Kurmanji Kurdish For The Beginners

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1
LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will learn the Kurdish alphabet small letters, capital letters, vowels and consonants country names and some cities in Kurdistan. By the end of this lesson; you will produce Kurdish sounds correctly. you will learn new words. you will gain certain skills so that you can pronounce new words correctly. you will learn basic greeting phrases. you will be able to introduce yourself and ask about personal information.
Elfabe / Alphabet
The Kurdish language uses three different alphabets: The Kurdish latin alphabet based on the Roman script; the alphabet based on the Arabic script and the alphabet on the basis of the Cyrillic alphabet. The Kurdish Latin alphabet is the most frequently used alphabet for Kurmanji. It is used in the parts of Kurdistan that are situated within the borders of Turkey and Syria, and by the large Kurdish diaspora community in Europe and North America from these two countries. The alphabet based on Arabic script is used in Iraqi and Iranian Kurdistan, while Cyrillic is used only in ex-Soviet countries. In this course we will be using the Roman-based alphabet. There are 8 vowels and 23 consonants in the standard Kurdish Roman-based alphabet. In the chart below the Kurdish letters are listed and you can listen to their pronunciation by clicking on the sound file image next to each letter. Roman Script A,a B,b C,c , D,d E,e , F,f G,g H,h I,i , J,j K,k L,l M,m N,n O,o Example agir (fire), xan (house) ba (good), bira (brother) cil (clothes), civak (society) ar (four), keik (girl) dwar (wall), beden (body) en (forehead), dest (hand) (grief), str (star) ferheng (dictionary), berf (snow) genim (wheat), seg (dog) heyv (moon), duh (yesterday) ciwan (young), zivistan (winter) ro (today), havn (summer) jan (grief), bajar (city) kur (boy), dayik (mother) leymn (lemon), mil (arm) mamoste (teacher), dem (time) nav (name), nan (bread, food) ode (room), roj (sun, day) English example father bell jungle butcher door bat (British English pronunciation) bait farmer get head bit meet beige book light mother name odour IPA [a] [b] [] [] [d] [] [e:] [f] [g] [h] [], [] [i:] [] [k] [l] [m] [n] [o]
P,p Q,q R,r
pit (back), dapr (grandmother) qelem (pen), aqil (reason) rbar (river), bihar (spring)
party
[p] [q] [] [r] [s] [] [t] [] [u:] [v] [w] [x] [j] [z]
S,s , T,t U,u , V,v W,w X,x Y,y Z,z
(Arabic Qaf) Two pronunciations, like in Spanish (pero-perro) One with a single tap, one rolled front r. ser (head), mast (yoghurt) sun ekir (sugar), at (peace) share tirs (fear), kitb (book) table kurd (Kurd), du (two) bull d (laud), bir (eyebrow) foot vala (empty), av (eye) violet welat (country), bawer (belief) wine xewn (dream), baxe (garden) cf. Scottish: loch yek (one), giya (grass) yellow zengil (bell), azad (freedom) breeze
Table 1. The Vowels in Kurmanji (approximate phonetic values) Front Central Closed Half-closed Open i a u o Back
The vowels represented in the writing by <i> and <u> are quite close and may be difficult to distinguish in some varieties of Kurmanji. Table 2. The Consonants in Kurmanji Bilabial Labio- Dental/ Postdental Alveolar alveolar Plosive Fricative Affricate Nasal Approximant Tap / Trill Lateral m w r l n y p b f v t d s z j c
Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal kg x q h
Note: In addition to the consonants shown in chart, some Kurmanji words contain sounds that are not usually noted in the standard orthography, though often noted in dictionaries. They are some special forms of the plosives and affricates. Native speakers are aware of these sounds, and can hear and produce them readily. For learners, however, they are difficult to perceive and at this stage need not be introduced. You will still be understood even if you do not produce them correctly; we will discuss them in a later lesson with some examples.
Text: Rojba!
Two students sit next to each other in the first lesson at their university. They introduce themselves to each other, saying their names and where they are from. Zeyneb Ehmed Zeyneb Ehmed Zeyneb Ehmed Zeyneb Ehmed Zeyneb Ehmed Zeyneb : Rojba. Nav min Zeyneb e. Nav te i ye? Good day, my name is Zeyneb. What is your name? : Rojba. Nav min Ehmed e. Good day, my name is Ehmed. : Tu ji ku der y Ehmed? Where are you from, Ehmed? : Ez ji Diyarbekir me; l tu? I am from Diyarbekir. (And) you? : Bi rast! Ez j ji Diyarbekir me. Really! I am from Diyarbekir too. : Ser avan, gelek kfxwe bm. How nice. I am (lit. was) very happy. : Ez j pir kfxwe bm. Tu kurd ? I, too, am very happy. Are you a Kurd? : Er, ez kurd im, l tu? Yes, I am a Kurd, (and ) you? : Ez j kurd im. Ha, mamoste t. I am a Kurd too. Oh, the teacher is coming. : Ba e. Em d pa biaxivin. OK (lit. it is good). We will talk later. : Ba e. OK.
Greetings (Silav) Merheba/Silav/Silamun eleykum Beyanba/ spde bi xr/Sibeha te bi xr Beyanba/ spde bi xr/Sibeha we bi xr Rojba varba/vara te bi xr varba/vara we bi xr evba /eva te bi xr evba /eva we bi xr awa y? awa nin? Hello Good morning (to one person) Good morning (to more than one person) Good day Good evening (to one person) Good evening (to more than one person) Good night (to one person) Good night (to more than one person) How are you sg.? How are you pl.?
Good bye (Xatirxwestin) Bi xatir te Bi xatir we Response to bi xatir te/we Oxir be/Oxira te ya xr be/Bi xr silamet Good bye Good bye (to one person) Good bye (to more than one person)
Grammar / Rziman 1
A The personal pronouns
The pronouns of Kurmanji corresponding to English I, you etc. have two forms, which we will call Direct and Oblique. Their uses will be explained below. The forms are the following: Person Direct Oblique I ez min you tu te he/she ew w (him), w (her) we em me you hn we they ew (e)wan Usage The Direct forms are used for all subjects in the present tenses, for example: Ez kurd im I am a Kurd and for the subjects of intransitive verbs in the past tenses. (Intransitive verbs are verbs which cannot take a direct object, e.g. go, climb, die, laugh.) The Oblique forms are used everywhere else, for example, to express the possessor of something: Nav min Ehmed e. My name is Ehmed We will discuss the use of the Direct and Oblique forms in more detail later.
Expressing to be in the present tense
In the simple present tense, there is no independent word for is, are, am in Kurdish. Instead, endings are added to the last word of the sentence that indicate the person involved. For example, to say I am a Kurd in Kurdish we say literally I Kurd-am. These endings are actually written separately as though they were independent words, but they are really unstressed short forms pronounced as though they were part of the preceding word. They have slightly different forms depending on whether the preceding word ends in a vowel or consonant. The forms of these endings are as follows: After consonant: Ez kurd im I am a Kurd Tu kurd You are a Kurd Ew kurd e He / She is a Kurd Em kurd in We are Kurds Hn kurd in You are Kurds Ew kurd in They are Kurds Ez ne kurd im Tu ne kurd Ew ne kurd e Em ne kurd in Hn ne kurd in Ew ne kurd in I am not a Kurd You are not a Kurd He / She is not a Kurd We are not Kurds You are not Kurds They are Kurds After vowel: Ez ji Diyarbekir me ... y ... ye ... ne ... ne ... ne Ez ne ji Diyarbekir me ... y ... ye ... ne ... ne ... ne I am from D. You are ... He / she ... We are ... You are ... They are ... I am not from D. You are ... He / she ... We are ... You are ... They are ...
Wordlist
ba be biaxivin bimne birast bixr bm i d ders diim em er var ez gelek ha ji j kfxwe kek kder mamoste merheba min na/ne nav ne niha pa pir pit rojba good mayitbe(aformoftheverbbnbe,become) letstalk(aformoftheverbaxaftintalk,speak,seefuture lessons mayitremain(aformoftheverbmanstay,remain) really! good (I)havebecome/was(1stpers.sg.pasttenseformofthe verbbnbe,become) what indicatesfuturetenseoftheverb lesson Igo,Iamgoing(aformoftheverbn to go) we,2ndpers.pl.pronoun yes evening I,1stpers.sg.pronoun very,many oh from too,also,aswell(usedaftertheworditrefersto:ezjItoo ...) happy anaddressformformales where teacher hello 1stpers.sg.objectpronoun(seeGrammar1) no name not(negation) now lateron very,many after goodday;haveagoodday
seravan ev sibeh,beyan silav te t tu xatirxwestin xwendekar xwe
youarewelcome(literally:oneyes) night morning greeting 2ndpers.sg.obliquepronoun(seeGrammar1) (he/she)comes,iscoming(presenttenseoftheverbhatin come) you,2ndpers.sg.pronoun totakefarewell,tosaygoodbye student good,enjoyable
Exercise 1.
Two students are meeting in the school canteen. Fill in the blanks from their conversation with the forms presented above. Dara : Beyanba! Nav .... Dara ye. Nav .... i ye? Daner : ...............! Nav min Daner e. Dara : .... ji ku der y Dara? Daner : Ez ji Qamiloy me; l tu? Dara : .... j ji Duhok me. Daner : Kfxwe bm kek Dara. Dara : Ez j kfxwe bm. Daner : Ez niha diime ders. Bi ............ te. Dara : Oxir be!
Exercise 2.
Fill in the blanks according to the information given in the dialogue above. Daner Nav . Daner e. Ez ji Diyarbekir .. . xwendekar im. Ez kurd .
Exercise 3.
Below, there are questions for you! Please write true answers for the questions. a. Nav te i ye? b. Tu ji ku der y? c. Tu kurd ? d. Tu xwendekar ?
Country names
Franse Almanya Ingilstan talya Espanya Swd Siws Tirkiye France Germany England Italy Spain Sweden Switzserland Turkey Norwc n Rusya Hindistan Iraq Amerka ran Sriye Norway China Russia India Iraq USA Iran Syria
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end bajarn Kurdistan / Some cities of Kurdistan

Bajar/city Afrn Agir Amed Amd Bedls Bokan Cizr Culemrg Drsim Dihok Dlok Efrn Erzingan Erzirom Gurgum Helebe Hewlr dir lam Kerkuk Kirmaan Mehebad Melet Mexmr Mezra Mrdn Midyad Msil M Qamilo Qers Riha Semsr Seqiz Srt Silman Sne Urmiye Navn din /other names Afrin Ar Diyarbakr Amuda Bitlis Bokan Cizre Hakkari Tunceli Dohuk Antep Afrin Erzincan Erzurum Mara Halepe Erbil Idr lam Kerkk Kermanah Mahabad Malatya Mahmur Elaz Mardin Midyat Musul Mu Kamili Kars Urfa Adyaman Sakz Siirt Sleymaniye Sanandaj Urmiye, Wirmiye Dewlet/state Sriye Tirkiye Tirkiye Sriye Tirkiye ran Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Iraq Tirkiye Sriye Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Iraq Iraq Tirkiye ran Iraq ran ran Tirkiye Iraq Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Iraq Tirkiye Sriye Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye ran Tirkiye Iraq ran ran
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Wan ewlik lih irnex Xarpt Zaxo
Van Bingl Batman rnak Elezz, Elaz Zaho
Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Iraq
LESSON2
INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will learn numbers, colors, asking about age, describing people, kinship terminology,moreaboutpronouns,copula,interrogativesanddosomeexercises. Bytheendofthislesson; youwilllearn: theezafeconstruction certainstructuresyoucanseeindailylife gender thecopulainthepresenttense:howtonegateit
Text:
GulnMalbataW
NavminGulne.Ez20salme.EzdiimeZanngehaStenbol.Ezlivir,liStenboldijm. LmalameliMrdnye.Dayikbavminliwirdijn.NavbavminHekme.Ew45sal ye.NavdayikaminGulcaneew43salye.Bavminfirokare.Firogehawpirnemezin e.Dayikaminnaxebite.Ewbermalye.Dayikaminhersaltvir.Xwikekeminheye.Nav wZilxayeew10salye.avnwreinporwdirje.Ewdiedibistanaseretay. Ezdibetlaneyandediimecemwan. Wordlist ap uncle ba good,well bav father be(bibe) mayyoube(presentsubjunctive2personsingularofbntobe) bermal housewife bike mayhe/shedo(presentsubjunctive3personsingularofkirintodo,to make) bira brother bir hungry cem at,to,byusedinconnectionwithpeopleandtheirhomes,cf.French chez,Persianpie. av eye awa/awan how cotkar farmer dayik mother dide in(circumposition) dibistan school die he/shegoes(3rdpersonsingularpresentfortheverbntogo) diime (I)go(1stpers.sg.presentprogressiveofntogo) dijm (I)live(1stpers.sg.presentprogressiveofjn/jiyantolive)
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2 dijn dirj bijjk firogeh firokar emr gelek her heye jin kar km kurt l li livir liwir mal mam/ap mamoste mr mezin naxebite nav nexwe pir pirs por re sal sal sax seretay betlaneyan t ten
(they)live(3rdpers.pl.presentprogressiveofjn/jiyantolive) tall,long doctor shop shopowner life,age many every thereis,exists(alsousedinexpressionsofpossession,seebelow) woman work,job few short but in(preposition) here there house,home uncle teacher man big doesnotwork(3rdpersonsingularneg.presentfortheverbxebitnto work) name ill,sick many,much question hair black year literallyyeared,thatis,withyears,ofage healthy elementary,primary holidays,vacations he/shecomes(3rdpersonsingularpresentfortheverbhatintocome) only
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2 thn/t vir xerab Xwed xwikek
ynte zanngeh zarok Translation: MynameisGulchin.Iam20yearsold.IgotouniversityinIstanbul.Ilivehere,inIstanbul. ButmyhomeisinMerdin.Mymotherandfatherlivethere.MyfathersnameisHekim.He is 45 years old. My mothers name is Guldjan and she is 43 years old. My father is a shopkeeper. His shop is not very big. My mother does not work. She is a housewife. My mothercomeshereeveryyear.Ihaveasister.HernameisZelikhaandsheis10yearsold. Hereyesareblackandherhairislong.Shegoestoprimaryschool.DuringtheholidaysIgo tothem.
thirsty here(location) bad God asister(fromxwiksisterwithanindefinitesingularendingek).The wordxwehisalsousedforsister yours university child
Hejmar/Numbers
Thecardinalnumbersareasfollow: 1 yek 11 yanzdeh 21 bstyek 40 il 2 du/didu 12 dozdeh 22 bstdu 50 pnc 3 s/sis 13 szdeh 23 bsts 60 st 4 ar 14 ardeh 24 bstar 70 heft 5 pnc 15 panzdeh 25 bstpnc 80 het 6 e 16 anzdeh 26 bste 90 nod 7 heft 17 hevdeh 27 bstheft 100 sed 8 het 18 hejdeh 28 bsthet 101 sedyek 9 neh 19 nozdeh 29 bstneh 200 dused 10 deh 20 bst 30 s/sih 300 ssed 1000 hezar 2000 duhezar 0 net/sifir 2008duhezarhet Compoundnumbersareformedwiththeconjuction,asin bstyek(21) ile(46) nodneh(99) sedyek(101)
1.1 Exercise Writethenumbersinletter. 4 ______ 9 ______ 23 ______ 121 ______ 35 ______ 139 ______ 47 ______ 142 ______
33 65 54 78
______ 49 ______ 51 ______ 69 ______ 91
______ ______ ______ ______
Theordinalnumbersareasfollows: yekem(n) 1st heftem(n) 7th szdem(n) 13th nozdem(n) 19th duyem(n) 2nd hetem(n) 8th ardem(n) 14th bstem(n) 20th syem(n) 3rd nehem(n) 9th panzdem(n) 15th bstyekem(n)21st arem(n) 4th dehem(n) 10th anzdem(n) 16th bstduyem(n)22nd pncem(n) 5th yanzdem(n) 11th hevdem(n) 17th bstsyem(n)23rd eem(n) 6th dozdem(n) 12th hejdem(n) 18th sihem(n) 30th Someexpressionswithordinalsare:erchanyyekemn(thefrstworldwar),cara duyem(thesecondtime)
Askingaboutage(temenage)
Tuendsaly? Howoldareyou? Ewendsalye? Howoldishe/she? Tuendsaly? GulnandherroommateAslitalkabouttheirfamilies.Theyaskeachothersage. Guln:Asli,tuendsaly? Asli:21.Ltu? Guln:Ez20salme.Dayikbavteendsalne? Asli:Dayikamin48salyebavminj51salye.Ynte? Guln:Dayikamin43salyebavminj45salye. Asli:Xwikbiraynteendsalne? Guln:Xwikamin14salyebirayminj22salye.Ynte? Asli:Mintenxwikekheye.Navweydaye10salye. Guln:Bae.Xwedemrwdirjbike! Asli:Saxbib. Guln:Tusaxtir. Guln:Asli,howoldareyou? Asli:21.(And)you? Guln:Iam20.Howoldareyourmotherandfather? Asli:Mymotheris48andmyfatheris51.(Whatabout)yours? Guln:Mymotheris43andmyfatheris45. Asli:Howoldareyoursistersandbrothers? Guln:Mysisteris14andmybrotheris22. 1 (Whatabout)yours? Asli:Ihaveonlyonesister.HernameisSheydaandsheis10yearsold. Guln:OK.MayGodgrantthemalonglife! Asli:Thankyou(lit.Mayyoubehealthy,mayGodgiveyoualonglife). Guln:Youarewelcome(lit.Youmorehealthy).
1
In Kurdish: is also 22.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2 2.1 Exercise Readthedialogueandanswerthequestions. 1. Asliendsalye? 2. Gulnendsalye? 3. DayikbavAsliyendsalne? 4. DayikbavGulnendsalne? 5. XwikaAsliyendsalye? 6. XwikbiraynGulnendsalne?
... ... ... ... ... ...
KinshipTerminology(nonobligatorymaterial)
brideandgroom wifeandhusband relative family fathersbrother fatherssister motherssister mothersbrother sisterandbrother
bapr grandfather bkzava dapr grandmother jinmr bav,bab father xizim,nas dayik mother malbat xwik sister mam,ap bira brother met ke daughter xalet,xalt kur son xal nev grandchild xwikbira 3.1. Some examples for the usage of kinship words: a) b) c) d) Hekm bav Guln ye. Zilxa kea Gulcan ye. Guln kea Gulcan ye. Gulcan Hekm jin mrn hev in.
Grammar / Rziman 2
A The verb to be in the present tense again: negated forms
You will remember from lesson 1 that to express to be in the present tense, a set of endings is used, as in the following examples: ez nexwe im I am ill (nexwe = ill, sick) tu t y You are thirsty (thn/t = thirsty) To make the negative form of such sentences, the negation particle ne is positioned before the complement (whatever is negated), and stressed. The negation marker ne can not come right before or after the copula. For example: Ez ne nexwe im. (I am not sick) Em ne nexwe in. (We are not sick) Tu ne t y. (You are not thirsty) Hn ne thn ne. (You are not thirsty)
Gender
All nouns in Kurmanji have gender, either masculine or feminine. It is important to know the gender of a noun because it affects the form of the case marker, and of the Ezafe marker (see D below). Nouns that denote persons, or higher animals, have the gender corresponding to their meaning. For example, the nouns ap uncle, bav father and mr man are all masculine because they denote male beings. Xwik sister and bk bride on the other hand are feminine, because they refer to feminine beings. But for nouns denoting objects, you just have to learn the gender with the noun. For example, av eye is masculine, but mal house is feminine. There is not a general rule organizing gender for these nouns; however some rules can be formulated,forexample: thenamesofcities,countriesandtownsarefeminine abstractnounsendinginarefeminine infinitivesusedasnounsarefeminine theinfinitivesfromverbsarefeminine geographicalnamesarefeminine Numbersandcolorsaremasculineetc. The names of items of womens clothing are generally feminine, items of mens clothing are generallymasculine Wordsborrowedfromotherlanguagesaremostcommonlyassignedfemininegenderwhentheydenote objectsratherthanlivingbeings.
The indefiniteness suffix
A bare noun in Kurmanji can have a definite reading, or a very general reading, depending on the context. For example, hesp can mean either the horse, or perhaps horses in general. There is no definite article in Kurmanji corresponding to English the. But if we want to talk about a horse, we add the suffix -ek to the noun: hesp-ek a horse, jinek a woman, gundek a village, mamosteyek a teacher etc.
Grammar / Rziman 2 (continued)

D The Ezafe construction
The Ezafe is a vowel that links all kinds of attributes to a noun, for example adjectives, possessors or prepositional phrases. In standard orthography it is written as part of the noun. Kurdish is like French or Spanish in that the noun comes first, and then it is followed by the attribute. We refer to the initial noun as the head noun. A typical Ezafe construction from the texts is the following:
nav
Head noun
min
Possessive modifier
Ezafe particle
The bare form of the head noun is nav name, and the Ezafe here is . The modifier can also be an adjective, as in zarok nexwe the sick child. The Ezafe particle takes different forms according to the gender and the number of the head noun. In the example above, the head noun is masculine and singular. If the head noun is feminine, then the ezafe has the form -a: xwika min my sister If it is plural, the ezafe is -n hevaln me our friends (me=Oblique form of 1st pers. pl pronoun) If the noun ends in a vowel, a -y- is put before the Ezafe: birayn min my brothers The Ezafe also takes a different form after the indefiniteness suffix (see C above). This gives us four different possibilities for the Ezafe in the singular:
FORM OF SUFFIX 1. FEMININE, NO INDEFINITENESS SUFFIX: mala me (our house) behra Wan (Lake Van) -(y)a 2. FEMNNE, WTH NDEFNTENESS SUFFX: sveke sor (a red apple) jineke bedew (a beautiful woman) -e 3. MASCULINE, NO INDEFINITENESS SUFFIX: em Ferat (the Euphrate River) deriy darn (the wooden door) -(y) 4. MASCULINE, WITH INDEFINITENESS SUFFIX: mrek bilind (a tall man) kevirek belek (a colorful stone) - Three further points about the Ezafe: D1 The free or demonstrative Ezafe First, the Ezafe can also be used without a head noun. In this case, it always takes an initial -y. It means something like English one ... as in my one, or the red one. Consider the following example: biray min 12 sal ye. L y te? My brother is 12 years old. And your one? (i.e. and your brother)?
D2 Multiple Ezafes One noun can be modified by several modifiers, and in that case, each modifier will require its own Ezafe: Pirtka biray min My brothers book Pirtka heval biray min The book of my brothers friend Pirtka xwika heval biray min The book of the sister of my brothers friend D3 Possessors in the Oblique case The Possessor in an Ezafe construction always goes into the Oblique case (see next lesson for more details on this). You have already learned the Oblique case of the personal pronouns (see Lesson 1). This means that whenever a pronoun is a possessor in an Ezafe, it takes the Oblique form (bav min my father, bav w her father etc.). We will learn about the Oblique case of nouns in later lessons.
In this unit you will learn new grammatical structures in the present tense and use them in meaningful contexts, certain names for occupations, expressions of frequency and terminology for month and the days of the week. By the end of this lesson you will be able to: Ask about jobs Tell the time Ask about and describe habits and routines Use existensial expressions such as heye/hene
1. Text:
Rojeke Min / My Day (literally: one day (roj-ek) of me)
Ez xwendekar im. Nav min Salih e ez 22 sal me. Ez li Stenbol dijm, li mala mam xwe dimnim, l malbata min li Diyarbekir dij. Ez sibehan z radibim, di saet 8an de. Pit ku ser avn xwe diom, ez tat dixwim diim zanngeh. 5 dersn min hene. Ez gelek ji dersn xwe hez dikim; ji ber ku em di dersan de pirtkn gelek balk dixwnin nqan ba dikin. Ez di saet 1 de li gel hevaln xwe firavn dixwim ay vedixwim. Di zanngeh de gelek hevaln min hene. Hindek hevaln min tirk in hindek j kurd in. Ez bi hevaln xwe yn kurd re bi kurd diaxivim, l mixabin hindek hevaln min n kurd kurd nizanin. Pit firavn ay, em dsa diin ders. Pit nvro ten du dersn min hene. Yek ji van dersan edebiyat e. Di dersa edebiyat de em tekstn edebiyata amerik dixwnin. Ez taybet ji helbestn T. S. Eliot hez dikim. Di kurd de j helbestn Eliot hene. Ez j carnan helbestan dinivsim. Dersn min di saet 5an de xelas dibin. Pa tm mal di saet 7an de li gel mam, jinmam zarokn wan em v dixwin ay vedixwin. Mam min mamoste ye jinmama min j parzer e. Ez piran heta 11an dersn xwe dixebitim pa j bo saetek pirtkek dixwnim di seat 12an de dinivim. Translation: I am a student. My name is Salih and I am 22 years old. I live in Istanbul, I am staying at my uncles home, but my family lives (in Kurdish plural since there are many members) in Diyarbekir. I wake up early in the morning (in Kurdish: in the mornings) at eight 8 oclock. After washing my face (lit. head and eye), I have (lit. eat) breakfast and go to the univerisity. I have five courses. I like my courses very much because we read very interesting books in the courses and have good discussions. At one oclock, I have lunch and drink tea with my friends. I have many friends at the unversity. Some of my friends are Turks and some are Kurds. I speak Kurmanji (Kurdish) with my Kurdish friends, but unfortunately some of Kurdish friends do not know Kurdish. After lunch and tea we go back to the courses. In the afternoon I have only two lessons. One of these lessons is literature. In literature class we read texts of English literature. I particularly like the poems of T. S. Eliot. Eliots poems are also (to be found) in Kurdish (translation). I, too, sometimes write poetry. My courses are finished at 5 oclock. Then I go home and at 7 oclock I have (lit. eat) dinner and tea with my uncle, his wife and their children.My uncle is a teacher and his wife is a lawyer. I generally study (lit. work on my lessons) until 11 oclock and then I read ( a book) for one hour and at midnight I go to sleep.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3 1.1 Exercise Answer the questions according to the passege. 1. Nav w i ye? ................................................................ 2. Ew i kar dike? ................................................................ 3. Ew li ku dij? ................................................................ 4. Ew di saet endan de radibe? ................................................................ 5. end dersn w hene? ................................................................ 6. Ew ji kjan dersn xwe hez dike? ............................................................... 7. Ew keng v dixwin? ................................................................ 8. Mam jinmama w i kar dikin? ...............................................................
2. Asking About Jobs

Tu i kar dik? Tu bi i mijl ? Ew i kar dike? Bav te i kar dike? Ez endazyar im. Ew mamoste ye. Dayika w wirmend e. What is your job? What are you busy with? What is her/his job? What is your fathers job? I am (an) engineer. S/he is (a) teacher. His mother is (a) consultant.
3. Saet / Time
The basis of expression is saet hour Saet end e? Saet deh e. Saet nzik aran e. Ji diduyan re arkek heye aran arkek dibore. What time is it? It is ten. It is close to 4 cclock. It is a quarter to 2. It is a quarter past 4.
3.1. Exercise Write the time according to the pictures below. Saet end e?
Saet .....................
.............................
.............................
.............................
........................... .............................
.............................
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Wordlist
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3 amrn mitbax arvan bajar balk ba bazar bi qas saetek carinan cil berg ark ay danstandin ders diaxivim dibore diim diin dikin dijm dimnim diom dixwnim dixebitim dixwim dsa edebiyat edebiyata amerik endazyar erzan fk
kitchen utensils flour city interesting good, well bazar for one hour somtimes clothes quarter tea shopping lesson, course, work I speak, I am speaking (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb axavtin to speak) he/she/it passes, is passing (3rd person singular form of smple present tense for the verb bihurn to pass) I go, I am going (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb n to go) we/you/they go/are going (1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural form of simple present tense for the verb n to go) we/you/they do/are doing (1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural form of simple present tense for the verb kirin to do) I live (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb jiyan to live) I stay/am staying (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb man to stay) I wash/am washing (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb tin to wash) I read/am reading, I study/am studying (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb xwendin to read, to study) I work/am working (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb xebitn to work) I eat/am eating (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb xwarin to eat) again, once more literature American literature engineer cheapness, low prices fruit
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3 firavn gelek/gelek girng heftey carek helbest hem tit heta heval heye/hene hk hindek ji ji ber ku Jinmam/jinap kar keng kjan kue kurd l li aliyek din ligel malbat mam/ap mamoste mast mijl mixabin nave nzik nizanin niqa nivk nvro parzer plav / sol piran
lunch very much important once in a week poetry, poem everything till/until friend there is / there are, exists/exist (also used in expressions of possession, see below) egg some from because, since uncles wife work, job, task, duty when which street Kurdish but, however on the other side/ part with, together with family paternal uncle teacher yoghurt busy unfortunately region close we/you/they do not know (negative form of 1st, 2nd and 3rd person plural of simple present tense for the verb zann to know) discussion butter noon lawyer shoes majority; usually, generally, often
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3 radibim pa pit ku rken sarinc sebze ser av sibehan ekir wirmend r v tat taybet tax tekst ten tm tirk vedixwim xelas dibin xelk/xelq xwarin ya batir ya rast yek ji wan zanngeh zarok z
I wake up (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb rabn to wake up) later, then after cheer, being cheerful refrigerator vegetable literary head and eye, face in the morning(s) sugar consultant milk dinner breakfast especially, specifically quarter (Swedish kvarter), neighbourhood text alone, only I come/am coming (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb hatin to come) Turkish I drink/am drinkng (1st person singular form of simple present tense for the verb vexwarin to drink) they finish (3rd person plural form of simple present tense for the verb xelas bn to finish) the folk, people food what is more, moreover indeed, In fact one of them university child quickly, early
Grammar / Rziman 3
A Expressions of existence (there is / there are) To say that something exists, or is, Kurmanji uses the existential verb hebn. In fact, it is really a combination of a particle he- plus the verb bn (to be), but most descriptions of Kurdish treat it as a verb in its own right, and we will follow that tradition here. But it is useful to remember that it is based on the verb bn, because this makes it easier to understand the conjugation. In the present tense, the familiar forms of the copula endings (see Grammar in lesson 1) are simply added to the particle he-, yielding: Ez he-me Tu he-y Ew he-ye I am, exist you are, exist etc. Em he-ne Hn he-ne Ew he-ne
In practice, only the third person forms heye and hene are used frequently. They generally mean there is and there are respectively: Li bazar gelek tit hene. Li vir jinek heye. The negative form is tune/nne: Li vir jinek tuneye / nn e there is no woman here At the market there are many things. There is a woman here.
B Expressions of possession Kurdish, unlike Persian, does not have a verb corresponding to English have. To say I have two brothers, or something similar, different constructions are used in Kurmanji. They are based on the existential verb hebn discussed above. To say I have two brothers, two possibilities are available: Possibility 1 (with Izafe): Du birayn min hene literally: two brothers of me exist Possibility 2 (without Izafe, the possessor comes at the beginning of the sentence and is in the Oblique case): Min du bira hene literally: for me two brothers exist Both of these constructions can be found in Kurmanji; different books and descriptions prefer different ones. We have chosen the second one here, which is more commonly used in the south of the Kurmanji speech area, particularly in North Iraq around Zakho and Dohuk. But the other possibility is absolutely acceptable, and in many textbooks it is preferred. Some further examples of the second possibility: Min xwikek heye. I have a sister.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3 Du piskn te hene./Te du pisk hene. You have two cats. Ezmneke w heye./W ezmnek heye. She has an exam. Pereyn w hene./W pere nne. He does not have money. Pirsek ete heye./Te pirsek heye? Do you have a question? Li bazar penr tuneye/nn e. There is not cheese at the bazar.
C The Reflexive Xwe The reflexive pronoun xwe has different meanings and usages. It always has the same form, regardless of how it is used. 1. It can be used as possessive pronoun in an Izafe construction: Ew ji dersn xwe hez dike She likes her courses. Ez li gel malbata xwe dimnim. I stay with my family. Tu li kilda xwe diger? Are you looking for your keys? 2. It can be used as reflexive pronoun as in: Xelk ji xwe re li bazaran danstandin dikin. The people do shopping for themselves in bazaars. Ez xwe li ry te dibnim. I see myself in your face. Dayika min bi xwe mamoste ye My mother is (a) teacher herself. 3. The reflexive xwe can only be used when it refers to the subject of the sentence it occurs in, and in this context, it must be used. Compare the following: Ez ji dayika xwe hez dikim Tu ji dayika min hez dik I love my mother (xwe refers back to the subject Ez) You love my mother (xwe cannot be used here, because the subject of the sentence is Tu you, not the same person as the possessor in dayika min my mother In contexts like this, a form of the Oblique personal pronoun (see Lesson 2) is used.
C Dema Niha / The Simple Present Tense (Part 1) 1. Verbs in general: stems and infinitive Each verb in Kurdish has two stems, or basic forms: a present stem, and a past stem. Each stem is used as the basis for different tenses, moods etc., by adding various prefixes and suffixes, which will be explained during the course. In this lesson we look at the simple present tense. The usual way of referring to a verb is by its infinitive, which is based on the past stem of the verb. The infinitive is the form that a verb is listed under in the dictionary. It is formed very simply by adding -n to the past stem. If the stem ends in a consonsant, then a short buffer vowel -i is inserted before the -n. The formation of the present stem, on the other hand, is often irregular (see below). Here are examples of the basic forms of some verbs from this lesson: MEANNG speak, talk INFNTVE axaft-in PAST STEM axaftPRESENT STEM axiv-
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3 eat read, study work see wash do, make, put give know xwar-in xwend-in xebit-n dt-in t-in kir-in da-n zan-n xwarxwendxebitdttkirdazanxwxwnxebitbnokdzan-
2. The simple present tense The simple present tense is used for all actions performed in the present, whether continuous or regularly recurring. It is formed from the present stem (see previous point), to which a prefix di- is attached. Then the personal endings are added according to each person. Examples of conjugations are as follow:
Ez
di xebit im
I work / am working
present tense prefix kirin (to do) Ez di k im Tu di k Ew di k e
present stem
personal ending
Em di k in Hn di k in Ew di k in
xwendin (to read, study) Ez di xwn im Em di xwn in Tu di xwn Hn di xwn in Ew di xwn e Ew di xwn in
If the verb stem ends in a vowel, the personal endings are as below: tin (to wash) Ez di o m Tu di o y Ew di o Em di o n Hn di o n Ew di o n
3. The negative form of the simple present tense is derived by replacing diwith the nanegation marker: xwarin (to eat) Ez na xw im Tu na xw Ew na xw e Em na xw in Hn na xw in Ew na xw in xebitn (to work) Ez na-xebit-im etc.
However, there are two exceptions to the negation marker. The negative form of the present tense prefix for the verb zann (to know) and karn (to be able) is formed by replacing diwith ni- instead of na-:
zann (to know) Ez ni zan im Em ni zan in Tu ni zan Hn ni zan in Ew ni zan e Ew ni zan in
karn (to know) Ez ni kar im Em ni kar in Tu ni kar Hn ni kar in Ew ni kar e Ew ni kar in
3. Common irregular verbs in the present tense: There are two irregular verbs conjugated differently both in affirmative and negative sentences in present tense. These are hatin (to come) and ann (to bring). Hatin (to come) Affirmative Ez tm Em tn Tu t Hn tn Ew t Ew tn Ann (to bring) Affirmative Ez tnim Em tnin Tu tn Hn tnin Ew tne Ew tnin Negative Ez naym Em nayn Tu nay Hn nayn Ew naye Ew nayn Negative Ez naynim Em naynin Tu nayn Hn naynin Ew nayne Ew naynin
5. Compound verbs The verb vexwarin (to drink) which was previously used in the text is a compound verb, based on a particle ve- plus the verb xwarin eat. We will deal with these verbs in a different lesson, but for the time being it is important to note that the present tense prefix comes between the preverbal particle and the present stem: from vexwarin the first person singular present is: from rabn get up the first person singular present is: ve-di-xw-im ra-di-b-im
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6. Exercises
6.1 Translate the following phrases into Kurdish: 1. At seven O'clock I come home. (note: destinations in Kurdish are usually put after theverb) 2. I dont know. 3. What does your father do (what is his job)? 4. They are not coming. 5. Rojbin (girls name) doesnt like her (own) teacher. (like: hez kirin, the object is introduced with the preposition ji) 6. We are drinking water (av). 7. They are not drinking milk. 8. She studies American literature. 9. We dont work at the bazar. 10. Who is reading my book? (book is feminine - see Izafe in Lesson 2!) 11. We have a large house. 12. He has two sisters. 13. I dont have yoghurt. 14. When is your brother coming? 6.2 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Translate the following into English: Ez ro naym. (ro=today) Hn keng diin ders? Nav heval te i ye? Em li gel malbata xwe dimnin. Min xwikek heye. Min pere nn e. Tu ji dayika min hez dik Tu ji dayika xwe hez dik Ez dest xwe diom.
List the infinitives from all the verbs you used exercise 6.1 and 6.2. If you used a form of to be, write the infinitive bn. (for example: in the first sentence in 6.1 you used a form of the verb hatin come)
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 LESSON 4
INTRODUCTION In this unit you will continue to discover more about the simple present tense, prepositions, postpositions and circumpositions and different time expressions. By the end of this lesson you will: have learned about prepositions, postpositions and circumpositions and contracted prepositions have learned a number of expressions for describing times deepened your knowledge of the present tense of a variety of different verbs, both simple and complex
1. Tekst: Mala Nrgiz

