ingilîzî dikin =
'We teach her Engliş':
1) Hûn hînî vî zimanî dibin; 2) Tu suwarî wê trênê dibî; 3) Ew derbazî vî welatî bû;
4) Ew keçik dê fêrî swêdî be; 5) Ev sê kurr derbazî xwendingehê nebûn; 6) Xûşka
te hînî polonî nabe -- ew hînî rûsî dibe; 7) Tu fêrî ‘erebî nebûyî?; 8) Hûn ê suwarî
trimbêla me bin; 9) Hevalê te hînî spanyolî dibe; 10) Hemî xwendekar fêrî tirkî
bûbûn, û niha fêrî kurdî dibin.
• 126 •
Dersa Hivdeha [17]

FOLKLORE:
mamik:
•Gulek derk’etîye ji qudretê, A flower has come out from God,

Hin dinê kêrî me tê, Some of it is of use to us in this
world,
Hin axretê. Some in the next.
Ew çiye? 94
What is it?
•Odeke şûştî-mûştî A waşed-maşed room

Çil feqîr têda rrûniştî. Forty paupers have sat down in it.
Ew çiye? 95
What is it?
•Ro betilî Idle during the day

Şev xemilî. Dressed up at night.
Ew çi ye? 96
What is it?
LECTURE:
Dapîra min ji min ra got ku ‘Eyşê li de’watê xortek nas kiriye, û dilketiyê da,
û ku wan civan daye hev. Piştî ku de’wat xilas bûye, ‘Eyşe çûye malê, bi şevê ew
xort hatiye bin pencera wê, bang lê kiriye. Wê jî buxçika xwe daye hev û bi wî
xortî ra revîye. Dotira rojê dê û bavê wê daye pey wan û li mala wî xortî ew zeft
kirine. Gundî ketine navbera wan. Dê û bavê xort jî hatine, pişt re wan şandiye
dûv melayekî, wî jî fesla wan kiriye û ew li hev anîne.
Piştî hingî çi qewimîye? Çi qewimîye dayka min jî hew dizane. Xwedê zane
keçik û xort pevre zewicîne û gehîştine mirada xwe.
Min ev serpêhatî ji we ra gotin, ku hûn feydê jê werbigrin.
VOCABULARY:
94Answer: pembû = cotton.
95Answer: dev û didan = mouth and teeth.
96Answer: ç’ira = lamp.
• 127 •
axret, f. the next world, hereafter

betilî idle
buxçik, f. parcel, pack (for traveling)
civan, m. [also: jivan] rendez-vous
ç’ira, f. lamp
didan, didên, vî didanî, m. [also: diran]tooth {pl. teeth}
fesla [fk-î] kirin, vt. to settle a feud
feyde (feydê), f. benefit, use
hew negative particle;
scarcely, hardly
kêr useful; necessary
li hev anîn, vt. to reconcile
qudret, f. [heavenly] power
serpêhatî, pl. story; adventure, experience
şandin[e] dûv [şandin, vt.] to send for, send after
xemilî adorned, dressed up
zeft kirin, vt. to catch (redhanded), seize
EXPRESSIONS:
buxçika xwe dane hev to pack up one's things
civan dane hev to make a date, rendez-vous
Kêrî me tê It is of use to us
GRAMMAR:
a. Past participle. The past participle is both adjective and verb at one and the
same time. In Engliş, the third principle part of the verb is the past participle (eat
- ate - eaten; go - went - gone; talk - talked - talked). In Kurmanji, the past
participle is formed from the infinitive, by removing the final -in (-n if the stem
ends in a vowel) and adding -î (-yî before a vowel stem), e.g.:
girt-in ---> girt-î 'taken; captured'

