Unit 1: The Kurdish alphabet

New letters

• ç
• ş
• ê
• î
• û

Alphabet

Vowels

• athe a in father, long and openavwater
• ethe e in bed, short, often close to the a in aboutezI
• êthe ay in say, held steady without slidingsêthree
• ithe i in bit, short and lightdilheart
• îthe ee in seeşînblue
• oa pure o, like go without the glide at the endsorred
• uthe u in put, shortdutwo
• ûthe oo in food, longrûpelpage

Long and short vowels

New letters: sounds

• With a tailÇçthe ch in chairçaytea
• With a tailŞşthe sh in shipşeşsix
• With a hatÊêthe ay in say, held steady without slidingsêthree
• With a hatÎîthe ee in seeşînblue
• With a hatÛûthe oo in food, longrûpelpage

Letters with a different sound

• c

  j in jam

  ciwanyoung

• j

  s in measure

  rojsun, day

• q

  k, further back in the throat

  qehwecoffee

• x

  ch in loch

  xwarinfood

Reading words

avnanmalrojçayspassilavhevalçiyarûpelşînkesk

1. s 
2. i 
3. l 
4. a 
5. v 

Press Start reading.

Start reading Show the whole word

Numbers 1 to 10

1. 1yek
2. 2du
3. 3sê
4. 4çar
5. 5pênc
6. 6şeş
7. 7heft
8. 8heşt
9. 9neh
10. 10deh

First sentence

Sorani script

• Right to leftRead from the right edge to the left.
• ماڵLetters join upMost letters connect to the next one and change shape slightly.
• ۆ ێ ەVowels are writtenSorani writes vowels as letters, unlike Arabic.
• دڵExcept short iThe short i is not written: dil (heart) is written d, l.

Sorani letters

• پpp in pen
• چçch in chair
• ژjs in measure
• گgg in go
• ڤvv in van
• ڕra rolled r
• ڵla heavy l
• ۆoa pure o
• ێêay in say
• ەee in bed

Sorani words

• ڕۆژrojsun, day
  1. ڕr
  2. ۆo
  3. ژj

  Kurmanji roj

  The r is rolled, which is why it wears a small v below.

• نانnanbread
  1. نn
  2. اa
  3. نn

  Kurmanji nan

• سوپاسsupasthanks
  1. سs
  2. وu
  3. پp
  4. اa
  5. سs

  Kurmanji spas

• سڵاوsilawhello
  1. سs
  2. ڵl
  3. اa
  4. وw

  Kurmanji silav

  The short i after the s is said but not written.

• ئاوawwater
  1. ئseat
  2. اa
  3. وw

  Kurmanji av

  A word never starts with a bare vowel, so ئ sits in front.

• هاوڕێhawrêfriend
  1. هh
  2. اa
  3. وw
  4. ڕr
  5. ێê

  Kurmanji heval

  A different word from Kurmanji heval, with the same meaning.

Practice: letters and sounds

Practice: words

Self-check