Nrgiz hesabgir e ew li Amed dij. Maleke Nrgiz heye. Mala w bik e; l bel pir irn e. Di mala w de du ode, mitbexek, serokek dairek hene. Nrgiz ne zengn e; l bel mala w pir rengn e. T de her tit heye: televzyon, palgeh, mase kurs, tabloyn wneyan, dolab sp, xaleyeke sor, gul guldank, gelek titn din. Mala w li dervey bajar ye. Cih mala w pir xwe e bi dar hnah ye. Li rex mala w, parkeke lstin seyran heye. Park pir nzik mala w ye; di navbera mala w park de bi ten kolanek heye. Park ne mezin e; l bel paqij fireh e. Di w park de her cure dar giya hene. Nrgiz di mala xwe de bi ten nn e; piskeke w heye. Nav piska w Kunc ye. Kunc pir irn e; l hinek m e. Her gav derdikeve ser mase nivnan. Di cih xwe de nasekine. Nrgiz di dawiya heftey de naxebite. Rojn em, sibeh mala xwe paqij dike var j die cem hevaln xwe. Jiyaneke Nrgiz ya aram rihet heye. Ew ji mal hal xwe pir raz ye.
Translation: The House of Nrgiz

Nrgiz is an accountant and she lives in Amed. Nrgiz has a house. Her house is small but very sweet. In her house, there are two rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a restroom (toilet). Nrgiz is not rich but her house is quite colorful. There is everything in it: TV, armchair, table, chair, paintings, cupboard and coffee table, a red carpet, a vase with flowers, and many other things. Her house is outside of the city. The neighbourhood of her house is green and there are trees around (lit. with trees and greenness). Next to her house there is a park for playing and jogging. The park is very close to her house; there is only one street between her house and the park. The park is not large (lit. big) yet it is clean and airy. In that park, there are all kinds of tree and plants (dar giya tree and plants are in sngl. form, the plurality is observed on the verb hene). Nrgiz is not alone in her house; she has a cat. The name of her cat is Kunc. Kunc is very sweet but she is little bit naughty. Always goes on the table and bedding (nivnan is the plural form in K.) She (Kunc) does not stay in her place. Nrgiz does not work on the weekend. On Saturdays, in the morning (sibeh) she cleans her house and in the evening goes to her friends. Nrgiz has a calm and comfortable life. She is very content with her situation.
Exercise Read the text and answer the questions as accurately as possible: 1. Nrgiz li k der dij? 2. Maleke Nrgiz ya awa heye? 3. Di mala Nrgiz de end ode hene? 4. Mala Nrgiz li ku der ye? Li nav bajar ye an li dervey bajar ye? (li dervey =outside of) 5. Park li ku der ye? 6. Di park de i i hene? 7. Nrgiz di mala xwe de bi k re dij? 8. Nrgiz kjan rojan naxebite? 9. Nrgiz keng die cem hevaln xwe? 10. Gelo Nrgiz ji mal hal xwe bzar e? 1.2 Exercise The sentences below are taken from the text above. Fill in the blanks paying attention to the usages of the prepositions and postpositions. It is suggested that you work on this exercise after studying the related part in the Grammar section. Nrgiz . Amed dij. Di mala w . du ode hene. Mala Nrgiz li .. bajar ye. ......... mala w parkek heye. Di .. mala w park de bi ten kolanek heye. Kunc pir m e. Her gav derdikeve masey. Nrgiz .. hal xwe pir raz ye.
2. Vocabulary
2.1 Dann Roj/Times of a day sibeh morning nvro noon ev night dan sibeh the morning time dan nvro noon dan ev night time
berbang /efeq dawn sibeh /beyan morning nvro noon pit nvro afternoon esr /bervar late afternoon, early evening var evening ev night nvev midnight El berbanga sibeh die ser kar xwe. El sets out to his work at dawn. Nrgiz her sibeh guln xwe av dide. Nrgiz waters her flowers every morning. Li vira, nvro pir germ dibe. Her, it is very hot at noon. Zarok pit nvro diine melevaniy. The children go swimming in the afternoon. Salih var z vedigere mala xwe. Salih returns home early in the evening. Bi ev z razin da ku sibeh z rabin. Sleep early at night to wake up early in the morning. Nv ev li gund me tu kes dernakeve. At midnight nobody in our village goes out.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 2.2 Days of the week/Rojn heftey Duem Monday Sem Tuesday arem Wednesday Pncem Thursday n Friday em Saturday Yekem Sunday
ro i roj e? ro pncem e.
What day is it today? It is Thursday.
Nrgiz roja emiy naxebite. Nrgiz does not work on Sunday. Ez roja sem diime cem malbata xwe. I am going to my family on Tuesday.
2.3 Hindek Hokern Dem /Some Time Adverbs Duh yesterday ro today sibe tomorrow Par last year sal this year sala t next year Ber before niha now pa later niha pa pit re d re ber/ber duh ro/ ev roj sibe par sal/ev sal sala t ber deh salan pit deh salan her roj her gav/her tim her meh her sal tu/u caran hindek caran carinan km caran gelek caran 3. Exercises a. In the previous lesson we had explained the present tense in Kurmanji. Turn back to the related section, if needed, and try to place the right verb in the blanks. Note that in this exercise the verbs are already conjugated. hez dike /dixwe /radibe /diaxive /temae dike /dij /vedigere /die now later later on afterwards before yesterday today tomorrow last year this year next year ten years ago after ten years every day always every month every year never sometimes sometimes rarely usually
Salih xwendekarek bst du sal ye. Ew li Stenbol (1).. Salih sibehan pir z (2).., tatiy dixwe (3) zanngeh. Firavn li zanngeh, ligel hevaln xwe (4)... Salih li zanngeh bi kurd (5). Salih ji dersn xwe pir (6).. Salih bi ev z (7). mal. Pit v, li televzyon (8)... di saet 11an de radiz. b. Conjugate the verbs in the table in the present tense. Infinitive birin n kirin lstin men rabn rnitin tgihitin xebitn xwendin xwestin vexwarin winda kirin zivirn English bring go do play walk, take a walk get up sit understand work read, study request, want drink lose turn (back), rotate Ez dibim Tu Ew Em/Hn/Ew
radibe tdigihin
vedixwe
Wordlist
av av dide bajar (syn. ehr) baran bi dar bi roj bi ev bi ten bik bikar kolan awa/awan ay end ente (syn. kf) i cih/c water he/she waters (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb av dan to water) city rain bi: with; dar: tree. Somewhere where there are trees. in the daytime, during daytime at night alone, only small if you can (the present subjunctive form of the verb karn to be able to) street how tea how many bag what place
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 ima (syn. bo i) men ciwan (ant. pr) dan dawiya heftey delal dereng (ant. z) der dernakeve derve zengn (ant. xizan, dewlemend) di . re di bin de diaxive dibare die dij dil; dilan dinive dirj (ant. kurt, kin) dsa j dixwe dolab dr (ant. nzik) ev jiyan var fireh fncan seyran gtar giya gul guldank havn heft/hefte
why lawn young time of the day weekend (daw: end; hefte: week) beatiful, lovely late door he/she/it does not go out (negative form of 3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb derketin to go out) outside; abroad feqr, wealthy hejar, Through; ex: Kik di nav daran re n Under (in locative case) he/she/it speaks (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb axaftin to speak) it rains (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb barn to rain) he/she/it goes (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb n to go) he/she/it lives (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb jiyan to live) dil: heart; dilan: the plural of the noun dil. he/she/it sleeps (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb nivistin to sleep) long again, still he/she/it eats (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb xwarin to eat) cupboard far this life (ev: this; life: jiyan) in the evening wide cup infinitive form of the verb to travel; to wander guitar grass rose; flower vase (gul: flower; dank: a suffix giving the sense of containing) summer (payz: autumn; zivistan: winter; bihar: spring) week
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 hlekan serok her cure her gav (syn. Her tim) hesabgir hnah heval hevaln xwe hez dike hirok skan ji bo jn jr jiyaneke aram kal kar k keng k kjan k der kullk kunc kurs kurt l bel lstin li dervey li jr li jor li rex li ser li vira ligel xale mal mal hal mam (syn. ap) mase melevan (syn. soban) mitbex mezin (ant. bik)
swing bath every kind (her: every, each; cure: kind (syn. tixm, babet) always accounter green friend friends of self (Salih bi ev die cem hevaln xwe. Salih goes to his friends at night) he/she/it likes, loves (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb hez kirin to like, love) teddy bear cup for tea for life clever, smart, wise a peaceful life (jiyan+eke aram) old work who (in oblique case) when who which where flower; bud oleaster, sesame; here the name of the cat chair short but; however the infinitive form of the verb to play out of .. (in oblique case) below (in oblique case, by itself jr would not be in oblique) above (in obl. case) next (in obl. case) on (in obl. case) here (in obl. case) together with carpet home general material and psychological situation of someone uncle table swimming kitchen big
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 m mzsyen nasekine nav navber nazik nexwe nzik (ant. dr) nivn ode palgeh paqij; paqij kirin (syn. temz, pak, xawn) park pns (syn. qelem) pere pr (syn. kal; ant. ciwan, cahil) pirtk (syn. kitb) pisk (also kitik) piyal por qehwe radibe
naughty musicien he/she/it does not stop, stand (negative 3rd person singular, simple present tense of sekinn to stop, to stand) name interval, between fragile ill, fatigue near, close bedding room armchair clean; to clean up park pen money old
book cat glass hair coffe he/she/it wakes up (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb rabn to wake up, to stand up) rengn colorful roj day; sun rdine he/she/it sits down, lives (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb rnitin to sit down; to live) eng charm sp coffe table serbest free; freely irn sweet; lovely sibeh in the morning sil kirin (syn. tre Infinitive of the verb to offend, to make angry kirin; xeyidandin) tablo tableau t de in it (This usage requires a preceding context) tebeq floor (du tebeq: double floor) televzyon television temae kirin infinitive of the verb to watch temz clean tenha/ten alone; solitary place terxan satisfied; comfortable
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 tev chan tiral, tembel titn din tu kes dair/tuwalet vedigere
the whole world (tev: all; chan: the world) lazy other things (tit: thing; din: other) nobody toilet he/she/it returns (3rd person singular form of simple present tense for the verb vegeriyan to return) vedihese (syn. bhna he/she/it rests (3rd person singular form of simple present tense xwe dan) for the verb vehesiyan to rest) v tit this thing; this wne painting xan house zext/xim violence; violent act (in oblique case, see next lesson) xurt (ant. zef; lawaz) strong, powerful xwendekar student zarok child; children zef (syn. lawaz) weak z early; fast
Grammar / Rziman 4
A) Prepositions, Postpositions, Circumpositions and Contracted Prepositions
In Kurmanji there are prepositions, postpositions and circumpositions. The topic is quite complex, and in this introductory course we will only be showing you the most important features of these structures. Furthermore, there is quite a lot of variation among the different varieties of Kurmanji. However, the most important words are constant across the different varieties. There are three basic prepositions, found in all varieties of Kurmanji: li at, in; ji from; bi through, by In addition, there are prepositions like ser on; bin under, which may be combined with the basic three prepositions (li ser on, about, as in li ser ziman kurd about/on the Kurdish language) or used alone, as in ser avan on eyes, meaning at your disposal, an expression of friendly respect and agreement. One difficult feature of Kurmanji is the widespread use of circumpositions: these are made up of a preposition plus one of three particles which follow the relevant word (or phrase). The three particles are: ve, de, re (in some varieties pronounced: va, da, ra). For example: bi te re with you ji te re for you, to you ji ro ve from today onwards In addition, there are circumpositions with a first element di. Unlike the basic prepositions discussed above, this element can not occur by itself, but only in combination with a final particle: di mala w de in her house di ... re through The final particles have a vague meaning, approximately as follows: de usually adds a meaning of stationary position; while re adds some sense of togetherness; and finally ve adds some sense of getting away from. Note that the nouns and pronouns following the prepositions are in Oblique case. We have already discussed the Oblique case for pronouns, and in the next lesson we look at the Oblique case for nouns.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 Grammar / Rziman 4 (continued)
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Some common prepositions and circumpositions with examples are the following: ba/nik/cem to, towards Ew her roj die cem hevaln xwe. (used mostly with persons) Every day he goes to his friends. bi with, by means of Ez bi bisklet diim dibistan. I go to school by bicycle. bi re with Bisekine! Ez j bi te re tm bazar. Stop! (=imperative of sekinn wait, stop), I too will come to the market with you. bo for; to Ji kerema xwe bo min ayek dagire. If you would be so kind, pour a tea for me. di nav de inside of, among Tu i dik di nav av de? What are you putting into the water? di navbera de between Welat me di navbera Ferat Dcley de ye. Our homeland is between the Euphrates and the Tigris (rivers) heta until Ez heta saet neh ev kar dikim. I am working until nine Oclock in the evening. ji from, of Derya ji Qoser ye. Derya is from Qoser. Mast ji r dibe. Yoghurt is made of milk. ji re to Ez ji te re dibjim l tu ji u kes re nebje (=imperative of gotin). I tell you but dont you tell it to anyone (lit. no-one). jive from; since Ji saet heft sibeh ve kar dikim. I have been working since 7 in morning. ji bil except for; other than Di malbata wan de ji bil w tu kes kar nake. In their family no-one works except for him. ji bo for Hem hewla min ji bo w ye. All my effort is for him. li ber in front of Z were! (imperative of hatin come) Li ber bank li hviya te me. Come quickly! I am waiting for you in front of the bank. li dij against Em li dij neheqiy tdikoin. We struggle against injustice. ligel with; along with Kunc j ligel zarokan dileyze. Kunc too plays with the children. li gor according to Li gor w em neheq in. According to him, we are wrong. li p in front of Demhat di sinif de li p Rken rdine. Demhat sits in front of Rken in the classroom. li rex beside Maln wan li rex hev in. Their houses are next to each other. li ser on, over Bne, deyne (imperatives of ann bring and dann put) li ser v masey. Bring (it) and put (it) on this table! wek/mna like; as Rast e, ez j wek te difikirim. Thats right, I too think like you / think the same way as you. pit after Pit saet heft var vedigere mal. After seven Oclock in the evening (he / she) returns home.
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Contracted prepositions When the three basic prepositions mentioned above (bi, ji and li) are used with the third person pronoun ew, this pronoun must go into the Oblique case, either w (feminine), or w (masculine). In such combinations, what usually happens is that the preposition blends together with the pronoun, yielding the following forms: bi +w/w >p through him/her/it ji+w/w >j from him/her/it li+w/w >l at/in him/her/it The same thing happens to the particle di (recall from above that this particle does not occur by itself as a preposition, but only together with a final particle as a circumposition): di + w/w > t, for example: di w de > t de in it Some examples are the following: Bav w her roj j re (=ji w re) pere dine. His father sends him money every day. Mala ku ez t de (=di w de) dimnim gelek fireh e. The house which I stay at is very large. Ez p (=bi w) penr hr dikim. I am slicing the cheese with it. Keik l (=li w) dinihre. The girl is looking at (smb/smth). B Conjugation of Verbs in Simple Present Tense (Continuation from previous lessons) 1. Recall that in Kurdish, each verb has two stems. The simple present tense is based o the present stem of the verb and is created by adding the prefix di- to it. The present stem itself is extremely important, because it also forms the basis of the subjunctive mood, the imperative, (see next lesson), and the future tense! The main difficulty with the present stem is that for most of the common verbs in the language, it cannot easily be predicted from the infinitive. For these verbs, then, you just have to learn the form of the present stem off by heart. There are, however, two rules which are helpful for some verbs: Rule i: For verbs with an infinitive ending in n, the present stem can readily be formed simply by droppingn. For example: Infinitive Present stem karn can, be able karkirn buy kirkenn laugh, smile kenpirsn ask pirsxebitn to work xebitzann know zanzewicn marry zewiczivirn turn (back) zivirRule ii: Verbs which end in -andin (or -endin) in the infinitive replace this with -n in to make the present stem: xwendin read, study xwnandin send nikandin break iknkiandin pull kinstandin receive stnFor most of the other common verbs, the present stem must be learnt together with the infinitive. Here is a list of the commonest verbs together with their present stems, and the first person singular present (I am driving / drive etc.)
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Infinitive ajotin (to drive) ann (to bring) axaftin (to speak) avtin (to throw away) birin (to take away) bn (to become) bn (to be) n (to go) dan (to give) dann (to place)
First Person Singular Present dajom tnim (di-nim becomes tnim) diaxivim davjim dibim dibim -im diim didim datnim (see ann above; this verb is actually from da-ann, i.e. it has a preverb da-) dtin (to see) bndibnim firotin (to sell) firodifiroim gihitin (to reach, to arrive) gihdigihim girtin (to catch) girdigirim hatin (to come) tm hlan (to allow, to leave) hldihlim jiyan (to live) jdijm ketin (to fall) kevdikevim kirin (to do) kdikim kolan (to dig) koldikolim lstin (to play) leyzdileyze mayn (to remain) mndimnim mirin (to die) mirdimirim nivistin (to sleep) nivdinivim nivsn (to write) nivsdinivsim nrn (to look) nrdinrim xistin (to drop, strike) xdixim/dixnim xwarin (to eat) xwdixwim xwestin (to want) xwazdixwazim tin (to wash) odiom Note that generally, the -i of the present tense prefix is dropped when the present stem of the verb begins with a vowel: dajom (not di-ajom) I drive. Note also that the present tense of ann is tnim, rather than the expected dnim, and from hatin come we have tm (actually a contraction of di-h-m)
Present stem ajonaxivavjbbdda-n
INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will learn and be exposed to new grammatical structures in the present tense and use them in meaningful contexts, and see the usages of the nouns in oblique case, certain names for occupations, expressions of frequency and terminology for month and the days of the week. By the end of this lesson you will be able to: Use the modal verbs for expressing the wishes, abilities and requirements, Conjugate the verbs in present tenses and also in subjunctive form, Detect and use the nouns in oblique case. 1. Text: va Prozbahiy The Celebration Dinner Listen to the conversation the first time without reading the text and try to answer the questions in Exercise 1. In a caf in Uppsala, Naz, Serdar, Selm and Heln are sitting down talking. Naz is telling the others a piece of news, and she also makes an offer to the others: Diyalog/Dialog Garson: Serdar: Garson: . Naz: Heln: Naz: Serdar: Naz: Qehwe ya k ye? Qehwe ya min e. Kola ya w, bra ya xanim ye av j bo heval ye. Kerem bikin.
Ha, ez dixwazim xeberek bidime we. Xebera xr ye nellah. De bibje Naz. Roja n biray min Rnas ji Kurdistan t. Rast! Welleh div em v yek proz bikin. ba e v gav! Ez dixwazim we bikim mvan. eva emiy, li mala min. Hn dikarin bn? Serdar: Pir ba dibe! Ez dikarim bm. Ez dixwazim Rnas bibnim. Selm: Naz tu xwarinn xwe dik? Naz: Zde ne xerab im bo xwarinkirin. Ez dikarim tirik qelslk kim ji we re. Tu dixwaz by an ne? Selm: Mixabin ez nikarim bm. Ji ber ku eva emiy civna min heye. Div bedar w civn bibim. Heln: min, ez gelek dixwazim xwarinn dest te bixwim; l bel ez niha nizanim ka dikarim bm an nikarim (but now I do not know whether I can come or not). Naz: Em j gelek dixwazin tu by. Heta sibe xeberek bide me. Heln: Ba e, spas. Translation: Waiter: For whom (whose) is the coffee? Serdar: The coffee is mine. The Cola is hers, the beer is for the lady and the water is for the (this) friend. Waiter: Here you are!
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 --Naz: Heln: Naz: Serdar: Naz:
Look! I want to tell you (give you) a piece of news. Hopefully it is good news. Say it Naz. On (the day of) Friday my brother Rnas will come from Kurdistan. Really! By God, we have to celebrate this (event). Sure (lit. it is good)! I want to host you. At Saturday night, in our home. Can you come? Serdar: It will be very good. I can come. I want to see (meet) Rnas. Selm: Naz, do you cook good food (lit. meal) ? Naz: I am not too bad at cooking. I can cook (prepare) tirik and qelslik for you. Do you want to come or not? Selm: Unfortunately I cant come. Because on Saturday night I have a meeting. I must (have to) participate in that meeting. Heln: As for me, I very much want to eat (taste) a meal cooked (prepared) by you (your hand), but at the moment (lit. now) I do not know whether I can come or not. Naz: We also very much want you to come (lit. that you come). Tell us (give us news) whether you come or not by tomorrow. Heln: Well (it is good), thanks. 1.1 Exercise Answer the questions below according to the text. 1. end kes li masey rdinin? 2. K ji Kurdistan vedigere? 3. K hevalan vedixwne v? 4. v kjan roj ye? Keng ye? 1.2 Rast an Xelet Right or Wrong Read the dialogue again and decide whether the sentences are right (R) or wrong (X). a. . Biray ji Kurdistan Serdar t. b. . Naz dixwaze hevaln xwe bike mvan. c. . Serdar nikare bie v. d. . v eva yekem ye. e. . Serdar dixwaze Rnas bibne. f. . Selm dikare bie v. g. . Selm nikare bie v. Ji ber ku div bedar civnek bibe. h. . Naz dikare tirik ke. i. . Naz naxwaze Heln bie v. j. . Heln naxwaze xwarinn dest Naz bixwe. Navn Mehan/Names of the Months There are a couple sets of month names in use in Kurdish; the names presented below comprise the more widespread ones: 1. Rbendan January 7. Trmeh July 2. Reem February 8. Tebax August 3. Adar March 9. Rezber Septembre 4. Avrl April 10. Kewr October
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 5. Gulan 6. Pper May June 11. Sermawez November 12. Berfanbar December
ar demsaln sal The four seasons of the year Bihar: Spring Havn: Summer Payz: Autumn Zivistan: Winter Adar, Nsan Gulan mehn demsala bihar ne. March, April and May are the months of the spring season. Pper, Trmeh Tebax havn e. June, July and August are (the months of the) summer. Rezber, Kewr Sermawez mehn payz ne. September, October and November are the months of the autumn. Mehn demsala zivistan Berfanbar, Rbendan Reem ne. The months of winter season are December, January and February. Celadet Al Bedirxan di 26 nsana 1893an de hatiye dinyay. Celadet Al Bedir-Xan was born in April 26, 1893 (lit. 26 of the April of 1893) Havn bi meha pper dest p dike. Summer starts with (month of) June. Zivistan, bi taybet meha rbendan, Kurdistan pir sar e. In winter, especially in (the month of) January, Kurdistan is very cold. Di salek de duwanzdah meh hene. There are twelve months in a year. (Lit. In one year, twelve months exist.)
Grammar / Rziman 5
A) The modal verbs: expressing can, want and must
The two modal verbs xwestin and karn behave just like other verbs in the present tense (see last lesson); they take the xwestin (xwaz-) Ez dixwazim bm I want to come Tu dixwaz by Ew dixwaze b Em/hn/ew dixwazin bn Negative nexwestin Ez naxwazim bm Tu naxwaz by Ew naxwaze b karn (kar-) Ez dikarim bilzim I can play Tu dikar bilz Ew dikare bilze Em/hn/ew dikarin bilzin nikarn Ez nikarim bilzim Tu nikar bilz Ew nikare bilze viyan (v-) Div ez bixebitim I must work Div tu bixebit Div ew bixebite Div em/hn/ew bixebitin div neDiv ez nexebitim Div tu nexebit Div ew nexebite
Examples Em naxwazin bn Hn nikarin bilzin Div ew nexebitin We dont want to come You can not play They must not work Tu dixwaz by snemay? Tu dikar li bisklet siwar bib? Div tu ji bo mthan i bik? Do you want to come to the Can you (=do you know how to) What do you have to do for the cinema? ride a bike? examination? present tense prefix di-, which is replaced by the negation prefix when the verb is negated. However, the present tense negation of karn is irregular: it is ni-kar- (not the expected na-kar-).
The modal construction

In Kurmanji, instead of saying I want to go, we say literally I want I go, and the second verb (go) takes the ending for the first person singular, just like the first verb does. The second pronoun (here: ez) is, however, normally ommitted. The second verb in a modal construction is in a special form, the subjunctive. This form is also used to express commands and orders, i.e. in the imperative, but with the endings -e (sg.) and -in (pl.): bide min! give me!
The Subjunctive
The subjunctive form of the verb is based on the present stem, but it takes a special bi- subjunctive prefix. Otherwise, the verbs are conjugated just as in normal present tenses, i.e. the same set of person endings is added to the present stems. However, the negation of the subjunctive verb is not with na-, but with ne-. This also replaces the subjunctive prefix bi-. In compound verbs written as one word like wergirtin (wer+girtin), vekirin (ve+kirin), derketin (der+ketin), the subjunctive prefix bi- is often omitted: Ez dixwazim pencerey vekim. I want to open the window. Ez dikarim w kitb bo end rojan wergirim? Can I take that book for a few days? Div ez derkevim. I need to leave.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 2.1 Exercise Listen to the dialogue above and fill in the blanks in the text of the dialogue below.
Garson: Qehwe k ye? Serdar: Qehwe ya min e. Kola w, bra ya xanim ye av j bo heval ye. Garson: Kerem bikin. . Naz: Ha, ez dixwazim xeberek . we. Heln: Xebera xr ye nellah. De Naz. Naz: Roja n biray min Rnas ji Kurdistan t. Serdar: Rast! Welleh div em v proz .. Naz: ba e vga! Ez dixwazim we bikim mvan. eva emiy, li mala min. Hn bn? Serdar: Pir ba dibe! Ez dikarim bm. Ez dixwazim Rnas . Selm: Naz tu xwarinn xwe dik? Naz: Zde ne xerab im bo xwarinkirin. Ez dikarim tirik qelslk .. ji we re. Tu dixwaz by an ne? Selm: Mixabin ez nikarim bm. Ji ber ku eva emiy civna min heye. ez bedar w civn bibim. Heln: min, ez gelek dixwazim xwarinn dest te bixwim; l bel ez niha nizanim ka dikarim bm an .. Naz: Em j gelek dixwazin tu by. Heta sibeh xeberek .. me. Heln: Ba e, spas. 2.2 Hndar/Exercise Complete the sentences below using the modal verbs karn and xwestin. 1. Elr dikare... (karn) bi kurd ..binivse.. (nivsandin). 2. Serdar (karn) . (n) v. 3. Heln . (xwestin) xwarinn Naz (xwarin). 4. Em .. (xwestin) li flm Nwey Mang . (temae kirin). 5. Ew ... (karn) li hesp .. (siwar bn). 6. Xwka min .. (ne/karn) trimbl . (ajotin). 7. Biray heval min (xwestin) . (bn) plot. 8. Cind . (xwestin) pirtkn bi kurd (xwendin). 9. Arjn Ciwan (ne/xwestin) sibeh z .. (rabn).
Grammar / Rziman 5 (Continue)

B) The Oblique case of nouns and pronouns In previous lessons we had worked on two sets of pronouns in Kurdish, namely pronouns in the direct case and pronouns in oblique case. Oblique pronouns, min, te, w/w, me, we, wan, are used (a) as subjects in sentences with past transitive verbs; (b) as objects in all present tense verbs; (c) as possessors in an izafe construction (as the second or following element of an izafe construction); (d) when they follow a preposition or used in a circumposition (e) as possessors in a sentential possessive construction. In Kurmanji the oblique case is, in addition to pronouns, also a feature of nouns as well. It is called tewang in the grammar of Kurmanji and the nouns in the oblique case receive oblique endings. The endings which a name receives depend on its gender, and its number. The oblique case of feminine nouns and plural nouns is very regular, but with masculine nouns there are quite a lot of complications. Here are the feminine and plural forms first:
in feminine nouns: Ez jinik dibnim I see the woman an in plural nouns: Dara hespan difiroe Dara is selling the horses With masculine nouns, the oblique ending is, in some varieties of Kurmanji, -, and this has become fairly standard in the written language, though not all speakers produce this ending: Masc.: - Dara karker dinase. Dara knows the worker. When the noun has an indefinite ending -ek (recall previous lessons), the endings are the same, and in these cases, the masculine ending is perfectly regularly and consistently used: Ez dixwazim hespek bifiroim I want to sell a horse Em li gundek dijn We live in a village The demonstrative pronouns ev, ew this, that also have oblique forms. The oblique form varies according to the intended gender and number: V, w for masculine singular, v, w for feminine singular and van, wan for plurals regardless of gender. V kitb bide min. Give me this book. W kitb bide min. Give me that book. V lawik dibn? Do you see this lad? W lawik dibn? Do you see that lad? Van kaxezan nedirnin. Do not tear these papers.Wan nedirnin. Do not tear those. Note 1: There is an alternative oblique form for the masculine singular nouns, if they have either a or e in their final syllable. In the oblique case, this a or e, is changed into an vowel (technically speaking, the vowel is raised through umlaut). Some examples with this form: Eyan nn dipje. Eyan is baking bread (absolute form: nan bread) Serdr gotar nivs. Serdar wrote the article. (absolute form: nan Serdar)
Some uses of the Oblique case

The noun or pronoun is in the oblique case when: (a) they are objects in all present tense verbs: Xec Miraz dinivne. Xec is making Miraz sleep. Xec w dinivne. Xec is making him sleep. Kerm hevalan li arsiy dibne. Kerm sees the friends in the bazaar. Kerm wan li arsiy dibne. Kerm sees them in the bazaar. (b) they are possessors in an izafe construction (As the second or following element in an izafe construction); Trimbla Daray sor e. Daras car is red. Trimbla bav Daray sor e. Daras fathers car is red (note: only the final possessor in an Izafe construction takes the oblique case; the ending - in bav is an Izafe, not an oblique ending) Nav min Guln e. My name is Guln. Dayika te kar dike? Does your mother work? Note that when the second or following element is an adjective, it does not take the oblique case. In this sense, in an izafe construction like komptera erzan the cheap computer, the second element of the construction is not in oblique form as (1) it is not a possessor and (2) also as it is not a noun or pronoun. (c) when they follow a preposition or used in a circumposition; Pirtk li ser masey ne. The books are on the table. Hwa perey xwe ji Kendal dixwaze. Hwa demands her money from Kendal. Dara ligel w dilze. Dara plays with him. Kerm hevalan li sk dibne. Kerm sees the friends in the bazaar. (d) as sentence-initial possessors in a possessive (have-type) construction:

Du ken Gulsmay hene. Gulsma has two daughters. Kazim du cotn plavan hene. Kazim has two pairs of shoes. We du otomobl hene? Do you have two cars?
Important note: The oblique case cannot occur on a noun that is already marked with an Izafe vowel! For example: Ez xwarinan dikim I am making food (xwarin-an has the plural Oblique ending) Ez xwarinn xwe dikim I am making nice food (-n is the plural Izafe ending, not an oblique ending; there is no oblique marking on the object here)
3. Exercise 3.1 We saw above and in the previous lessons that there are two sets of pronouns in Kurmanji, those in nominative and those in oblique cases. Now, try to fill in the blanks with the appropriate pronouns, and correct conjugation of the verb bn (to be). a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. Nav ..w.. Drya ye. Ew kurd ..e.. Gtareke ....... heye. Ew mzsyen . Nav .. Eri e. .. ji dir me. .. bst pnc xwendekar hene. .. mamoste ne. enteyn .. sor in. .. zarok in. Eyan tevnker .. W deh xale ... Rizgn gelek pns.. hene. Ew xwendekar .. Beyanba Elf. . awan ? .. ro end ders hene? Dayik bav .. li emznan dijn. .. ji emznan .
3.2 Find the right pronoun in the examples below. a. Xaniy hn/we heye? b. Ew/wan ji Amed ne. c. end pirtkn tu/te hene? d. Xaniy mam ez/min duqat ye. e. Ew/w her heft svan dikire. Ew/w her roj svan dixwe. f. Em/me her roj du fncan qehwe vedixwin. g. Li baxey ew/w kullk hene h. ar hirokn Daner hene. Ew/w zarok e. i. evba Ehmedo. Ez/min diim mal. j. Por bav min sp ye. Ew/w pnc sal ye. k. Tu/te zengn ? Pereyn tu/te gelek in? 3.3 Fill in the blanks with one of the three oblique endings, - and and -an. Do not forget to insert the y consonant before the ending if the word is a vowel-final word. 1. avn keik re in. 2. Por kurik zer e. 3. Rengn dwar direngne. 4. Van sv berhev bike. 5. Xwendekar li ser kurs rdinin. 6. Nrgiz li Swd dij. 7. Brvan guh dide mamoste. 8. Kunc ji ger hez dike. 9. Pik k (pl.) digire.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 10. Teymr her heft pirtkek dikire. 11. Ez d ligel Hesen(masc.) naaxivim. I do not speak with Hesen anymore. 12. Dest Mistefa(masc.) ikest. 13. Alan mna Zerya(fem.) dinivse. 14. Ji kerema xwe v piyal dagire. 15. Znet kullk berhev dike. 16. Xwendekar di nav baxey dibistan de gul dinin.
3.4 Choose the correct sentence. Pay attention to the usage of prepositions as well as the case of the noun (oblique or nominal) following the preposition. 1. a. Mala Nrgiz li rex park e. b. Mala Nrgiz li rex park ye. 2. a. Dila ji pirtkan hez dike. b. Dila ji pirtk hez dike. 3. a. Erdewan li ser kursiy rdine. b. Erdewan li ser kurs rdine. 4. a. Sorgul ji Mu t. b. Sorgul di Mu t. 5. a. Ev kar ji bo Xezal hsan e. b. Ev kar ji Xezal hsan e. 6. a. Gotar di nav dosyay de ye. b. Gotar di nav dosya ye.
Wordlist
an, yan av f. bm bn berhev bike bedar bn bibnim bidime bra f. or (Ex: Tu qelem sor dixwaz an y re? Do you want the red pencil or the black one?) water to come e.g. ez j diwazim bm. I also want to come. (1sg. pres. subjunctive form for the verb hatin to come) to come e.g. l em nikarin bn. But we cant come. (1pl. pres. subjunctive form for the verb hatin to come) to collect (1) 3sg. pres. subjunctive form for the verb berhev kirin to collect. collect! (2) Sing. imperative form of the same verb. to participate; to join to see e.g. div ez ev Eyan bibnim. I need to see Eyan tonight. (1sg. pres. subjunctive form for the verb dtin to see) to give e.g. ez dixwazim v defter bidime te. (1sg. pres. subjunctive form for the verb dan to give); bidim+e (e: directionality) beer
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 bo/ji bo (1) for (also ji bo with this meaning); (2) to (3) at e.g. ez ne xirab im bo xwarinkirin. I am not bad at cooking. sometimes (1) how many, how much; (2) some meeting cigarette smoking bird
he/she invites (3sg. pres. indicative of the present tense form for the verb dawet kirin to invite)
carinan end civn f. cixare f. cixare kan k f. syn. ivk vedixwne derman m. zengn/dewlemend ant. xizan/feqr andin dikare dwar m. dosya f. min, d fncan f. gern germ ant. sar gtar f. gotar f. guh dan heft f. her roj/ her ro hsan ant. dijwar/zehmet heval hewa m. hirok f. hiyar be nellah ji ber ku syn. inku ji bo ku syn. da ku ka kar kirin kerem bikin kullk f. li mala min
medicine rich to plant (present tense stem: n; ex: Zarok gulan dinin) he/she can (3sg. pres. indicative of the verb karn can; to be able to) wall file me, as for me anymore cup to wander warm, hot guitar article, discourse to listen to (present stem: guh -d-; ex: ew guh dide) week everyday easy friend weather teddy bear to wake up, to be careful, to be alert (Ex: Li xwe hiyar be. Take care of yourself) God willing, I hope that because so that, for hay (dried grass); (2) where (Ex: Ka pika sp? Where is the white cat) to work here you are, please come in flower in my house
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 li rex li xwe kirin xale/mafr m. mixabin kirin mvan mweyn taze nexwe ketin nikare park f. pns m.syn. qelem pere m. proz bikin next to to put on carpet unfortunately to host fresh fruits to get sick he/she cant (3sg. pres. indicative negative form of the verb karn can; to be able to) park pen, pencil Money to celebrate, celebrate! e.g. Em d newroz proz bikin. We will celebrate newroz ( 1,2,3 pl. pres. subjunctive form for the verb proz kirin to celebrate & also the plural imperative form for the same verb); book cat glass, cup coffee a local meal of Diyarbekir Duh cama mal ikest. Yesterday the window of the house broke(3sg. simple past tense of the intransitive verb ikestin to break) dinner thick thin (zirav: slim) weaver a local meal of Diyarbekir region lady, (2) an address form for the women news, word meal, to eat cooking mine (predicative) (Ex: W kill nebe! Ew ya min e. Do not take away that key, its mine); (also: ya te yours; ya w his; ya me ours; ya we yours(pl); ya wan theirs) mine (predicative) (Ex: Wan kitban nebe! Ew yn min in. Do not take away those books, they are mine); (also: yn te yours; yn w his; yn me ours; yn we yours(pl); yn wan theirs) too much (French: trop)
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pirtk f. syn. kitb pik f. syn. kitik piyal f. syn. qedeh qehwe f. qelslk f. ikest v f. str ant. tenik tenik syn. zirav tevnker tirik f. xanim xeber xwarin f. xwarinkirin ya min yn min zde
In this unit you will learn new grammatical structures in the simple future tense and comparision and contrast together with the present tense conditional in Kurmanji. By the end of this lesson students will be able to: make predictions and talk about future use present tense conditional clauses comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.
Text: Em d biin Wan