hat-in ---> hat-î '[having] come'
bû-n ---> bû-yî 'been'
da-n ---> da-yî 'given'
{Particularly in southern dialects, there is a plural form in -în (girt-în; hat-în; bû-
yîn; da-yîn), for when the referent of the past participle is plural in number, i.e.,
to agree grammatically with a plural subject for vi., and with a plural direct object
for vt. More on this in the section on relative clauses.}
Some common adjectives are in fact past participles:
girtî 'closed, şut'
vekirî 'open'
borî / çûyî 'past, last (week, month)'
dilketî 'beloved'
şkestî 'broken'
• 128 •
xeyalşkestî 'disillusioned'
dilşkestî 'broken-hearted', 'heartbroken'
Past participles may also be nouns (substantives):
girtî (m.&f.) = 'prisoner'

destgirtî/dergistî (m.&f.)= 'fiancé(e)'
b. Past participles in relative clauses. Particularly in southern Kurmanji

dialects, the past tense verb in a relative clause is in the past participial form. In
addition, the following conjunctions signal the relative clause:
ku 'that, which'
berî[ya] ku 'before'
piştî ku 'after'
gava ku/demê ku/wextê ku 'when'
heta ku 'until'
Here are some examples of this usage:

[KDS-II]
•Behrem Fêris zadê xo xar û k’ete ser enîşka xo. (742.) Wextê k’etîye ser enîşka
xo bera xo daê, eve k’afirekî têtin, çil û êk destêt pêve
Bahram Féris ate his food and leant back on his elbow. (742.) When he leant back
on his elbow he noticed a monster coming, with forty-one hands
•Rabû, hespê xo li axûrê derêxist, suwar bû, çû. Wextê çûyî biraê wî Ehmed Çelebî
dûvrra kire hewar…
He got up, took his horse out of the stable, mounted it and went. When he went
his brother Ahmed Chelebi şouted after him.
•Em rrabûyn, me bo xo agir di wê dirkêve helkir, em rrûniştîne xarê li wê dirkê

gelek, heta me bo xo çayek çê kirî, me zadê xo xar
We got up, we made a fire for ourselves there and we sat there a long time until
we had made ourselves some tea and eaten our food.
•Di dîwana da demê suhbet tên kirin liser wan roja, delîvek buha peyda dibet [sic]
ji bo wan kesa ewên ew çîrok bi serê wan hatîn bêjin, bi rengekî dramatîkî.
In the diwans, when those days are discussed, a golden opportunity arises for
those people to whom those stories happened to tell [it] in a dramatic way
from: Metîn 3:6 (1992), 32.
• 129 •
•Ew ezim yê biraê te ez kuştîm

I am he whom your brother killed.
from: KDS II Gulli #757, 350
c. Perfect tense. The perfect tense is used to express an action that began in
97
the past and continues into the present. It often corresponds to the Engliş Present
Perfect tense, e.g., 'I have seen, you have gone, şe has left', etc. The distinction
between transitive (vt.) and intransitive (vi.) verbs applies to this tense.
E.g.
Ez hatime I have come

Min dîtiye I have seen
Tu çûye You have gone

Te xwariye You have eaten
It can sometimes be used to express the adverb 'already' (German 'schon'; French
'déjà'), e.g.:
Min xwariye I've (already) eaten.

Te ew pirtûk xwendiye? Have you (already) read that book?
Wê jinê mêr kiriye That woman is (already) married,
has (already) gotten married.
This is one of the tenses whose formation and usage differs markedly between the
north and the south. In all cases, the negative is formed with the accented prefix
ne-.
Both northern and southern forms are given below:
Northern:
vi. Ez hatime I have come Em hatine We have come
Tu hatiye* You have come Hûn hatine You have come
Ew hatiye* He/şe has come Ew hatine They have come
{*Also may be written hatîye}
vt. Min kiriye** I have done Me kiriye We have done

