9. Direct and oblique case
🟢 Beginner · Lesson 9 of 23
Two cases
Kurmanji nouns have two main cases:
- direct: the plain form, for the subject of most sentences and for the object of past transitive verbs;
- oblique: a form with an ending, for everything else:
- after prepositions: li malê “at home”;
- the object of a present-tense verb: Ez pirtûkê dixwînim “I read the book”;
- the owner after an ezafe: mala bavî “the father’s house”;
- the doer of a past transitive verb (lesson 14): Jinê nan xwar “the woman ate bread”.
Oblique endings
| after a consonant | after a vowel | |
|---|---|---|
| feminine singular | -ê | -yê |
| masculine singular | -î (often dropped) | nothing |
| plural | -an | -yan |
| indefinite f / m | -ekê / -ekî | -yekê / -yekî |
The masculine -î is optional in most dialects (ji bavî or ji bav “from the father”), but it regularly appears after a demonstrative: vî bajarî “this city” (lesson 11). The feminine -ê is never dropped.
Full declension
Here is everything zimankit’s decline() generates for seven consonant-final nouns. Vocative forms (keçê! “girl!”, kuro! “boy!”) are used to address someone:
| noun | meaning | gender | direct sg | oblique sg | ezafe sg | indef. direct | indef. oblique | oblique pl | ezafe pl | vocative sg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jin | woman; wife | f | jin ژن | jinê ژنێ | jina ژنا | jinek ژنەک | jinekê ژنەکێ | jinan ژنان | jinên ژنێن | jinê ژنێ |
| mal | house, home | f | mal مال | malê مالێ | mala مالا | malek مالەک | malekê مالەکێ | malan مالان | malên مالێن | malê مالێ |
| keç | girl; daughter | f | keç کەچ | keçê کەچێ | keça کەچا | keçek کەچەک | keçekê کەچەکێ | keçan کەچان | keçên کەچێن | keçê کەچێ |
| pirtûk | book | f | pirtûk پرتووک | pirtûkê پرتووکێ | pirtûka پرتووکا | pirtûkek پرتووکەک | pirtûkekê پرتووکەکێ | pirtûkan پرتووکان | pirtûkên پرتووکێن | pirtûkê پرتووکێ |
| bav | father | m | bav باڤ | bavî باڤی | bavê باڤێ | bavek باڤەک | bavekî باڤەکی | bavan باڤان | bavên باڤێن | bavo باڤۆ |
| mirov | person, human, man | m | mirov مرۆڤ | mirovî مرۆڤی | mirovê مرۆڤێ | mirovek مرۆڤەک | mirovekî مرۆڤەکی | mirovan مرۆڤان | mirovên مرۆڤێن | mirovo مرۆڤۆ |
| bajar | city | m | bajar باژار | bajarî باژاری | bajarê باژارێ | bajarek باژارەک | bajarekî باژارەکی | bajaran باژاران | bajarên باژارێن | bajaro باژارۆ |
Vowel-final nouns:
| noun | meaning | gender | direct sg | oblique sg | ezafe sg | indef. direct | indef. oblique | oblique pl | ezafe pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| xanî | house (building) | m | xanî خانی | xanî خانی | xaniyê خانیێ | xaniyek خانیەک | xaniyekî خانیەکی | xaniyan خانیان | xaniyên خانیێن |
| çiya | mountain | m | çiya چیا | çiya چیا | çiyayê چیایێ | çiyayek چیایەک | çiyayekî چیایەکی | çiyayan چیایان | çiyayên چیایێن |
In sentences
| # | Kurdish | Arabic script | IPA | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ez diçim malê. | ئەز دچم مالێ. | /ɛz dɪtʃɯm maːleː/ | I am going home. |
| 2 | Ez pirtûkê dixwînim. | ئەز پرتووکێ دخوینم. | /ɛz pɪɾtuːkeː dɪxʷiːnɯm/ | I am reading the book. |
| 3 | Em li bajêr in. | ئەم ل باژێر ئن. | /ɛm lɪ baːʒeːɾ ɪn/ | We are in the city. |
| 4 | Ez bi keçan re diaxivim. | ئەز ب کەچان ڕە دئاخڤم. | /ɛz bɪ kɛtʃaːn rɛ dɪaːxɪvɯm/ | I am talking with the girls. |
| 5 | Wî jinek dît. | وی ژنەک دیت. | /wiː ʒɪnɛk diːt/ | He saw a woman. (past: the doer wî is oblique, the object jinek direct) |
bajêr: a few masculine nouns change the a of their last syllable to ê in the oblique: bajar → bajêr. This vowel change is not generated by zimankit, which gives the regular bajarî; learn it with those nouns.
Practice
- I see the woman (present: dibînim).
- in the house (*li … *).
- with the friends (bi … re, heval).
Answers
- Ez jinê dibînim.
- li malê
- bi hevalan re
Summary
- Oblique after prepositions, for present-tense objects, for owners and for past agents.
- f -ê, m -î (optional), pl -an; indefinite -ekê / -ekî.
- Some masculine nouns change a → ê in the oblique (bajêr).