Nav min Zer ye. Ez xwendekar im. Dersn me heta heftiyek xelas dibin betlane dest p dike. Ji bo betlaney em d biin Wan. Em d heftiyek li Wan bimnin. Li Wan gelek xizmn me hene. Em d biin serdana wan. Yek ji wan xizman, mam min e. Em d li mala mam min bimnin. Kurek du ken mam min hene. Navn wan Ferhad, Asya Meyrem in. Meyrem ji Ferhad Asyay mezintir e. Ew li Enqerey dixwne d bibe bijjk. Meyrem j d di betlaney de b Wan em d bi hev re biin Behra Wan em d li wir avjeniy bikin. Her end ji behrek biktir be j, kurd ji w gol re dibjin Behra Wan. Li wir dra Axtamar heye em d w dr j bibnin. Dra Axtamar yek ji kevintirn cihn Wan ye. Ji bil behr dr, ez zarokn mam min, em d Keleha Wan j bibnin. Ev keleh ji dra Axtamar kevintir e. Ez d li wan deran gelek wneyan bigirim; ji ber ku ez gelek ji cihn drok hez dikim. Mixabin em nain cihn din. Her wiha, ez ji bazarn Wan cil bergn kurdewar j bikirim. Ev cil berg ji yn modern bihatir in, l dsa j ez bistnim; ji ber ku li gor min ew cil li ser ry dinyay ciln her xweik in. Havnan, evn Wan gelek xwe dibin. Ez bawer dikim ku her ev xizmn me yn li wir d bn mvantiy em d suhbetn gelek germ bikin di wan evn havn de. Translation Text: We will go to Wan My name is Zer. I am a student. Our classes are finishing in a week and the holidays begin. For the holiday we will go to Wan. We will stay in Wan for one week. We have lots of relatives in Wan. We will visit them. One of these relatives is my uncle. We will stay at my uncles house. My uncle has a son and two daughters. Their names are Ferhad, Asya and Meyrem. Meyrem is older than Ferhad and Asya. She studies in Ankara and she will be a doctor. Meyrem will also come to Wan for the holidays, and we will go to lake Wan together and we will swim. Although it is smaller than a sea, Kurds call this lake the Wan Sea. The Axtamar Church is there and we will visit it as well. The Axtamar Church is one of the oldest places of Wan. Apart from the lake and the church, I and my uncles children will visit the Wan Fortress as well. This place is older than the Axtamar Church. I will take a lot of photos in these places because I love historical (lit. old) places very much. Unfortunately we will not go to any other places. However, I will buy Kurdish clothes from the bazaar. These clothes are more expensive than the modern ones but still I will buy them because I think they are the most attractive clothes in the world. The nights in summer become very pleasant. I believe that our relatives there will come to visit every night and we will have very lively discussions on those summer nights.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6 1.1. Exercise A) Answer the questions according to the text. a) Zer malbata w d biin ku? b) Ew d li ku der bimnin? c) Meyrem d bibe i? d) Ew d li Wan i bikin? e) Kjan cih kevintir e li Wan? f) Ew d li Wan i bikirin? g) Kjan cil berg erzantir in? Ciln kurdewar an yn modern? B) Form sentences in the future tense with the words given below. Ex: Sibe / kar bike / deh saetan/ d / Alan Alan d sibe deh saetan kar bike. 1. Zerya / d / bixwne / pirtka xwe .. 2. Serhad / bie / havin / Fransey / d . 3. d /Ez / heftiya t / hevaln xwe / bibnim. . 4. Bav min/ d / pere / bine/ / ji bo min . 5. Elr / sala t / erebeyek / d / bikire .
2. Comparatives and Superlatives (Read the grammar section below before doing these exercises.) 2.1 Use the adjectives in brackets in the comparative form. Amed ji Wan .................... e (mezin). L ji bo min Wan ji Amed ................. e (xwe). Hewaya Amed ji y Wan................... e (germ). Cil berg, mwe sebze li Wan ............... in (erzan) l li Amed .............. in (zde). 2.2 Write the comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives Adjective comparative superlative kurt xwe dr girng teng bedew zehmet bik xerab dereng rehet ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... .....................
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6 erzan qelew bilind ciwan zirav dirj ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... ..................... .....................
3.1 Li Kurdistan Bazar
Li Kurdistan bazar gelek girng in. Li hem bajar, nave taxan bazar hene. Bazar heftiy carek hene. Hn dikarin hem pdiviyn xwe ji bazar bikirin. Heke hn biin bazar, hn dikarin titn gelek erzan peyda bikin. Her wiha heke hn fk sebzeyn xwe ji bazar bikirin d batir be; ji ber ku ew tezetir in. Heke perey we tra we neke, hn dikarin bi deyn j titan bistnin ji ber ku baweriya bazarvan muteriyan bi hev t. Heke hn bi xelet zde pere bidin, bazarvan d perey we li we vegernin. Wek din, heke hn danstandina bazar bibnin, hn d tkiliyn mirovan batir fahm bikin. Bazaars in Kurdistan Bazaars are very important in Kurdistan. There are bazaars in all city, town and quarters. They are once a week. You can buy all your necessities from bazaars. If you go to the bazaar, you can find the things for very cheap. Moreover, it is better for you to buy your fruits and vegetables (from the bazaar) because they are more fresh. If your money does not suffice, you can buy things as a loan because the bazaar people and customers rely on each other. If you pay more money by mistake, they will return your money. Furthermore, if you see the shopping in the bazaars, you will understand the relationship of people better. 3.2. For the following sentences mark (R) (Rast) if correct and () (ewt) if false. 1. 2. 3. 4. Bazar her roj hene. Heke hn biin bazar, hn j sd wergirin. Heke hn biin bazar, hn kmtir pere bidin. Heke perey we tr neke hn nikarin danstandin bikin. ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6 5. Bazar ji bo famkirina tkiliyn mirovan girng e. ..... .....
3.3 Put the words in right order to form sentences of the present conditionals. 1. ew / bikin / heke / mala me/ em/ / v / bn 2. bimirim/ heke / ez/ bike / d / avdriya bax min/ k 3. bim / ez / ne a / were / ew / / sibeh / Heke
Grammar / Rziman 6
A) Dema B / Future Tense
We use future tense when we talk about an action to take place in the future. It can be something arranged or a prediction about the future. In Kurmanji we form simple future tense by using the future marker d after the subject, and before the verb, and conjugating the verb with the subjunctive bi-. Remember from the lesson 5 we learned how to use subjuntive by adding bi- prefix to the verb and conjugating the verb as in normal present tenses, i.e. the person endings are added to the present stems of the verbs. The logic is the same in the future tense except that we add a special particle d, which comes after the subject: Affirmative Ez d bixwnim. Tu d bixwn. Ew d bixwne. Em d bixwnin. Hn d bixwnin. Ew d bixwnin. I will read you will read He/she/it will read We will read You will read They will read
The above rule for the position of d applies when the subject is in first position in the sentence, which it usually is. However, when the first position in the sentence is not occupied by the subject, different rules may apply, but they need not concern us here. Negative As for their negative forms, it can be done in two fashions. 1) Either, exactly in the way the negation works in present tenses: the future marker d dropped, and nareplaces the subjunctive bi-. As is seen from the sample text, this form is used more frequently. Ez naxwnim. Tu naxwn. Ew naxwne. Em naxwnin. Hn naxwnin. Ew naxwnin. I will not read You will not read He/she/it will not read We will not read You will not read They will not read
2) Or ne- replaces the subjunctive bi-, and the future marker d remains. Ez d nexwnim. I will not read Tu d nexwn. You will not read Ew d nexwne. He/she/it will not read Em d nexwnin. We will not read Hn d nexwnin. You will not read Ew d nexwnin. They will not read
Examples Ez d sibeh biim nexwexaney Tu d keng by mala me? Em d tu car w nebnin Ew d awa we nas bikin? I will go the hospital tomorrow. When will you come to our home? We will never see her again. How will they know you?
Note a) There are alternative forms of the future tense auxilary verb d, namely , w. When the auxilary verb follows a consonant-final subject it may take the form of . b) "Tu d" is sometimes contracted as t (Tu d bi You will go becomes T bi). c) The future marker in the form of can be attached to the subject pronouns ez, em and ew in writing. (Ez biim snemay I will go to cinema)
B) Comparatives
To yield the comparative form of adjectives we (1) add the tir suffix to the positive form (the first form) of the adjective and (2) use the preposition ji from before the compared noun. However, if the last letter of the adjective is already t, then we drop the t of the comparative suffix. Examples: Meyrem ji biray xwe mezintir e. Ev cil berg ji yn modern bihatir in Hevokn min ji yn te dirjtir in. Tu ji min batir dixebit. Ew ji me hemyan bileztir dibezin. Meyrem is older than her brother. These clothes are more expensive than the modern ones. My sentences are longer than yours. You work better than me. They run faster than all of us.
However, some adjectives also have irregular comparative forms as well as the regular one discussed above: pir >pirtir or btir ba > batir or tir mezin >mezintir or meztir much > more good > better big > bigger
C) Superlatives
There are two ways of forming superlatives in Kurmanji. 1) It is formed by adding tirn to the adjective.
Examples: Navdartirn nivskar kurd Mehmed Uzun e. Diya min xwetirn xwarinn chan dike.
Mehmed Uzun is the most famous Kurdish author. My mother cooks the best meals (lit. the tastiest) of the world.
Note that superlative adjectives formed with tirn have a different syntax to normal adjectives: they do not follow the noun they describe in an Izafe-construction, but are placed in front of that noun. 2) It is formed by using the word her before the adjective. Mehmed Uzun nivskar kurd her navdar e. Mehmed Uzun is the most famous Kurdish author. Diya min xwarinn her xwe n chan dike. My mother cooks the best meals of the world. Zek di nav xwendekaran de y her jr e. Zek is the most clever among the students.
D) Conditionals
The conditional is formed by using one of the words heke, ku, ger, eger, heger (all meaning if ) at the beginning of the sentence and conjugating the verb in the present subjuntive form, as in future tense. For the present lesson we will focus only on the conditionals in the present tense. We will prefer heke conditional word as it is the most frequent word for forming conditional sentences. As for the negative form of the present conditional, we simply replace the subjunctive bi- with the negation marker ne- and keep the rest untouched.
Heke, ku, ger, eger, heger: if
Present
Affirmative Heke ez biim. Heke tu bi. Heke ew bie. Heke em biin. Heke hn biin. Heke ew biin. If I go If you go If he/she/it goes If we go If you go If they go Negative Heke ez neim Heke tu ne Heke ew nee Heke em nein Heke hn nein Heke ew nein If I do not go If you do not go If she/he/it does not go If we do not g If you do not go If they do not go
We do not use conditional sentences on their own, but in relation to a following sentence. We usually use simple future tense, the modal karn (can), or simple present tense in the second sentence. Some examples are as follows: - Heke zarokn me kurd fr nebin, d xetereke mezin be. If our children do not learn Kurdish, there will be a big danger. - Heke hn biin bazar, hn dikarin titn gelek erzan peyda bikin. If you go to bazaar, you can find very cheap things. - Heke ez ne xelet bim, ew li Stenbol dixwne. If I am not wrong, he studies in Istanbul. Not: Other uses of conditionals and wishes will be dealt with in lesson 9.
Wordlist dema b d also , w xelas dibin biin xizm serdan mezin behr f. syn. derya, zerya avjen m. her end also her iqas bik ant. mezin dr f. cil berg m. yek ji.... ji bil also ji xeyn zarok
future tense will (see grammar section for details of the future tense) we, you, they finish dersn me heta heftiyek xelas dibin my lessons will finish within a week (pl. form of the simple present tense for the verb xelas bn to finish ) we, you, they will go ji bo tatl em biin Wan we will go to Van for the holidays (pl. form of the future tense for the verb n to go) relative visit big, old sea swimming although small, little church dress, costume one of the... - yek ji kevntirn cih Wan one of the oldest places in Van. This phrase is productively used with the superlative phrases. other than - ji bil behr dr Other than the sea and the church child
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6 kevin also kevn keleh f. wne m. syn. resm der syn. cih, c mixabin wek din syn. her wiha biha modern syn. njen l dsa j old, historical, ancient fortress photo, picture place unfortunately moreover, furthermore expensive modern but still - ev cil berg ji yn modern bihatir in l dsa j ez bistnim these clothes are more expensive than the modern ones but still I will buy them li gor min syn. bi ya for me, in my opinion - li gor min irntirn ciln chan ne min (In my opinion, they are the prettiest clothes of the world.) irn sweet, cute, pretty, pleasant chan f. syn. dunya f. world, globe, earth havn f. summer ez bawer dikim I suppose, I think, I believe ev f. night mvant being a guest suhbet chat, talk, conversation germ warm, here: nice pere syn. dirav money erebe syn. seyare, car, vehicle tirimbl hewa m. weather fk fruit sebze vegetables zde abundant, much kurt short xwe good, fine xweik pretty, pleasant, cute dr far girng important, essential teng narrow bedew syn. ciwan, speh beautiful zehmet syn. zor difficult xerab bad, evil, defective, broken dereng late rehet comfortable, easy erzan cheap qelew fat, big, large bilind tall ciwan young zirav thin, slim, delicate heke syn. ku, ger, eger, if (see grammar section for details of the present conditional) heger helbest syn. ir poem bajar m. syn. ehr town, city kurdewar Kurdish, according to Kurdish tradition
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6 mna syn. wek rbar m. syn. em bdeng r m. dev m. av f. berf m. bdeng dever eq f. syn. evn v f. bimirim avdr f. yek cran ji nv riy a betlane man xwendin avjen kirin dtin hez kirin kan kirn standin andin av dan vegern mirin like ez j mna te xwendekar im I am a student like you, too river silent face mouth water snow silence region, place love dinner (if) I die (1 sg. form of conjuctive for the verb mirin to die) observation one, unite neighbour from the half way wrong, mistaken holiday, vacation to stay (mn-) to study (xwn-) to swim (avjen k-) to see (bn-) to love, to like (hez k-) (1) to pull (2) to last (3) to smoke (cixare kan) to buy (kir-) to take (stn-) to send (n-) to water (av d-) to return (veger-). The causative form of this verb is vegerandin (vegern-) to die (mir-)
INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will learn about the simple past tense and the past continuous tense. At the same time you will get to know how to express past habits. By the end of this lesson you will be able to: Express past events, Conjugate the verbs in simple past and past continuous tense, Detect and use the nouns in oblique case in different positions. 1. Text: Dawiya Heftiy The Weekend Zelal and Cind are speaking about the weekend in school canteen at a break-time. Zelal: Cind, dawiya heftiy awa derbas b? Cind: Ba derbas b. Roja emiy sibeh hinek dereng rabm. Zelal: Di saet endan de raby? Cind: Welleh, ez di dora saet neh nvan de hiyar bm. Hewa pir xwe b. Lewma ez dayika xwe em n derve ji bo tat. Zelal: iqa xwe! Xweziya we! We tat i xwar? Cind: Min zeytn, penr hkn keland xwarin. Dayika min j to hingiv Wan y navdar xwar. Zelal: We pit tat i kir? Cind: Em bhnek li nav sk geriyan. Pa em ne bazar me ji min re cotek plavn spor kirn. Pa dayika min mal ez j m cem hevaln xwe. Te i kir di dawiya heftiy de? Zelal: Roja emiy ez her li mal bm. Min odeya xwe da hev. Pit nvro min li bernameyeke muzk temae kir. Bi ev j min pirtk xwend. Cind: Ango tu h derneket derve? Zelal: Mixabin! Lbel yekem ber bi var ez ligel hevalek xwe m snemay. Me li flm daw y Behmen Qobad temae kir. Cind: Flmek awa b? Te j hez kir? Zelal: Flmek pir xwe b. Ji br neke, tu j temae bike. Cind: Ba e, ez d emiya t temae bikim. . Translation Zelal: Cind, how did you spend the weekend? Cind: It was good (lit. I spent it well). On Saturday morning I woke up a bit late. Zelal: At what time did you wake up? Cind: Well, I woke up at about 9.30. The weather was very good. Therefore I and my mother went out to have breakfast. Zelal: How nice! I am jealous! What did you eat for breakfast? Cind: I ate olives, cheese and boiled eggs. My mother ate cream and the famous honey fromWan. Zelal: What did you do after breakfast? Cind: For a while we walked around in the market. Then we went to the bazar and
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 7 bought a pair of sport shoes for me. Then my mother went home and I went to my friends. What did you do at the weekend? On Saturday I was just at home. I tidied my room. In the afternoon I watched a music program (TV understood by the verb watch). In the evening I read a book/books. That means that you did not go out (at all)? Unfortunately not! But on Sunday evening I went to the cinema with a friend of mine. We saw the last film by Behmen Ghobad. How was the film? Did you like it? The film was very good. Dont forget to see it, you too! OK, I will watch it next Saturday.
Zelal: Cind: Zelal: Cind: Zelal: Cind:
1.1. Exercise The sentences below are taken from the text above. Find the sentence of each verb and fill in the blanks paying attention to the form of the verbs. a) b) c) d) e) f) Rabm/ / b/ geriyan/ kir/ xwarin Em bstek li nav sk Ez roja emiy hinek dereng . Te i di dawiya heftiy de? Min zeytn, penr hkn keland . Pa dayika min .. mal. Hewa pir xwe ..
1.3. Complete the conjugation of the verbs in simple past tense. (in some sentences you should not add anything) a) Ez roja emiy, sibeh hinek dereng rab. b) Ez dayika xwe em . derve ji bo tat. c) Te di tatiy de i . d) Me ji bo min cotek plav kir. e) Tu h derneket .? f) Ez roja emiy li mal ma. g) Ez li mal b.? h) Hn keng vegeriya. mal?
Grammar 7
A) Dema Bor / Simple Past Tense With intransitive verbs: Consider first the simple past tense forms of the intransitive verbs n go and rabn get up: : Sibeh In the morning Ez m Wan Ez z rabm. Duh Yesterday Tu y Wan Tu z raby. Pr The day before yesterday Ew __ Wan Ew z rab__. Par payz Last year in autumn Em n Wan Em z rabn. Hn n Wan Hn z rabn. Ew n Wan Ew z rabn. As it is seen in the examples above, for conjugating the intransitive verbs in the simple past tense in Kurmanji, we add a set of personal endings to the past tense stems of the verbs. The past stem of the verbs is very simply found by deleting the ending -(i)n from the infinitive: Infinitive Past stem n Em n bazar. We went to the market. axaftin axaft El pir ba axaft. El spoke very well. nivistin nivist Tu di saet endan de nivist? What time did you sleep? hatin hat Em ber du saetan hatin. We came two hours ago. ketin ket Pirtkn min ketin. My books fell down. kenn ken Ez li ber flm pir kenm. I laughed too much at the film. As for the personal endings, the personal endings are the same as they were in the present tenses except for the third person ending. There is no ending for the third person in simple past tense; so, the past stem of the verb functions as the third person conjugation of the verb. Below there is a chart of the endings:
After a vowel Ez m Tu y Ew -Pirs / Question form:
Em n Hn n Ew n
After a consonant Ez im Em in Tu Hn in Ew -Ew in
Tu duh y cem heval xwe? Did you go to your friend yesterday? Hn sibeh di saet endan de rabn? What time did you get up in the morning? Tu tgihit? Did you understand?
With transitive verbs: The way we make sentences with the past tense forms of transitive verbs is quite different from the way we make sentences with other verb forms. Therefore, you will need to pay careful attention to this section. First of all, note that the past stem of the verb itself is made in just the same as it is for intransitive verbs, i.e. deletion of -(i)n: Infinitive Past stem Infinitive Past stem xwendin read, study xwend dtin see dt There are three major changes in the past tense transitive sentences that must be learned: First, the same set of personal endings is added to the past stem as we learned above. But the personal endings do NOT refer to the subject, but the OBJECT. Second, the SUBJECT goes into the Oblique case. Consider the following examples, noting these two differences: the oblique case of the subject pronouns, and the ending of the verb: Min helbestek xwend I read a poem Min ew dt I saw him/her. Te helbestek xwend Te ew dt You saw him/her. W helbestek xwend W/w ew dt He/she saw him/her. Me helbestek xwend Me ew dt We saw him/her.

We helbestek xwend We ew dt You saw him/her. Wan helbestek xwend Wan ew dt They saw him/her. As you can see, the verb forms are in the form for the third person singular (which is the same as the bare stem), because the object in all sentences is third person singular (a poem, or him/her). Third, the OBJECT is in the absolute or unmarked case. Compare now the first of the above sentences with the corresponding present tenses forms: Ez helbestek- dixwn-im Ez w dibnim I read/am reading a poem I see him The differences between sentences with past and present transitive verbs are summed up below: Simple present Simple past Case of subject Absolute Oblique Case of object Oblique Absolute Person endings on verb Agrees with subject Agrees with object Now observe how the three principles mentioned above apply to the examples below: Min tu dt. I saw you. lan cil tin. lan washed the clothes. Min ew dt. I saw hm/her. Mesd xwarin kir. Mesud cooked (the meal). Min hn dtin. I saw you Tu duh li mal by? Were you at home yesterday? Min ew dtin. I saw them W rok xwendin. He read (the) stories. Min ivkek dt. I saw a bird. Te end pirtk kirn? How many books did you buy? Min du ivk dtin. I saw two birds. Hostayan du xan ava kirin. The masters built two houses. Note that when the object is plural, the verb gets plural ending in. In this case, the plural conjugation of the past tense transitive verb is in the same form of the infinitive form of the verb. For example, when the plural ending is added to the past stem dt-, it becomes dtin which is at the same time the infinitive form of the verb. So, as a practical way, in the past tense plural verbs take the infinitive form of the verb as it is.
Negative, transitive and intransitive verbs: For yielding the negative form, all other rules being the same, we prefix the negative marker ne-, as in: Min helbest nexwend. I did not read the poem. Min helbest nexwendin. I did not read (the) poems. Gundiyan zeviyn xwe av nedan. The villagers did not water their fields. Elxan dersa xwe nekir. Elxan did not study his lesson. Ez z ranebm. I did not get up early.
Grammar 7 (Continue)
B) Past Continuous For conjugating a verb in past continuous tense, either transitive or intransitive verb, we prefix di- to the past stem of the verb. In this sense, the only difference from simple past tense is prefixing the di-, all other processes being the same. Gava ew gihite mal ez dinivistim. When s/he arrived at home I was sleeping. Rbar gund mna lehiy diherik. The village river was flowing like a flood. Dema ji dukan derket, dinya d tar dib. When he got out of the shop it was getting dark. Gava min ew dt, w cil berg dikirn. When I saw him, he was buying clothes. Note that the same construction is also used for expressing past habits. See the examples below: Dema ez zarok bm, ez tim hildikiiyam ser daran. When I was a child, I used to climb trees. Hing, em her gav bi hev re digeriyan. Then, we always used to hang out together. Min stran digotin te j guhdar dikir. I used to sing and you used to listen.

Li ber mala me darek heb her gav ivk dihatine ser. There used to be a tree in front of our house and the birds would go on it all the time. As for the negative form of the past continuous and past habitual, the negative marker ne- is prefixed to the verb. Note that, unlike the present tense negation, the past continuous prefix di- remains intact; it is not replaced by the negation marker. Check the examples below: Dema ez li hundir bm, baran nedibar. When I was inside, it was not raining. axa ku ez li Wan bm, min u kes nas nedikir? When I wan in Wan, I did not know anybody. Hind min j re digot, fam nedikir. No matter how much I was telling to him, s/he would not understand. Wexta ez hatim vira, min ji bil Kurd bi u zimanan nedizan. When I came here, I did not know any language other than Kurdish Compound verbs in the past tenses Note that as it was the case with the compound verbs in present tense, all the grammatical processes are applied to the verbal part of the compound verb. See the examples below: Min s lre ji w wergirtin. (wer+girt+in) I received three liras from him Min her roj s lre ji w werdigirtin. (wer+di+girt+in) Every day I used to ... Me behsa edebiyata kurd ya njen kir. (behs kir) We discussed modern Kurdish literature Me behsa edebiyata kurd ya njen dikir. (behs di+kir) We used to discuss ... Me behsa edebiyata kurd ya njen nedikir. (behs ne+di+kir)
2. Exercise Below there is the folk story that we worked on for conjugating the verbs in present tense in the fourth lesson. Now, read the story and then rewrite it in the simple past tense. The first two sentences are already done and the words that you will need to change are shown in italics. Text: Kr Kevik In present tense: Rojek, mirovek li malek dibe mvan. Dema xwarin ye. Kebaniya mal sifrey radixe, xwarinan li ser rz dike. D re, mvan gelek li benda kevikan dimne, l kebaniya mal kevikan nayne. Mrik ji kebaniya mal re dibje: Sitiya keban, ji kerema xwe ji min re krek bne. Keban li ser sifrey dinihre, tu tit ku bi kr b qut kirin nn e dibje: Mvan birz, tu d bi kr i bik? Mvan dibje: Ez d guh xwe j bikim, bikim kevik da ku p xwarin bixwim. In simple past tense: Rojek, mirovek li malek b mvan. Dema xwarin b. Kebaniya mal sifre raxist,.. .. .. . .
3. Rast (R) an ewt () /Right (R) or Wrong () Choose the correct conjugation of the verb, simple past or past continuous/habitual. 1. R Ez duh m melevaniy. Ez duh dim melevaniy. 2. Min her roj ser xwe dit. Min her roj ser xwe t. 3. Dema ez zarok bm min r vexwar. Dema ez zarok bm min r vedixwar. 4. Duh var ez li sk rast w hatim. Duh var ez li sk rast w dihatim. 5. Me her sibeh bi hev re tat dixwar. Me her sibeh bi hev re tat xwar. 4. Below there are questions about your Saturday. Try to provide real answers. 1. Tu roja emiy sibeh li ku der by? .. 2. Tu roja emiy di saet endan de raby? .. 3. Tu keng ji mal derket? .. 4. Te firavn li ku xwar? .. 5. Pit nvro te i kir? .. 6. Tu di saet endan de hat mal? .. 7. Te pit v i kir? .. 8. Tu di saet endan de nivist? .. 5. In each of the sentences below the pronoun is wrong. Rewrite the sentences with the correct form of the pronoun. 1. Min sibeh z rabm. Ez sibeh z rabm. 2. Tu min dt. . 3. W duh li sk geriya. . 4. Ew li zarok dinihr. . 5. Em her sibeh bi hev re ay vedixwar. 6. Min pnc salan li dukana w xebitm.
6. Conjugate the verbs in brackets in the correct tense and form. 25 Rezber / arem Hevala delal agul, Ez duh var . (gihitin) vir, Kirmaan. Bi rast ans min heb, min otleke pir rehet erzan (peyda kir). ro sibeh z (rabn) min di kafeteryaya otl de tatyeke edet (xwar). Bi rast pir xwe (b). Min pir j (hez kirin). D re .(derketin) da ku di nav bajar de bigerim.. Li trimblek siwar bm (n) Taq Bostan. Taq Bostan hem parkeke pir mezin e hem j ciheke pir kevnare .. (bn). Pa dsa li trimblek .. (siwar bn) m Bstn. Li wir min fgrn kevnare yn li ser zinaran (dtin). Ya Reb! iqas seyr delal bn! Min li wir gelek (wne girtin). ro pir westiyam niha li odeya xwe .. (bhn vedan) sibeh j ez d . (n) Ciwanroy. Li Ciwanroy Xor Qela (hebn). Keleheke pir mezin e. Ez d li wir j wneyan bigirim ji te re (andin). Ez d heta s heftiyan . (vegeriyan) Wan. W hing ez d bi dr dirj ji te re behsa sefera xwe bikim. Niha bi xatir te Bi xr xwe. Aram baran f. bhna xwe veda bername f. syn. program bi dr dirj bi hev re birz bstek syn. bhnek end cil li xwe kirin ant. cil ji ber xwe kirin cil f. syn. kinc cil berg m. cran f.m. rok f. ivk f. cotek plav u kes also tu kes n da ku syn. da, ji bo ku rain he/she took a rest Selm bstek bhna xwe veda Salim rested for a while (3 sg. of the simple past tense for the verb bhna xwe vedan to rest) program in detail, at length together dear, worthy for a while how many/how much (It has also a usage for surprise: iyayek end bilind e! What a high mountain) to put on ant. to take off ones clothes clothes dress, costume neighbour ( mala cranan. (S/he) went to neighbours.) story bird a pair of shoes (cot: pair; cot+ek: a pair) anybody, nobody we, you, they went zarok n dibistan the children went to school (pl. of the simple past tense for the verb n to go) so that (ciln germ li xwe bike da ku nesax neb wear warm
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 7 clothes so that you do not get sick ) the plural oblique form of the noun dar: tree, stick (min j re got wan daran nebire I told him not to cut those trees.) last, end (cara daw last time) when, while, at the time (dema em li gund bn, hal me ba b When we were in the village, our situation was good) he/she passed Ciwan z derbas b Jiwan passed quickly (3 sg. of the simple past tense for the verb derbas bn to pass) late he/she sees erf bi beravkan batir dibne Sharif sees better with glasses (3 sg. of the simple present tense for the verb dtin to see) We, you, they used to climb trees (pl. form of the past contiunous tense for the verb n to go; -e: directionality suffix; ser: on) it was flowing ava rbar bi aram diherik the water of the river was flowing quietly (3rd pers. sg. form of the past continuous tense for the verb herikn to flow) saw me Xezal ez dtim Khazal saw me (1sg. form of the simple past tense for the verb dtin to see) turn (dora min e. It is my turn.) then, afterwards traditional, customary cheap last film when, while, at the time (gava min mar dt, dest piyn min lerizn When I saw the snake, I shuddered) to wander, to travel he/she arrived Zelal duh var dereng gihite mal Zalal arrived home late yesterday (3 sg. form of the simple past tense of the verb gihitin to arrive, to reach) ear to listen to boiled eggs each; (2) all through ez duh her li mal bm yesterday I was at home the whole day always period, term none, never as much as some then honey master
daran (dar f.) daw dema syn. wext, gava, axa derbas b dereng ant. z dibne dihatine ser daran diherik dtim dor f. d re syn. pa, pitre edet erzan ant. biha flm daw gava syn. wext, dema, axa geriyan gihite guh guhdar kirin hkn keland her her gav syn. tim, her dem ax syn. heyam h hind syn. bi qas hinek also hindek hing syn. w dem hingiv m.also hingivn hosta m.
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 7 hundir syn. jr j ji br neke keban f. keleh m. kr f. kevik m. kir kirn lewma li benda (somebody) man mixabin navdar syn. mehr mvan m. nayne nedibar inside a contracted preposition meaning from (him/her/somebody) Ex: min duh El dt min pirtka xwe j xwest yesterday I saw Ali and I wanted my book from him see Lesson 4 do not forget housewife castle knife spoon he/she did w bi qas deh salan li wir kar kir he worked some ten years there (3 sg. of the simple past tense of the verb kirin to do, to make) to buy hence, therefore to wait for somebody; Ex: em du saetan li benda otobs man we waited for the bus for two hours unfortunately famous guest he/she does not bring jinik kevikan nane the woman does not bring spoons (3 sg. of the simple present tense of the verb ann to bring) it was not raining/snowing hewa hinek sar bi ewr b l bel berf nedibar the weather was a little bit cold and cloudy but it was not snowing (3 sg. of the past continuous tense of the verb barn to rain, to snow) figure cheese found it Zelal duh krek peyda kir Zalal found a knife yesterday (3rd prs. sngl. form of the simple past tense of the verb peyda kirin to find) ancient cream to run into somebody comfortable he/she puts in order garson piyalan li ser masey rz dike the waiter puts the glasses in order on the table (3 sg. simple present tense of the verb rz kirin to put (orderly), to arrange) to send luck voyage head To put in order, to arrange interesting
ngar f. penr m. peyda kir kevnare syn qedm to f.. tomast rast yek hatin rehet ant. nerihet rz dike
andin ans m. sefer f. ser m. dan hev / serber kirin seyr syn. balk, ecb
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 7 r m. sit siwar bn stran gotin tim syn. her gav vegeriyan wne m. wne girtin wexta xwar xweziya we! ya Reb! ango/yan zeytn f. zinar m. milk lady, an address form for women. to get on to sing always to return picture to take picture when, while, at the time ate it 3 sg. simple past tense of the verb xwarin to eat I wish I were in your (pl.) shoes. oh my God! that is to say, I mean, namely olives rock
10
LESSON 8 INTRODUCTION In this unit you will discover about the present perfect tense and past perfect tense; and at the same time you will continue to discover more about the usages of the simple past tense. By the end of this lesson you will: have learned how to narrate an event or story by present perfect tense and past perfect tense. have learned how to express an event in the past following a previous event in past perfect tense. have practiced and deepened your knowledge of all the basic verb forms and also vocabulary related to vegetables and fruits as well as animals. 1. Text: roka Ker Guran / The story of the donkey and the wolves
Heb tuneb, carek ji caran, li dora gundek kerek bxwed heb. Pir rezl bib. Ji ber ku her kesek ku titek w hebye bi w ker kiriye her kesek ku barek w hebye li w bar kiriye. Ker d ji xelk bzar bye, bi ber iy ve ye. Di r de rast roviyek hatiye. Rov gotiye: -Ho kero, tu di ku? Ker gotiye: - Ez ji gundiyan bzar bme, ber bi iy ve diim. Rov gotiye: - Tu min bi xwe re nab? Ker gotiye: - Ma ima nebim? Her du bi hev re ne, ne rast beranek hatine. Beran gotiye: - Ho kero, tu di ku? Ker gotiye: - Ez ji gundiyan bzar bme, ber bi iy ve diim. Beran gotiye: - Tu min j bi xwe re nab? Ker gotiye: - Ma ima nebim? Ker, rov beran bi hev re ne, ne rast dkek hatine. Dk gotiye: - Ho kero, tu di ku? Ker gotiye: - Ez ji gundiyan bzar bme, ber bi iy ve diim. Dk gotiye: - Tu min j bi xwe re nab? Ker gotiye: - Ma ima nebim? Ker, rov, beran dk bi hev re ne, ne rast kvrkek hatine. Kvrk gotiye: - Ho kero, tu di ku? Ker gotiye: - Ez ji gundiyan bzar bme, ber bi iy ve diim. Kvrk gotiye: - Tu min j bi xwe re nab? Ker gotiye: - Ma ima nebim? Ker, rov, beran, dk kvrk bi hev re ne, ne di r de ker gotiye: - Gel hevalan, zirra min hat, div ez bizirrim. Hevaln w j re gotine: - Mal ava, tu d awa bizirr. Em di nav v iyay de ne, gur d me seh bikin, d me hemyan bixwin. Ker gotiye:
- Nabe, div ez bizirrim. Axir, kirine nekirine, ker qayil nebye. Ker ser xwe bilind kiriye dest bi zirrn kiriye: - Ah, ah, ah! Li deverek nzk wan heft gur hebne. Wan deng ker bihstiye. Her heftan ji hev re gotine: - Gelo ev i deng e? Yek ji wan gotiye: - Ka ez biim, bizanim ev i deng e. Hevaln w gotine: - De here! Gur hatiye dtiye ku ker hevaln w di nava mrg de ne, bxwed ne, hema kfa w hatiye nzk wan ve ye. Ji nik ve ye, xwe avtiye ser ker. Ker j sity gur idandiye ew zeft kiriye. Beran, Dk, Rov Kvrk bazdane ser gur bi v away gur bbhn hitine pa berdane. Gur nvmir ye cem hevaln xwe. Hevaln w j pirsne: - Birayo, te i dt? Gur nvmir gotiye: - Birano, qet deng nekin. Ez m, min qewmek li w der dt, kes nebne. Wan meraq kirine gotine: - awa? W gotiye: - Gava ku ez m, hema ser min kirin nava du keviran, bi du akan li min dan. Yek ji wan yasn li ser min xwend, yek erm min dirand. Yek j gora min kola. Gava guran ev xeber bihstine, tirs ketiye dil wan hem bi hev re ji w cih revne, gotine: - ikir ji Xwed re ku em ji ber lepn wan xelas bne.
Werger / Translation Once upon a time there was a donkey without an owner. He was in a terrible state, because anyone who had some work would do it with the donkey, and anyone who had a load would load it up on to the donkey. The donkey was tired of the people and headed off towards the mountain. On the way, he met a fox. The fox said: - Hey Donkey, where are you going? The donkey said: - I have become tired of the villagers, I am going towards the mountain. The fox said: - Would you take me with you? (literally: you dont take me with you) The donkey said: - Why not? (literally: Why do not I take? meaning: yes, ok!) Both of them set off together, and then they met a ram. The ram said: - Hey Donkey, where are you going? The donkey said: - I have become tired of the villagers, I am going towards the mountain. The ram said: - Would you take me with you? The donkey said: - Why not? The donkey, the fox and the ram went on together, and met a rooster. The rooster said: - Hey Donkey, where are you going? The donkey said: - I have become tired of the villagers, I am going towards the mountain. The rooster said: - Would you take me with you? The donkey said: - Why not? The donkey, the fox, the ram and the rooster continued on together, then they met a rabbit. The rabbit said: - Hey Donkey, where are you going? The donkey said:
- I have become tired of the villagers, I am going towards the mountain. The rabbit said: - Would you take me with you? The donkey said: - Why not? The donkey, the fox, the ram, the rooster and the rabbit went on together, on the way the donkey said: - Oh friends, I feel the urge to bray (literally: my braying came), I must bray. His friends said to him: - Hey, what do you mean, bray! (lit. how will you bray). We are in the middle of this mountainous region (lit. within this mountain), the wolves will become aware of us and they will eat us all. The donkey said: - There is no other way, I must bray. Finally, no matter what they did (lit. they did, they did not), the donkey refused to agree. The donkey raised his head and began to bray: - Ah, ah, ah! At a place near to them there were seven wolves. They heard the voice of the donkey, all seven said to each other: - What could that noise be? One of them said: - Let me go and find out (literally: know) what that noise is? His friends said: - Yes, go. The wolf went and saw that the donkey and his friends were in the middle of the pasture, without an owner, immediately he was pleased and approached them. Suddenly he ran and threw himself at the donkey. But the donkey squeezed the wolfs neck and held him tight. The ram, the rooster, the fox and the rabbit got on top of the wolf and in this manner knocked the breath out of him (literally: left him without breath), then let him go. The wolf, half dead, went back to his friends. His friends asked him: - Oh brother, what did you see? The half-dead wolf said: - Oh brothers, how could I tell you (lit. dont make a sound). I went and saw a kind/sort (of creatures), that I hope nobody will ever meet (lit. such that may no one see). The other wolves were curious, saying: - What were they like? - When I went they immediately put my head between two stones, and beat me with two hammers. One of them read a Sura of the Koran over me, one of them skinned me (tore my skin). And one of them dug my grave. When the wolves heard this news, fear came into their hearts and they all fled together from that place, saying: - Thanks to God that we have been saved from their paws!
1.1 Exercise a) Read the folk story above once and answer the questions below. 1. Di rok de kjan ajal (heywan) hene? 2. K ji xelk bzar bye? 3. Ker die ku? 4. Ker di r de cara pn rast kjan ajal t? b) The sentences below are taken from the text above. Fill in the blanks paying attention to the form of the verbs. 1. Her kesek ku barek w hebye li w bar .. (kirin) 2. Di r de rast roviyek .. (hatin) 3. Ez ji gundiyan . (bzar bn), ber bi iy ve diim. 4. Ker rov bi hev re (n), ne rast beranek . (hatin) 5. Kirine nekirine, ker qayil ............. (ne/bn) 6. Li deverek nzk wan heft gur ............... (hebn) 7. Ker j sty gur (idandin) ew zeft kiriye. 8. Beran, Dk, Rov Kvrk bazdane ser gur bi v away gur bbhn hitine pa ew ... (berdan) 9. Wan .(meraq kirin) (gotin) 10. Gava guran ev xeber .. (bihstin), tirs ketiye dil wan hem bi hev re ji w cih . (revn), gotine: - ikir ji Xwed re ku em ji ber lepn wan (xelas bn). c) Answer the questions according to the fable. Note that the questions are proposing something wrong according to the fable. Try to write the correct answer. 1. Ker di gund xwe de xwehal (happy) e? Ne, Ker di gund xwe de ne xwehal e. Ker d ji xelk bzar bye. 2. Gelo ker di r de cara pn rast kikek hatiye? . 3. Gelo ker bi ten ber bi iy ve ye? . 4. Gelo di r de dk bang daye (sing out), lewma gur bi wan hesiyane? . 5. Dema gur nzk ker heywann din bye gelo heywan revne? . 6. Gelo gur her pnc heywan xwarine? . 7. Gelo gur sax peyt vegeriyaye cem hevaln xwe? . 8. Dawiy, hem gur kfxwe bne hem bi hev re ne ser heywanan? .
2. Peyv / Vocabulary
beran m. bizin f. lek f. ik/ccik m. dk m. ga m. gur m. hesp m. hir m. ker m. kvrk/krguh f. kew ks/kso m. mar m. mas m m. meymn m f. mirk f. mik pisk rov m. se/kik m. r m. ram goat cow bird cockerel, rooster ox wolf horse bear donkey rabbit partridge turtle snake fish bee monkey sheep chicken mouse cat fox dog lion ale f. bihok f. tfireng f. findiq f. glaz f. gz f. hjr f. hinar f. hirm f. lmon f. mz f. porteqal f. sv f. tir m. t f. xox m. zebe m. pamdor/bacan/firing gizr f. bber f. kartol f. pvaz f. xiyar f. plum quince strawberry hazelnut cherry walnut fig pomegranate pear lemon banana orange apple grape mulberry peach watermelon tomato carrot pepper potato onion cucumber
Hesp lek heywann ked ne. Horse and cows are domestic animals. Kew di nav kurdan de pir girng e. The partridge is very important among the Kurds. Alan w roj li nav rl hirek dtib. Alan had seen a bear that day in the forest. Gur ketibn nava keriy wan deh m bizinn wan xwaribn. The wolves had raided in their herd and had eaten ten sheeps and goats.
Lavn heta hing qet t nexwaribn. Lavn had not eaten mulberries up to then. Ez nikarim bbern tj bixwim. I can not eat hot peppers. Li Kurdistan ji gz bigire heta hjr gelek cure mwe digihjin. In Kurdistan from walnut to figs many kinds of fruits are grown. Zebe Diyarbekir li hem Kurdistan navdar e. The watermelon of Diyarbekir is famous all around Kurdistan.
Navn Ajalan (Heywanan)/Animals
Mwe Sebze/Fruits and Vegetables
Grammar 8
A) Present Perfect Tense In Kurmanji present perfect tense is used to express an event that has taken place in the past and its effect is related to the present situation. In this sense it can be compared to the present perfect tense in English. But it is also often used for the narration of the traditional tales, fables etc. as in the above text. As for the formation of the verbs in the present perfect tense, it changes in intransitive and transitive verbs.