Te kiriye You have done We kiriye You have done
97Or Present Perfect tense. The intricacies of this tense and its usage are far more complex, and
bear an in depth study. In some cases this tense is used for reporting hearsay (i.e., telling about
something one has heard second hand), as opposed to something which one has witnessed -- for
which the simple past (or past perfect in some cases) is used. It can also be used in speaking of an
imagined scenario, and in folktales. There is a certain resemblance between the use of this tense
and the mi¤li past tense of Turkish, used for reporting hearsay. The extent of this resemblance has
yet to be examined in detail.
• 130 •
Wî/Wê kiriye He/şe has done Wan kiriye They have done
{**Also may be written kirîye}
Southern:
vi. Ez hatîme I have come Em hatîne We have come
Tu hatiye You have come Hûn hatîne You have come
Ew hatiye He/şe has come Ew hatîne They have come
{hatîye}
or
Ez yê/ya hatîm I have come Em yêt hatîn We have come
Tu yê/ya hatî You have come Hûn yêt hatîn You have come
Ew yê/ya hatî He/şe has come Ew yêt hatîn They have come
vt. Min kiriye I have done Me kiriye We have done

Te kiriye You have done We kiriye You have done
Wî/Wê kiriye He/şe has done Wan kiriye They have done
{kirîye}
or
Min yê/ya kirî I have done Me yê/ya kirî We have done
Te yê/ya kirî You have done We yê/ya kirî You have done
Wî/Wê yê/ya kirî He/şe has done Wan yê/ya kirî They have done
The secondary ezafeh marker (yê/ya/yêt) agrees in gender and number with its
referent (the subject for vi., the direct object for vt.).
The southern forms indicates that the present perfect tense is based on the past
participle, (hatî + me, kirî + ye), whereas this connection is less obvious in the
north.
d. Subjunctive of Perfect tense. The formation of the subjunctive is as follows:

remove the -n from the infinitive (e.g., girti- [girti-n]; hati- [hati-n]; da- [da-n];
çû- [çû-n]); add -be [singular] & -bin [plural] for transitive verbs, and -bim, -bî,
-be, -bin for intransitive verbs (i.e., the present subjunctive of the auxiliary verb
bûn). E.g.:
vt. Min kiri-be [-bin]

98
Me kiri-be [-bin]
Te kiri-be [-bin] We kiri-be [-bin]
Wî/Wê kiri-be [-bin] Wan kiri-be [-bin]
Min da-be98 [-bin] Me da-be [-bin]

Te da-be [-bin] We da-be [-bin]
Wî/Wê da-be [-bin] Wan da-be [-bin]
98Southern: kiri-bit[in]/kiri-bît[in]; da-bit[in]/da-bît[in]; hati-bit[in]/hati-bît[in]; çû-

bit[in]/çû-bît[in].
• 131 •
vi. Ez hati-bim Em hati-bin 99
Tu hati-bî Hûn hati-bin

Ew hati-be98 Ew hati-bin
Ez çû-bim Em çû-bin99
Tu çû-bî Hûn çû-bin
Ew çû-be98 Ew çû-bin
Examples of usage:
99Southern: hati-bîn; çû-bîn.
• 132 •
Dersa Hijdehan [18]

FOLKLORE:
•Bextê k’esiva wekî hebîya, cotê wan çolê nedima.

If the poor had any luck, their plow would not remain in the wilderness.
•Heke hemî ç’îç’ka hijîr xar bana, çi xudanî nediman.

If all the chicks ate the figs, there would be none left for their owner.
•Heker gurg ji baranê tirsaba, da bo xo k’urkekî çêket.

