Everything You Need To Learn Kurdish

Everything You Need To Learn Kurdish

Kurdish, also called “Kurdî / خوردی” is an Indo-European language spoken by roughly 35 million people, mostly in Kurdistan. Kurdish is also a recognized minority language in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Kurdish is in the family of Iranian languages. It contains some mutually intelligible dialects like Kurmanji (most common in Turkey), Sorani (most common in Iraq), Zazaki (most common in Iran) and Kermanshahi (most common in Iran).

Kurdish is written using three different alphabets, depending on which dialect is used and where it’s spoken: Latin, Perso-Arabic and Cyrillic.

There’s a depressing lack of Kurdish learning resources available to English-speaking learners. Thus, our list is a small one, but we hope you’ll get something out of it.

Kurdish Language Learning Books

As there are few options for learning material, you might have to start with a Kurdish dictionary and phrasebook. This will introduce you to essential vocabulary and help you familiarize yourself with the basics of the language.

If you’re interested in learning the ins and outs of how the language works from a grammatical standpoint, a Kurdish grammar textbook should do the trick.

Grammar of the Kurmanji/Kurdish Language
Amazon.com
Grammar of the Kurmanji/Kurdish Language
Milet Picture Dictionary: English-Kurdish
Amazon.com
Milet Picture Dictionary: English-Kurdish
Kurdish (Sorani)-English/English-Kurdish (Sorani) Dictionary & Phrasebook
Amazon.com
Kurdish (Sorani)-English/English-Kurdish (Sorani) Dictionary & Phrasebook

Kurdish Children’s Books

Once you’ve gotten familiar with the basics, reading Kurdish-language kids’ books can help you expand your vocabulary and practice your reading skills.

Kurdish-language books written for children use simple language, are accompanied by illustrations and thus can be great for beginners at the start of their journey.

The Kurdish kids’ books on this list are bilingual English-Kurdish stories, meaning you can use the English text as a useful guide when reading the Kurdish parallel story.

Ghaz'qoolingen beji (The Wild Swans): Kurmanji Kurdish – English - Hans Christian Andersen Fairytale
Amazon.com
Ghaz'qoolingen beji (The Wild Swans): Kurmanji Kurdish – English - Hans Christian Andersen Fairytale
Am I small? Ez biçûk im?: Children's Picture Book English-Kurdish
Amazon.com
Am I small? Ez biçûk im?: Children's Picture Book English-Kurdish
My First Kurdish Kurmanji Alphabets Picture Book with English Translations
Amazon.com
My First Kurdish Kurmanji Alphabets Picture Book with English Translations
Alice in Wonderland: English and Kurdish Children's Book
Amazon.com
Alice in Wonderland: English and Kurdish Children's Book
Dylan's Birthday Present / Diyariya Rojbûna Dylanî - Bilingual Kurdish and English Edition
Amazon.com
Dylan's Birthday Present / Diyariya Rojbûna Dylanî - Bilingual Kurdish and English Edition

Kurdish Fiction

Give your vocabulary and working knowledge of Kurdish a boost with some Kurdish-language books written for older readers. You’ll find the stories more advanced, more challenging, and usually more memorable.

Kurdish Reader: Modern Literature and Oral Texts in Kurmanji
Amazon.com
Kurdish Reader: Modern Literature and Oral Texts in Kurmanji

Kurdish Digital Courses

You’ll probably want a Kurdish audio or video course at some point, to complement your studies. This will improve your speaking skills considerably. Udemy offers one such course, and it’s affordable, too.

KURDISH UDEMY COURSE

Kurdish Udemy