With intransitive verbs: Consider first the present perfect tense forms of the intransitive verbs ketin fall and nivistin to sleep: Ez ji dar ketime. I have fallen from the tree. Ez duh ev z nivistime.I fell asleep early last night. Tu ji dar ketiy. Tu duh ev z nivistiy. Ew ji dar ketiye. Ew duh ev z nivistiye. Em ji dar ketine. Em duh ev z nivistine. Hn ji dar ketine. Hn duh ev z nivistine. Ew ji dar ketine. Ew duh ev z nivistine.
The above sentences can be expressed in simple past tense as well but when they are expressed in present perfect tense either: (a) the event is related to present as in: A- Ekrem ima ro pir westiyay xuya dike? Why does Ekrem seem very tired today? B- Ew duh ev dereng nivistiye. He has slept late last night? (b) an event or story is narrated as in: Rojek ks rov li ser riyek rast hev hatine. Roviy ji ksiy re gotiye One day the turtle and the fox ran into each other on the way. The fox told the turtle that (c) the speaker is not the witness of the event; s/he narrates a hearsay as in: A- Mrza ima ro nehatiye dibistan? Why has not Mrza come to school today? B- Dayika w got ku ew duh ji dar ketiye. His mother said that he has fallen from the tree yesterday? As for the form of present perfect tense, we had learned how to derive the past stems of the verbs to conjugate them in the simple past tense in the previous lesson; for present perfect tense of intransitive verbs, as it is seen above, we again add a set of personal endings to the past tense stems of the verbs. The personal endings, in bold type in the examples above, are shown in the chart below: After a vowel Ez me Em ne Tu ye Hn ne Ew --ye Ew ne After a consonant Ez ime Em ine Tu iye Hn ine Ew iye Ew ine
Some examples of present perfect tense of some intransitive verbs: n Ez heta niha s caran me Mehabad. I have been to Mehabad three times. axaftin axaft Mamoste di civn de ba axaftiye. The teacher has spoken well in the meeting. nivistin nivist Di w navber de du saetan nivistine. They slept two hours during that while. hatin hat Ker di r de rast roviyek hatiye. The donkey has run into a fox on the way. ketin ket Te dizanib ku kur wan ji dar ketiye xwar? Have you known that their son has fallen from the tree? kenn ken W ev heta sibeh ji xwe re suhbet kirine kenne. That night they have chatted and laughed until morning. bn b Li van bajarn mezin em winda bne. We have been lost in these big cities. With transitive verbs: The present perfect tense of transitive verbs in Kurmanji works exactly in the same way as it is with their simple past tense forms, except for the personal endings. In this sense, keeping stable all other rules related to simple past tense, we should simply replace the simple past tense personal endings with the present perfect tense personal endings. Thus, there are three major changes in the present perfect tense transitive sentences that must be learned: First, the same set of personal endings is added to the past stem as we learned above. But the personal endings do NOT refer to the subject, but the OBJECT. Second, the SUBJECT goes into the Oblique case. Consider the following examples, noting these two differences: the oblique case of the subject pronouns, and the ending of the verb:

Min helbestek xwendiye. I have read a poem Te helbestek xwendiye. W helbestek xwendiye. Me helbestek xwendiye. We helbestek xwendiye. Wan helbestek xwendiye. Min ew dtiye. Te ew dtiye. W/w ew dtiye. Me ew dtiye. We ew dtiye. Wan ew dtiye. I have seen him/her You have seen him/her. He/she has seen him/her. We have seen him/her. You have seen him/her. They have seen him/her.
As it is seen, the verb forms are in the form for the third person singular (which is past stem+iye), because the object in all sentences is third person singular (a poem, or him/her). The differences between present perfect tense of intransitive and transitive verbs are summed up below: Intransitive Transitive Case of subject Absolute Oblique Case of object Absolute Person endings on verb Agrees with subject Agrees with object Check the below examples with different principles. a) W ez dtime. She has seen me. W tu dtiy. She has seen you. W ew dtiye. She has seen him/her. objects and pay attention to the application of the above W em dtine. She has seen us. W hn dtine. She has seen you (pl.). W ew dtine. She has seen them. I have drunk three glasses of water today. How many books in Kurdish have you read up to now? Avesta has published many books in Kurdish. Xanzad has seen us in the concert yesterday. Also, he has published a lot of articles in the Hawar magazine.
b) Min ro s piyaln av vexwarine. Te end pirtkn kurd xwendine heta niha? Avestay gelek pirtkn kurd ap kirine. Xanzad em duh di konser de dtine. Her wiha w gelek nivs di kovara Hawar de weandine.
Negative, transitive and intransitive verbs: For yielding the negative form, all other rules being the same, the negative marker ne- is prefixed, as in: Min ro nan nexwariye. I have not eaten today. Ew hat l zarok bi xwe re neanne. He came but he has not brought the children with him. Xezal hj ez ferq nekirime. Xezal has not noticed me yet. Ev mehek e gundiyan zeviyn xwe av nedane. It is one month that the villagers have not watered their fields. Ders dest p kiriye, l agirt hj neketine sinifn xwe. The lesson has started but the students have not entered into their classes yet. B) Past Perfect Tense (or Pluperfect) Past perfect tense in Kurmanji functions just as the past perfect tense in English. In this sense, it is used to express an event or situation in the past preceding another past event or situation. Thus, for expressions such as we had eaten (me xwarib) they had left (ew derketibn) past perfect tense is used in Kurmanji. Moreover, past perfect tense works, as all other tenses in Kurmanji, in different ways with intransitive and transitive verbs. With intransitive verbs: Consider first the simple past tense forms of the intransitive verbs axaftin speak and man stay: Ez ligel w axaftibm. I had talked to him. Ez li wir mabm. I had stayed there. Tu ligel w axaftiby. Tu li wir maby. Ew ligel w axaftib. Ew li wir mab. Em ligel w axaftibn. Em li wir mabn. Hn ligel w axaftibn. Hn li wir mabn. Ew ligel w axaftibn. Ew li wir mabn.
The past perfect tense is formed by (1) the past stem+(2) past tense form of bn to be. In the past stems ending with a consonant, such as axaftin-axaft in the above examples, i is inserted between the past stem and the past tense form of bn. Some examples to past perfect tense of some intransitive verbs: Ez w roj bi qas neh saetan nivistibm. That day I had slept more or less nine hours. Ma tu par by Lali? Had you been to Lali last year? Xell bi halek xerab vegeriyab mal. Xell had returned home in a bad situation. Di qezay de bi ten tiliyeke w ikestib. In the accident only one of his fingers had broken. Em hj n ji mal derketibn ku telefona min l da. We had just gone out of the house that my phone rang. With transitive verbs: Past perfect tense of the transitive verbs are formed in the same way with the intransitive verbs, that is past stem+past tense form of the bn; however, as it is with the other past tenses, the subject goes into oblique case and the verb agrees with the object. Note that in the below examples the verb is conjugated according to the same object (nan) so regardless of the different subjects the verb is in the same form. Min nan xwarib. I had eaten. Me nan xwarib. We had eaten. Te nan xwarib. You had eaten. We nan xwarib. You had eaten. W nan xwarib. She had eaten. Wan nan xwarib. They had eaten Note the changes in the conjugation of the verbs according to different objects in the below examples: Di qada Newroz de gelek mirov kom bibn. A lot of people had gathered in Newroz field. Dema ez gihitime mal wan ay vexwarib. When I arrived at home they had (already) drank tea. We ew pirtk bi hev re kirbn? Had you bought those books together? Zlan Kerem li dibistan nas kirib. Zlan had got acquianted with Kerem in the school. Xurd duh tu li bazar dtiby. Xurd had seen you in the market place yesterday. Bab min em ligel xwe nebiribn dukan. My father had not taken us to the shop (together with himself). Negative, transitive and intransitive verbs: For the negative forms of the verbs the negative marker ne- is prefixed as in: Min marek ewqas mezin qet nedtib. I had not seen a snake as big as that. W ev w em venexwendibn v. He had not invited us to dinner that night. W roj tu kes sparteya xwe nekirib l mamoste h hrs nebib. Nobody had done his homework but the teacher was not annoyed at all.
Wordlist
avtib axaftin f. axir bal f. bar m. bavo bbhn bhn dikirin beran m. berdan ber v he had thrown Beyday killa mal avtib nav deryay Beyda had thrown the key of the house into the sea (3 sg. past perfect tense for the verb avtin to throw) speech, talk in conclusion, at the end attention (bal kiandin: to attract attention) load (bar kirin: to load) father (vocative case, which means direct address) (it has also a general usage for a specific father similar to bav min my father) out of breath (b: without, out; bhn: breath) they were smelling gurn bir hestiyn li ser berf bhn dikirin the hungry wolves were smelling the bones on the snow (3 pl. past continuous tense for the verb bhn kirin to smell) ram to leave, to release, to set free before dinner (ber: before; v f.: dinner)

bxwed bzar bn ber bi iy ve bi carek de bi hev re bihstin syn. seh kirin bilind kirin birayo bizanim bizirrim ak m. rok f. civandin
iy m. da ku danbn day de here delaliyn min dendik dest p kirin dev m. dever f. syn. cih di r de dk m. domandin ale gel hevalan gor f. gotin gur m. heb tuneb hejmartin helbet hema hemyan her du her xirab heta hew
ownerless (b: without, less; xwed also xwedan: owner) to get fed up with, to be tired of towards the mountain (ber bi ve: towards somewhere) at once together to hear, to perceive to raise brother (vocative case, direct address) (o and yo are the vocative case markers for masculine nouns as in bav+o; xal+o; heyran+o) that I know, I should know etc. ez dixwazim rastiya meseley bizanim I want to know the truth about (lit. of) the issue (1sg. subjunctive form for the verb zann to know) that I bray, I should bray etc. ker dibje div ez bizirrim The donkey says that I need to bray (1 sg. subjunctive form for the verb zirrn to bray) Hammer Story ...gathered them dapr zarok li dora xwe civandin da ku ji wan re rokek bje The grandmother gathered the children around herself to tell them a story. (3 pl. of the simple past tense for the verb civandin to gather) mountain, (also iyay; in oblique case) so that, so as to ...had put them El kitbn xwe danbn ser masey Ali had put his books on the table. (3 pl. of the past perfect tense for the verb dann to put, to leave) Mother ( vocative case) ( and y are the vocative case markers for feminine nouns as in yar+; xuk+; dayik+) let you go my dears the seed to begin, start; they began (saet het dest bi leystin kirin They started playing at eight ) mouth region on the way cock to continue plum oh friends (gel is a plural adress form (vocative) with the same function with (i)no as in heval-ino, bira-no) grave to say; word, saying wolf once upon a time (lit. there was (and) there was not) to count of course thus all of them (in the oblique case) both the worst (her + adj is the superlative form of the adjectives as in pirsa her zehmet, dersa her hsan, xaniy her mezin the most difficult question, the easiest lesson, the biggest house) until no longer

hitin ho kero j ji ber ji hev re ji nik ve ka kf f. kefen m. km kenbn ker m. kes m.f. (bila) kes w nebne kvrk/kvrok f. kirbn kirin nava titek kirine nekirine kola law m. syn. kur lawir/rawir m. syn. heywan lep li dora loma also lewma ma mal ava maye mr m. meraq kirin mrg f. mrik m. mwe f.syn. fk mezin ant. bik neba syn. xerab nebiriye nzik ant. dr nvmir parve kirin pencere qayil bn qet syn. h qewm
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to leave oh donkey from him/her because of to each other suddenly attention-getting particle (ka ez l binrim awa ye now let me have a look at it to see how it is) enjoy, joy (kf hatin: to be happy) shroud few; little; lacking we, you, they had laughed em bi henekn w pir kenbn We had laughed a lot at his jokes (pl. of the past perfect tense for the verb kenn to laugh) Donkey person (when used with a negative predicate it means anybody) lit. may anybody do not see him Rabbit we, you, they had bought Xezal du klo bacan du klo j porteqal kirbn Xezal had bought two kilos of tomatoes and two of oranges. (pl. of the past perfect tense for the verb kirn to buy) to put into something whatever they have done; no matter what they have done dug it Ev baxe hem min bi ten kola I dug the whole garden on myself. (3 sg. of the simple past tense for the verb kolan to dig) lad, son animal claw around (smt.) (li dora mal around the house) therefore, for this reason interrogative particle (ma tu nay bi me re? are not you coming with us?) (1) thank you; (2) hey! (an expression used at the beginning of a contrasting statement) it remains, it is left di sarinc de bi ten hinek penr maye. There is only some cheese left in the fridge. (3 sg. of the present perfect tense for the verb man to remain) husband, man to wonder meadow man fruit big bad (nenot +ba good) has not taken it Sdar swana xwe bi xwe re nebiriye ro Sdar has not taken his umbrella today. (3 sg. negative of the present perfect tense for the verb birin to take) close half-dead to share window to be content, to be convinced never race, people

qriyan rahitin rast yek hatin revne rezl bn rov m. r m. sebze m. seh kirin idandin ikir st m. v m. sor bib tas tirs titek wiha weke xal m. xeber m. (ji titek/kesek) xelas bn xirabtir xistin xwn f. yasn f. yek ji wan zeft kirin zer bn
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to scream to pick to come across smb., encounter, meet they have escaped dema gur dtine hem bi hev re revne.. Upon seeing the wolf they all have escaped. (3 pl. of the present perfect tense for the verb revn to escape, to flee) to get into a desperate situation fox face vegetable to hear, to realize to press thank (God) neck dinner he had blushed ji ber nexweiy reng w sor bb. He had blushed because of the illness (3 sg. of the past perfect tense for the verb sor bn to blush, to redden) bowl fear (tirsn: to fear) something (anything when used with a negative predicate) thus, such, like this like, as (1) uncle (mothers brother); (2) dot, point news to get rid of something or somebody worse (xirab+tir: tir is the comparision particle as in mezin+tir bigger; ba+tir better; re+tir darker to drop, to beat blood the name of a sura in the Koran recited when somebody is about to die one of them (one is masculine and in oblique) to capture to become yellow
INTRODUCTION In this unit you will repeat some of the verb forms you have learned, and find a brief introduction to two new verb forms: the past perfect (or pluperfect) tense, and the passive voice. At the end of this lesson you will: be more fluent in the use of different verb forms be able to formulate passive sentences in the commonest tenses practice the pluperfect tense be able to use some common expressions related to the preparation of foods
1. Text: A short excerpt from the novel Siyabend Xec This novel was written by Zeynelabidn Zinar and published in 1992 by Pencnar publishers in Stockholm. It is an attempt to adapt one of the most famous Kurdish legends, that of Siyabend Xec, into the form of a novel. This short passage has been slightly modified compared to the original work. The main character, Siyabend, is spending the night in a bleak and lonely place alone. He has crawled into a thicket (bushes, in Kurdish dev (f.) and is trying to sleep, but he cannot fall sleep. He keeps hearing a voice (deng), but cannot see where it is coming from. Siyabend ji nava w deviy rab kete nava deviyeke din xwe dirj kir ku rakeve, l kir nekir di xewa w nehat. Er hj di xew re neb, dsa ew deng ber hat guhn w; mna ku yek bang w bike. Rab ser lingan li der dora xwe nihr; l tu tit nedt, dsa xwe li erd dirj kir. Dsa ew deng bihst; gava kir ku rabe ser lingan, dt ku zilamek li ber lingn w sekiniye. Dema Siyabend ew dt, hinek tirsiya. Pa li zilam nihr; l ev tar b, ji ber v hind titek j dernexist. Di w navber de qederek bihur, zilam ev got: -Siyabend min. Metirse! Ez Xocey Xizir im qasid Xwed me, ji bo alkariya te hatime vir. Xwed sozek daye te ku tu bi destn mirovan neyy kutin. Zilam ev trek kevanek dan Siyabend, dsa li axaftina xwe domand: -Ha ji te re! Xwed ev tr kevan ji bo te wek diyar hinartine. L rabe, ji v welat here! Ev welat d ji te re nabe war! [...] Werger / Translation Siyabend stood up from that bush, went into another bush and lay down so that he could sleep but whatever he did, he could not sleep. No (lit. yes), he had not fallen asleep yet, when he heard the same voice (lit. that former voice came to his ears) as if it called him. He stood up (on his legs), wandered around but did not see anything, (and then) he lay down again. He heard that voice again; when he was about (lit. when he did) to stand up, he saw that a man was standing in front of his feet (lit. legs). When Siyabend saw him, he got a bit afraid. Then he looked at the man, but the night was dark so he could not notice anything. Meanwhile, some time passed and the man of the night said: -Dear Siyabend (lit. My Siyabend). Do not be afraid! I am Hodja Xizir and I am a messenger of God and I came to help you. God gave a promise to you that you will not be killed by a human being. The man of the night gave a bow and arrow and then continued his speech again: - Here you are. God sent this bow and arrow for you as a gift but get up and leave this country! This country cant be home for you anymore! [...] 1.1. Exercise a) Read the text above and answer the questions below. 1. Siyabend i bihst? 2. Zilam ev ima hatiye? 3. Zilam ev i dan Siyabend?

4. Xwed i soz da Siyabend? 5. Li gor we, Zilam ev ima ji Siyabend xwest ku ew bie welatek din?
b) The following verb forms are taken from the text. Identify the infinitive form of these verb forms, and write which form they are in (check back to the preceding lessons if you are not sure!). The first ones are done for you:
Conjugated rab ket(e) kir rakeve nehat bike geriya nedt bihst rabe sekiniye hatiye dernexist Metirse! /this could also be: netirse!/ hatime neyy kutin (go to the grammar part below) domand here/bie rabe Infinitive rabn n ketin kirin raketin hatin kirin gern dtin bihstin rabn sekinn hatin derxistin tirsn Meaning simple past verb form get up simple past verb form go this is the simple past verb form plus a suffix -e often used with verbs denoting direction, here therefore: go into, enter (literally fall) simple past verb form do present subjunctive verb form fall asleep negative form of simple past verb 'come'
negative form of simple past verb 'see'
negative form of simple past verb ' '
hatin hatin kutin
domandin yn rabn
Grammar / Rziman 9 A) The Passive Voice

When we use transitive verbs, we can express events and activities involving two things or people. The simplest way of using such verbs is called the active voice: the doer of the action is the subject, and the thing that is done, or that is affected, is the object: Ez xwarinek dikim. I (subject) am making a meal (object). Siyabend pirtkek dixwne. Siyabend (subject) is reading a book (object) However, we can also make sentences using the so-called passive voice, a particular sentence type using a special form of the verb. In the passive voice, we are only interested in hearing about the person or thing that has been affected, or had something done to it (for example, the meal, or the book in the above sentences). To make the passive voice in Kurmanji, we take a form of the verb hatin come and combine it with the infinitive of the verb we wish to use:
ACTVE Ez xwarinek dikim Siyabend pirtkek dixwne
PASSVE Xwarinek t kirin. Pirtkek t xwendin.
A meal is being made A book is being read
In the passive voice, the old object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one. That means that the oblique case marker (- in the above examples) is not needed. The old subject, on the other hand, is normally simply dropped from the sentence. The auxiliary verb hatin can be conjugated in all persons and tenses. In the above examples, it is the third person of the present tense. The infinitive form of the main verb, on the other hand, always stays the same. The above examples in the simple past tense would be: PASSVE, PRESENT TENSE Xwarinek t kirin. Pirtkek t xwendin. PASSVE, SMPLE PAST TENSE Xwarinek hat kirin. Pirtkek hat xwendin.
As for the negative form of passive construction, we simply negate the helping verb hatin in the same way as it is normally negated. But recall the negative form of hatin in the present tense. Some examples in all persons in the most familiar tenses and moods are given below: Simple Present Tense (I am/will be known= recognised) Ez tm nasn Em tn nasn Tu ty nasn Hn tn nasn Ew t nasn Ew tn nasn Present Subjunctive (that I be known= recognised) Ez bm nasn Em bn nasn Tu by nasn Hn bn nasn Ew b nasn Ew bn nasn Simple Past Tense (I was known= recognised) Ez hatim nasn Em hatin nasn Tu hat nasn Hn hatin nasn Ew hat nasn Ew hatin nasn Present Perfect Tense (I have been known= recognised) Ez hatime nasn Em hatine nasn Tu hatiy nasn Hn hatine nasn Ew hatiye nasn Ew hatine nasn (I am not/will not be known=recognised) Ez naym nasn Em nayn nasn Tu nayy nasn Hn nayn nasn Ew nay nasn Ew nayn nasn (that I be not known) Ez neym nasn Tu neyy nasn Ew ney nasn
Em neyn nasn Hn neyn nasn Ew neyn nasn
(I was not known= recognised) Ez nehatim nasn Em nehatin nasn Tu nehat nasn Hn nehatin nasn Ew nehat nasn Ew nehatin nasn (I have not been known= recognised) Ez nehatime nasn Em nehatine nasn Tu nehatiy nasn Hn nehatine nasn Ew nehatiye nasn Ew nehatine nasn (I had not been known= recognised) Ez nehatibm nasn Em nehatibn nasn Tu nehatiby nasn Hn nehatibn nasn Ew nehatib nasn Ew nehatibn nasn
Past Perfect Tense (I had been known= recognised) Ez hatibm nasn Em hatibn nasn Tu hatiby nasn Hn hatibn nasn Ew hatib nasn Ew hatibn nasn
It is possible to express the doer of the action by using a complex circumposition ji aliy............ve in front of the helping verb. This is really only used in more formal styles of written Kurdish; it is not part of normal everyday speech. Du romann n ji aliy Ensttuya Kurd ya Stenbol ve hatin wergerandin weandin. Two new novels have been translated and published by Istanbul Kurdish Institute. Lstika bi nav Rojnivska Dnek ji aliy Gogol ve hatiye nivsandin. The play named Diary of a Madman was written by Gogol.
Div mirov bibje ku di destpk de thamn wiha ji aliy piraniya mirovan ve j dihatin qeblkirin. It should be said that in the begining such claims were being accepted by most of the people.
Exercise Change the active sentences below into passive sentences. a) b) c) d) e) f) Mirov bi ev biryan naxwin. d mirov cil bergan bi ciloyan dion. Heval nameyan ji hev re dinin. Kurd piran ay vedixwin. Li Tirkiyey mirov zde kovaran naxwnin. Em her roj li mal xwarin dikin. Biryan bi ev nay xwarin. ............................................ ............................................ ............................................ ............................................ ............................................
Wordlist
alkar f. also arkar an / yan ango axaftin bang (- yek) kirin bbext f. ber bi bihst bihur bike biryan f. ilo also awa, ito dan daye di.de dema deng m. dernexist help or in another term, namely to speak to call (smb.), (bang: message) treachery, mercilessness before with, by, (bi is a preposition which functions as the initial particle of many circumpositions. Ex. Ez bi te re me. I am with you.) heard it Siyabend dengek bihst. Siyabend heard a voice (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb bihstin to hear) he/she passed Siyabend di ber mala me re bihur. Siyabend passed by our house (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb bihurn to pass by) do! Wan kartol balcanan sor bike ji bo v. Fry those potatoes and aubergines for dinner (imperative form for the verb kirin to do) a traditional kurdish dish with meat how to give have/has given it Siyabend hesp xwe daye qaaxiyan. Siyabend has given his horse to smugglers. (3rd prs. sng. present perfect of the verb dan to give) in, at (di is a preposition used together with the postposition de ) di rok de in the story when voice did not take it out Siyabend r xwe dernexist. Siyabend didnt take out his sword (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb derxistin to take out) (t derxistin (as in the text): to understand, to notice) hand bush airan (a cold drink made of youghurt, in India called lassi, in Iran dugh) he/she does Evn i kar dike. What does Evn do? (3rd prs. sng. form of the simple present tense for the verb kirin to do) other long, tall again
dest m. dev f. dew m. dike din dirj dsa

dt diyar f. domand d erd m. er ev fikar f. firotin gava geriya giran girtin got m. got gram guh hat hatime hatiye hawrdor syn. der dor f. hj here hev also hevdu or hev din hinartine hinek also hindek sot f. j ji kete kevan f. kevanek klo f. kir kir nekir ku
saw it Siyabend zilamek dt. Siyabend saw a man (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb dtin to see) gift continued it Siyabend mea xwe domand. Siyabend continued his walk (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb domandin to continue) anymore, no longer land yes this concern to sell when he/she wandered Siyabend li ber mala w geriya. Siyabend wandered around her home (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb gern/geriyan to wander around) heavy, expensive to grasp, to take, to hold meat said it Zilam ev got. The man of the nigh said (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb gotin to say) gram ear he/she came Zilam hate nik Siyabend. The man came near Siyabend (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb hatin to come) I have come Ez hatime suhbeta we. I have come to your talk (1st prs. sng. present perfect form for the verb hatin to come) he/she has come Zilam hatiye nik Siyabend. The man has come near Siyabend (3rd prs. sng. present perfect form for the verb hatin to come) environment, aroundhood still go Here mala biray min.Go to my brothers home (imperative form for the verb n to go) each other (Ex: Herdu hevalan bi hesret hev hembz kirin. The two friends embraced each other passionately. have/has sent them Wan end diyar hinartine bo me. They have sent some gifts for us (3rd prs. pl. present perfect form for the verb hinartin to send) some hot pepper from him/her from he/she fell down Siyabend kete nav brek. Siyabend fell down in a well (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb ketin to fall down) bow a bow kilo made it Siyabend daxwazek kir. Siyabend made a wish (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb kirin to do/ make) whatever he/she did. ku has many different functions in Kurdish, which cannot all be covered here. An easy way to begin to underestand ku is to translate it with English that, which also has many different functions. The most important uses of ku are the following: (1) It introduces a relative clause, as in jinika ku hat li vir the woman who/that came here, (2)
kutin l li metirse! mna mirov mirovan nabe nav nay neb nedt nehat nekir nihr also nr
It introduces complement clauses, as in: gava dt ku zilamek li ber lingn w sekiniye (he) he saw that a man was standing in front of his feet; (3) It introduces purpose clauses: kir ku rabe ser lingan (he) intended (lit. did) so that he would get up / he was about to get up. to kill but, however in dont be afraid! like, as person, human being plural onlique form of mirov it does not become Ev welat d ji te re nabe war! This country cant be home for you anymore! (3rd. pr. sng. form of the simple present tense for the verb bn to be) inside he/she does not come Siyabend nay daweta me. Siyabend is not coming to our invitation (3rd prs. sng. simple present tense form for the verb hatin to come) he/she had not gone Siyabend neb daweta wan. Siyabend had not gone to their invitation (3rd prs. sng. past perfect tense form for the verb n to go) did not see him/her/it Siyabend tu tit nedt. Siyabend didnt see anything (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb dtin to see) he/she did not come Siyabend nehat daweta me. Siyabend didnt come to our invitation (3rd prs. sng. simple past tense form for the verb hatin to come) did not do it Siyabend tu tit nekir. Siyabend didnt do anything (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb kirin to do/ make) looked at him/her/it Siyabend li zilam nihr. Siyabend looked at the man (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb nihrn to look at) if etc. you dont come Div tu li vir pir hiyar b da ku neyy xapandin. You should be very careful here not to be deceived. (2nd pr. sngl. form of the present subjunctive form for the verb hatin to come; the same verb is used in forming passive forms as in the example above.) leg, foot noon with her/him or smth/smb (it is a contracted form of bi w/w) then, later on envoy for a time he/she stood up Siyabend rab ser piyan. Siyabend stood up (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb rabn to stand up) sleep! Bi ev z rakeve da ku sibeh z rab. Sleep early in the night so that you get up early in the morning. (2nd pr. sngl. imperative form for the verb raketin to sleep) comfortable, easy salad hundred he/she has stopped Siyabend li ber der sekiniye. Siyabend has stoopped in front of the door (3rd prs. sng. present perfect form for the verb sekinn to stop, to stay) on, over night apple at nights morning, in the morning
neyy also ney
ling m. nvro f. p pa also pit re qasid qederek f. rab rakeve rehet salete f. sed sekiniye ser ev f. sv f. evan sibeh also sib f.