If the wolf feared the rain, he would make himself a fur coat.
•Eger gur tirsa wî ji baranê hebana, wê serkumekî ji xwe re çêbikirana (L

-#294, p. 228; see also Dz-#600, p. 137)
•Gur qewata xwe bizanbya, wê dinya xirab kira (Dz-#583, p. 135)

If the wolf knew his strength, he would destroy the world.
READING:
Kurik … tênagihîje ku diya wî ji bo çi wisa digrî. Herweha heta demeke kurt jî
her li hêsrên diya xwe temaşe dike û bêdeng dimîne. Diya wî jî … di nava giriyê
xwe de dilorîne û:
--Ax!.. Bêvankes sax bûya! dibêje. --Ax ku … ku aniha bêvankes î sermiyanê
mala min sax bûya!.. Ax ku ew aniha ne li pişta goristanê ramedî bûya!.. Ax!
Li ser van lavelavên diya xwe şikeke sar li lawik çêdibe û tirsek lê radibe. Tirsa
dînbûna diya wî dikeve dilê wî. Bi dev û lêvên ziwa vedigere ser diya xwe û dibêje:
--Ji bona Xwedê, dako! Ma nuha bavê min sax bûya wî ê çi bikira!?..
Bawer bike ku bavê min jî di dewsa min da bûya, wî ê jî fena min çar bizin
bikirana ber karmendên qamçûrî. Qamçûr vatiniyeke karmendan e, rêdareke
dewletê ye. Ma ji te wetrê ku bavê min ê bizineke kêm bida wan? Ez dizanim… ez
dizanim ku wî ê jî çar bizin bidana wan. Ma wî ê wekî din çi bikira? … Dako! Ez bi
gorî!.. Bi navê Xwedê ku bavê min jî îro li vir bûya, em ê dîsa ji wan çar serê
bizinên xwe bibana. Îcar tu çima ewqas dilê xwe teng dikî, daka min!
[adapted from: Hesenê Metê. “Qamçûr” in: Ardû ji kurteçîrokên gelêrî (Stockholm:
Weşanên Welat, 1990), p. 114-117.]
VOCABULARY:
Bêxîret lacking initiative; carefree
bira = bila [+ subj.] let (it be)
• 133 •
cî-nivîn pl. beds, bedding, mattresses

ç’are f. (çara) remedy, cure; solution
dest pê kirin (dest bi .. dike) to begin
êp’êce (=T epeyce) quite a bit
gêzî kirin vt. to sweep
hildan vt. (hil*dide) to pick up, lift
hîştin/hiştin vt. (dihêle) to leave, let
pê nedibû did not succeed, did not work out
qasî as much as
qe (qet) at all
sibê şebeqêda at the crack of dawn
sivetira din [sibetira din] on the next day
dîna xwe dan vt. to see, take a look
şuxul m. work, labor; şuxul û ‘emel = do.
şûnda: ji wê şûnda from then on, after that
t’emî [=t’enbîh] dan vt. to instruct, give directions
wekî usane in that case, if that is so
xebat f. work, labor
xebitîn vi. (dixebite) to work
GRAMMAR:
a. The Past Subjunctive (Pikkert, 6.8)
Formation
As it is a past tense, the Past Subjunctive a) preserves the distinction between

transitive and intransitive verbs; b) is formed differently in the north than in the
south (Hekkari and Behdinan). In both cases the -(i)n of the infinitive is removed,
e.g.
girt-in --> girt

çû-n --> çû
In the north, the stem is preceded by the subjunctive prefix bi- (b- before vowels)
and followed by the following personal suffixes, corresponding to the subject for
intransitive, and to the logical direct object for transitive verbs:
Ez bi-X-ama Em bi-X-ana
Tu bi-X-ayî Hûn bi-X-ana
Ew bi-X-a Ew bi-X-ana
In the south, there is no bi- prefix: instead, the stem is followed by the following
personal suffixes, with the usual distinctions for transitive and intransitive verbs:
Ez -bam Em -bayn
• 134 •
Tu -bayî Hûn -ban

