introduction to kurdish: the latin alphabet
this is a brief introduction to the latin alphabet used to write in kurdish. the latin alphabet, consisting of 31 letters, was first introduced by celadet alî bedirxan in 1932 and is primarily used to write in the kurmancî dialect of kurdish.
kurmancî is widely spoken in northern and western kurdistan and in smaller numbers in eastern and southern kurdistan. soranî, a dialect of the kurdish language spoken in eastern and southern kurdistan, uses a modified perso-arabic script for writing instead.
below is the full alphabet, along with a pronunciation guide and a kurdish word that starts with/contains that letter.
the alphabet
to hear how each letter is pronounced, click here.
Aa - long A, pronounced like the A in father | agir - fire
Bb - pronounced like the B in boss | bihar - spring
Cc - pronounced like the J in job | ciwan - young, beautiful
Çç - ch sound, pronounced like the CH in chair | çav - eye
Dd - pronounced like the D in dog | delal - dear, beloved
Ee - short E, pronounced like the A in apple | evîn - love
Êê - long E, pronounced like the A in ape | êvar - evening
Ff - pronounced like the F in fox | fîstan - dress
Gg - pronounced like the G in grape | gul - flower (specifically rose)
Hh - pronounced like the H in happy | hêv - moon
Ii - short I, pronounced like the I in insect | insan - human being
Îî - long I, pronounced like the Y in funny | îşev - tonight
Jj - pronounced like the S in pleasure (or like J in french, ex. je) | jîyan - life
Kk - pronounced like the C in cat | kanî - spring (of water), source
Ll - pronounced like the L in love | lêv - lip
Mm - pronounced like the M in money | masî - fish
Nn - pronounced like the N in new | nerm - soft
Oo - long o sound, pronounced like the O in open | olan - echo
Pp - pronounced like the P in paper | pel - leaf
Qq - no english equivalent to this letter but it is pronounced similarly to the arabic letter ﻕ. you can hear an example of how this letter is pronounced here | qehwe - coffee
Rr - R’s are rolled in kurdish. hear an example of this here | ronahî - light, brightness
Ss - pronounced like the S in snake | spêda - dawn
Şş - sh sound, pronounced like the SH in shadow | şervan - fighter, warrior
Tt - pronounced like the T in toy | tarî - dark
Uu - short U, pronounced like the U in pure | unce - clover
Ûû - long U, pronounced like the double O sound in boot | ûtî - iron
Vv - pronounced like the V in van | havîn - summer
Ww - pronounced like the W in wood | welat - country
Xx - no english equivalent but it is pronounced similarly to the arabic letter خ. you can hear an example of how this letter is pronounced here | xezal - gazelle
Yy - pronounced like the Y in yes | yek - one
Zz - pronounced like the Z in zoo | ziman - language, tongue
