Greetings and politeness in Kurdish
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the eleven openers everything else builds on. Play the ten Kurdish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Kurdish phrases in this lesson
- Silavsi-LAV
- Hello
- Beyanî başbe-ya-NEE BASH
- Good morning
- Êvar başee-VAR BASH
- Good evening
- Bi xatirê tebi kha-ti-RE te
- Goodbye
- Heta paşêheh-ta PAH-sheh
- See you
- Ji kerema xwezhi ke-re-MA khwe
- Please
- SpasSPAS
- Thank you
- Ser çavanSER cha-VAN
- You're welcome
- Mixabinmi-kha-BIN
- Sorry
- Biborinbi-bo-RIN
- Excuse me
- Bi naskirina te kêfxweş bûmbi nas-ki-ri-NA te kef-KHWESH boom
- Nice to meet you
The everyday greeting, good for any person and any hour. It is also the word for a greeting itself, which is why you send silavan (greetings) to someone's family. Safe in shops, offices and with elders alike.
Literally "morning good": the adjective follows the noun in Kurmanji, and baş (good) will reappear in half the greetings you learn. Used until mid-morning, after which roj baş takes over.
Literally "evening good". Silav works at any hour.
Literally "with your leave", and it belongs to the person who is leaving. The one staying behind answers oxir be (o-KHIR be), may it go well. Kurdish farewells come in matched pairs like this; using the wrong half is the giveaway.
Until later, a casual sign-off.
Literally "of your kindness". Ji is said with the j of "measure", and xwe carries the throat x. It is a real spoken phrase, unlike its Sorani counterpart, but Kurmanji still leans on the polite plural verb ending (bidin, bikin, bisekinin) to carry courtesy. Both together is warmest.
The everyday thank you, one syllable and used constantly. Spas dikim (SPAS di-kim), literally "I do thanks", is the fuller form. Both are appreciated from a foreigner more than you expect.
Literally "upon the eyes", one of the loveliest phrases in the language. It answers thanks, accepts a request, and agrees to a favor all at once. The fuller version is ser seran, ser çavan: upon my head, upon my eyes.
Literally "unfortunately", the everyday way to say sorry.
For apologies and for getting attention. This is the polite plural form; to a friend you would say bibore (bi-bo-RE). The same -in ending marks every polite request in this curriculum, so it is worth noticing now.
Literally "I am happy to know you".