Ew -ba Ew -ban
The following are examples of an intransitive and a transitive verb

conjugated in the Past Subjunctive:
•hatin (vi.):
northern:
Ez bihatama Em bihatana
Tu bihatayî Hûn bihatana
Ew bihata Ew bihatana
southern:
Ez hatibam Em hatibayn
Tu hatibayî Hûn hatiban
Ew hatiba Ew hatiban
•girtin (vt.):
northern:
Min bigirta Me bigirta
Te bigirta We bigirta
Wî/wê bigirta Wan bigirta
southern:
Min girtiba Me girtiba
Te girtiba We girtiba
Wî/wê girtiba Wan girtiba
as logical direct object:
northern:
Ez bigirtama Em bigirtana
Tu bigirtayî Hûn bigirtana
Ew bigirta Ew bigirtana
southern:
Ez girtibam Em girtibayn
Tu girtibayî Hûn girtiban
Ew girtiba Ew girtiban
Usage
The Past Subjunctive is used primarily in conditional sentences, to express unreal

or contrafactual conditions. It often corresponds to English constructions like “If I
• 135 •
were …” or “If I had been …”. The Turkiş past conditional (gelseydi, yapsaydð,
etc.) corresponds to this tense.
Examples of usage:
•Wekî tu bedew bûya[y]î, te ez kora nedistandim
If you were beautiful, you would not have married a blind man like me.
•Min ew zû bixara, ewî ev ‘emel neanî serê min

If I had eaten him early on, he would not have done this to me [=Turkish: bu işi
başıma getirmezdi]
There are two Past Conditional tenses, one in use in the northern dialects, the
other in the south. In the north, this tense is formed using the future tense marker
wê/dê/-ê plus the Past Subjunctive. Hence, although Min bikira means “[If] I had
done [it]” (=Turkish yapsaydım), Min-ê bikira means “I would have done [it]”
(=Turkis yapacaktım, yapardım).
In Behdinan, this tense is formed using the independent morpheme DA plus the
naked present tense stem (without bi- or di- prefix). Hence, Southern Ez da kem =
Northern Min-ê bikira = I would have done [it].
Note that the negative of this southern form is expressed with the imperfect
tense: Ez da çim = I would have gone, but Ez nediç^um = I would not have gone.
Here are some examples of both northern and southern versions of this tense:
N: Te yê bidîta = S: Tu da bînî
You would have seen/found [it]
N: Ew ê biçûya = S: Ew da çît
He would have gone
N: Me yê bigirta = S: Em da girîn
We would have closed/captured [it]
N: Hûn ê bihatana = S: Hûn da hên

You (pl.) would have come
N: Wan ê bixwenda = S: Ew da xwînin

They would have read/studied
Examples of usage:
•Ev, ko zilamekî diz bûya, wê îslehê me bidizîya, wê şerefa me bişkenanda
• 136 •
If this man were a thief, he would steal (or, have stolen) our weapons, he would
tarnish [lit. ‘break’] our honor.
•Teyê bigota
Almost [lit. ‘You would say’, ‘you would have said’]
•Memê ewqasî bêxem û bêxîyal bû, qet teyê bigota, ew t’enêye ba=çêda
Mem was so unconcerned and uninterested, it was almost as if he was alone in
the garden
[lit. ‘You would have said he is alone in the garden’]
The Past Subjunctive is also used after modal auxiliaries that require the
subjunctive (e.g., lazim, gerek, divê[t]), specifically with reference to the past
tense.
Examples of usage:
•Lazim bû ko we bi a Beyrim bikira

You were supposed to obey Beyrim
[lit. ‘it was necessary that you did according to that (f.) of Beyrim’]
•Divîya duhû çûbama [divîya = past tense of divêt]

I should have gone yesterday
•Vira zinarên usa mezin hebûn, ku weke panzdeh-bîst soyara dikaribû xwe piş
wana veşarta [soyar = suwar/siyar = horseman, rider, knight]
Here there were boulders so large that 15-20 horsemen could have hidden behind
them.
• 137 •
Pronunciation drills
terr t’êr tîr tirr
k’êr k’er kerr
bîn bin
kêç’ keç’
kirin k’irrîn karîn
digrim digrîm digerrim
kurr kûr kor
guh gû
din dîn dên
şiv şîv şev
şêr şîr şerr
ji jî jê
Q-K
ked qed
qab kap
kîr qîr
p’ak paqij
kar qar
beq Bek’o
noqav nok
qoç’ koç
qirrke qelemek
kul qul
• 138 •

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M.L.

