2. The Hawar alphabet
🟢 Beginner · Lesson 2 of 23
The 31 letters
A B C Ç D E Ê F G H I Î J K L M N O P Q R S Ş T U Û V W X Y Z
Twenty-six are the letters of English, but several are pronounced differently, and five have marks: ç ê î ş û. The marks are part of the letter. e and ê, i and î, u and û are different vowels, and s / ş and c / ç are different consonants.
| letter | Arabic-script equivalent | IPA | example | example (Arabic script) | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A a | ا | /aː/ | av | ئاڤ | water |
| B b | ب | /b/ | bav | باڤ | father |
| C c | ج | /dʒ/ | ciwan | جوان | young; beautiful |
| Ç ç | چ | /tʃ/ | çav | چاڤ | eye |
| D d | د | /d/ | dar | دار | tree, wood |
| E e | ە | /ɛ/ | dest | دەست | hand |
| Ê ê | ێ | /eː/ | êvar | ئێڤار | evening |
| F f | ف | /f/ | firîn | فرین | to fly |
| G g | گ | /ɡ/ | gul | گول | rose, flower |
| H h | ه | /h/ | hesp | هەسپ | horse |
| I i | (unwritten) | /ɪ/ | jin | ژن | woman; wife |
| Î î | ی | /iː/ | şîr | شیر | milk |
| J j | ژ | /ʒ/ | jin | ژن | woman; wife |
| K k | ک | /k/ | kitêb | کتێب | book |
| L l | ل | /l/ | ling | لنگ | leg, foot |
| M m | م | /m/ | mal | مال | house, home |
| N n | ن | /n/ | nan | نان | bread |
| O o | ۆ | /oː/ | roj | ڕۆژ | day; sun |
| P p | پ | /p/ | pirtûk | پرتووک | book |
| Q q | ق | /q/ | qelem | قەلەم | pen |
| R r | ر / ڕ | /ɾ, r/ | bira | برا | brother |
| S s | س | /s/ | sêv | سێڤ | apple |
| Ş ş | ش | /ʃ/ | şev | شەڤ | night |
| T t | ت | /t/ | tu | تو | you (singular) |
| U u | و | /ʊ/ | kurd | کورد | Kurd |
| Û û | وو | /uː/ | çûn | چوون | to go |
| V v | ڤ | /v/ | av | ئاڤ | water |
| W w | و | /w/ | welat | وەلات | country |
| X x | خ | /x/ | xew | خەو | sleep |
| Y y | ی | /j/ | yek | یەک | one |
| Z z | ز | /z/ | ziman | زمان | language; tongue |
Letters that surprise English speakers
| letter | sound | not like English | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| c | j in jam | not k or s | ciwan young |
| ç | ch in church | çav eye | |
| j | s in measure | not j in jam | jin woman |
| ş | sh in ship | şev night | |
| x | ch in Scottish loch | not ks | xew sleep |
| q | a k far back in the throat | qelem pen | |
| y | y in yes | always a consonant | yek one |
| w | w in wet | welat country | |
| h | always pronounced | also at the end | hesp horse |
Upper and lower case
Capitals are used as in English: at the start of a sentence and for names (Amed, Rojda, Kurdistan). Two capitals need care on computers:
- I is the capital of i, and Î the capital of î. Never use the Turkish dotted İ or dotless ı: they are different letters and break spelling and search. zimankit’s
lower()andupper()handle this correctly (lesson 23).
Extra letters some writers use
For sounds in Arabic loanwords, some writers add ḧ (a strong h), ẍ (a gargled g) and an apostrophe for the throat sound ʕ: ‘erd “earth”. The standard alphabet writes them as h, x and nothing (erd). zimankit understands both.
Practice
- How do you pronounce c in ciwan, and j in jin?
- Which of these letters are vowels: a, ç, ê, î, ş, û?
- Read aloud: bav, çav, jin, şev, xew.
Answers
- c = j in jam (/dʒ/); j = s in measure (/ʒ/).
- a, ê, î, û. (ç and ş are consonants.)
- /baːv/ father, /tʃaːv/ eye, /ʒɪn/ woman, /ʃɛv/ night, /xɛw/ sleep.
Summary
- 31 letters: the 26 letters of English plus ç ê î ş û.
- c = /dʒ/, ç = /tʃ/, j = /ʒ/, ş = /ʃ/, x = /x/.
- The marks matter: e ≠ ê, i ≠ î, u ≠ û, s ≠ ş, c ≠ ç.