sozek tar f. te t tn ten also bi ten tr kirin tr f. trek tir m. tirsiya v v vira wa war m. welat m. welat w wisa also wesa xwarin Xwed yek yek zilam m. zilamek
a promise dark, darkness you (in oblique case) he/she comes Siyabend ji gund t. Siyabend is coming from the village (3rd prs. sng. simple present form for the verb hatin to come) they come Gund ji mizgeft tn. The villagers are coming from the mosque (3rd prs. pl. simple present form for the verb hatin to come) alone, only yo be enough (Ew xwarin tra min dike This food will be enough for me) arrow an arrow pickles he/she was afraid Siyabend ji zilam tirsiya. Siyabend was afraid of the man (3rd prs. sng. past simple form for the verb tirsn/tirsiyan to be afraid of) oblique form of ev this (feminine) oblique form of ev this (masculine) here here place, land country citizen oblique form of ew he like that, in that way to eat, food God one of them (one is feminine and in oblique) one of them (one is masculine and in oblique) man a man
Extra material for all interested (not included in the examination) Lkern tkildar xwarin xwarin-kirin / Verbs related to foods and preparing meals
qelatin sor kirin qijilandin biratin pehtin qelandin kelandin qewartin sar kirin xw p werkirin sotin/ewitandin
to slice to fry to fry to grill to cook to roast to boil to hollow out to cool to salt to burn
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Xwarinn Tat penr mast hingivn r xoav jaj xiyar tamates/bacan zeytn ral nivk hkn keland cheese yoghurt honey milk compote a kind of soft cheese cucumber tomates olives jam butter boiled egg
Hindek xwarin vexwarinn sereke / some essential food and beverages salete got nsk birinc fasliye savar mas ay qehwe dew salad meat lentil rice bean dried crushed wheat fish tea coffe airan (a drink consisting of yoghurt and water, Indian: lassi)
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 10 LESSON 10 INTRODUCTION
In this unit you will have an opportunity to practice the things you have learned by working on a selection of genuine Kurdish texts. We have attempted to select texts from fairly typical genres, and provide translations and notes to the texts as well as complementary exercises for each of them. The texts we have chosen include a contemporary short story from Firat Cewer, a poem from Berken Bereh and a folk tale. In addition, we would like to draw your attention to the website: http://www.dibistanakurdi.com/index.php a Swedish-based website with a lot of very useful resources for learning Kurdish. Under the menu rok (story) you will find some short traditional texts which can also be listened to (you will need Flash player on your computer). For this lesson you will need to listen to the the story Pr Rov first (The old lady and the fox) on the following link: http://www.dibistanakurdi.com/cirok2004/pire_rovi.htm
Text 1: rok / Short story

end agah li ser nivskar rok Nivskar v rok, Firat Cewer, di sala 1959an de li gundek Mrdn hatiye dinyay. Ji ser saln 1980 ve li Swd dij ku li w der wek nivskar, wergr weangerek kurd pir navdar bye. Heta niha romanek end pirtkn rokan nivsandine her wiha berhemin ji Dostoevsky, Steinbeck, Chechov Yaar Kemal wergerandine kurd. Bi qas deh salan kovareke edeb ya bi nav Ndem derxistiye. Ji bil kar xwe y nivskariy, w weanxaneyeke bi nav Ndem j ava kiriye ku bye yek ji girngtirn serkefttirn weanxaneyn kurd. Ndem, di sala 1998an de bi edtoriya Firat Cewer, koleksiyoneke du cild ya hem hejmarn kovara Hawar (ya ku di navbera saln 1932 1943an de ap bib) belav kirin. Di w kovar de birayn Bedirxan rewenbrn din n kurd, bingehn kurmanciya nivsk ya standard danbn. Berhemeke din a pir girng a Firat Cewer j, amadekirina Antolojiya rokn Kurd (2003, du cild) ye; ku bguman, firehtirn koleksiyona berdest a edebiyata kurd ye. roka ku me ji bo v ders bijartiye, li ser adeta kurdan a razana ser banan, ku havnan li Kurdistan pir berbelav e, hatiye hnandin. Qehreman rok, mirovek ji bajar Kurdistan y Mrdn ye, ku demeke dirj li Ewrpay jiyaye. Gava ku di nav xeyaln rabirdy de li ser ban xan li esman strkn ronak temae dike, dingedingek t ji mala cnaran. Nivskar, v rdan bi xuricna strkek ve girdide. rok ji pirtka nivskar ya bi nav Kevoka Sp hatiye wergirtin (Swd, Ndem, 1996). Some information on the writer and the story The author of this short story, Firat Cewer, was born in 1959 near Mrdn in southeastern Turkey, quite near the Syrian border. He has been living in Sweden since the early 1980s, where he has become extremely well known as a Kurdish writer, translator and publisher. He has written a novel and several collections of short stories and has also translated works of Dostoevsky, Steinbeck, Chechov and Yaar Kemal into Kurdish. He directed a litarary magazine called Ndem for about ten years. Apart from his work as a writer, he has also established the publishing company Ndem as one of the most important and successful Kurdish publishers world-wide. In 1998 Ndem published a two-volume collection of all the issues of the journal Hawar (originally published between 1932 and 1943), edited by Firat Cewer. In that journal, the Bedirxan (Bedirkhan) brothers and other Kurdish intellectuals had laid the foundations for modern standard written Kurmanji. Another extremely important work of Firat Cewer is the recent publication of an anthology of Kurdish short stories (Antolojiya rokn Kurd, 2003, two volumes), undoubtedly the most comprehensive collection of Kurdish literature currently available.
The story that we have chosen, picks up a culturally very widespread custom in Kurdistan, namely sleeping on the rooves of houses during the summer. The protagonist of the story is a man from Mrdn, a city of Kurdistan, who has lived in Europe for a long time and returned home. While he is deep into the retrospect on the roof of the house looking at the luminious sky and stars, there comes a noise from the neighbours which the author relates to the slide of a star on the sky. The story is taken from his collection of short stories titled as Kevoka Sp (Sweden, Ndem, 1996). Strkek ji ezman me xuric /A star slid (down) from our sky (1) Pit bernameyeke televzyon, ez bi After (watching) a TV programme, I climbed the cangiran ji plekan re derketim jor stairs sluggishly [can=body, soul, spirit; m ser xn. giran heaviness, lit. with bodyheaviness] and went up on (to the roof of) the house. (2) Yek ji titn ku min deh salan li One of the things that I had longed for [lit. Ewrpay hesreta w kiandib j, longing of-it draw] for ten years in Europe, razana li ser banan b. was sleeping on the roof [razan-a, razan is the infinitive from to sleep, the -a is an Izafe] [ban-a, is the colloqual plural form of ban roof, whose written standard would be banan rooves]. (3) Min gelek ji razana li ser bn hez I liked sleeping on the roof very much [bn is dikir her var hetan nv ev min xwe one of the two singular oblique forms for li ser nivnn xwe dirj dikir, destn xwe ban; the other and most commonly used dixistin bin ser xwe min li strkn one being ban] and every evening until midezman welt dinihr. night I would lie down on my bed, put my hands under my head and stare at stars of the sky of the country. [this sentence uses the past progressive to express past habits, often translatable as used to ...] (4) W ev j min wilo kir. That night also I did like that. [wilo so, in this manner There are many regional variants of this word, for example wesa, wisa, wusa...] (5) By ku ez kincn xwe ji xwe bikim, Not having taken my clothes off, I lay down on my min xwe li ser nivnn xwe dirj kir, bed, put my hands under my head and looked at destn xwe xistin bin ser xwe di bin the stars in the sky under the soft and cool bay payiz y sivik hnik de li strkn autumn wind. ezmn nihr. (6) Gelo ber j ezman welt ewend Were there so many stars in the sky of the bistrk b? homeland before as well? [lit. was the sky of the homeland (welt: oblique singular of welat) with so many stars before also]. (7) iqas strkine xweik in, iqas How lovely stars, how much they were sparking. diirisn. (8) Ez di w nav de li Leyla Mecnn At that moment I thought of Leyla Mecnn [a fikirm, min ew j dtin. constellation named after the beloved couple Laila and Majnun], I saw them as well. (9) Min avn xwe li riya Kadiz gerand, I glanced at the Milky Way, I saw it as well. min ew j dt. (10) Min demeke dirj bala xwe berda For a long time I paid attention [the idiomatic Leyla Mecnn ez li benda expression is bala xwe berdan pay ones hevramsana wan rawestiyam. attention to; the basic verb is dan give with a preverb ber-] to Leyla Mecnn and I waited for them to kiss [lit. rested in the expectation of ...]. (11) Min hevramsana wan bidta, min If I had seen them kissing, I would have wished,

ji xwe re titin bixwestana, titin hv bikirana. (11) Qet nebe me di zaroktiy de wilo bawer dikir. (12) Em heta derengiya ev li benda hevramsana wan diman em wilo di xew re din. (13) Tit ecb, gava ez li wan rojn xwe yn zaroktiy difikirm, min xwe mna zarokan hs dikir. hoped some things [tit+indefinite plural ending] for myself. At least we used to believe it like this in childhood. We would wait until late at night for them to kiss [see (10) above) stay in the expectation of their kiss] and we would fall asleep in that way. The interesting thing (was that), when I was thinking of my childhood days [lit. days of own childhood], I would feel like a child [lit. I would feel myself like the children]. (14) ewqa strkn ezmn ez dibirim The luminosity of the stars of the sky [ezmn is saln min yn zaroktiy. the Oblique singular of ezman] would take me to my childhood years. (15) Di saln xwe yn zaroktiy de ez In my childhood days I admired the luminosity of heyrana ewqa elektrka bajar Mrdn the electricity (lights) of the city of Mrdn. bm. (16) Nizanim gelo we tu car bi ev di I wonder, have you ever travelled close to Mrdn nzk Mrdn re rwt kiriye? in the night time? [lit. I do not know whether you have ever travelled close to Mrdn in the night time?]. (17) ewqa elektrkn bajr wilo germ, The luminosity of the city lights is so warm, so wilo dostane ye, bajar ewend bilind e ku friendly, the city is so high that you [lit. man] mirov dibje qey ew bi strkn li ezmn might think that it challenges the stars in the sky. re qayi dikine. (18) Ez di xeyalan de kr bm. I was deep in imagination [lit. I had gone (past perfect tense, see Lesson 8) deep in imagination]. (19) Ez li ezman ewqas bilind bstn I was [past perfect of man] surprised at the so ecbmay mabm. high and columnless sky. (20) Di w nav de ne ji deng diya min At that moment, if it was not for my mothers nebya, belk ez bi saetan ji xeyaln voice, perhaps I would not return from my xwe venegeriyama jiyana rast. imagination to the real life for hours. (21) --- Ma tu firek eqilmast venaxw Would you not like to drink a sip of buttermilk, law min? my son? (22) Ez bi deng diya xwe veciniqbm, [this sentence is in the past perfect min ew tasa eqilmst a ko hn qeaya throughout] I was startled by my mothers w neheliyab ji dest w girtib, end voice, I had taken that bowl of buttermilk whose gulp j vexwaribn, min pa ew tas glace had not melted from her hand, I had taken danb ser pirketek li ber ser xwe, min several gulps (sips) from it, than I had put that dsa xwe li ser pit dirj kirib li bowl on a briquet next to my head, I had lied ezman b ser bin li strkn bi ewq down on my back again and I had looked at the ron nihrb. endless [lit. without top or bottom] sky and the luminous and shiny stars. (23) ez wilo di xew re bm. And I had thus fallen asleep. (24) L ez nizanim iqas t de b, ez bi However I do not know how much (time) had deng teqneke ku bdeng kerritiya passed through [lit. in-it had gone, see prepositions in Lesson 4], I woke up by the ev irand ve iyar bm. sound of a blast which tore apart the silence and stillness of the night. (25) Bi iyarbn re min dt ku ew strka Upon waking up I saw that the star next to Leyla li nzk Leyla Mecnn rijiya erd. Mecnn slid to the Earth. [...] [section omitted here] (26) Sibeh z li mala cran me dengn Early in the morning, at our neighbours house, llandin epikan dihat. there was coming the sound of cheering and applauses. (27) Min ji diya xwe pirs, w got: I asked my mother and she said: A star slid from

Strkek ji ezman me xuric, keika our sky, our neighbours daughter who was at the crana me ya berzewac ehd ket. age of marriage has fallen as a martyr [the verb is ehid ketin, used generally for people who die in heroic struggles]. [...] [section omitted here] (28) Her ku roj bilindtir dib, dengn As the sun was getting higher, the sound of llandin epikan zdetir dibn. cheering and applauses was getting more and more.
Key expressions from the story. ji titek/kesek hez kirin: bala xwe berdan: li titek ecebmay bn: xwe dirj kirin: di xew re n: iyar bn: ji kesek pirsn: li benda kesek/titek man/bn: like, love something/someone pay attention to be amazed at something lie down, lit. make oneself long fall asleep, lit. go through sleep wake up ask someone ((question)/whether .) (ex: Min ji Zelal pirs ka mtihana w awa derbas bye.) to wait for somebody or something
Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 10 Text 2: Helbest / Poem

Hindek agah li ser helbestvan helbest
Berken Bereh Berken Bereh di sala 1954an de li irnex hatiye dinyay. Di sala 1978an de dest bi nivsandina bi ziman kurd kir. Helbestn w yekem car di Trj de, yekem kovara bi kurd li bakur Kurdistan, belav bn. D re di gelek kovarn kurd de helbest nivsarn w hatine belavkirin. Heta niha s dwann (collection of poems) w derne: (2001), agirtn Evn (2003) Pandomm (2006). Ev helbest ji yekem dwana w hatiye wergirtin di v helbest de taybetiyn girng n welat helbestvan li p in. Berken Bereh Berken Bereh was born in Shirnakh (irnex) in 1954. He started to write in Kurdish in 1978. Initially, his poems appeared in Trj, the first magazine in Kurdish in the north Kurdistan. Afterwards, his poems and writings were published in many Kurdish magazines. Up to now three poem collections by him have appeared: (2003), agirtn Evn (2003) and Pandomm (2006). This poem has been taken from the first poem collections and in this poem some important features of the poets country are thematized.
Ger hn bixwazin If you want

(1) Ger hn bixwazin Binasin jan kovaniy evek li welat min bibin mvan If you want [ger=if, also. heke, eger. In each stanza the present conditional form is used (See lesson 6); in this sense the first three sentences actually form one single sentence)] To get to know pain, sorrow and grief Be guest one night in my country [bibin mvan, is in imperative form (see lesson 5)] If you want To get to know the death Look at the wings of the emigrant cranes They smell burnt [lit. the smell of burning comes from them] If you want To get to know the love Look into the nook of the east of your heart How the stars glare merrily. [b is a particle giving some emphasis to the word awa; it cannot be readily translated into English] If you want To get to know my country Open [imperative plural of vekirin] the door of fire and sun The human-lover pigeon with seven colors [mirov (human being)hez (the verbal element of the complex verb hez kirin to like, to love); a very frequent way of word formation in Kurdish. Also in similar forms, welat-parz (patriot), kitb-firo (book-seller), kef-gr (colander) etc.] D bifire bi we: Will fly to you. [d is th future particle, see lesson 6; bi we is used to give the meaning of an action towards a certain direction; in this sense, it is more common to use it with a postposition, namely
(2) Ger hn bixwazin Binasin mirin Li baskn qulingn kober binihrin Bhna ewat t ji wan. (3) Ger hn bixwazin Evn binasin Taldeya rojhilata dil xwe bipelnin B awa diteyisin bi ken strk. (4) Ger hn bixwazin Welat min binasin Vekin deriy agir roj Kevoka mirovhez a heftreng D bifire bi we.
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in the form of bi we de (towards you). (see lesson 4)]
Key expressions from the poem. xwestin: mvan bn: b awa: teyisn: mirovhez: heftreng: bhna titek hatin ji titek/kesek: to want (the verb following xwestin is always in subjuntcive form as in bixwazin binasin/ biin/bikirin) to be a guest (As in the poem the verb can be in the form of bn mvan also especially in imperative form. Ex: Min j re got were bibe mvan min.) how (b functions more like an attention getting particle here, it does not add substantially to the meaning) to glare human-lover; human-friendly (mirov-hez) seven-coloured (heft-reng) to smell (lit. the smell of something comes from smt./smb.)
KURDISHENGLISH VOCABULARY Abbreviations: adj. = adjective; Ar. = Arabic; ccmp. = circumposition; const. = construct case; demon. = demonstrative; dial. var. = dialectal variant; f = feminine; impt. = imperative; m = masculine; mil. = military; n.p. = narrative present (couched in the present tense; past-tense translational value); obl. = oblique; Pers. = Persian; pl = plural; pron. = pronoun; pres. = present; subj. = subjunctive; Syr. Ar. = Syrian Arabic; Tk. = Turkish; v.i. = verb intransitive; v.t. = verb transitive (here transitive means that the past tense is formed on the ergative model, not that the verb necessarily takes a direct object either in Kurdish or in English); voc. = vocative * a = ya; bi ~ in the opinion of: bi a min al1 red in my opinion ala = al abadn eternal alal tulip abor economic, nancial; f economy; alandin v.t. to twist ~zan economist alastin als- v.t. to lick aciz helpless, unable to cope (ji with): ala thatch; ~kir thatched ez ji kzikan zehf aciz im I am utterly alav f ame incapable of coping with bugs alay f troop, regiment Adar f March alet m instrument, tool adet f custom; ~ ordinary als- alastin aferde m creature alfabe f alphabet afern bravo; ~ ji re good for alim m scholar arandin v.t. to create al1 m side, part; bi her ~y ve in every af f poster direction; dan ~yek v.t. to put aside, aga aware (li of) to draw to one side; ji ~yek / ji ~k agadar f information, announcement; on the one hand; ji ~y din on the awareness other hand; ji ~y ve by (passive agah = aga agent), on the part of agahdar = agadar al2, ar f help; ~kar helping, helpful; agir m (obl. gir) re; ~ dann bi to set ~kar f help, support; ~kar kirin v.t. re to to help: min alkariya w dikir I used Agir f Ar, in extreme eastern Turkey to help him aheng f tune, tone al3 supreme ajotin ajo- v.t. to drive (vehicle); to alkar partisan; ~ kirin v.t. to take pass, last (of time): pir neajotib ku s.o.s part, be partisan not much time had passed before, alnegir neutral v bdangiya han heta sala 1980 ajot Alman German; ~ya f Germany this silence lasted until the year 1980; aloz scattered, random ~ ser to attack amade ready; ~ kirin v.t. to make al1 f ag, banner ready; xwe ~ kirin f to get oneself
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KURDISH-ENGLISH VOCABULARY
ready ambelaj f wrapping, packing Amerka/Amerqa f America; ~y American Amda f Amd, a town in Syria near Qmishl an or; ~ na or not; anan eitheror ancax so much ann v.t. (pres. ind. tnim, neg. naynim; subj. bnim, neg. subj. neynim) to bring anzaz f cleverness Anteqye f Antakya, Antioch anuha = niha ap, apo m paternal uncle aqil1 m mind, intelligence aqil2 intelligent aqbet f end ard m fuel ar (dial. var.) = al2 armanc f aim, goal arm m a sheaf of grain armxan m gift arnawid Albanian arv f archive art f army ark m ceiling arxayn condent as rugged, steep; ~geh f fortication as kirin v.t. to catch aswar untimely asiman, asman m heaven; ~ heavenly asmlasiyon f assimilation asmle assimilated aso f horizon asteng m difcult road, rough terrain, obstacle asin m (dial. var.) = hesin aiq in love; ~ bn to be in love with ait f peace, truce; ease, comfort a = ait atif emotional av f water; ~ hewa f climate ava1 built up, prosperous, developed; ~ kirin v.t. to develop; ~ker m developer, founder ava2 n v.i. to set (of the sun) avah f building, edice avay = avah avday tempered (steel) avj- avtin av f balm avtin avj- v.t. to throw, throw away, throw out; lay (foundation); ~a ji text de dethronement; dest ~ to touch s.th. awa f manner, means; bi ~yek somehow; bi w ~y by this means; bi hem ~y by all/any means awaz m voice, sound, singing awir f glance, backward look awur (dial. var.) = awir ax1 sigh, ouch; ~ avtin v.t. to say ouch ax2 f land, earth, dirt; ~a welat homeland; ~a Sriy the land of Syria axa m (obl ax) agha, feudal lord, master axaftin axiv- v.i. to speak axar ??? axil corral axiftin (dial. var.) = axaftin axiret f the other world: mirov axiret an other-worldly person axn v.i. to cry, to cry out axpne f patch of ground, eld AY = Ameriqay Yekby USA azad free; ~ kirin v.t. to set free; ~ f liberty azar f anguish; ~ dan v.t. to torment, vex azman m sky b- birin, bn ba1 m (obl b) wind ba2 m turn ba3 (prep.) with, in front of, in the presence of; li ~ with, chez
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KURMANJI KURDISH
ba m rheumatism; ~w rheumatic babet f regard: di v babet de in this regard babo daddy ba-dan v.t. to turn, twist, wring baday turned, twisted bager f snowstorm bahar = bihar bahlif f pillow bajar m (obl bajr) city; ~ m merchant, citied; ~van citizen, city dweller; ~van urban: jiyana bajarvaniy urban life Baku f Baku bakurofe f gust of wind bakr m north bal1 f wing, arm bal2 f attention, mind, thought; ~ kiandin to attract the attention: wneyn min bala rojname hunermendan kiandin my pictures attracted the attention of newspapers and artists; ~dar attentive, discerning; ~drj patient, careful; ~reh patient, calm; ~k attractive, interesting balaxane f balcony baler m airplane; ~geh airport balg m pillow balf = bahlf ban m roof ban ban kirin v.t. to shout, to yell bandev f summit bandor f inuence bang f call, cry; ~ dan v.t. to give out a cry, to herald; ~ kirin v.t. to shout banz = baz bar m load; ~ bn to be loaded; to bear up: avn wan bar nebb they hadnt been able to bear the sight; ~ kirin v.t. to load up, move (household); ~k m porter baran f rain; ~din v.t. to rain down bare: di ~ya de (prep.) about, concerning
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bark slender, thin barn/~iyan v.i. to rain down bask m arm, wing: bask ep partiya sosyal-demokrat the leftist wing of the Social-Democrat Party; ~n xwe li hev xistin to ap ones wings ba good; ~ kirin v.t. to improve; ~kirin f improvement baok(e) falcon bar m south bav m (voc. bavo) father; ~t f fatherhood, paternality bawer believing: ez ~ im ku I believe that ; ~ kirin v.t. to believe: gelek kes bawer dikin ku many people believe that; ~ f belief, trust; ~mend m believer baw1 m father baw2 ba4 bawk f yawn baxe m garden, yard baz jump, leap; ~ dan v.t. to dance; to run away in fear, to ee in haste bazar f market; ~a re black market beden m body bedew beautiful, splendid bedym ill-omened befr f (dial. var.) = berf behr f sea behs f discussion; ~kirin v.t. to discuss bejin f height, stature; ~bilind tall; ~ bala tall stature bel straight; ~ kirin v.t. to straighten, prick up (ears, &c.) bela f catastrophe bela for free, gratis belav widespread, scattered; ~ bn v.i. to be scattered; ~ kirin v.t. to spread, broadcast, disseminate; ~ok f publication belay nav bn v.i. to spread out through belediye f municipality belek speckled, spotted
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belek f water spring belengaz poor, destitute; ~ f poverty, destitution bl yes belg m leaf belgih m suit, clothing; ~ girtin v.t. to garb oneself belk maybe, perhaps ben = bend bend f bond; li ~a for the sake of, chained to, waiting for: div em d li benda sibeh ranewestin we shouldnt stand around waiting for tomorrow; ~ kirin v.t. to fetter, arrest; man di ~a to wait for benderuh creature bendewar bn bi to love, be in love with benzn f gasoline beq m frog ber1 m breast, fore; ber-dan see alphabetically; ~ bi hev hatin v.i. to cooperate; ~ (ve) (adv.) before; ~ ku (conj.) before; ji ~ kirin v.t. to memorize; ji ~ jmartin v.t. to reel off from memory; ji ~ ku because (conj.); ji ~ ve (ccmp.) before; ji ~ zann v.t. to memorize; li ~ (prep.) before, on account of; li ~ (+ inf.) on the verge of: ew hviya ku li ber gebn b ilmis that hope, which was on the verge of blossoming, withered; wek(e) ~ as before ber2 m yield, fruit; ~ wergirtin ji to derive a yield from beramber equal, equivalent; ~ f equality; ~ kirin v.t. to compare to: w ew beramber Anton exov dikir he used to compare him to Anton Chekhov beran m ram ber-ann (ber-n) v.t. to imagine berate f carcass berban m ceiling berber f comparison berbj f prediction berbiav conspicuous berbihevhatin f cooperation berbn f imaginary image, vision bercnk ??? berav visible, clear, before the eyes; ~ anin v.t. to pay attention ber-dan v.t. to release, let go; to put on (clothes); to close, stop, give up: dev ~ ji to close the mouth to, stop, give up; ~ ser to direct toward; tiving ~ to re a rie at: xulam w ew da ber ting his servant red the rie at him; xwe ~ ser to turn oneself toward, direct oneself to berdest servant berdewam continual(ly), constant(ly); ~ kirin v.t. to continue berdl f equivalent; ji ~a instead of berdlk = berdl; bi ~ equivalent in value berebere more and more, ever more; gradually, little by little bereket m blessing; bi ~ luckily berev = berhev berf f snow berferih spacious; ~ kirin v.t. to open, initiate bergeh f view, vista berhem m product, literary work; ~bar productive berhev gathered, collected; ~ kirin v.t. to prepare, gather; xwe ~ kirin v.t. to pull oneself together berhevok f collection berik f bullet beriqn v.i. to glisten berizn bi v.i. to ght with, do battle with ber f pocket berde perplexed, lost berk f pocket ber-ketin v.i. to feel sad
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KURMANJI KURDISH
bermil f load bername f program bero f pot, pan berovaj to the contrary berp kirin v.t. to suggest, to propose berpirsiyar responsible; m manager; ~ f responsibility, management berq f lightning bersv f answer, reply; ~ dan bi to reply to, answer; ~a dan to satisfy the needs of; ~andin v.t. to respond, reply berten f trousers bervaj f opposite side; ji ~y contrariwise, conversely berv prep. toward berwar m slope berx lamb berxwedan f resistance bes much, many a; enough best f plain best m joy, glee, relish be m part; ~dar participant; ~dar bn v.i. to take part, participate beavend f rhyme beer f esh betal f unemployment, uselessness, idleness bexe = baxe Bexda f Baghdad bext m luck; ~iyar fortunate, happy; ~iyar f good fortune, happiness; b~ unfortunate beybn f camomile bez1 f speed: bi lez ~ quickly, with all speed; bay ~ the racing wind; ~n bez- v.i. to run bez2 m kind, sort beza fast-running, galloping bezir lost b1 ba b-2 (prex) without; see compounds alphabetically baqil stupid bbawer disbelieving, unsure; ~ f disbelief bbest uncontrollable bbext unlucky, unfortunate; ~ f unluckiness, misfortune bare helpless, poor; ~t f helplessness bine useless biqas inordinately bdar treeless, barren bdeng silent; ~ f silence, obscurity bdil halfhearted, unwilling bfed lack of embarrassment bgav impossible, helpless bgot skinny bguman doubtless(ly) bhamd reluctantly, unwillingly bhawe unparalleled, extraordinary bhay unconscious, unaware; dinyay ~ the subconscious world bhejiyan livat without movement or motion bhejmar innumerable bhempa unparalleled, peerless bhv without hope, in despair; ~ kirin v.t. to make s.o. despair bhz f weakness, debility bhiiyar without feeling, numb bhn1 f breath; ~a min teng b I was bored; ~a xwe teng kirin to bore oneself, let oneself get bored; ~a ikandin v.t. to suffocate; ~teng f boredom bhn2 f smell, odor; ~ berdan to leave an odor behind; ~ dan to give off an odor; ketin ser ~ to pick up a scent; ~ikn dry-smelling bhteng = bhnteng b prep. without; ~ ku (conj., + subj.) without: ro j b ku mirov tu zehmetiyan bikine, mirov bi hsan ji wan t digih even today one easily understands them without going to any trouble bmkan f impossibility
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bj- gotin bje f word: ~ bi ~ word by word; ~r speaker bjing f sieve bkar unemployed; ~ f unemployment bkes lonely, alone, unprotected b li prep. without bmane fearful, dreadful bmecal f lack of opportunity bminet relentless(ly) bnamus dishonorable bnav nameless, unnamed bnavbir incessant bnihtin v.i. to freeze bnan spotless bpar deprived bpejn f tranquility bpvan immeasurable br. See xr. br f longing; ~ kirin v.t. to long for, miss brik = brk brk f pocket; wek hundir brika al xwe nasn to know something like the back of ones hand Brd f Beirut bsedem without reason, unprovoked b serbin endless berm shameless; ~ f shamelessness bik doubtless btar storm btaw impatient, restless btir more btn powerless, weak bvil, bvl f nose, nostril bxan homeless b xay limitless bxeber unaware (ji of); ji her der ~ totally oblivious bxew sleepless, suffering from insomnia; ~ f sleeplessness, lack of sleep bxudan = bxwed bxweda godless, damned bxwed godless, ownerless, orphaned, poor, lonely by = b bzar f nuisance, headache bzaro childless bi- subjunctive prex bi re (ccmp.; bi + w/w > p) by, with, upon: bi tirn re by train; bi min re with me; bi bihstina deng re upon hearing the sound bi ve (ccmp.; bi + w/w > p) through, up to: ji w roj p ve from that day to this bi- subjunctive verbal prex biaqil intelligent, smart; ~ f intelligence bik little; ~an f childhood, youth bidardakirin dar biha bn v.i. to be valuable bihar f spring, springtime; ~ pertaining to spring bihin = bhn; bi ~ with odor, with fragrance; ~dar fragrant bihimet magnicent bihit f paradise; ~n paradisiacal, heavenly bihstin bihs-/bihz- v.t. to hear, listen bihn = bhn1 bihorn v.i. to pass bihostin v.t. ??? bihuk insect bihurandn bihurn- v.t. to spend (time): ew zaroktiya xwe li Kurdistana Bakr bihurandiye he spent his childhood in North Kurdistan bihurtin bihur- v.i. to pass, be spent bihut f span. See also bihit. bihr- = bihurbijarte choice, select bijartin bijr- v.t. to choose bijiqandin v.t. to tear to shreds bijjk m physician bijn lively bijv f sustenance bikarann kar bikr useful
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bla (+ subj.) let: i dibe bila bibe whatever happens, let it happen bilbil nightingale bilez quick, hasty bilind high; ~ kirin v.t. to raise, to elevate; ~cih m height, high place biliyan v.i. to arise (sound) bil other than, aside from; ~ ji ditto bilr f shepherds pipe, ute bin m bottom; di ~ under; ~dest underling, oppressed; ~geh m foundation, basis; ~geh avetin to lay the foundation of ; ~gehn basic; ~xet f south of the Turkish border, i.e. Syria and Iraq binr luminous bipdexistin f advancement, improvement biqedr worthwhile, valuable bir m part bira1 m (obl. pl biran) brother bira2 = bila bira3 really birc f tower bir hungry; ~n f hunger; ~t f hunger birvebir m leader birh m eyebrow birin b- v.t. to carry, take; ~ jr to bring/take down/away; ~ jor to bring/ take up birisqn v.i. to sparkle, shimmer birn1 f wound; ~ kirin v.t. to wound; ~dar m wounded birn2 = birrn birrn v.t. to cut, to cross: w snor birr he crossed the border birs hungry birsn f hunger birsk f lightning; ~e f telegram biryar f decision; ~ dan v.t. to decide biserketin f success bikul m goat and sheep droppings biv m buzz biv nev willy-nilly, like it or not bivir m ax biwa (alternative past conditional of bn) = bya bixrhatin dan v.t. to welcome bixwe by oneself, personally biyan m foreign(er), stranger, alien; ~stan f any foreign place, foreign parts; ~t f strangeness, alienation: jiyana biyantiy life of alienation bizin f goat bizir m seed bizivn v.i. to budge bhin = bhn bn = bhn bn- dtin, ann bna (dial. var.) = mna bnah f sight bnan prep. like bnber m sight br1 f memory; bi ~ ann v.t. to remember: ba bne bra xwe ku remember well that; ~a birin to take into consideration; ~ hatin v.i. to remember: t bra min I remember; ji ~(a) kirin v.t. to forget; ~ann f memory, reminiscence br2 f well bran f memory bst1 twenty; ~sal twenty-year-old bst2 f moment, a short period of time: bstek nebor it didnt take long before bstin bs- v.t. to hear beng f weeping willow bz- = bihz bihstin bzbz matted bo (prep.) for; (conj.) so that, in order that bo f tail boik f tail bombe f bomb; ~yn destan hand grenades bona prep. for: ~ v yek for this reason borandin v.t. to spend (time), make
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(time) pass bor f pipe born v.i. to last, pass (time): end meh naborin not many months passed (n.p.); v.t. to excuse: min bibore excuse me bostan m garden bo wide, widespread, abundant boxe f bundle brat roasted brsk = birsk buhar = bihar buhirn v.t. to take away, clear off buhurandin buhurn- v.t. to spend (time); ~n v.i. to pass, pass away buhurtin buhur- v.i. to pass, pass away, go out buhur last, past: sala ~ last year bulbul nightingale bk f bride, daughter-in-law; ~an f wedding bn b- v.i. to be, become bs f ambush byer f incident, event bz ice BZ = ber zayn B.C. ca (used with imperatives): ~ were come on!; ca bikire ku just think what it would be like if cam f glass camr courageous, gallant, gentlemanly cass m spy car f time; ~ ~an often, many times; ~din again, once again; ~inan from time to time; ~k = carek once; ~na sometimes cax protective fencing cazbedar interesting cebhe f front (mil.) ceger f liver (poetic); ~ rn darling, beloved cejin f celebration, festival celeb m sort, kind: du celeb kes hene: yn ba yn neba there are two kinds of people, good and evil celx m/f slit, crack cem m group; side; a large basket; li ~ beside, with: li cem wan beside them, with them cendek m body, corpse ceng f battle cerg f liver ceribandin v.t. to try, test cewr m pup; ~ik m puppy ceza f ne, penalty; ~ wergirtin v.t. to receive a penalty, to be ned cid serious cigar(e) f cigarette cih m place; pl bed; ~ bi ~ from place to place; ~ girtin v.t. to take place; ~ kirin v.t. to put, place; ~ li xwe xwe kirin v.t. to make oneself comfortable; ~ girtin v.t. to take the place of; ~ local; ~ ~ various, sundry; ~gir occupant; bi ~ ann to bring about, bring to fruition; bi ~ bn li to settle in, take up residence in; di nav ~an de in bed cihan f the world cil m clothing; ~ berg (pl) clothes cin djinn, demon; ~anlxist possessed by demons cinewir monster cirecir f talk, chit-chat civandin civn- v.t. to move, set in motion civak society; community; ~ social, societal; ~nas sociologist; ~nas f sociology civat f society, group civn v.i. to move; ~n f movement ciwan young, beautiful; ~t f youth cixar(e) (dial. var.) = cigar cixiz kirin v.t. to mark, to leave marks in c = cih chan f world
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KURMANJI KURDISH
chlkirin f surveillance cran neighbor cograf geographical col m pack (of wolves, &c.) core core various co enthusiasm, excited cot1 m pair cot2 m plow; ~kr f agriculture cube m robe cumhriyet f republic cunta f junta cure cure (dial. var.) = core core curet kirin v.t. to dare cda separate; ~ kirin v.t. to separate cm bn v.i. to be obscured - n ak good akt m jacket alak active; ~ f activity and f culture; ~ cultural andin n- v.t. to plant ap f printing; ~ kirin v.t. to print, publish; ~eman f printed matter, the press; ne~kir unpublished; ~xane f printshop ar four arove f framework are f remedy; b~ helpless, poor; ~ns f remedy; bi ~nsa ve in the interests of; ~ser f solution; ~ser kirin v.t. to solve, resolve armerg cross-legged aref, arev f sheet, womans covering; ~ kiandin v.t. to put a sheet (on a bed); ~ li xwe kirin v.t. to put on a veil, cover oneself av m eye; ~ girtin v.t. to close the eyes; ~ern f expectation; ~n xistin v.t. to attract the attention of; bi ~ek neba nrn to have a low opinion of; ~ f eye ailment; ~kan f source, wellspring; ~in blue-eyed avnihr bn v.i. to expect, to look expectantly awa(n) how?: awan bibe bila bibe be that as it may; ~ heba somehow or other; ~ ku as; awah f quality ax f time: w ax at that time ay f tea; ~dan f teapot; ~xane f teahouse e = ef = kef ek f weapon; ~dar armed eleng cute, attractive, good-looking em m river en f armpit end (following word construed as pl.) how many?; several: di end cihan de in several places; end hevaln min several of my friends; ~ik end (+ sing.) several: endik end roj e its been several days since; ~ odd: bi pncih end saln xwe ve in his fty-odd years; ~ for a while eng f claw; ~ li de cih kirin v.t. to sink the claw into engel m hook eng kirin v.t. to throw, hurl ente m suitcase ep left; wrong: ew min ep fahm dike he misunderstands me eper f shield, barricade epik xistin li v.t. to applaud for er what? er ku (conj.) as soon as er m peddler erkez Circassian erm m skin, leather; ~n leathern erx f wheel etel m fork, forked ewsandin v.t. to exploit ewt crooked, awry, wrong right, okay; ~-bn v.i. to be born; to be right: nabe tu wisa bik its not right for you to act thus; dibe ku ez biim? is it okay for me to go?; ~kirin v.t. to give birth to, to make, x,
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repair, keep: w dikine bin zindan they keep him in the dungeon, min di ser xwe e plana ku dikir I was making a plan in my head to lik the young of any animal, puppy, kitten, cub, etc. l f subject, topic; ~ kirin v.t. to talk about re f grazing, pasturage rn v.i. to graze tir better i1 what?; ~ bigire practically speaking, pretty much i2 no; ~ tit nothing iek = ek iftexas m cotton batiste ik exhausted; ~ bn v.i. to become exhausted, to sink down (into snow) ikandin v.t. to drip; to plant (tree); to push s.th. in as far as it will go ikn v.t. to plant; to crackle; to dry up (mothers milk): r ber w ik her breast milk dried up iko, iku because il1 forty il2 greedy il3 only in il iya hills and mountains ile f the coldest period of winter; ~ya pan January; ~ya pn December ilmisandin v.t. to make wither ilmsn v.i. to wither ilviln = ilwiln ilwiln v.i. to gleam ima why? imk because iqas how much iqiq kirin v.t. to rip to shreds ir, ira why? ira f lamp, stove irandin irn- v.t. to tear, tear up irav f muck ire why iriya pa/pan f November iriya p/pn f October irisn = irsn irsn v.i. to sparkle, shine, glow irsk f spark iv trick, game; ~ dan xwe v.t. to zigzag ivanok f a formula used in storytelling ivik, ivk bird, sparrow iwal m sack iya m mountain; ~y mountaineer, hillbilly ek f ower l bright men m grassy meadow p f calf (of the leg) rn v.i. to creak rok f story; ~van storyteller ya = iya zzik f buzz o m stick og = ok2 ok1 m stream ok2 f knee ol f desert, wilderness ong = ok2 ik f bird k f bird n - (subj. stem -/her-) v.i. to go r a type of sheep yn v.i. to go da1 a dialectal variant of de1 da2 a preverb that forms compounds, generally indicating down da-ann v.t. to set down, establish: Mam Red satil dan li dora xwe mze kir Uncle Rashid set the bucket down and looked around himself; ~ li xwe (+ subj.) to lower oneself, deign, bring oneself to do s.th.: gelek ji wan j li xwe danaynin bi v ziman xwe rn bipeyivin many of them cant even bring themselves to speak this nice, sweet language da-avtin v.t. to put together, throw
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together da-ikandin v.t. to set up, plant (tree, ag, &c.) dad f justice; ~geh f court; ~gr m judge da-dan v.t. to place, put in, install; to light (re) da-gerandin v.t. to turn, send back dagirker m occupier da-girtin v.t. to occupy, take over, to take down; guhn xwe ~ v.t. to prick up ones ears dagirt well-built dagr kirin v.t. to occupy dahl f grove dahn m season, period of time da-hrandin v.t. to research, investigate dare f ofce da-ketin v.i. to fall down, come down, swoop down, subside; to be lowered (gaze); ~ bi to take up, involve oneself with da ku (+ subj.) in order that da-kutan v.t. to shake da-liqandin v.t. to string up, hang da-liqiyan v.i. to hang, dangle da-mezran v.i. to be set up, established; ~din da-mezrn- v.t. to set up, establish dan1 = dahn dan2 d- v.t. to give da-nan da-n- v.t. to lay, put down da-nitin da-ni- v.i. to sit down, alight dann = da-ann danstendin f transaction, exchange; relation da-qurtandin qurtn- v.t. to swallow dar f tree, stick, gallows; bi ~ ve kirin v.t. to hang; bi ~ da-kirin v.t. to hang; ~istan f forest dar m wood darbe f blow; ~ xwarin v.t. to suffer a blow darik m stick darn wooden davtin = da-avtin dawe f legal case dawet f festive occasion daw f end; ~ ann v.t. to put an end to; ~ hatin v.i. to end, come to an end; ~n (adj) last, nal dax f brand; sorrow da-xistin v.t. to take down: polsan tabeleya me daxist the police took down our sign daxwaz f request; ~ kirin v.t. to request, beseech; ~ f desire dayik m mother; ji ~ bn v.i. to be born; ~t f motherhood, maternity dayin = dan dayn = dan de1 postposition forms the second part of a number of circumpositions, generally indicating stationary position in or at; see the prepositional element de2 (precedes an imperative): de were come on! defter f register, roll, notebook deh ten dehl f valley; orchard dehol f drum dek f trick delal dear, beloved delve f opportunity, occasion dem1 f time, season; ~a ku (conj.) when; ~dirj long-term; ~kurt shortterm; ~ dewran f olden times dem2 steeped; ~ girtin to steep (of tea) demane f pistol deng m voice, sound, noise; ~bj m singer dengiz sea depdepe wooden deq1 f part, region, place: di v deq de in this place deq2 m tattoo; ~ bi ~ exactly alike deqe = deqqe deqqe f minute der1 f place; ~ek() somewhere; ev ~
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here; li v ~ here; li ku ~ where? der2 outside; ~eke foreign: welatn dereke foreign countries der3 f door der-ann v.t. to take out derb f blow derbas passing, passsage; ~ bn v.i. to pass, to pass by (ji); ~ kirin v.t. to spend (time); ~ hundur bn to enter derbaz = derbas derbeder bn v.i. to be driven from pillar to post der-bn di to burst out on derd m pain, trouble: her yek derdek wan heb everyone had some trouble derece f degree: di i derecey de to what degree? dereng late, long time; ~ man v.i. to lag behind, be late derewn lying, false derxistin = derxistin derfend f opportunity derheq: di ~() de about, concerning deriya = derya deriz cracked der1 m door; ~y xwe girtin li ber to close ones door to; li ~ dan v.t. to knock at a door; ~ girtin v.t. to shut a door; ~ li ser xwe girtin to shut oneself up der2 (prep) outside of der-ketin v.i. to go in/out, to turn out to be; ~ li dij v.i. to oppose; ji gra ~ to fail to catch derman m (obl dermn) remedy, treatment, medicine; ~geh pharmacy; ~ kirin v.t. to treat derp m underpants; longjohns ders f lesson; ~ dan v.t. to give lessons der dor environs; ~a (prep.) around derve outside; ~kar external: wezr dervekar minister of foreign affairs; ~y (prep.) outside of: dervey welt outside of the country; (adj.) foreign; ji ~ from outside der-xistin v.t. to bring out (publication), to issue (an order), to cast out; ji hev ~ to to tell apart, to discern der-xwendin -xwn- v.t. to take to task derya f sea; ~ya Sip the Mediterranean Sea derz f crack, split; see also jin derz dest1 m hand; ~ bi ~ continuously; ~ bn ji to lose, to be left without: destn me ji te bne we have been left without you; ~ dan hevdu v.t. to join hands; ~ kan ji v.t. to let go of; ~ kirin bi (+ inf.) v.t. to start; ~ xwe kiandin ji to give up, abandon; bi ~ xistin to attain, obtain; di ~n for to do: di destn min de bi ten razan mab the only thing I could do was go to sleep; ji ~ kirin v.t. to lose; ji bin dest by, by means of ; xwe avtin ~ lingn kesek to throw oneself at someones feet, to beg; xwe dan ~ to let oneself be captured dest2 f group, set destan f story destbirak m blood brother deste f group, set destenan loaf of bread destik m oar destmal f handkerchief destpk f beginning destteng poor destr f order, command; ~a ziman grammar destvala empty-handed destve-nan v.t. to catch det f plain dev m mouth; entrance; ~ berdan ji to leave, to give up, to stop: te dev ji kana cixar berdaye? have you stopped smoking cigarettes?; dev ji min berde, ez bxew im leave me
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aloneIm sleepy; ~ di da c kirin to bite down on; (li) ~ () dora prep. all around devendet f brush, brambles dever face down dev f bush devken f smile devk oral: edebiyata devk oral literature devojen hev bn li ser to squabble with each other over devok f accent dewam kirin v.t. to continue dewar m domestic animal, cattle dewir = dewr; f circle; ~ dan v.t. to circle dewlemend rich, wealthy dewlet f state: ~a Frensay the state of France dewr f age, time, epoch; role; ~ leyistin to play a role; ~an f age, time dews f place, spot, trace dexisn v.i. to be jealous (ji of) deyn m debt; ~ dan to pay a debt; ~dar indebted; ~ indebted to d1 f (const diya) mother d2 future auxiliary + subj. for future tense d3 3rd-person sing. present indicative of hatin dl1 f tail dl2 f female animal; ~egur f female wolf; ~ik f female wolf or dog, bitch drn ancient, of long standing dv1 m demon dv2 = dev dw = dv1 di de ccmp. in: di saln 70 de in the 70s; di destn min de in my hands di re ccmp. by, via, upon: bi bihstina deng re upon hearing the noise; av di tingn wan re dihate xwar water ran down their ries di ve ccmp. through d- habitual and progressive verbal prex dia = dua di bareya de ccmp. about, concerning dibistan f school: dibistana destpk elementary school Dicle f the Tigris River didan m tooth didu two; ~yan second din nostril digel with; ~ ku although dihan = dian (see ann) dij, li (prep.) against dijmin m enemy; ~at f enmity dijn kirin v.t. to curse dijwar difcult; ~ f difculty dikan f shop dike nake no matter what s/he did dil m heart; hope: min dil heye (+ subj.) I hope to; ~ girtin bi to be offended by: bi yna min ya hotl dil xwe girtin they were offended by my going to a hotel; ~ ewitn bi to feel sorry for: dil midr bi v xort eleng evndar xwendin diewite the principal feels sorry for this attractive young man so avid to study; ~ f heartache; ~germ warm, hearty, kind; ~ge happy; ~nexwe sorry, upset, ill at ease; ~pak pure of heart; ~qayim condent; ~qayim f condence; ~soz sympathetic; ~a happy, glad; ~ewat heart-rending; ~ikest f disappointment; ~ikest kirin v.t. to disappoint, to dishearten; ~teng f sadness, loneliness; ~xwaz fond of; b ~ against the wishes of; ne bi ~ min b it did not appeal to me dilr intrepid dilnya assured, condent dilop m drop dilovan kind, affectionate, dear; ~ f affection; death (euphemism): ber
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dilovaniya nivskar dilovan bi salek a year before the dear writer passed away diltezn ??? din other di nav de ccmp. in the midst of: di nav w erd de in the midst of that land din = dinyay (see dinya) dinya f (obl. dinyay, din) the world, the weather: dinya pirr sar b the weather was very cold; bi ~y hatin v.i. to be born; ~dt worldly, sophisticated diran (dial. var.) = didan dirb track, path dirj long, lengthy; ~ ajotin to last a long time; ~ kirin to lengthen; ~ f length; ~ kirin to hand to ; dest ~ kirin to stretch the hand out to diriyan v.i. to be ripped divab, diviyab (impersonal + pres. subj.) had to: diviyab ku titek bikin they had to do something; (impersonal + past cond.) ought to have , was supposed to have , would have to : diviyab Sovyet ji ran derketa the Soviet ought to (was supposed to) have withdrawn from Iran, divab ku ew kzik bihata kutin that bug would have to be killed div (impersonal + pres. subj.) ought to dixan f smoke diyar clear; ~ f clarity diyar f gift Diyarbekir f Diyarbekir diz m thief diz secret, concealed; bi ~ secretly, stealthily; ~t f secret d other; y ~ the other one dl m prisoner; ~ girtin v.t. to take prisoner; ~ f imprisonment dlan f dance, dancing dmen f view, sight, aspect dn1 m religion; ~it f religiosity; ~, ~dar religious; ~perwer religious dn2 crazy, mad; ~ bn li ser to go crazy over; ~ kirin to drive s.o. crazy; ~ik slightly crazy, screw loose; ~it f madness dn3 f gaze, attention drok f story, history; ~ historical dsa(n) again, (+ neg) stillnot dtin bn- v.t. to see dwan f reception room; collected works of a poet; ~e f (obl ~) small reception room dwar f (obl dwr) wall dz knee dzik f pan do = d dol valley dom kirin v.t. to continue doman v.i. to continue domandin domn- v.t. to continue dor1 f environs; li ~a (prep.) around; ~hl f environs, parts, region; ~a girtin v.t. to surround dor2 m turn; ~al f circumference dorandor m circumference; li ~ (prep.) all around dost friend; ~ane friendly; ~ayet f friendship do- dotin doab m/f grape molasses ??? doeg f mattress doik = doeg dot f daughter; ~mam f cousin dotin do- v.t. to milk doz f cause, reason; aim, ideal; revenge; ~a kirin to aim for; ~ger vengeful, litigant du two dua f prayer; ~ kirin, ~ xwendin v.t. to pray ducar kirin v.t. to repeat dudil hesitant, of two minds; ~ f hesita-
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tion duduyan (dial. var.) = diduyan duh() yesterday dunya = dinya dur hypocritical; ~t f hypocrisy duemb f Monday duv = d duwemn second: er dinyay y duwemn World War II duyem(n) second d1 behind; ~dirj of long standing; ~re then, afterwards; li ~ hev re one after the other; li ~ xwe behind oneself; bi ~ ketin v.i. to pursue d2 m smoke dkel f smoke dman f smoke dpik f scorpion dr far; ~ xistin v.t. to throw away, exile; bi ~ ketin to go/get away; ~ nzk sooner or later; ~ah f remoteness, distance; ~bn farsighted dre d1 drebn f binoculars dv m tail, end dvre = dre ebeden (+ neg.) never, not at all ecem Persian ecb strange; ~may dumbfounded, stupied edebiyat f literature; ~van literateur edeb literary edilandin v.t. to ameliorate, make better edb m litrateur efend m westernized gentleman; ~t f gentlemanliness efraz up ef f amnesty; ~ya git general amnesty egal f headband eger if ekb f team ekol f school ekonomk economic elbik f wooden bucket elektrk f ashlight elem pain eleqedar kirin v.t. to concern eleyh: di eleyh da ccmp. against; ~dar m supporter; ~dar kirin v.t. to support elman German; ~ German (language) em (obl. me) we emanet m deposit, anything held on loan or for safekeeping emir1 f order, command emir2 m age emperyalsm f imperialism enanet traditional endam m member enerj f energy en f forehead; front (mil.) ensttu f institute eql m mind, reason erd f earth; li erd dan to throw to the ground erdim f region erdhj f earthquake ereb Arab; ~ Arabic erebe f cart, carriage, any wheeled vehicle Erebistan f Arabia er yea, yes erk f responsibility ermen Armenian ermim silk Ernewid Albanian erz f hope; ~a ikandin v.t. to dash s.o.s hopes erzan cheap erzihal f description, report, petition Erzerom f Erzurum esas m foundation, basis; ~ basic, essential, original eser f work, monument: esereke edeb a literary work
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esil m origin; bi ~ xwe originally esilzade aristocratic esker m soldier; ~ f the military; (adj) military esman = azman esmer olive complected er f tribe; ~t tribal ekere clear, obvious ek tek tangled (hair) ev (obl. masc. sing. v, obl. fem. sing. v, obl. pl. van) he, she, it, they, this, these evn f love, affection; ~dar desirous, in love: ew evndar xwendin b he was desirous of studying evqas so much ew (obl. masc. sing. w, obl. fem. sing. w, obl. pl. wan, pl. const. ewn) he, she, it, they, that, those ewd m revenge ewel, ewel rst ewn pl. const. of ew; ~ din the others ewir = ewr ewle security, reliance, assurance; ~ bn to be secure ewr m cloud ewraq (pl) papers Ewrpa f Europe; ~y European Ewrp European ewt f bark; ~e ~ constant or repeated barking; ~n v.i. to bark eyn the same: di eyn sal de in the same year ey O (vocative) Eyndwer Ayn Dwr, a small place in Syria south of Cizre Eyb Job; ~ Job-like eywan f salon, sitting room ez (obl. min) I ezben sir (mode of polite address) ezman m sky, heaven ezz dear Ezrayl Azrael, the angel of death 1 = y 2 future auxiliary + subj. for future tense d now; still, yet gir agir h: gewro h beravara nedihat Whitey didnt notice it n = yn r = hri f pain, ache; ~andin n- v.t. to hurt, cause pain, trouble; ~iyan - v.i. to hurt, suffer pain: ser av te nee may your head and eye not suffer pain, thank you var f evening xur m stable zing m rewood fahm (dial. var.) = fehim fal f augury, omen, fate; ~ vekirin to predict: ev fala ko herkes ji min re vedikir, wusan derneket the prediction everyone was making for me did not turn out like that fam (dial. var.) = fehim faqa under (prep.); ketin ~ to fall beneath faris pl Persians; ~ f Persian (language) fast fascist fedakar, fedekar self-sacricing, devoted; ~ f self-sacrice fed f embarrassment; ~ kirin to be embarrassed fed-kirin v.t. to look, watch fehim kirin v.t. to understand felat f freedom, liberation felsefe f philosophy; felsef philosophical fen f trick; bi ~ ftan by hook or by crook fener f lamp feodal feudal feqeh m theology student feq Muslim cleric; ~t f the clerical pro-
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fession feqr poor; ~t f poverty fer one, single item (of a pair) ferheng f culture: wezareta ferheng ministry of culture; dictionary ferman f order, command; ~a derxistin v.t. to issue an order for ferm formal fermo please (said when offering s.th.) ferq f difference: i ferqa me crann me dimne? what difference is left between us and our neighbors?; ~iyet f distinction ferz kirin v.t. to assume fetwa legal opinion fex f trap; xistin fex to put in a trap feyde f benet, prot; bi ~ benecial fde f (const. fda) benet: ji bo fda xwe for ones one benet, in ones own interests fhm = fehim flbaz f cunning fre bn v.i. to learn; frey bn to learn s.th., to become accustomed to s.th. fr bn v.i. to learn: ew di demeke kurt de fr tirk b he learned Turkish in a short time ht kirin v.t. to assess, to price kar(e) f worry kir f idea, thought; ~n v.i. to think, contemplate litn ji v.i. to get rid of losof m philosopher nd f candle r- rn raq m dishes rar kirin to escape, to ee ravn f lunch, midday meal rax (pl) dishes, pots and pans; ~ ustin v.t. to wash the dishes reh open, wide, spacious; ~ kirin v.t. to open; dil ~ kirin to gladden the heart riyan v.i. to y away rn r- v.i. to jump, y: Msa ji kfan dire Musa is jumping for joy rte m angel rk a rapid motion rne f bakery rotin fro- v.t. to sell rq = ferq rtone f storm, gale til dan v.t. to twist and turn fstan m dress fort m boast fransiz m/f French (person) frens f French (language) frensiz French (language) fro- rotin fursend f opportunity frn v.i. to bubble, gurgle, boil galegal f conversation galon m gallon gam ox garan f herd of cattle garis m millet; ~ misr corn garsn f village square gav1 f time; moment, instant; ~a (ku) when (sub. conj.); ~ saet at all times; di ~ da in an instant; li ~ de at that moment gav2 m step, pace; ~ kirin v.t. to step, cross; ~ avetin to take steps: edebiyata kurd di van saln daw de gavine ba avetiye Kurdish literature has taken some good steps in these recent years gavan cowherd; ~t f herding gazin = gazind gazind m rebuke, complaint; ~ kirin v.t. to rebuke, reproach; ~ok rebuking, complaining gaz1 m warrior gaz2 f call, shout; ~ kirin v.t. to call, speak to geh when; geh geh sometimes
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sometimes -geh sufx of place gehandin (dial. var.) = gihandin gehtin (dial. var.) = gihtin gel much, many, most; ~ejmar plural; ~ek() very, a lot, many: ~ek ji wan many of them; ~r popular gelemper general, public; bi ~ mostly, generally gel m mountain pass, canyon gelo whether; interrogative particle, I wonder if gemar f lth gem f ship genim m wheat ger if; ~i even if, although gerandin gern- v.t. to turn, rotate; to take for a walk; to produce gerden f neck gerden f necklace gerdn universal gerek necessary, should, must, ought to; ~ bn to be necessary geremol f complexity, confusion gerihan (dial. var.) = geriyan geriyan v.i. to go around, roam around; ~ li (pey) to look for germ warm, hot: ~a havn the heat of summer; ~a, ~ay f warmth; ~ f warmth Germanya f Germany ger dirty ge red, blossoming, aming, happy; ~ bn to blossom, ame up (re), be happy; ~ f happiness, ourishment gevde f mange; bi ~ mangy gevez crimson gevizandin v.t. to make writhe; xwe ~ to roll oneself around gevizn v.i. to writhe gewde m body; ~ xwe dan hev to curl up; ~ xwe girtin to hug oneself gewr light grey, whitish; ~o whitey gewre large, big gj dizzy, spinning; ~ bn v.i. to be dizzy; ~ kirin v.t. to make dizzy, make lightheaded: germa havn tu gj kiriby the heat of summer had made you dizzy gr crooked, uneven grik ant grt lethargic ghj- gihtin giha = giya gihan gih- v.i. to reach; ~din -gihnv.t. to deliver; xwe gihandine ser to get oneself to gihatin gehj- v.i. to reach, arrive; to mature gihtin gihj-/gj-/gihj-/ghj- v.i. to reach, arrive gihj- gihtin gijgijn v.i. to be knit (brow) gincir ??? gir m hill gir m rancorous, grudging; ~-girtin v.t. to have a grudge gir- girtin giramgr respectful giram f respect giran heavy, deep (voice); serious, grave, plodding; ~ f gravity, weightiness; ~biha precious, expensive; ~ rotin v.t. to sell at a high price, overcharge girav f island girc girc frozen solid gir f knot, tumor; ~-dan v.t. to tie, to connect: nav bajr li cem min bi nav nan rn, ekir helaw hatib girdan for me the word city was connected to the words bakery bread, sugar, and halvah; pita xwe ~ dan bi to turn ones back on, to be unmindful of girk Greek girik f conundrum; hillock giriyan v.i. to weep
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gir m weeping, crying girn v.i. to weep; f weeping girng important; ~ f importance girs great; bi ~ greatly girtin gir- v.t. to catch, seize girtgeh f prison girtxane f prison, place of detention git general, public; totally givatin giv- v.t. to press, squeeze givegiv f gentle blowing of the wind givn v.i. to roar (wind) giya f grass, greenery giyan m soul gj- = gihjgr f grasp; xistin ~ helboq v.t. to ensnare grodar f struggle gr helboq f trap, entrapment gya = giya gol f lake: ~a Wan Lake Van golik m calf gopal m stick; ~ das sickle gor1 f method, manner, way; li ~(a) according to, in the opinion of gor2 f grave; ~istan f cemetery gor f sacrice; ez bi ~ please gorn f tomb got m meat gotar f article gotin bj- v.t. to say: tu bj nebj no matter what you say; f word: bi ~eke din in other words; ji X re Y ~ to call X Y: gelo mirov kane ji berhemn ku bi zimann din tne nivsandin re bibje berhemn kurd? I wonder if can one call works that are written in other languages Kurdish works?; ~xwe well-spoken gotbj f talk, conversation gov f barn govend f Kurdish line dance; ~ girtin v.t. to dance a line dance goya youd think gr- = gir- (girtin) guik m/f ??? ear guh m ear; ~ dan v.t. to listen; bi ~ girtin v.t. to grab by the ear; ~dar m listener; ~dar kirin v.t. to listen; ber guhan ketin v.i. to be heard guhan m udder guhar m/f pearl ??? earring??? guharn v.i. to change guhartin guhr- v.t. to change guhastin = guhaztin guhaztin guhz- v.t. to transport, carry, move; mala xwe ~ to move ones home guhdar m listener; ~ kirin v.t. to listen guherandin guhern- v.t. to change guhertin (dial. var.) = guhartin guj erce (storm) gujn v.i. to howl gul f ower gulan f May gule f bullet; ~baran kirin v.t. to re, open re on gulik f ower gul m braid, tress gulle = gule gulte f clump gund m village; ~ m/f villager; ~t f rusticity guneh m sin, fault; ~kar f crime, offense, fault; avtina ~n xwe expiation for ones sins gungil thick, matted gunin ??? a thick protective mat against thorns, etc. gupe gup kirin v.t. to pound (heart) gur1 m wolf gur2 strong, powerful; ~ kirin to ll gurdar f attention; ~ kirin to pay rapt attention gurg = gur1 gur bald, scabby gurn f clamor, noise gurmn gurm- v.i. to make a loud noise gurz m hank of hair
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guvah f testimony guvatin (dial. var.) = givatin guveguv (dial. var.) = givegiv ha = han hakim m ruler, governor hal m condition, state; ji ~ ketin to be exhausted, worn out halan f yell, shout halhalk (dial. var.) = alal han (in constr. w/ word it modies) this very, that very: w roja han on that very day; ev tirsa han bi serphatiya te girday b this very fear was connected to your experience hatin y-/wer- (v.i., pres. ind. tm, neg. naym, pres. subj. bm/werim) to come; (+ inf.) passive hat f future havtin (dial. var.) = avtin havn f summer havtin (dial. var.) = avtin hawrdor f surroundings, environment; ~n w those around him hawurdor (dial. var.) = hawrdor hay f feeling, awareness (ji of), attention: ~a min j tune b I had no awareness of it; ~dar aware hazir ready, present; ~ f preparation; ~ kirin to make preparations heb1 m grain, bit; pill: ~ek aqil a grain of sense; ~ek() a little, a bit, slightly heb2 f a single thing, item, individual, one hebandin v.t. to love hebe nebe one way or another hebk = hebek (see heb) hebn v.i. to exist: di ziman me de pir gotinn kurd hene ku me nebihstine there are many Kurdish words in our language we havent heard; (with subject + possessive) to have; heb tuneb once upon a time hechecik martin, swallow hecm f attack, assault he whatever, whoever hedam sense ??? hedef f goal heft seven; ~e f week: bi ~yek within a week; ~ey weekly; ~ seventy heger if hej movement; li ~ liv we ketin v.i. to toss and turn hej = hez hejandin v.t. to shake: w ser xwe hejand he shook his head; min dest w hejand I shook his hand hejar poor: ~n kurdan the poor Kurds hejiyan v.i. to move, shake hejk love, affection hejn = hejiyan hejmar f number, issue (of a journal) hejmartin hejmr- v.t. to count, enumerate: dihatin hijmartin le ser her deh tiliyn destan they could be counted on all ten ngers of the hands hejmr- hejmartin hek m right; di ~ prep. concerning, about heke if hel m protected place helaw f halvah helbest f poetry, verse: ~a serbest free verse; ~kar m poet; ~van m poet helbet of course hel-bijartin v.t. to select, choose hel-dirandin v.t. to tear apart Heleb f Aleppo heliyan v.i. to melt, disappear heliz an herb helk bhn breath hel-pekandin li xew v.t. to rouse from sleep helqe f ring hemhem bothand hema thus heman that very hember equal; ~ f equality; li ~
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towards, vis--vis, across from hembz = hemz hemd m will, volition; b ~ reluctantly, involuntarily; hatin ser ~ xwe to come to ones senses hemdem contemporary heme always hemz, hembz f bosom, embrace; ~ kirin v.t. to embrace hem = hem hemman scarcely, barely hem all, every; ~ya(n) all of them hengam time: di ~ek de at one and the same time, at once heps f prison, imprisonment; ~xane f prison her every; ~ ~ always and ever; ~ku -tir the more the more: deng ji ezmn herku di btir dib the sound from the sky kept getting louder; ~ ten at least: her ten end heftiyan carek at least once every few weeks her- n herb f war department herd valley ??? hereherey worldly strife, turmoil herejor steep her = er herm f district, region herf f letter of the alphabet herikn v.i. to move, to ow herimandin v.t. to ruin, make a mess of: w jiyan li wan herimandiye it has ruined their lives her1 very, exceedingly, most (superlative prex) her2 f mud hertim always; ~ usual herweha thus, so also herwiha (dial. var.) = herweha hes f feeling, emotion; ~asiyet f sensitivity hesibandin v.t. to count, take into consideration: ew xwe weke kurd nahesibnin they dont count themselves as Kurds hesin m iron; ~gr m blacksmith; ~ made of iron; ~ker m blacksmith hesiyan/hesn v.i. to feel; ~ bi to perceive, be aware of hesp m horse hesret f pining, longing, regret; li ~a longing for hest f feeling heste f lighter hestik m bone hest m bone he = n hen green; ~ah f greenness het eight; ~ eighty heta even; (prep.) up to, until; ~ (ku) (conj. + neg. subj.) until: heta ney guhartin j d wiha bidome until it is changed it will remain like that hetan = heta hev each other, together, co-, same; ba ~ hatin to get together, cooperate; bi ~du re together; bi ~ re with each other, together; ji ~ ketin to fall apart; li ~ together; li ser ~ altogether; ~ dan v.t. to collect, put together heval m/f friend; ~bend m proponent; ~t f friendship hevedudann v.t. to put together, to compound hevd each other hevgirt assembled hevr m dough hevkar m/f co-worker; ~ f cooperation hevok f sentence; ~saz syntax hevpeyvn f conversation hevraz (dial. var.) = efraz hevrim m silk hevwelat m/f compatriot hew no more, not any more: hew dixwim I cant eat any more hewa f air, weather; ~ guhastin v.t. to have a change of climate
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hewale m air hewandin -hewn- v.t. to give shelter to, protect hewcedar needy, in need; ~ f need, necessity hewe (dial. var.) = we hewes f passion hewg f throat hewil f attempt; ~-dan v.t. to attempt hewk = hewg hewqas that much, so much hewran m a type of cloak; ~yek re a black cloak, a sign of mourning hew f courtyard hey continuously, (+ verb) to keep on heya = heta for, up to, until: heya demeke dirj for a long time; ~ ku (conj.) while, as long as heybet m fearfulness; ~girt fearful heyecan m excitement heyf f pity; ~a its too bad about ; ~a hatin bi to feel sorry for: heyfa min bi te t I feel sorry for you heyhat alas! heyn v.i. to live heyran amazing!, incredible! heyt eight heyt eighty heyv f moon, month; ~a arde ev the full moon heyran i? what do you mean ? heywan f animal hez kirin ji v.t. to like, enjoy: min j hez kir I liked it hezar thousand h still, yet h furious, quick-tempered hd hd little by little hdka slowly, softly hj still, (with comparative) even hja valuable, worthy; ne ~ worthless hk f egg hl1 f side, direction hl2 vigor, strength, power; bi ~ vigorously, aloud hl3 trace, track hl- hitin hlan v.t. to leave hln f birds nest; ~ kirin v.t. to nest, to settle in hnik cool; ~ay f coolness hre kirin v.t. to look hri f attack; ~ kirin/ann/birdin v.t. to make an attack: cendirme hri ser mal dikin the gendarmes are attacking the house hriker attacking hrs f anger; ~ kirin v.t. to anger; ~ ketin v.i. to get angry hsan easy; ~ kirin v.t. to facilitate, make easy; ~ easy hsir m tear hsr captive, prisoner hstir1 f mule hstir2 = hsir hn green (of plants), bluish (of animals); ~ay f greenery, verdure; ~ f greenery htir f camel ht f thigh hvar = var hv f hope; ~dar hopeful; b~ hopeless; li ~ya bn to wait for, be in expectation of ; (li) ~ya man to lie in wait for hwan f porch hwir at rest, calm hz f strength, power hicm f attack hijmartin hijmr- (dial. var.) = hejmartin hikim m sovereignty, power; verdict, judgment; hatine ser ~ to come to power; ~ dayn to make a judgment hilan kept, preserved hil-ann (hil-n-) v.t. to take away; to keep, preserve hil-avtin v.t. to go, stick (li ra
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through something) hil-bijartin v.t. to choose hil-dan v.t. to lift, raise hil-dirandin (dial. var.) = hel-dirandin hil-girtin v.t. to bear, endure; to shoulder (a responsibility, burden) hil-ketin v.i. to come about by chance hil-kan v.i. to climb up, out hil-kutan v.t. to knock, rattle hilmis poke; ~ dan bi to poke hil-pekandin (dial. var.) = helpekandin hil-qedimn v.i. to stand up hil-andin li ser v.t. to bring down on hil-weandin v.t. to break up, split apart: pit hilweandina sstema Sovyet after the break-up of the Soviet system hil-wen v.i. to break up, split apart himhim bothand himber (dial. var.) = hember himbz kirin v.t. to embrace himz armful; ~ kirin = himbz kirin hin some, a few, several: hin rpel a few pages, several pages; hin ji wan a few of them; ~n wan some of them; ~ekan ~ekan some others hinarok cheek hind1 = hin; hinde cara hindek every once in a while hind2 f measure, extent: ji ber hind j to a certain extent; ~ik slight, few, little bit; ~ikah f minority hinda prep. until hindav f direction; ~a da toward hindir = hundur hiner = huner hing then, at that time; therefore, for that reason hingiv m honey hing then, at that time hingr f twilight hir f wool hiriyan v.i. to fall down, spill over or out hi m awareness, sense; ~ be be quiet!; bi ~ intelligent, smart hiin = hn hik dry, solid, frozen; ~ bn v.i. to freeze; ~ah f solidity, rigidity; ~asay f dry, cold air hitin hl- v.t. to let go, leave, allow; Xwed te bihle may God preserve you! hiyar awake, sober; ~ bn v.i. to awaken; ~ kirin v.t. to wake hizandin (dial. var.) = hejandin hizib f political party hizir f thought, idea; li hizra da bn to be thinking about hm1 m foundation, basis; ~avj m founder hm2 = hn2 hn1 still, yet: ew ~ nehatiye he hasnt come yet; ~ btir even more hn2: ~ bn v.i. to learn; ~ kirin v.t. to teach: w ez hn pir titan kirim she taught me many things; ~ bn to learn how to (+ inf.)\ hna = hn1 hnga = hing hs f feeling, emotion; ~ kirin v.t. to feel htin = hitin hv (dial. var.) = heyv hv (dial. var.) = hv hz m/f skin sack hogi m mountain ram hogir accustomed, intimate friend; m environment hol f environment, surroundings; xwe gihandin ~ to come forth, come about, arrive hol thus, in this manner; in view holik f hut hon (dial. var.) = hun honik cool; ~ kirin v.t. to cool down; dil xwe ~ kirin bi to console oneself with
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hov wild; ~t f wildness hovan over there hoy m condition, circumstance: di hoyn teng de in narrow straits, in a tight spot hozant f poetry h.p. = heta pa etc., et al. hukum m order; ~dar f rule; ~dar kirin v.t. to rule hukmet f government humanst m humanist; ~ humanistic hun (obl. we) you (pl.) hundir (dial. var.) = hundur hundur m inside; ~ prep. inside of; di ~ de within: di ~ deh salan de within ten years huner, hiner f art, skill; ~mend m artist hur free, at liberty hurmetgir respectful hustu m neck huzr f presence hn = hun hr1 small, little; ~ ~ in little bits, in small pieces; ~ ~() bn v.i. to be smashed to bits; ~ kirin v.t. to crumble; ~ mr small items, little things hr2 m paunch hrik m small piece, bit, sliver; ~ ~ slight(ly) hwd (her wek din) etc. (because the distinction between initial i and is not consistently maintained, the two letters are alphabetized together) dam f execution, death sentence idare kirin v.t. to direct, manage deoloj f ideology ifade f testimony ias f bankruptcy; ne ~ v.i. to go broke lan kirin v.t. to announce ilham f inspiration ilm scientic lon f September imkan m possibility mparator f empire imtihan f examination imtiyaz f concession: imtiyaza neft oil concession nca then, in that case ngilstan f England ngilz m/f English; ~ f English language inkar kirin v.t. to deny insan human being, one; pl people ina m composition iptida elementary rad f objection ran f Iran Iraq f Iraq ro, roj today r (dial. var.) = ro sal this year sfehan wrought silver skendern f skenderun, Alexandretta Islamiyet f the religion and traditional learning of Islam ispat kirin v.t. to prove, establish israf f expenditure: israfeke enerjiy an expenditure of energy israr kirin v.t. to insist istifade kirin ji v.t. to make use of stgah f station syan f rebellion m work, affair, job: i min bi tirkan re heye? What do I have to do with the Turks? ellah God willing, I hope ev tonight ik dry ikence f torture; ~ kirin bi v.t. to torture, torment ikestin (dial. var.) = ikestin tiraz f objection iyar m skin, pelt jahr (dial. var.) = jehr
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jan f pain, ache; ~ dan v.t. to pain jar poor; ~ f poverty jehr f poison jendirme f gendarmerie jengor rusty j = ji + w/w jhat worthy j-kirin v.t. to excise, cut out, cut off jr down jrbar heavy laden; ~ f being heavy laden ji prep. from, to, for, with ji re ccmp. with ji ve ccmp. from ji ber ve ccmp. before jibrkirin br jihevdeket fragmented, fallen apart: civateke ~ a fragmented society jimar f number jin f woman, wife; ~ik f woman jinvezayin f rebirth, renaissance ji wedaket scattered about jiyan1 f life jiyan2 j- v.i. to live jiyin = jiyan2 j enclitic also, even, emphasizes preceding word j- jiyan2, jn jn j- v.i. to live jndar alive, living; dinya ~ the world of the living jr talented, skillful; ~ f diligence, talent jmartin jmr- v.t. to count, to enumerate jor above, up k- kirin ka (attention-getting particle): ka mze ke come, look!; ka li ku ye? now where is it? ka f straw, hay kabs f nightmare kaye (dial. var.) = qaye kal aged; m old man, grandfather; ~emr m elderly gentleman kalte m good quality kalkabs m nightmare demon kalo m old man kambax ruined, devastated; devastating; ~ kirin v.t. to ruin, devastate kan = kan2 kan1 f spring, source kan2 where is/are? kann (dial. var.) = karn kanun pl winter months kapan a narrow, steep mountain road kapik f bran kar1 m job, work; ~bidest m authority; ~ker m/f worker; ~bar m work, business, everything entailed by s.th.; ~ kirin to work, to penetrate; bi~ ann v.t. to use kar2 kid (goat, deer, &c.) karik kid goat karn (v.i., neg. pres. nkarim, past (d)karibm, neg. past. nkaribm, subj. (bi)karibim) to be able (+ subj. to) karneval f carneval karto stale karxezal baby deer, fawn karzan expert kasik m globe kastn f howl ka m slope, hill; ~ bn to fall backwards kat kirin v.t. to divulge kaxet = kaxez kaxez f paper kaxiz = kaxez kazkaz f wail keban f lady: kebaniya mal the lady of the house ke f girl; ~ik f little girl ked f stick; ~a kesek xwarin to get beaten by s.o. kef1 f foam: ~a sawn soapsuds; ~ dan v.t. to foam
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kef f palm (of the hand) kefen m burial shroud; ~ kirin v.t. to shroud kef f keya, Arab headdress kefteleft f activity, work, enterprise kej f fur; ~ da-bn v.i. to get long fur kek m elder brother kel1 boiling; ~ ger crying and weeping kel2 m bull kelandin keln- v.t. to boil kela m corpse, body kelber wild kel f an outcropping of rock kelem1 oak kelem2 m thorn; obstacle, difculty, trick kelem3 m cabbage; ~ Bruksel Brussel sprout keleme f handcuff; ~ kirin v.t. to handcuff keln f opportunity, chance kemn f ambush; ~ girtin to lie in ambush ken m laughter; ~iyan v.i. to laugh ken- kenn kendal f side, slope, bank keng, keng when? kenn v.i. to laugh ker1 donkey; ne ker ketiye, ne hz diriyaye, ne doab rijiyaye (prov.) no donkey has fallen, no skein has been ripped, and no molasses has been spilled, i.e. nothing at all has happened ker2 deaf ker3 quiet, silent keramet f miracle kerb f sorrow, grief; bi ~a n v.i. to empathize with kerem generosity, benet; ji ~a xwe please, if you would be so kind ker f herd; piece kerm f snout
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kerp m sun-baked mud brick kerwan m caravan keser f sorrow, grief; ~vedan f sorrowing kesk green kef kirin v.t. to discover ket f boat ketin kev- v.i. to fall; ~ li ber to object to, oppose; bi ser ~ to come up, to surface kev- ketin kevan = keban kev m spoon kever spotlessly white kevin ancient kevir m stone, rock kevnar ancient kevnebajar f ancient seat kevneperest conservative kevnesovyet f the ex-Soviet Union kew partridge kewan = keban kewtn v.i. to bark keys f opportunity, advantage kezeb f liver; womb; ~ ewitan to feel sorry, be distressed kez f braid of hair kezk f strand of hair kez kirin v.t. to bite k k kf f pleasure, joy: li ~a w nedihat she wasnt enjoying it; ~xwe happy; ~xwe f happiness, pleasure, rejoicing; ~ sefa pleasure kl m grave klek f side, edge km few, little bit; ~ kirin v.t. to lessen; ~ mab ku (+ subj.) almost: km mab ku dila te ji kfa ji snga te derkeve your heart almost leapt out of your breast from joy; ~an f deciency, inadequacy; ~as f paucity; ~ zde more or less; b~as awless(ly); bi ~an f at least
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KURMANJI KURDISH
kr f knife kr2 f benet, prot, effect; bi ~ hatin to be of benet to : bi kr i t? whats the use of it?; bi~ useful krk rabbit ks = keys kan v.t. to pull, draw; cixar ~ to smoke cigarettes kz f bug, insect; ~ik f bug kibrt match; ~ro matchseller kif clear, apparent kil1 f collyrium; ~ kirin to paint the eyes with collyrium kil2 kirin v.t. to wave; dest ~ ji re to wave the hand at kim m corner kin short; ~ f shortness; bi ~ shortly, slightly kinc pl clothes kincik m rag kir kirin kiras m shirt kirt ugly, shameful; ~ f ugliness, delement, shame kirwe m blizzard kirin k- v.t. to do; ~ ku (+ pres. subj.) to make (as if to do s.th.), almost to do s.th.: w kir ku titek bibje, l ne got he almost said something, but he didnt; ji xwe ~ to take off (clothes), disrobe: min kincn xwe ji xwe kir I took off my clothes; te dikir nedikir do what you might; min kir nekir no matter what I did kirn kir- v.t. to buy kirmat in stony silence kiandin kin- v.t. to pull, draw; dest ~ ji to withdraw from kikiandin v.t. to drag kitb f book; ~xane f library kitkit f detail kiv = kif k (obl. k) who? kjan which?