Chyet / Em hînî Kurmancî dibin

STANDARD KURDISH ORTHOGRAPHY TABLE

Roman (Hawar) Cyrillic Arabic

a as in father Dara ga kiras mal nav Zana

e as a in cat, but shorter ders dest ez Ferhad Leyla ser xwendekar

ê as ay in day erê kitêb nêr wê Xecê

i as first i in divine, but shorter kiras kitêb mezin min

î as i in machineBengîn enî jî kî pêçî Şîrîn tilî wî

o pronunciation varies from region to region:

u wi as in twig, but shorter guh gund tu tune

û pronunciation varies from region to region:

c as j in jack Cano Xecê

ç as ch in chat birçî çav çi Miço pêçî piçûk

‘e as Arabic H [’ayn] + e ‘enî [variant of enî] ‘Eyşan ‘eşîret ‘erebe

h as Arabic `[hÐ’] hişk Mihê

q as Arabic ¶ [qÐf] deqe qedandin qelew qîçik quloz

r trilled as in Spanish birçî ders kiras ser xwendekar

s always unvoiced, as s in soon sivik ders pisîk

ş as ş in show hişk şil Şîrîn

x as German ch in machen Xecê xwendekar

ğ(x) as Arabic ®[ghayn] ağa Meğrebzemîn

y only used as a consonant: tilîya-- enîya--

ç, k, p, and t occur both aspirated and non-aspirated. In written Kurdish, only

ç [non-aspirated] - ç’ [aspirated]; k [non-aspirated] - k’ [aspirated];

p [non-aspirated] - p’ [aspirated]; t [non-aspirated] - t’ [aspirated].

This distinction will be indicated in the vocabularies only.

Dersa Pêşîn [1]

II. Dara: Ev çi ye?

II. Dara: What is this?

erê yes namûs, f. honor

If the name ends in a vowel, instead of im we say me:

Remember: Ez Lezgîn im ; Ez Simko me

b. Tu … î = You (singular [sing.]) are …

Tu Bengîn î? Are you Bengîn? Tu Dîlan î? Are you Dîlan?

If the name ends in a vowel, instead of î we say yî:

Ew Ferhad e = HE is Ferhad (or, It is Ferhad)

If the name ends in a vowel, instead of e we say ye:

d. Ev çi ye? What is this?

Ew çi ye? What is that?

Remember: ev = this ; ew = he/şe/it and that

e. Tu kî yî? Navê te çi ye?

Ez : Min •My Navê min Dara ye. My name is Dara.

f. Kurmanji nouns have gender. A noun is either masculine or feminine.

min, te, wî, wê. This ending is called ezafe:

-[y]ê (nêr = masc. [m.]) -[y]a (mê = fem. [f.])

Tu kî yî? Who are you?

Hûn kî ne? Who are you (plural [pl.])?

KURDIŞ PERSONAL NAMES

Dersa Didua [2]

Miho: Ez baş im. Tu çawan î?

M: Xecê xwendekar nîne?!

2Çawa yî? is also possible.

III. Abûzer: Ev çi ye?

Em çar kurr în û çar kiç în: Em çar bira yne û çar

III. Abûzer: Eve çi ye?

M: Ew -- kitêbêt birayê min in.

VOCABULARY: [*Southern dialect forms will be designated as S: ]

hûn [also: hûng] you [pl.] zikrreş black-bellied; hostile, jealous

If the name ends in a vowel, instead of in we say ne:

Remember: Em dersdar in ; Em mamosta ne

 In southern dialects (Behdinan in Iraqi Kurdistan, and Hekkari across the

Em … în before a consonant, e.g.: