یەک، دوو، سێ، چوار، پێنج
Yek, dû, sê, çwar, pênc
One, two, three, four, five
Usage
Counting from one to five; the basics for prices and quantities
Grammar Note
Numerals come before the noun, which stays singular (دوو کەس 'two people'). دوو has a long û, written وو.
شەش، حەوت، هەشت، نۆ، دە
Şeş, ḧewt, heşt, no, de
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten
Usage
Counting from six to ten
Grammar Note
In حەوت the ح is the pharyngeal h (ḧ). In نۆ the letter ۆ is the vowel o.
یازدە، دوازدە، سیازدە
Yazde, dwazde, syazde
Eleven, twelve, thirteen
Usage
Eleven to thirteen, used for times and quantities
Grammar Note
11 to 19 are built from the unit plus دە (ten). سیازدە is a shortened form of سێ + دە.
بیست، سی، چل، پەنجا، سەد
Bîst, sî, çil, penca, sed
Twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, one hundred
Usage
Larger numbers needed at markets and when bargaining
Grammar Note
Numbers above twenty join tens and units with و 'and' (بیست و یەک '21'). The short i in چل is not written.
هەزار، دوو هەزار، سەد هەزار
Hezar, dû hezar, sed hezar
One thousand, two thousand, one hundred thousand
Usage
Large numbers for prices such as amounts in dinars
Grammar Note
Multiples are number + هەزار (دوو هەزار), and هەزار takes no plural ending.
سێیەم
Sêyem
Third
Usage
For order or sequence, such as the third exit
Grammar Note
Ordinals are the cardinal plus -em (سێ → سێیەم); a y glide appears after a vowel.
نیو
Nîw
Half
Usage
Half a quantity, as in نیو کیلۆ 'half a kilo'
Grammar Note
It goes before the measure: نیو کیلۆ. The noun form 'half' is نیوە.
کاتژمێر شەشە
Katjimêr şeşe
It's six o'clock
Usage
Telling the time; swap the number for another hour
Grammar Note
کاتژمێر + number + the copula -e gives 'it is … o'clock'. کاتژمێر also means 'clock' and 'hour'.
چەند ساڵیت؟
Çend sałît?
How old are you?
Usage
Asks a friendly peer's age; avoid with elders where it can be rude
Grammar Note
چەند + ساڵ + the 2nd-person ending -ît asks someone's age. The letter ڵ is the dark l (ł).
من شازدە ساڵم
Min şazde sałim
I'm sixteen years old
Usage
How to state your age; replace شازدە with your own number
Grammar Note
Number + ساڵ + the 1st-person ending -m states your age. شازدە is a contraction of شەش + دە.
تکایە پازدە خولەک چاوەڕێ بن
Tikaye pazde xulek çaweṟê bin
Please wait fifteen minutes
Usage
Said when asking people to wait, or heard from staff
Grammar Note
The noun after a numeral stays singular (پازدە خولەک). The plural imperative -n is the polite form. Composed from attested words and patterns rather than quoted from a source sentence; worth confirming with a native speaker.
سی خولەک لێرە بووم
Sî xulek lêre bûm
I've been here thirty minutes
Usage
Tells how long you have been waiting somewhere
Grammar Note
Duration is expressed as number + unit noun + past tense (بووم 'I was').
More Central Kurdish (Sorani) phrases
- Basic Words
- Basic Nouns
- Basic Verbs
- Adjectives
- Question Words
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