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kn f revenge, feud: kna xwe bi hev re hene they are having a feud; ~ girtin v.t. to take revenge knga ever; when ks m sack, bag; ji ~ xwe out of ones own pocket kso f tortoise klasikasyon f classication klankov f Klashnikov rie ko = ku2 ko kirin v.t. to decamp, move; ~ kirin to move to kok1 f stitch kok2 f root, stub kolan f street kolan kol- v.t. to dig, dig out, research; ~din koln- v.t. to dig kole1 trick, deceit; ~ kirin v.t. to deceive; ~dar tricky, deceitful kole2 captive, slave kolonyalst colonialist kom f pile, group; ~ bn to gather, assemble; ~a san pack of dogs komar f republic: Komara Mehabad the Republic of Mahabad komel f society, organization: Komela Karkern Kurd Kurdish Workers Society; ~ayet social komik f small group kon m tent kongre f congress kor, kr blind; ~ ~ kirn to be lost in thought kor kend m depression koik f pavilion kovar f journal kov wild, ferocious kox f coop: koxa mirkan chicken coop koxik f hut, shack ku1 where?; ji ~ where from?, li ~ where, where at? ku2 that (subordinating conj.); unless ku f large rock kuder where?
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kufuk m snot; kufk poz snot; kufk guh earwax; ~girt snotty kuj m corner kuj- kutin kul f wound, pain, suffering; adj. infected, inamed, suffering kulav m felt mat kulek f smoke hole kulfet f job, duty: xud kulfet employed, holding down a job; maid, female servant; wife kulik m nger; ~ek dan ser to put a nger on, point to kul f ake of snow kullk f wild ower kull cotton kulm f st; ~ik f st kulmoz m beehive kultur f culture kum m cap; kea ~sor Little Red Riding Hood kun f hole; kun kun kirin v.t. to poke holes in kundk rnitin v.i. to hunker down kunkun pitted, pockmarked kur m boy, son kur kirin v.t. to cut (the hair) kurd m/f Kurd; ~andin v.t. to Kurdicize; ~istan f Kurdistan; ~ayet f Kurdishness; ~hiz Kurdophile; ~iyet f Kurdishness; ~ Kurdish kurdmanc Kurmanji Kurdish kurm m worm; ~ik m little worm; ~ wormy, mangy, maggoty kurs f chair, seat: kursiya eref the seat of honor kur f frozen snow; ~enegirt not frozen solid kurt short, brief; ~ay f shortness: bi kurtay briey; ~erok f short story; ~edem f moment kuruf f mound of snow kusan how kuskusandin v.t. to squint kutin kuj- v.t. to kill kut xistin li v.t. to take a puff on (a cigarette) kut peck, (dogs) bark; ~ kirin v.t. to clack, clatter, rattle kutan v.t. to strike; avn xwe j ~ to blink the eyes kutatirn least kuxn v.i. to cough kuxuyan v.i. to cough k call to a dog ke f (obl k) lane kik m dog kd lame kl f ??? kllk = kullk kr1 (dial. var.) = kor kr2 deep; ~ nrn to look closely; ~ah f depth; ~an f depth kke small, tiny kv (dial. var.) = kov kwr blind kws, kws (dial. var.) = kso labrent f labyrinth lablabik m marsh: kwsiy lablabik marsh turtle lak secular lal mute, speechless lampe f lamp, light land f belly landik f cradle la m body, corpse lat f boulder latn Latin lava kirin v.t. to plead; ~y f pleading lavan = lava law m/f youth, child; ~ik m infant lawur m wild animal layiq worthy lazim necessary lebitn v.i. to move about leheng m champion, hero leh f ood, torrent
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KURMANJI KURDISH
lekim m/f tentacle ??? lenger f tray lep m paw leplep twinkling ??? lerizn = lerzn lerizner trembling lerizok trembling lerz m trembling lerzandin lerzn- v.t. to shake lerzn v.i. to tremble, shake le m body; ~bizdn ??? leker m soldier lev aimless ???; ~ ketin v.i. to chatter (of the teeth) lewa thin at bread lewhe f sign lewma for this reason, therefore lewra, ji lewra because leyistin leyiz-, lz- v.t. to play, play (a part); to play around (bi with): w bi nivsn min dileyist he used to play around with my writings leyiztin (dial. var.) = leyistin leylan f mirage Leypiig f Leipzig lez m haste; ~ kirin v.t. to make haste; bi ~ in haste, hastily; bi ~ bez in all haste, as fast as possible lezandin lezn- v.t. to hasten, to accelerate lezet f pleasure l1 but; ~bel on the other hand l2 = li + w/w l bn bi to be aficted with l-dan l-d- v.t. to strike, play (instrument); cut off: bila mr ser min lbidit let the prince cut my head off l-gern v.t. collect lh: di lh de ccmp. for, in support of lkoln f research; ~er m researcher lv f lip, seashore lvikest with a broken lid l-xistin v.t. to beat, to play (musical instrument), to ring (telephone) li prep. in, at, to; also forms the rst element of a number of compound prepositions; see the second element lib m copy (of a book), ake (of snow), drop (tear); unit, single item liberxwe free, unhindered Libnan f Lebanon lihf f quilt lihstin (dial. var.) = lstin likumn v.i. to trip ling m foot, leg; li ser ~an standing, on foot lipamay backward; ~n f backwardness liq f branch liqandin v.t. to hang; xwe ~ to hang (int.) liser vebn v.t. to diagnose liv f motion, movement; ~ l dan, ~ l xistin v.t. to put in motion livandin livn- v.t. to move, put in motion: destikn ketiy z dilivandin he was moving the oars of the boat quickly liviyan = livn1 livn1 v.i. to move, be in motion, stir livn2 m bed, bedding livok unstable lixwekirin f manner of dress llandin v.t. to ululate ls f high school; ~ xwendin to attend high school lstik f game, play, sport lstin lz- v.i. to play lz- lstin lojman f lodging loma for that reason, therefore luht naked, bare luks deluxe lle f pipe, barrel (of a rie) lrn v.i. to bay lsn v.i. to perch ma interrogative particle: with afrma-
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tive questions a negative answer is expected: ma rast e? thats not right, is it?; with negative questions an afrmative answer is expected: ma ne rast e? isnt that right?; with other interrogatives ma gives the sense of ever: ma tu y i bik bi kr? What ever are you going to do with a knife? ma kirin v.t. to kiss Maden f Maden, also known as Paxirmaden, city northwest of Diyarbekir maf m share, portion; right; ~nas appreciative makne f machine, car mal1 f house, home: mala min mala te my house is your house; ~bat f family; ~mezin belonging to a great family; ~xw paterfamilias mal2 m goods, possessions, wealth: ~ ticaret commercial goods mal- malitin, mitin malava (vocative particle) hey!, see here! malitin mal- v.t. to rub, rub out maliye f tax ofce malmat (pl) information mam m paternal uncle mamostat/et f pedagogy; ~at/et kirin v.t. to teach: w mamostetiya ziman ereb dikir he used to teach the Arabic language mamostay kirin v.t. to teach: w mamostayiya rewenbr ya gelek rewenbrn kurd kir he taught many Kurdish intellectuals how to be intellectuals mamoste m teacher; man mn- v.i. to remain, stay, dwell; ne~ to cease to exist, to be no more: nema xweya kir he never appeared again; hindik ~ (+ subj.) to be about to, to be on the verge of: hindik dima fener bitemire the lamp was on the verge of going out mand exhausted; ~bn f exhaustion mane (const mana) f meaning; ~w moral, spiritual mange f cow man constraint, obstacle mantiq m logic maql reasonable; ~ dtin to consider reasonable: w pniyaza min maql dt he considered my proposal reasonable mar m (obl mr) snake mar kirin v.t. to marry (li to) mar f march, anthem mase f (obl mas) table mast m yogurt maellah goodness! (said to ward off the evil eye when something is admired or praised) mat silent matmayn f astonishment may(n) other mazlm tyrannized; ~iyet f tyrannization mazot f kerosene me em me- alternative negative subjunctive and imperative prex = nemebest f intent mebin (archaic negative 3rd pl subjunctive of bn) they may not be: gelek mebin j even though they may not be many mecal f opportunity: ta niha mecal tune b until now there has been no opportunity; ~ birrn v.t. to take an opportunity away mecbr obliged; ~ kirin v.t. to oblige, force meclis parliament medeniyet f civilization medin civil medrese f religious school mefhm f concept meh f month
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KURMANJI KURDISH
Mehabad f Mahabad mehkeme f court mehkm condemned; ~ kirin v.t. to condemn mehll dissolved; ~ bn to be dissolved mehr f marriage contract; ~ birn to conclude a marriage contract mehrm ji deprived of meh kirin v.t. to wipe out mej m marrow mejl occupied; ~ bn li ser v.i. to be occupied, busy with mekan stance, position mekteb f school mela m (obl. mel) mulla mele (dial. var.) = mela melevan m swimmer; ~ f swimming melkemot the angel of death memr government ofcial mencel a copper pot mendik an herb meqale f article merasm f ceremony merbend f bond, fetter mereqdar f interest, inquisitiveness, curiosity mereq kirin v.t. to wonder merg f death merhele f stage: di merhela ewel de in the rst stage meriv m person, one (impersonal): gava meriv li cihek dimne when one stays in a place merd m disciple, devotee merkez f center; ~ central: hukmeta merkez central government mesaj f message mesel f example; ~en for example mesele f matter mestir larger, bigger mesliyet f responsibility me f walking: mea xwe domand he continued walking; ~andin v.t. to put into practice; ~iyan/-n v.i. to walk metleb ??? mewld f a poem celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad, traditionally recited on festive occasions mexsed f intent, intention meydan f eld; ann ~ v.t. to bring to the fore meyeldar, meyildar = meyldar meyn v.i. to remain meyl f inclination; ~dar predisposed (ji re to); ~dar f bias, predisposition mezel1 m grave, tomb mezel2 f room mezheb m sect mezin big, large, great; ~ bn v.i. to grow up; ~ kirin v.t. to raise, bring up; ~ah f greatness; bi ~bna as vast as m f female mj long ago; ji ~ ve from long ago mj f brain, mind mjn v.i. to suck, suckle mjvemay remnant, relic mr1 m man, husband; ~an f manliness; ~ik m fellow, guy; ~xas m gentleman mr2 mar mrg f meadow mrxas brave m f bee; ~a hingiv honeybee mtro f metro, subway mvan m/f guest; ~dar f visit; ~perwer f hospitality; ~xane f reception room mze kirin li v.t. to look at, see mi shut, closed; ~ kirin v.t. to shut, cover mideh m period of time midr m director, principal mih ??? mihrican f celebration, festival mij m mist mijn (dial. var.) = mjn mijl bi ve occupied, involved with; ~ f occupation, activity
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mikan = mekan mil m neck, shoulder; support, aid; side, direction; bi ~ yek girtin v.t. to come to s.o.s aid, to lessen s.o.s burden; ji ~ din on the other hand milet m nation; ~perwer nationalistic mil national min ez mindal m child minet f obligation; b ~ generous minnet = minet miqam m musical mode miraz ??? wish mircan coral, coral bead mirin mir-/mr- (dimire, dimre) v.i. to die miriyan = mirin mir dead mird m devotee mirk f chicken mirov m man; f woman; m/f person; ~at f humanity, humaneness, chivalry mirward m/f ??? pearl misilman Moslem Misir f Egypt; misr Egyptian mit ji full of, lled to the brim with mitin mal- v.t. to sweep mit man v.i. not to make a sound mit mat utterly silent mixabin unfortunately mizgn m good news; ~ f present given to a person bearing good news m f sheep mh = m mn- man mna (prep.) like; ~ ku (conj.) as, while mnak equal, similar; m example: weke mnak for example; ~ f similarity mr m prince; f princess; ~ek princeling mohr f seal, stamp; ~ xistin v.t. to seal, put a stamp on mor = mohr more cracked (as a mud wall) moz(e) ying insect mr- mirin. mudet m period mudr m school principal muesese f institution muhlet f grace period, respite munaqee f debate; ~ kirin v.t. to debate munasebet f occasion; bi ~a on the occasion of muxtar m village chief, elder muzk f music m m hair, strand of hair; iota: ne mwek not an iota mr f ant na- (negative prex for present indicative verbs) not naln v.i. to wail, cry out name f letter nams f honor; womenfolk nan m bread; ~pj f bakery nar m pomegranate narn delicate nas acquainted, known, familiar; ~ kirin v.t. to know, be acquainted with, recognize; ~andin v.t. to introduce, make known; dan naskirin v.t. to introduce nasiyar familiar nasnav m identity nav1 f middle; di ~a de in the midst of; li ~ hev de girtin to surround; ~n middle (adj.), central: Rojhilata Navn the Middle East nav2 m name; ~ kirin v.t. to name; ~andin v.t. to name; ~dar famous, renowned; ~no notorious; ~not f notoriety navbera prep. between, among naverok f contents navik f waist navnetewey international navnan f address
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KURMANJI KURDISH
navteng f girth naxr no naxir f herd naxwe this being so naylon f plastic: trikn ~ plastic bags naynik = neynik nazik ne, delicate ne not; ~ ~ neither nor; ~ l not but; ne- (negative prex for subjunctive, imperative, and past-tense verbs) not nebeled uninformed, unknowing near helpless; ~ man to have no alternative; ~ f helplessness; ji ~ with no alternative nedar f poverty ned ve, ji suddenly nefel f clover nefes dan v.t. to huff and puff; to be out of breath nefret f hatred; ~ kirin ji v.t. to hate, abhor nefs f self; ~a xwe karn to control oneself; ~pik humble; ~pik, ~pikah f humility neft f oil neh nine neheq f injustice nehy prohibition nejihevdurebyn f indivisibility and inseparability nema notagain nemaze especially nemir undying, immortal: dibe xwediy navek nemir he possesses an immortal name nemirovane unmanly, cowardly nenas unacquainted, unfamiliar, unknown; ~ unacquainted with nepixandin nepixn- v.t. to blow up, inate nepixn v.i. to swell neqandin v.t. to select, choose neraz discontent; ~bn f discontentment nerind evil nerm soft, gentle, ne; ~ah f softness, gentleness; ~ik softly, gently nesir f prose nen unhappy netewe f nation; ~yn Yekby the United Nations; ~y national; ~yt f nationalism nev m/f grandchild, offspring Nevroz f Persian New Years day newal f valley nex miracle; ~n miraculous nexe f map nexwe otherwise nexwe sick, ill; unpleasant; ~ f sickness, disease; ~xane f hospital nexuyay invisible neyar m enemy, opponent, foe neyn f destitution neynik f mirror neynok f ngernail, toenail neynk = neynok nezan f ignorance nirvan m hunter nr f game, prey; n ~ v.i. to go after game nrvan m hunter nrevan m scout nrn v.i. to look; f view, speculation nan f target, mark; ~ kirin v.t. to take aim at, to focus on nv (dial. var.) = nv nv (dial. var.) = nv nzk near; ~ah f proximity; ~ near to, nearly nzkat kirin bi v.t. to approach nirn f malediction, curse nif m generation nifs f identity card nig m foot; ~n xwe zdey xwe avtin to overstep ones bounds nigardar beautiful niha now; ber ~ before now, ago
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nihe = niha nihran expectant, apprehensive nihrn li v.i. to look at, to notice; to look upon, regard (wek as) nihrtin (dial. var.) = nihrn niho (dial. var.) = niha nijad m race; ~perest racist nijde f brigandage nik f side, direction; toward, to; prep. next to, with, to, for nikil m beak nikilandin nikiln- v.t. to peck nimj f prayer; ~ kirin v.t. to pray nimne f example: ji bo nimne as an example, for example; ~nde f example niqutandin v.t. to drip niqutn v.i. to drip nisbet bi relative to nisxe = nusxe nian = nan nik: ji ~ (~a) ve suddenly nitin n-/ni- v.i. to sit nitilandin v.t. to draw, to mark nivistin -niv- v.i. to sleep niviz ??? nivn1 m (usually pl) bed; ~ nexweiy sick bed; destek ~ a set of sheets and bedding material nivn2 -niv- v.i. to lie down, sleep nivsandin v.t. to write nivsar f writing, text nivsevan m writer nivsn v.t. to write nivskar m/f writer; ~ kirin to write, engage in writing nivsk written niv = nif nivz half niwal f small valley niyet f intention nixabtin = nuxumandin nixamtin = nuxumandin nixumandin = nuxumandin nizar m mountain side (where the sun never shines) nizim low njad = nijad nn none, nothing nsan f April nan f sign, mark, military decoration; ~ dan v.t. to show; ~ kirin v.t. to indicate nv half; ~ saet half an hour; ~c half done; ~ ev midnight; ~roj f noon; ~sedsal f midpoint of a century nvek f half nveruh half-dead nvikest cracked nv f middle, midpoint, half nzing (dial. var.) = nzk nod ninety nojdar f panacea nok f chickpea; ~a taht pebble nola (prep.) like: nola hev like each other noqim bn v.i. ??? not = nod nozdeh nineteen nu new; ji ~ ve all over again nuby new-born nudem modern nuh = nu nuha (dial. var.) = niha nuhat new, newly come about: niv nu the new generation nuht f newness, novelty nujen newly invented, new-fangled, modern nuka (dial. var.) = nuha nusxe f copy nuvejn f renaissance nuxumandin v.t. to cover, veil nuxumn v.i. to be covered, veiled nuyt f novelty nuzewic newly-wed n = nu nh = nu
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KURMANJI KURDISH
njen = nujen nner representative NY = Neteweyn Yekby the United Nations oda, ode f (obl od) room okyans f ocean ol f religion; ~dar religious; ~ religious; ~perwer religious ord f army: Ordiya Sor the Red Army ordu = ord orre or f roar orte f middle Osman Ottoman otorte f authority pag stable pak pure, clean; ~hilann ji v.t. to get rid of pakt package pal1 f mountainside pal2 dan v.t. to push palas ??? pale m worker pan wide, broad panat f expanse, breadth pansiman kirin v.t. to bandage papor f stove paqij pure, clean; ~ kirin v.t. to clean; ~ f cleanliness paqi (dial. var.) = paqij par1 f part, share par2 last year par3 f back; ji ~ re from behind pare, pere m piece: du s pern kaxizn two or three pieces of paper; ~ bn v.i. to be fragmented; ~ kirin v.t. to fragment parastin parz- v.t. to protect, guard Pars f Paris pars Persian language part f political party: partiyn kurd yn siyas Kurdish political parties parve kirin v.t. to distribute paseport f passport pa m the back; li ~ ser prep. behind; ~ xwe avetin bi v.t. to throw oneself into s.th.; ~eroj f past, the past; ~ng later; ~ver backward; ~vert f backwardness pail f bosom pa f end; heta paiy until the end patik f back of the head paye f high rank, place of honor; ~t f honor payz f autumn pejirandin v.t. to accept pekiyan = pekn pekn pek- v.i. to splash, splatter, rise up suddenly pekok: strka pekok shooting star pel m leaf, page pelikan stairs, stairway pelk leaf pembo m cotton pena f refuge, asylum; ~ber m/f refugee; ~ber f refugee status pencere f window peng ??? pengizandin pengizn- v.t. to make jump, spurt pengizn v.i. to spray, spurt penr m (obl. penr) cheese per1 m side per2 m feather per3 f piece peran heavy: cezay peran heavy penalty pere = pare pern rivet; bi hev ~ kirin to rivet together, to patch together perde f (const. perda) curtain perd f ceiling beam pere m money pergal m compass; bi ~ derketin to be encompassed perg (+ construct) hatin v.i. to come across, nd; n ~ to go to nd
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perpitn v.i. to utter: dil min diperpite I get sick at my stomach perwaz f ight perwerd f education pesin m praise; ~andin v.t. to praise, to approve of; wesf pesn dan to praise and extol pesn m trace petrol f petrolium pevgirdan f connection pexan f prose; ~nivskar m prosewriter pey: li ~ (prep.) behind, after; di ~ de (prep.) after peya m man peya bn v.i. to get out, off, down (from vehicle) peyda bn v.i. to be found: min zanb w saet ava germ peyda nabe I knew there was no warm water to be found at that time; ~ kirin v.t. to nd peyitandin v.t. to prove peyivn v.i. to talk, speak: ez zde p re nepeyivm I didnt speak to him long pey hev one after the other peyman f pact, agreement; ~ girdan ligel to conclude a pact with peyv f conversation, talk, words: me peyv dagerand ser huner edebiyat we turned the conversation to art and literature; ~ik f expression peywend f relation: peywendiyn navnetewey international relations pez f sheep pezkv (dial. var.) = pezkv pezkv mountain sheep p1 = bi + w/w p2 m foot pandin pn- v.t. to wrap, roll pn p- v.t. to roll, wrap; pjin f feeling pjn pj- v.i. to be cooked; v.t. to light (cigarette) pk together; ~-ann v.t. to get together, collect, arrange; ~-hatin v.i. to come about, come to be; ~-hatin ji v.i. to consist of p-ketin v.i. to catch (re) pkol kirin v.t. to stick together (snow) pkva together p-xistin v.t. to light (re), to switch on pl f wave; ~ bn v.i. to spread out plpl wavy, undulating pnc ve; ~ih, ~ fty pra along with him (see p) prg perg psr f collar; windpipe; forefront; area just below the summit of a mountain p forward: mirov bi p de bie one will go forward; ~-ketin to advance; bi ~ derketin to come out to the fore; ~eroj f the future; ~de xistin to promote; ~ket advanced payk f forefront pber m guide, leader; ketin ~ to be faced with; ~ in the lead, leadership, (prep.) in front of; ~ derketin to lead, go out ahead of pdexistin f promotion, advancement peng m leader, vanguard pepa, li prep. out in front of peroj f future pevan m leader pgotin f foreword piya prep. before, in front of p adj. rst: cara p the rst time, di du-s saln p de during the rst two or three years; f advance: ~ya girtin v.t. to prevent pk avant-garde, forerunner pn rst pke f present, gift, tribute; ~ kirin v.t. to offer (as a gift), to present pmerge m guerrilla pniyaz f proposal, suggestion pveketin f advancement, progress pt f ame ptgiran lazy, indolent
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KURMANJI KURDISH
pwend bi f connection to pwst necessary; ~ f necessity, requirement pxember m prophet p-xistin -x- v.t. to light, turn on (light) pxwas barefooted pi small, little; ~ek a little bit, for a moment; a little thing pife pif f huff and puff pif kirin v.t. to blow, puff pin kirin v.t. to hiss pij scattered pijandin v.t. to cook pijn v.i. to be cooked pijiqandin v.t. to make (blood) gush pijiqn v.i. to explode, to blow up piling m tiger pilot m/f spark ??? pilpil ??? piqpiqok f bubble pir1 very, many, much; ~an f most, majority: piraniya wan most of them; pirraniya caran most of the time pir2 f bridge pir f body hair piroze kirin v.t. to tear to shreds pirs f question; ~ek ji kirin v.t. to ask a question of s.o.; ~gir skeptic; ~girk f question: pirsgirka kurd the Kurdish question pirsan v.t. to ask (a question) pirtepirt f sputtering ??? pirtik f sheet (glass, paper) pirtk f paper, sheet of paper pirtve kirin v.t. to tear to pieces pisk f cat pismam m cousin pispor, pispr m expert; ~ f expertise piaftin v.t. to assimilate piirn to ruminate (?) pit f back, hill; ~a prep. behind, on the other side of; ~a xwe dan v.t. to turn ones back; ~ prep. after; ~ ku conj. after; ~germ supported, protected; ~gir m supporter; ~gir f support; ~re then, later, afterward; ~xwar hunched-over piyale f glass, goblet piyes f play pizot m torch: avn w wek du pizotn gir bn his eyes were like two ery torches pjame m pyjamas pn f kick; ~-avtin v.t. to kick pne ??? ppoq f glass pr old; m/f old man, old woman; ~ik f grandmother prat f old age prhepok m monster ??? proz sacred, holy; ~ kirin v.t. to celebrate; to congratulate: ew w roja han mna karnevalek proz dikin they celebrate that day like a carneval; ~bah f congratulations; ~wer holy ps bad, dirty; ~ik nasty, awful; ~it f obscenity psr (dial. var.) = psr pvan f measurement, criterion; ~din pvn- v.t. to measure PKK = Partiya Karkern Kurdistan Kurdish Workers Party plan f plan; ~ker m planner; ~ kirin to make a plan pola m steel poltka f politics; policy ponijn v.i. to be engrossed in thought por m hair (on the head); ~re blackhaired; ~zer blonde poman regretful; ~ bn li to regret s.th./doing s.th. poxsde sad poz m nose, snout prensp m principle proje f project protesto kirin v.t. to protest, go on strike, boycott PTT = Post Telefon Telexraf Post, Tel-
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ephone, and Telegraph p useless, unuseable pk f snowstorm, blizzard prt f hair, fur, pelt; ~ per feathery coat ptperest idolator; ~ f idolatry PZ = pit zayn anno domini (AD) qaax m smuggler qad f eld, place; ~a er eld of battle qaf f head qahf m cave, cavern qail bn to accept (bi) qal f statement; ~ kirin v.t. to state; ~ ceng f ght qalikday frostbitten ??? qalik m shell, husk qalind thick, fat qam f stature, height; measurement for the height of the sun in the sky qam m whip qami reed qanser f cancer qann f law qarn v.i. to cry bitterly qasid m messenger, envoy qas ku as much as qatil m murderer qayi, qay f strap, thong, belt; rivalry, competition; bi re ketin ~ to compete against: te digot qey ew bi min re ketib qay youd think he was in competition with me qaymeqam m provincial governor qaz m goose qazax f butane qe no, none, at all: ez qe naxwnim I dont read at all qebl kirin v.t. to accept; wek hatin qeblkirin to be accepted as qedandin v.t. to nish, to complete qedeh f cup, goblet qeder1 m amount; ~ for the length of qeder2 f fate, destiny qedexe f prohibition; (adj) prohibited; ~ kirin to prohibit, to ban qedir m worth; qedr zann to appreciate; qedr xwe girtin to esteem oneself; ~gir appreciative, estimable qediyan v.i. to end, be nished qelandin v.t. to tire qeln v.i. to get tired Qefqasya f the Caucasus qefsing f breastbone qehbik f harlot qehbt = qehpet qehern (dial. var.) = qehirn qehir f wrath, rage; qehirn v.i. to get angry (ji at) qehpe f prostitute; ~t f prostitution qehwe f coffee qela split open, wounded qelatin -qel- v.t. to split, split open; qelatina cerah surgical incision qelaw fat qelem f pen qelemrew m realm qelew (dial. var.) = qelaw qel- qelatin qeliandin qelin- v.t. to split, cleave qelin v.i. to be split qelizandin v.t. to make disappear; xwe ~ to slip away qelt f crack qels weak: kultura devk ya Kurd xurt e l kultura nivsk qels e Kurdish oral culture is strong, but the written culture is weak; ~ f weakness qel = qelt qelqel cracked qenc good, pretty, nice; ~ beauty, charitable act, good deed qerar decision qerax f edge, shore qerim wrinkled qerebalix f crowd, confusion; ~ kirin v.t. to act up, to ail around
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qereqol m police station qerisn v.i. to freeze solid qermi f wrinkle; ~ wrinkled qerpee kirin v.t. to hold tightly in ones embrace qesir f palace qest f intention, purpose; ~a kirin v.t. to head toward qea f ice qet (+ neg.) never, not at all qetan v.i. to be nished; be cut qetandin qetn- v.t. to nish; break, cut: kurdn li dervey welt ev zincra kirt qetandine Kurds outside the country have broken this shameful chain; ji hev ~ to part from one another qeter m scales, balance; ~ kirin v.t. to spy (something in the distance) qetiyan = qetan qewimn v.i. to happen qewirandin v.t. to drive away qewn strong qewl f promise; ji ~n xwe vekiiyan to reneg on ones promises, go back on ones word qey hey; why?; te digot qey youd think, it was as though qeyd f bond, fetter qeyde f rule qeytank kirin v.t. ??? qeza1 f district qeza2 f accident; fate; ~ bela misfortune, calamity qezenc f prot, earnings, advantage: bi qezenca to the advantage of ; ~ kirin v.t. to earn, gain, win qrn v.i. to scream qijak raven qijik f crow qilr(n) lthy qir kirin v.t. to eliminate, exterminate qiral m king qirax (dial. var.) = qerax qireqir creak, splintering sound qirdik m clown qirik1 f crow qirik2 f throat; ~tal f bitter aftertaste qir f stem, branch; ~ik f twig qise f conversation, talk qismet m fate qiyamet f resurrection; roja ~ doomsday qizwan terebinth, a small tree qjeqj f loud cry, scream qjiyan v.i. to scream ql m fang, canine tooth; ber ~an dan to sink the fangs into qm f contentment, satisfaction; ~a xwe ann bi to consent to qmet f worth, value qr f cry, shout; ~ kirin v.t. to shout; ~ewr f cry, shout; ~n v.i. to cry out, screech qrn v.i. to scream, screech qz f daughter qo m horn (of an animal) qonax f inn; a one-days distance on a journey qontrol f check qufuln v.i. to feel very cold qul f hole, opening: qula rviyan fox hole; ~ kirin to pierce qulibn v.i. to fall down, collapse, scramble down quling crane qulo m league (measure of distance) quloz bn v.i. to rise up qulqul full of holes qulubn = qulibn qumandan m commandant qunc f corner; xistine ~ek as to corner quncik f little bit quntar f foot of a mountain quran f the Koran qurane f hinge qurban f sacrice, victim; qurbana armanca xwe a martyr to ones cause
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qurm m tree stump: mna qurm dara mir like a dead tree stump qut cut, cut off; ~ bn v.i. to get cut off qut f box quwet power; bi ~ powerful q f cliff, height, summit qn f back; ~a iy mountain skirt; li ser ~ xistin to topple qntar = quntar qutk f small box ra = re ra-bn v.i. to rise, arise, get up; to abandon, give up (li s.th.) ra-girtin v.t. to pick up; xwe ~ to recover rahet f ease, comfort ra-hitin v.t. to put down ra-ketin v.i. to sleep ra-kirin v.t. to take away, pick up; to wake up (trs.); to cancel, abolish; ji nav ~ to eliminate raman f stance ra-man -mn- v.i. to stand, stay, remain standing; to be perplexed ra-medandin v.t. to lay down ra-msan -ms- v.t. to kiss ran m thigh ra-pelikn v.i. to crawl, creep ra-pvan v.t. to pick up; gav ~ to tread rapor f report raser superior rast right, correct; ~ hatin li to come across; ~ kirin v.t. to correct; bi ~ really; ~e prep. straight toward; ~erast really and truly; ~er correct; ~nivsn f orthography rav f hunting ra-westan v.i. to stand up, stop, stand still; li ser ~ to dwell on, stand up against ra-westandin v.t. to make stop ra-westiyan = ra-westan rawir wild animal ra-xistin v.t. to spread ray f opinion ra-zan -z- v.i. to lie down, sleep razdar mysterious raz contented (li with) re postposition forms the second part of a number of circumpositions, generally indicating accompaniment; see the prepositional element ref m row; ock (of birds) reh f way, road; artery, vein; root; ~ penc roots rehet easy, comfortable, quiet; ~ f comfort, ease rehm f mercy; ~ kirin li to have mercy on; ~et the late rehmet f Gods mercy; n ~ to pass away res m head, chief; ~ cumhr president of the republic rencber f hardship, trouble reng m color; bi ~ colored, multicolored; bi i ~ how?; ~e~ of all colors; ~dr f description, quality, adjective; ~n varied, colorful ren f avalanche req1 m turtle req2 stiff; ~ rt stiff as a board reqem f number reqisn v.i. to dance resim m picture resm ofcial re black; ~ girdan v.t. to go into mourning; ~ kirin v.t. to blacken re reat f anything black or blackish in color reat f blackness, darkness rev f ight, retreat revan rev- v.i. to run away revandin v.t. to let escape, to take away revde m herd, pack; ~ girtin v.t. to form a pack revn = revan rewneq brightness, brilliance
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KURMANJI KURDISH
rewrewik f mirage rew f style, manner rewenbr intellectual rex m side, edge, shore; (prep.) next to, beside rexne f criticism; ~ girtin li v.t. to criticise; ~gir m critic rext m cartridge belt reyan v.i. to bark rez m vineyard, orchard r f (const. riya) road, way: bi w riy in that way; bi riya via; ~ girtin v.t. to block the road, stop, prevent: k r li ber wan girtiye? whos stopped them?; (bi) ~ ketin to set off, start out; ~ kirin to dispatch, send; bi ~ kirin to see off rbendan f February rber m leader; ~ f leadership; ~ kirin to lead rbwar m wayfarer re f trace, track; ~ hildan v.t. to pick up a trail rj kirin v.t. to wash rk-xistin v.t. to arrange, put in order rkxistin f coalition rl f forest, wood rncber kirin v.t. to struggle, suffer hardship rven f gait, walk rvebir = birvebir rv m fox rvng m traveler rwit f journey rw m/f traveler; ~t f journey, trip rz f line; ~ bn v.i. to line up; ~kirin v.t. to line up, arrange rz-girtin ji v.t. to respect, have respect for rzik f law, rule rziman f system, arrangement, grammar ricaf f shaking, trembling ricifn v.i. to tremble rih f beard rihet (dial. var.) = rehet rihm (dial. var.) = rehm rijandin rijn- v.t. to pour out rijiyan v.i. to ow, to spill rij f scorched part at the bottom of a pot rik stubbornness, relentlessness, nervousness rikrikn v.i. to chatter (of the teeth) rind good, beautiful; well: ew bi ziman ngilz rind dizanib he knew English well risk = rizq riv (dial. var.) = rv rivn f ame riy r rizan v.i. to rot rizandin v.t. to let rot rizgar saved, rescued; ~ bn v.i. to escape, be rescued; ~ kirin v.t. to save, rescue; ~kir saved, liberated riz rotten rizn di de v.t. to be thrown into rizq m sustenance r f beard rtm m rhythm ro f sun: di bin ro(ye)ka havn de under a hot summer sun roava m west, dusk; ~y western rohilat m dawn, east rohn bright roj f day; ew ~ ev ~ e from that day to this: ew roj ev roj e malbata min li v bajar rdin my family has lived in this city from that day to this; ~ane daily; ~ava west; ~hilat f east: Rojhilata Navn the Middle East; ~name f newspaper; ~nameger f journalism rokrol f role rom m the Ottoman Empire; Ottoman, Turk roman f novel; ~nivs novelist ronah f light, brightness; bi ~y derketin to come to light
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ronakbr intellectual ronay = ronah rondik f tear ronesans f renaissance ruh m spirit, soul; ~iyet f morale, spirit ruhn f brightness; ruhniya avan light of the eyes, favorite rutbe m rank ruv (dial. var.) = rv r m (const riy, rw) face rbar m river rhrn convivial, amusing, lighthearted rj (dial. var.) = roj; ~k = rojek one day, some day rken f smile, smiling rmet f honor, respect rn m oil rnitevan m inhabitant r-nitin -n- v.i. to sit, dwell (the present tense is used only for habitual action; the pres. perf. tense rnitiye means s/he is sitting, and the past. perf. tense rnitib means s/he was sitting); odeya rnitin sitting room rpel f page, sheet rs Russian; ~ Russian (language) rt naked, bare rxan v.i. to collapse rxandin v.t. to destroy sa f (const. siya) shadow; ser siya ketin v.i. to get anywhere near saet f hour sal f year; ~mezin aged salon f reception room san se sar cold satil f bucket saw terror, fear sawar f bulghur wheat, cracked wheat sax healthy, well, whole saxik honest say bn v.i. to clear up (weather) saz kirin v.t. to establish se m (obl. pl san) dog sebeb m reason sebir f patience; ~ neman to be impatient: d sebra min nemaye now Ive lost my patience sed hundred; ~sal f century; ~sal f centennary; ji ~ per cent; bo ~ per cent seda m/f sound ??? sedem f reason, cause seff f classroom seg m dog seh f intuition, feeling; ~ kirin v.t. to understand intuitively sehol f ice Seirt f Siirt; ~ native of Siirt sekinan/-n v.i. to settle down, to be quiet, to dwell; to tarry; to light (gaze) (li ser upon): ez dixwazim li ser pirsek bisekinim I want to dwell on a question selik f basket semax f endurance; ~ kirin v.t. to bear, to endure Sen m the River Seine seqem f dry cold seqer f Saqar, a poison that drips from a tree in hell ser m head; (prep.) to, toward, on, over; bi ~ ketin v.i. to get ahead, succeed; n ser v.i. to attack; ~ xwe bi re andin v.t. to trouble oneself with, bother with: ser xwe bi kultura kurd re nanin they dont bother with Kurdish culture; ~ bin m the ins and outs, everything: ser bin v gund ez bikanibim ji v premr hn bibim I could learn all there is to know about this village from this old man; b ~ bin endless seranser: li ~ (prep.) all over: li seranser dinyay all over the world serbajar m capital
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KURMANJI KURDISH
serberday stray, wandering serbest free; ~ f freedom serbilind bi proud of; ~ah/~ f pride serbixwe free; ~bn f liberation serdar m leader; ~ f leadership, command serdest m overlord; ~ f mastery, rule; ~ kirin v.t. to rule: yn ku ro serdestiya kurdan dikin those who rule over the Kurds today sereke main serencam f end, outcome ser f headache serraz f distinction sergerdan perplexed sergevez pride sergiran important sergn m dung sergovend f dance line; bi ser ~ girtin to lead a dance line serhed f frontier, border ser m head; ear (of grain); ~ birdin to complete; ~ hil-dan to rebel; ~ xistin li to visit; to apply to; n ser to come to fruition serhildan f uprising serjorek serjrek ups and downs serkar f direction, leadership serketin f success serma f cold, coldness sermawj Libra sermyan m capital sernivs f fate sernuxumand veiled serok m leader; ~at f leadership; ~cumhr m president; ~er m chieftain; ~wezr m prime minister serphat f adventure serqot bare-headed serraf m jeweler sersal f new years day serser careless ser-utin v.t. to take a bath sertj towering serve bn v.i. to be attached serwer m leader serwext informed, knowledgeable sew f level: rojnameyn me yn roja royn negihtine sewiya wan our newspapers of today have not reached their level sewsen lily seyda m savant seyr f view; adj strange seyran f outing; ~ -kirin v.t. to arrange an outing; ~geh f park, promenade, place for an outing s1 three s2 f (constr. siya) shadow; di bin siya de under the aegis of sp f tripod sw m orphan swlek m sole (of a shoe) sibat f February sibeh f morn, dawn: sibeh heta var from morning till night; ~ tomorrow; v ~ this morning sibetir f the next morning; ~a w ev the morning after that night sib = sibeh sih1 angry, irritated; ~it f irritation sih2 = s2 sij f puss, lth; ~n v.i. to ooze sik sar very sad (heart) ??? silav f greeting silawat (pl) benedictions; ~an kandin v.t. to give benedictions simbl m mustache simsimn v.i. to leave tracks, to make a trail sincir aming, burning sindoq f box, trunk sing f breast sinif f class, grade sipartin sipr- = spartin sip = sp sipndar f poplar sipta f whiteness
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sir f cold wind; ~ seqem, ~ serma f biting cold weather sirf only, purely sirgn f exile; ~ bn to be exiled sirut f nature sis three sist weak; ~ kirin v.t. to weaken, make weak sitar f protection sitrk = strk sitir m thorn sitran = stran siwar mounted, on horseback siya sa siyaset f politics; ~van m politician siyas political sivik light, not heavy s1 thirty s2 f shadow; ~ dan to cast a shadow sleh (pl) arms, armament: slehn sivik light arms sng f breast snor m border, boundary sstem m system stil f (dial. var.) = satil Swas f Sivas swaxnekir unpenetrated sobe f heating stove; ~ vxistin to light a stove sof Su, respectful term of address for an old man; ~t f Susm, mysticism sohbet f conversation, talk sol f shoe; ~ker m shoemaker sond f oath; ~ xwarin to swear an oath sor red; threshed (wheat); ~ah f redness sorav red grape; ~(n) dark red sorgul rose sosin f iris sosret unusualness; bi ~ unusual soz dan v.t. to promise sparin spr- v.t. to entrust spartin = sparin spas thank you; ~ kirin v.t. to thank; ~dar f gratitude speh good-looking, pretty, attractive spda, spde f dawn spr- sparin sp white; ~t f whiteness standin (dial. var.) = stendin stasyon f railway station stelih ordinary, common stemkar f oppression Stenbol f Istanbul stendin stn- v.t. to take, get; bi pa de ~ to take back steyr = str str f star; ~k f star; ~nas m astronomer; ~nas f astronomy stiran stir- v.t. to sing stn- stendin sto = st stran f song; ~bj singer st m neck; ~xwar obedient, cowed stn f column str thick, stout sufrik m tablecloth sur f breeze suret f speed surgn = sirgn suwar on horseback; ~ bn to mount s m crime, fault sd m prot; ~ wergirtin ji v.t. to prot from sl m waterfall Sriya f (obl Sriyay, Sriy) Syria sxte m theological student Swd f Sweden a happy, glad; ~ bn bi v.i. to be happy with, rejoice over s.th.; ~ kirin v.t. to gladden: w pirtk dil min a kirib that book had gladdened my heart; ~h f gladness, happiness a Shaite (school of Islamic jurisprudence) agirt m pupil, apprentice ah m king ahd m witness
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KURMANJI KURDISH
ahk shining, brilliant ar m poet al m traditional baggy Kurdish trousers all m magpie andin n- v.t. to send an kirin, ~ dan v.t. to show ano f stage ans m chance areza competent; ~y f competence, expertise a wrong; ~ bn v.i. to be wrong: ez ne a bim I wouldnt be wrong; ~ kirin v.t. to mistake; reya xwe ~ kirin v.t. to lose ones way; ~ f mistake, fault afhmkirin f misunderstanding aik f turban; ~ sp white-turbaned ax m branch e = eh eh m comb; ~ kirin v.t. to comb ehd m martyr ehsiwar m expert horseman ekal f old shoe ekir m sugar emitandin v.t. to make slide emitn v.i. to slip, to slide eng tuft of hair ep f blow, slap in the face epe f snowdrift epn v.i. to sink down (into snow) eqeeq noisy sound, chatter equdeq hard knocks er m war: er chan y yekemn World War I; ~ kirin, ~ dan (dayn) v.t. to ght war eref f honor ert f the Sharia, Islamic law erm f shame; ~dar modest; ~dar f modesty; ~ kirin ji v.t. to be ashamed of: min ji xwe erm kir I was ashamed of myself erpeze destitute; ~ bn v.i. to be destitute; ~ kirin v.t. to put s.o. in a bad situation, to best ert f condition, qualication ervan m warrior e six et sixty ev f night; ~re f dark night ewat f re ewitandin v.t. to burn ewitn v.i. to burn exs person; ~ personal; ~iyet f personality ewq f light; ~a elektrk ashlight - iyan landin ln- v.t. to exploit l turbid, murky l (dial. var.) = l n m inhabitant, (pl) people rn sweet x m sheikh idet violence, strength ifr m driver ir f poetry idandin idn- v.t. to strike (a match) ik f doubt; b ~ doubtless(ly) ikandin ikn- v.t. to break ikeft f cave ikr m rock, mountain crag ikestin ik- v.i. to break, be defeated ikir thanks: ikir ji Xweda re thank God ikil form, symbol il damp, wet; ~ kirin v.t. to wet, dampen ilftaz buck naked ip on foot iqitn v.i. to slip irket f company irove f interpretation; ~ kirin v.t. to interpret istin o- v.t. to wash ivan m (obl. ivn) shepherd ivant f shepherding; ~ kirin v.t. to shepherd, to be a sheep herder ivn ivan ivir m mountain goat ixul m work; ~n v.i. to work, occupy
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oneself iyan - v.i. to be able iyar awake; ~ bn v.i. to wake up; ~ kirin v.t. to wake s.o. up n1 blue, green n2 = wn n- andin ndar = wndar r m milk ret f advice; ~ kirin li v.t. to advise rn sweet, pretty, nice t aware, sober v f sunset; ~a var nightfall kandin kn- = ikandin kev f cupboard o- istin op f footprint, trace; ~ ji ser xwe winda kirin to throw a pursuer off track; ~gern scout, tracker; ~ hitin v.t. to leave a trace or1 salty, brackish (water); ~ay f saltiness or2 talk, words; ~ kirin v.t. to talk, chat orbe f soup ore f rebellion, uprising; ~ger m rebel, revolutionary: oregerek bolevk a Bolshevik revolutionary orezar f desert, wasteland un = n utin (dial. var.) = istin uxul m work, occupation; ~ kirin v.t. to work; ~andin v.t. to put to work; ~n v.i. to work spouse jin derz bn v.i. to stand on end (the hair) likn v.i. to move stealthily m gloomy, inauspicious n f place; track, wake: div ew tkeve na bav xwe he must follow in his fathers footsteps; ~a girtin v.t. to follow in the wake of, take the place of; ~da after: ji w sal nda after this year; nuha ~da henceforth; di ~a ku (conj.) instead of quick, nimble, sleek; mirina ~ sudden death a pieces of glass e f glass tin (dial. var.) = istin wn f mourning; ~dar in mourning ta1 prep. & conj. until: ta niha up till now ta2 m fever tab m illumination; ~ ann v.t. to illuminate tabet f nature tacir m merchant; ~ f commerce taht f rock; noka ~ pebble tal bitter, sharp talde f shelter talyan Italian tam f taste tamar = temar tanq f tank (mil.) taqet endurance taqb f surveillance: di bin taqba polsan de under police surveillance; ~ kirin to keep under surveillance tar f a path through snow Taran f Tehran tar dark; ~t f darkness tarx f history tas f bowl tat m breakfast tat m rise, hill tav1 f light, sunlight tav2 f rainshower tavik f sunlight tavil quickly, soon; immediately taybet special; bi ~ especially tayek kiandin ji v.t. to shake tayn kirin v.t. to determine, assign, appoint taz naked; ~ kirin v.t. to strip naked te tu teb natural
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KURMANJI KURDISH
Tebrz f Tabriz tecrube f experience tedrcen gradually tefandin -tefn- v.t. to put out (light, candle) tefe f face, countenance tefn v.i. to go out (light, candle) tefsr Koranic commentary tehlke f danger tehqr f deprecation tehsldar m tax collector teht m mountain range tej (dial. var.) = tij tek single, alone, by oneself; ~ ten alone, all by oneself tekane lone teko alone, singly tela commotion telefon f telephone teletel on tiptoes televizyon f television telte f sheet (of ice), crust tem m fog temam perfect, complete temar f artery, vein temaa kirin v.t. to watch, to look at temae = temaa temaevan spectator, watcher tembel lazy; ~ f laziness temen m life, lifespan, age temene respect; bi ~ respectfully temirn v.i. to die ??? temiz kirin v.t. to clean temslkar m representative tena = tenha tendr f oven, pit; ~a zik the pit of the belly ten alone, only, except for; bi ~ only: em ferz bikin ku tu bi ten bikarib Kurdistanek bik lets assume that you could only create one Kurdistan; ne bi ~ l j not only but also; ~t f misery, loneliness teng narrow, tight; ~as f difculty, straits tenha alone; bi ~ xwe by him/her/itself, alone tenta next to teor f theory tep f tap tepan mallet tepandin v.t. to pat, to tap tepe m summit, mountain top teperep kirin v.t. to rap teq f a sharp sound; ~--req loud sound teqandin teqn- v.t. to burst, explode, to re, shoot (gun) teqn v.i. to burst, explode ter fresh, verdant; ~ f freshness terch kirin v.t. to prefer tercuman m translator teres pimp terik chapped terf kirin v.t. to describe (ji re for, to) terqet m dervish order terk f leaving; ~ dan/kirin v.t. to leave, abandon: gava terka mala xwe da when s/he left home term m corpse terorzm f terrorism terpiln v.i. to roll terr f tail ter livestock tesewif Susm; ~ Sustic tesr f inuence teslm kirin v.t. to turn in, to turn over, to submit tekl f organization, formation tet f trough tewq encouragement; ~ kirin v.t. to encourage texele f trouble, turmoil tetik, tetk f trigger tev all, entire, altogether; together with; ~a all, entirely, totally; ~ah/~ay f entirety: di tevayiya Ewrpa all over Europe; ~da, ~ de altogether, entire-
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ly; bi ~ay entirely, in toto; xwe ~gir-dan v.t. to get oneself together tevdr f plan tevger f industry, activity, movement: Tevgera Rizgariya Kurdistan Kurdish Liberation Movement teviz numb tevizn f numbness; ~ok f numb feeling tev (prep.) along with; ~hev altogether; ~ ku (conj.) although tevlihev confused, mixed up; ~ f confusion tevl f awareness tewqif kirin v.t. to arrest texik f shelf texlt sort, kind: her du texlt nivsar both sorts of writers texmn f guess, thought; ~ kirin v.t. to guess, estimate text m throne texte m board teyan a large basin used in bathhouses teyr, tr m bird; ~ ty birds and fowl teze new(ly), fresh(ly); ~ kirin to refresh t1 = di + w/w t2 = tu + t3 coming, next: meha ~ the coming month t-gihtin v.i. to understand, realize tk n v.i. to break up, split apart tkel prep. along with t-ketin v.i. to go to, wind up (somewhere): ew dixwaze tkeve cepheyan he wants to go to the fronts; ~ na to take the place of: keng azad serbest tkevin na sitemkar zordariy? when will freedom and independence take the place of injustice and oppression? tkil connected; ~bn f connectedness; ~ f connection t-kirin v.t. to put on tkoer m activist, combatant tkon dan v.t. to strive, make an effort tkz (dial. var.) = tekz tr1 full, satised; ~ bn v.i. to be satised (hunger), to be slaked (thirst); ~ kirin v.t. to satisfy, make full, to be sufcient: emr w tr nekir he didnt live long enough tr2 = teyr tvel various, different t-xistin v.t. to include; xwe ~ to put oneself tif f spit tik f bellows, hearth ting f rie tije brimful tij full; ~ kirin v.t. to ll til f nger tilik, tilk = til tim1 always; her~ always tim2 f desire timobl f automobile tin (dial. var.) = ten tiral lazy tirb f grave, tomb tirn f train; ~a di bin erd de subway; ji ~ by train tirimpl f automobile tirk Turk; ~ Turkish (language); ~nijad racially Turkish Tirkiye f (obl Tirkiyey, Tirkiy) Turkey tirs f fear; ~an va out of fear tirsandin v.t. to scare; to fear tirsner frightful, frightening tirsiyan/tirsn ji v.i. to be afraid of, fear tir bitter; ry xwe ~ kirin to scowl tit m thing: titek din something else titn f tobacco tiving f (dial. var.) = tung tiw = tu w tixtor m doctor t thirsty tfal ??? tj (dial. var.) = tj; ~ hr nrn li to
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KURMANJI KURDISH
look closely and carefully at, to scrutinize tn1 f thirst tn2 btn tn- ann tp f letter of the alphabet; m type, sort tr thick, dense, dark traj f print run; km ~ of a small print run, printed in small numbers trj f sunlight, ray: trjn hviy rays of hope t piece, group tol f revenge; ~ wergirtin v.t. to extract revenge top f cannon, cannonball topik f pile torbe sack torin m person of name, person of renown; descendant, offspring toz f dust; ~ telaz dust trimbl f automobile tu1 (obl. te) you (sing.) tu2 no, not any, none, nothing; ~ caran never; ~ kes nobody; ~ tit nothing tucar never tuf f spit; ~ kirin v.t. to spit tung f rie, gun; ~ ber-dan to re a rie at tukes (+ neg.) nobody tj sharp tk f hair, fur tle m pup, cub tlik m cub tr m bag; ~ik m sack trt = turt ttin f tobacco ummet f religious community umr m life unda (dial. var.) = wenda unverste f university uris Russian usa (dial. var.) = wisa ustu = st zez f rumble va = ve vala empty; ~ kirin v.t. to empty; ~h f void; vik~ totally empty vazo f vase ve (postposition) forms the second part of a number of circumpositions, generally indicating motion away from; see the prepositional element ve-bn v.i. to open ve-ceniqn (dial. var.) = ve-ciniqn ve-ciniqandin v.t. to make tremble with fear, to make shudder, to startle ve-ciniqn v.i. to be seized by fright, to be startled ve-dan v.t. to give off; deng ~ to echo veger f return ve-gerandin -gern- v.t. to turn, to turn back ve-geriyan/gern v.i. to return; ~ ser to turn to ve-gevizn v.i. to ounder, wallow ve-hrandin v.t. to grind up, crunch vehnay spread out ve-jandin -jn- v.t. to revivify ve-jenn v.i. to rustle ve-jinn (dial. var.) = ve-jenn ve-kirin v.t. to open ve-kiandin ji v.t. to pull out of, pull back from, withdraw from ve-kin v.i. to withdraw ve-maltin v.t. to roll up the sleeves ve-man v.i. to bog down ve-miran (ve-mirn) v.i. to go out (re, &c.); ~din v.t. to put out, extinguish, quell, quench: min lampa xwe vemirand I put out my light ve-poandin v.t. to cover ve-qetandin v.t. to distinguish, separate ve-qetiyan v.i. to get separated: ji ber perebna welt riyn zaravayn kurmanc soran ji hevdu vediqetin
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after the division of the country the paths of the Kurmanji and Sorani dialects part from each other; ~ bi to be distinguished by ve-qetn = ve-qetiyan ver-kirin to send off, dispatch ve-artin -r- v.t. to hide, bury ve-texirn v.i. to taper off ve-xistin v.t. to throw down ve-xwarin v.t. to drink ve-zelan v.i. to lie down and roll around; xwe ve-zelandin to throw oneself down and roll around ve-ziliandin = ve-zelandin v ev vca therefore vcar then, so v-geriyan = ve-geriyan vk re together vn f wish, desire v-xistin v.t. to light vikvala vala. vir here vizn v.i. to buzz, to hum vizvizk tangled, knotted v ev vrus f virus vzevz f blowing, rustling (of wind) waqewaq squeal of an animal war1 m = bar war2 m regard, respect; di ~ de concerning; di v ~ de in this regard, in this respect war3 m camp, camping ground; ~geh m camp site warkor n to disappear without a trace we hun wefakar faithful wefat f death weha thus, such wek (prep.) like; ~e (prep.) like; ~e ku (conj.) as: weke ku min got as I said; ~ din anything else wekhev alike, equal; ~ f equality: li ser esasn wekhev on a basis of equality wekl advocate, lawyer; ~dar f advocacy welat m (obl. welt) country, homeland; ~hez lover of the homeland, patriot; ~parz defender of the homeland, patriot(ic); ~perwer patriot wele = welle weleh = wel wel thus, like that welle by God wenda lost; ~ bn v.i. to be lost; ~ kirin v.t. to lose wer bn di v.i. to fall into wer- hatin werger m translator; ~van m translator wer-gerandin v.t. to transform, translate wer-girtin v.t. to take up (see ber wergirtin, sd wergirtin, tol wergirtin) werimandin v.t. to cause to swell werimn v.i. to swell wer-kirin li v.t. to wrap around wesiyetname f will, testament wers m rope wesf m attribute, quality; ~ dan to describe westan west- v.i. to stand, stop; to be exhausted westiyan = westan westiyay exhausted weandin wen- v.t. to publish weanxane f publishing house wext f time: di eyn wext de at the same time; di wexteke kurt de within a short time; ~ ku (conj.) when wezin f poetic meter wezfe f duty wezaret f ministry: Wezareta Ferheng the Ministry of Culture wezr m minister; ~t f ministry w1 ew w2 future auxiliary + subj. for future tense
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wje f speech, literature wne m picture, painting; ~ger m artist, painter wran destroyed, ruined; ~ kirin v.t. to destroy, ruin wrn v.i. (+ subj.) to dare winda (dial. var.) = wenda wir there wirn (dial. var.) = wrn wisa(n) thus, such, so w ew wjdan m conscience wucd f existence; hatin ~ to come into existence wusan (dial. var.) = wisa x- xistin xak f earth, ground xal f mole xalxal in spots, spotted xanim f lady, mistress xan m house xapandin xapn- v.t. to deceive, to fool, to play a trick on: mna ku hatibe xapandin as though a trick had been played on him xapn v.i. to be deceived, to be fooled xapok deceptive xapxapok deceitful xar1 crooked, bent xar2 (dial. var.) = xwar xarin (dial. var.) = xwarin xastin (dial. var.) = xwestin xask cunning, shrewd xatir m mind, heart; ~gir considerate, obliging; ~ girtin to be considerate of, respect: bik mezinan xatir w digirtin young and old were considerate of him; ~xwestin f affection; bi xatir re w ji min re got he said to me with affection; dan ~ to be considerate of xav raw, immature xayin traitor xaz m ghazi, holy warrior xazk ??? xebat f work, struggle xeber f words, speech: xebera w ye thats what he says xeberdan f talk, speech xebitan li ser v.i. to work on, strive for xebitn = xebitan xedar pitiless, cruel xefk f trap xelas kirin (v.t. to nish xelas f liberation; er xelasiy war of liberation xelat f prize, reward; ~ kirin v.t. to reward xelk m (construed as sing. for case but pl. by sense) people xem f grief, sadness; ~ xwarin ji v.t. to sympathize with; ~gn sorrowful; ~gn f sorrow: ez bi xemgn dibjim ku I say with sorrow that xemilandin v.t. to adorn xencer f dagger xerab ruined; ~-bn to be ruined; ~e ruined; ~ f harm, ruination xerez f rancor, grudge; ~kar f holding a grudge xerf senile xerc kirin v.t. to spend xerb stranger, foreigner, exiled, away from ones homeland; ~ f estrangement, foreignness, the state of being away from ones homeland; welat ~y foreign country xerte f map xertel f eagle xesandin xesn- v.t. to twist, wring xesar f damage, loss; ~ dtin v.t. to suffer loss, be damaged; ~nedt undamaged xet f line xew m sleep; ketin ~ to fall asleep; ji ~ ra-kirin to rouse from sleep xewle lonely, desolate
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xewl f desolation, isolation xewn f dream; ~ dtin v.t. to dream, have a dream; ~erojik daydream xeyal f imagination, fantasy, dream xeyidn ji v.i. to get angry at xeyn other; ji ~ (prep.) other than, aside from: ji xeyn van titan other than these things xeyo (Syr. Ar. khayyo, voc. only) fellow, guy, friend xezal gazelle xezeb f rage, wrath xezne f treasury xezr m father-in-law; f mother-in-law xr f goodness; ~xwe f chitchat; bi~hatin dan v.t. to welcome: jinek bixrhatin da min a woman welcomed me; bi ~a re thanks to; bi ~ br very good; ji ~a re because of, on account of; ~hatin kirin li v.t. to welcome; hatin ~ to be a welcome guest xz f line; ~ik ditto xidmet f service xilas kirin to be saved xilmam = xilma xilma half asleep, sleepy xirab bad, evil xisar f loss xistin x- v.t. to cast, throw, put in, make fall; ji hev de ~ to break up; ~ li to beat xissiyet = xussiyet xiikn v.i. to drag along, scrape across xir m/f ornament ??? xixi f rustling, scratching sound xitab m address; ~ kirin v.t. to address; ~ kesek kirin to address, speak to s.o. xitimandin v.t. to close, seal: r hatine xitimandin the roads have been closed xiyal f dream, imagination xizmet f service; ~ kirin v.t. to serve xnji (dial. var.) = xeyn ji xret f zeal, bravery, courage; ~ kirin v.t. to try hard xze-xze grating sound xo f (dial. var.) = xwe; ~a xwe his own self xoce m master, teacher xof f fear; ~ tirs f fear and trembling xort young, young man/woman; ~an f youth xodiv beloved xu (dial. var.) = xwe xuda m (obl. xud) God; ~ hez goodbye xudan m owner; b~ godless, Godforsaken, poor, pitiable xuh f sister xulam m slave; manservant xunav f sprinkle, light rain xur f itch xure xur f snoring xurn on an empty stomach xurn = xurn xurme f date xurt strong, powerful; ~ gur strong, puissant xur natural xussiyet f characteristic, distinguishing feature xun v.i. to rustle, to gurgle xuk f sister xuya clear, obvious; ~ bn v.i. to be obvious, appear, show up; ~ kirin v.t. to seem, appear: hotel gelek xwe luks xuya dikir the hotel looked very nice and deluxe xuyan v.i. to seem, to appear xuyan familiar; ~ kirin v.t. to familiarize xn f blood; ~a ceger livers blood, metaphor for tears of agony and suffering xs f snowdrift ??? xyan = xuyan xwar down; ser da ~ bn to lean
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KURMANJI KURDISH
over s.th.; ~ bn v.i. to descend; ~ kirin v.t. to lower, take down; hatin ~ to come down xwarin f food xwarin xw- v.t. to eat xwaroviko coiled up xwaz- xwestin xwe oneself, -self (refers to the subject of the clause in which it occurs); ~ girtin li ber to defend oneself against; ji ~ in and of itself; bi~ himself, herself, itself; li ~ kirin to put on, wear (clothes) xwebikdtin f inferiority: kompleksa xwebikdtin inferiority complex xwedan m chief, head, leader xwed m God xwed m possessor, owner: xwediy paseporteke Swd bm I possessed a Swedish passport xwehesn f self-awareness xwefadekirin f self-expression xwel f dust, ash; ~ li ser xwe kirin to pour dust on ones head, to mourn; ~dan f ashtray xwen f dream, vision xwenas self-respecting xwenav = xunav xwendin xwn-/xwn- v.t. to read, study xwende/a learned, literate; ~geh f school, university; ~kar student; ~van m reader, scholar xwer independent; pure(ly), exclusive(ly): ev kovar ne xwer bi kurd ne these journals are not exclusively in Kurdish xweser unbridled xwestin xwaz- v.t. to want, to ask for xwe nice, pleasant, good; ~bn f success; ~hal pleased, happy; ~haliya xwe gotin to express ones pleasure; ~ik nice, pretty; ~ f pleasure xwey = xwe xweya = xuya xwey = xwed; ~ kirin v.t. to raise (animals) xwez would that, I wish (+ past conditional); ~t f desire, wish xw f salt; sweat xwdan v.t. to sweat xwik f sister xw m habit, disposition xwn f blood; ~egot esh and blood; ~dar bloody; ~germ fervent; ~germ f fervor; ~rn likeable xwsgirt damp xwz f spit, saliva xwk (dial. var.) = xwik ya fem. sing. construct extender; bi ~ te in your opinion yad (voc. only) mother yan or; ~ ~ either or yan that is, i.e. yar m friend ya reb O Lord! yek one; ~ bn v.i. to be united; ~by united; ~deng f unanimity; ~dest of one piece; ~ejmar singular; ~emn rst; ~t f unity; ~tiya Neteweyan the League of Nations; ~netewet f uninationalism, monoethnicity; ~ser direct; ~ta peerless, without equal yekser right away, immediately y masc. sing. construct extender yn pl. construct extender YNK = Yektya Ntmanperwern Kurdistan Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) yunan Greek zabit m (obl zbit) m ofcer zaf (dial. var.) = zehf zalim m tyrant, unjust zang sheer (cliff) ??? zann v.t. to know (neg. present nzanim, past (d)zanibm, subj. bzanibim); ~ bi to know about: xelk bi
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siyaset nizanin the people dont know anything about politics zana = zane zane learned, wise; ~bn f wisdom; zanyar f knowledge zar m language; ~ava m dialect; ~rn well-spoken, articulate zaro small, young, m/f youngster; ~k child; ~kat, ~kt, ~t f youth, childhood zarn v.i. to wail, lament zar z (pl) kids zava m bridegroom zayin f birth zehf many, lots of, very, very much zehmet f trouble; ~ kiandin v.t. to have difculty, go to trouble, be bothered; ~ f ditto; ~k worker, laborer zef weak, skinny zelal clear, limpid; ~ kirin v.t. to make clear, clarify zelam = zilam zeliqandin v.t. to stick zeliqn v.i. to stick zell m despondent zeman m time, era zemzellk f icicle ??? zend f forearm zengal m/f legging ??? zengil m bell; ~ telefon telephone call; li ~ dr xistin to ring the doorbell zengn rich; ~ f wealth zer yellow; ~at f yellowness; ~by yellowed; ~ zinar nooks and crannies zerar f detriment, loss Zerdet Zoroaster zev f land, eld zewac f marriage zewicn bi re v.i. to get married to zewq m delight zexim strong, sound; zexm f strength zbit zabit zc hide ??? zde much, a lot; ~ bn v.i. to increase; ~ kirin v.t. to increase zr m gold; ~n golden zrben ??? zrek f cleverness, intelligence zihniyet f mentality zik m belly; ~ek tr xwarin v.t. to eat to ones ll; ~mak native, inborn zilam m man, guy, fellow ziliandin ve-ziliandin zilik straw zilim f injustice, tyranny ziman m (obl zimn) language, tongue; bi ~ ann v.t. to give voice to, express; ~van linguist; ~van f linguistics zinar m (obl. zinr) rock zing ??? zingar f rust; ~girt rusty, rusted; ~ girtin v.t. to rust, get rusty zincr f chain, bond zindan f prison zind alive, energetic, lively ziving f cave zivistan f winter zirav slender, slight zivir twisted, knotted zivirandin zivirn- v.t. to turn around, turn back; avn xwe ~ ji de to turn ones eyes away from , avert ones gaze from zivirn zivir- v.i. to turn, go/come back, turn around, wander ziwa dry zixim (dial. var.) = zexim zn z- v.i. to live, come to life zre cumin zrek clever ztby ??? zv m silver zvalzval ??? zving = ziving zvironek sandy, dusty
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KURMANJI KURDISH
zman = ziman zolilk blossom, bloom zor f force; ~ dan v.t. to force, compel; ~ kirin v.t. to use force; bi (dest) ~ by force; ~bet f oppressiveness; ~dar forceful, oppressive; ~dar f oppression; ~dest f force, pressure; ~kirin f violence zozan m summer pasture, meadow zuha (dial. var.) = ziwa zuk f prominent, obvious zulf m/f tress, lock (of hair) ??? zulum = zilim zurne f clarion; ~van m clarion player z quick, fast, soon, early; ~ an dereng sooner or later; ~ be ~ very quickly; ~ de (+ pres. perf.) for a long time: z de ye me hev du neditiye we havent seen each other for a long time; ~brbir f quick thinking; ~ka, ~~ka hurriedly, hastily, quickly; ~kan f haste: zkaniya te i ye? whats your hurry?; ~ ve for a long time, since long; ji ~ de from early on zrezr f howling zrn v.i. to howl zr man v.i. to be lost
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Kurmanji Kurdish For The Beginners

