Order anything by pointing in Kurdish
I would like, this one, how much, the bill: survive any counter or menu. 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
- Ez ... dixwazimez ... di-KHWA-zim
- I would like...
- EvEV
- This one
- Bi çend e?bi CHEND e
- How much is it?
- Hesabê bîninhe-sa-BE BEE-nin
- The bill, please
- Bi kartêbi kar-TE
- By card
- Bi perebi PE-re
- In cash
- avAV
- Water
- Qehweqeh-WE
- Coffee
- Çaychai
- Tea
- BîraBEE-ra
- Beer
- Bê...be
- Without...
Literally "I want ...": "ez çayekê dixwazim", I would like a tea.
This, as against ew (EW), that. Point and say it. At a counter, ev plus a gesture handles the entire transaction without another word of vocabulary.
Literally "at how much is it". In bazaars, expect the price to be quoted and then discussed; in shops with tags it is fixed. Numbers often come back at you in Turkish or Arabic depending on the country, so watch the fingers.
Literally "bring the bill". Be warned that in Kurdish social life the bill is contested, not shared: a host, or simply the person who invited you, will often have quietly paid it already. Arguing about it is part of the hospitality, not a breach of it.
Cards are normal in Turkish cities and in the larger Iraqi Kurdish towns, and much rarer elsewhere. The -ê ending here is the oblique case, which is what happens to a noun after bi (with, by).
Cash remains king in bazaars, in villages, and in shared taxis. Carry small notes: change for a large bill is a recurring negotiation of its own.
Two letters, endlessly useful. Av is also the root of place names across the region; the Kurdish landscape is named for its rivers. Bottled water is cheap and universally available.
Tea, çay (CHAI), is the everyday drink, served in small tulip glasses.
Easy to find in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, less so in conservative towns.
"Bê şekir" (be she-KIR), without sugar.