2. The alphabet
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Ev rûpel niha bi îngilîzî ye.
The 34 letters
Sorani has 34 letters: 33 single characters plus the double letter وو (long û). It has 37 sounds for them: و writes both w and u, ی writes both y and î, and the short i has no letter. Like Arabic, the script is cursive: most letters join the letter that follows them, and a letter’s shape changes slightly depending on whether it stands alone, starts a word, sits in the middle or ends a word.
The table shows each letter in its four shapes, the Latin letter used to transliterate it, its sound in IPA, and an example word. Joins left? tells you whether the letter connects to the next letter (on its left, because you write right to left).
| letter | isolated | initial | medial | final | Latin | IPA | joins left? | example | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ئ | ئ | ئ | ئ | ئ | · | /ʔ/ | yes | ئاو (aw) | water |
| ا | ا | ا | ا | ا | a | /aː/ | no | باران (baran) | rain |
| ب | ب | ب | ب | ب | b | /b/ | yes | باوک (bawk) | father |
| پ | پ | پ | پ | پ | p | /p/ | yes | پیاو (pyaw) | man |
| ت | ت | ت | ت | ت | t | /t/ | yes | تۆ (to) | you (singular) |
| ج | ج | ج | ج | ج | c | /dʒ/ | yes | جوان (cwan) | beautiful |
| چ | چ | چ | چ | چ | ç | /tʃ/ | yes | چاو (çaw) | eye |
| ح | ح | ح | ح | ح | ḧ | /ħ/ | yes | حەوت (ḧewt) | seven |
| خ | خ | خ | خ | خ | x | /x/ | yes | خەو (xew) | sleep |
| د | د | د | د | د | d | /d/ | no | دار (dar) | tree, wood |
| ر | ر | ر | ر | ر | r | /ɾ/ | no | بەرد (berd) | stone |
| ڕ | ڕ | ڕ | ڕ | ڕ | rr | /r/ | no | ڕۆژ (roj) | day; sun |
| ز | ز | ز | ز | ز | z | /z/ | no | زمان (ziman) | language; tongue |
| ژ | ژ | ژ | ژ | ژ | j | /ʒ/ | no | ژن (jin) | woman; wife |
| س | س | س | س | س | s | /s/ | yes | سەر (ser) | head |
| ش | ش | ش | ش | ش | ş | /ʃ/ | yes | شار (şar) | city |
| ع | ع | ع | ع | ع | ' | /ʕ/ | yes | عەقڵ ('eqill) | mind, reason |
| غ | غ | غ | غ | غ | ẍ | /ɣ/ | yes | غەریب (ẍerîb) | stranger; foreign |
| ف | ف | ف | ف | ف | f | /f/ | yes | فڕین (firrîn) | to fly |
| ڤ | ڤ | ڤ | ڤ | ڤ | v | /v/ | yes | ڤیدیۆ (vîdyo) | video |
| ق | ق | ق | ق | ق | q | /q/ | yes | قەڵەم (qellem) | pen |
| ک | ک | ک | ک | ک | k | /k/ | yes | کتێب (kitêb) | book |
| گ | گ | گ | گ | گ | g | /ɡ/ | yes | گوڵ (gull) | flower |
| ل | ل | ل | ل | ل | l | /l/ | yes | لاو (law) | young man |
| ڵ | ڵ | ڵ | ڵ | ڵ | ll | /ɫ/ | yes | ماڵ (mall) | house, home |
| م | م | م | م | م | m | /m/ | yes | مانگ (mang) | moon; month |
| ن | ن | ن | ن | ن | n | /n/ | yes | نان (nan) | bread |
| ه | ه | ه | ه | ه | h | /h/ | yes | هەوا (hewa) | air, weather |
| ە | ە | ە | ە | ە | e | /æ/ | no | ئەسپ (esp) | horse |
| و | و | و | و | و | w / u | /w, u/ | no | وڵات (willat) | country |
| وو | وو | وو | وو | وو | û | /uː/ | no | بوون (bûn) | to be, to become |
| ۆ | ۆ | ۆ | ۆ | ۆ | o | /oː/ | no | ڕۆژ (roj) | day; sun |
| ی | ی | ی | ی | ی | y / î | /j, iː/ | yes | شیر (şîr) | milk; lion |
| ێ | ێ | ێ | ێ | ێ | ê | /eː/ | yes | سێو (sêw) | apple |
The nine letters that never join forward
Nine letters join the letter before them but never the letter after them:
ا د ر ڕ ز ژ و ۆ ە
After one of them the next letter starts fresh, as if at the beginning of a word. That is why some words look broken into pieces even though they are one word:
| Kurdish | Latin | IPA | syllables | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| دار | dar | /daːɾ/ | daːɾ | tree, wood |
| ڕۆژ | roj | /roːʒ/ | roːʒ | day; sun |
| وڵات | willat | /w(ɯ)ɫaːt/ | wɯ.ɫaːt | country |
| زمان | ziman | /z(ɯ)maːn/ | zɯ.maːn | language; tongue |
| ژن | jin | /ʒ(ɯ)n/ | ʒɯn | woman; wife |
| دوور | dûr | /duːɾ/ | duːɾ | far |
In دار “tree” all three letters stand separately: د and ا never join forward, so ا and ر start fresh.
Letters to watch
| pair | difference | example |
|---|---|---|
| ر / ڕ | tap r (one flick of the tongue) / trilled rr | بەرد stone vs ڕۆژ day |
| ل / ڵ | clear l / dark ll (tongue pulled back, like English full) | لاو young man vs ماڵ house |
| ه / ە | consonant h / vowel e | هەوا air (both!) |
| ی / ێ | y or long î / long ê | شیر milk vs سێو apple |
| و / ۆ | w or u / long ô | وڵات country vs ڕۆژ day |
The marks on ڕ ڵ ێ ۆ (a small v above or below) are part of the letter. Leaving them out is the most common spelling mistake in Sorani. zimankit’s spelling checker flags it (lesson 23).
The letter ئ
ئ (hemze) is written before a vowel at the start of a word or syllable, and marks the slight glottal catch heard there. Latin leaves it out. It always comes with a vowel, and in a few words that vowel is the unwritten i: ئنجا inca, ئشق işq. In compounds the ئ usually drops: گوڵاو, ڕۆژاوا, ماڵاوایی. A Sorani word never begins with a bare vowel letter. Water is ئاو, not او; horse is ئەسپ, not ەسپ.
| Kurdish | Latin | IPA | syllables | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ئاو | aw | /ʔaːw/ | ʔaːw | water |
| ئەسپ | esp | /ʔæsp/ | ʔæsp | horse |
| ئێمە | ême | /ʔeːmæ/ | ʔeː.mæ | we |
| ئۆتۆمبێل | otombêl | /ʔoːtoːmbeːl/ | ʔoː.toːm.beːl | car |
Practice
- Which letters in ڕۆژنامە (newspaper) do not join the next letter?
- Write water and horse from memory.
- Read aloud: باوک، پیاو، چاو، ژن، شار.
Answers
- ڕ, ۆ, ژ, ا and the final ە. The word falls into the pieces ڕ | ۆ | ژ | نا | مە: ن joins the ا after it, and م joins the final ە.
- ئاو، ئەسپ, both start with the seat ئ.
- bawk (father), pyaw (man), çaw (eye), jin (woman), şar (city).
Summary
- 34 letters, written right to left; most join the next letter.
- ا د ر ڕ ز ژ و ۆ ە never join forward.
- ڕ ڵ ێ ۆ are separate letters from ر ل ی و; their marks matter.
- A word never starts with a bare vowel: ئ is written as its seat.