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Kurmanji Kurdish For The Beginners

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Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

P,p Q,q R,r

S,s , T,t U,u , V,v W,w X,x Y,y Z,z

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal kg x q h

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Expressing to be in the present tense

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

seravan ev sibeh,beyan silav te t tu xatirxwestin xwendekar xwe

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

end bajarn Kurdistan / Some cities of Kurdistan

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 1

Wan ewlik lih irnex Xarpt Zaxo

Van Bingl Batman rnak Elezz, Elaz Zaho

Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Tirkiye Iraq

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2 thn/t vir xerab Xwed xwikek

thirsty here(location) bad God asister(fromxwiksisterwithanindefinitesingularendingek).The wordxwehisalsousedforsister yours university child

______ 49 ______ 51 ______ 69 ______ 91

______ ______ ______ ______

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2

In Kurdish: is also 22.

... ... ... ... ... ...

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2

The indefiniteness suffix

Grammar / Rziman 2 (continued)

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 2

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3

Rojeke Min / My Day (literally: one day (roj-ek) of me)

2. Asking About Jobs

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3

present tense prefix kirin (to do) Ez di k im Tu di k Ew di k e

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3

zann (to know) Ez ni zan im Em ni zan in Tu ni zan Hn ni zan in Ew ni zan e Ew ni zan in

karn (to know) Ez ni kar im Em ni kar in Tu ni kar Hn ni kar in Ew ni kar e Ew ni kar in

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 3

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 LESSON 4

1. Tekst: Mala Nrgiz

Translation: The House of Nrgiz

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4

What day is it today? It is Thursday.

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4 Grammar / Rziman 4 (continued)

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 4

Present stem ajonaxivavjbbdda-n

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 LESSON 5

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5 --Naz: Heln: Naz: Serdar: Naz:

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5

The modal construction

Grammar / Rziman 5 (Continue)

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5

Some uses of the Oblique case

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 5

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6

Text: Em d biin Wan

3.1 Li Kurdistan Bazar

Kurmanji Kurdish, Lesson 6

49 51 69 91