YariThe Kurmanji Kurdish alphabet: all 31 letters and how to say them
Kurmanji Kurdish is written with a Latin-based alphabet of 31 letters. The good news for learners: spelling is almost completely phonetic. Each letter stands for one sound, so once you know the letters you can read any word aloud.
Where the alphabet comes from
The alphabet used for Kurmanji today is often called the Hawar alphabet, after the journal Hawar in which the scholar Celadet Bedirxan promoted it in the 1930s. It is used by Kurmanji speakers in Turkey, Syria, the Caucasus and the diaspora, and it is the alphabet used across Yari’s word games. Sorani Kurdish, spoken mostly in Iraq and Iran, is usually written in an Arabic-based script instead; our Kurmanji and Sorani guide explains the difference.
Letters that look familiar but sound different
Most letters sound roughly as they do in English. A handful do not, and these are where beginners usually slip:
- c sounds like English j: cih (place) is said “jih”.
- j sounds like the s in measure, not like English j.
- x is the rough ch of Scottish loch: xweş (nice, pleasant).
- q is a k made deep in the throat; it is a different letter from k and can change a word’s meaning.
- e is short (like bet) while ê is long (like day).
- i is a very short vowel, sometimes barely heard, while î is a long “ee”.
- u is short (like put) while û is a long “oo” (like moon).
The accent marks matter. ê, î and û are separate letters, not decorated versions of e, i and u, and swapping them can produce a different word. When typing without a Kurdish keyboard, some people write “ee” or “ii” instead, but it is worth learning the proper letters from the start.
The full alphabet
Press ▶ to hear the example word. Recordings are generated with speech synthesis, so treat them as a guide.
| Letter | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A a | long “a” as in father | ap uncle |
| B b | as in English “b” | ba windy |
| C c | like English “j” in jam | cî location |
| Ç ç | like “ch” in church | ça tea |
| D d | as in English “d” | dad justice |
| E e | short open “e”, close to the vowel in bet | enî Forehead |
| Ê ê | like “ay” in day, but held steady without gliding | êş pain |
| F f | as in English “f” | fêl trick |
| G g | always hard, as in go | ga bull |
| H h | as in English “h” | har amok |
| I i | a very short, light vowel, like the “i” in bit (often almost swallowed) | bin bottom |
| Î î | long “ee” as in machine | îro today |
| J j | like the “s” in measure | ji from |
| K k | as in English “k” | kal elderly |
| L l | as in English “l” | lê If |
| M m | as in English “m” | mê female |
| N n | as in English “n” | nû new |
| O o | like “o” in go, held steady | ode room |
| P p | as in English “p” | pê foot |
| Q q | a “k” made further back in the throat | qas amount |
| R r | a tapped or rolled “r” | rê route |
| S s | as in English “s” | sal year |
| Ş ş | like “sh” in shoe | şe comb |
| T t | as in English “t” | ta fever |
| U u | short, like the “u” in put | guh Ear |
| Û û | long “oo” as in moon | arû cucumber |
| V v | as in English “v” | vîzon mink |
| W w | as in English “w” | war homeland |
| X x | like “ch” in Scottish loch or German Bach | xû habit |
| Y y | like “y” in yes | yan either |
| Z z | as in English “z” | zad food |
Tips for practising
- Read slowly and say every letter. Kurmanji has no silent letters, so a word like bajar (city) is simply b-a-j-a-r.
- Drill the vowel pairs. Say e/ê, i/î and u/û side by side until the difference feels natural.
- Use real words. Browse the Kurmanji–English word list letter by letter and listen to a few words each day.
- Play with the letters. In Peyvok you build words from a wheel of letters, which forces you to think about exactly which vowel a word uses.