Language/Northern-kurdish/Grammar/Adjectives

Northern Kurdish Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Northern Kurdish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will cover adjectives in Northern Kurdish. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. There are many adjectives in Northern Kurdish, and they can be used to express colors, sizes, emotions, and more. Understanding adjectives is essential for effective communication in Northern Kurdish.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Northern Kurdish Grammar: Subordinating Conjunctions, Northern Kurdish Grammar Lesson: Understanding Place Adverbs, Nouns & Genitive Case.

Basics

In Northern Kurdish, most adjectives come after the noun they modify. For example, the adjective "zor" (strong) would come after the noun "bajar" (city) to form "bajar zor" (strong city).

Another important aspect to remember is that adjectives cannot be used on their own – they must always come with a noun. In other words, you cannot say "zor" on its own to mean "strong" – you must always use it with a noun.

Northern Kurdish adjectives do not change based on the gender or number of the noun they modify. This makes things a bit easier when learning adjectives.

Here are some examples of Northern Kurdish adjectives in sentences:

• "Kal zor e." (The castle is strong.)
• "Navçeyek nû ye." (It is a new village.)

Notice how the adjectives "zor" (strong) and "nû" (new) come after the nouns "kal" (castle) and "navçe" (village), respectively.

Comparative and Superlative Forms

In English, adjectives have comparative and superlative forms. For example, the comparative form of "strong" is "stronger," and the superlative form is "strongest." However, in Northern Kurdish, adjectives do not have distinct comparative and superlative forms. Instead, we use adverbs to indicate degree, such as "zêdek î" (more strong) and "herî zêde î" (most strong).

Here's how this works in practice:

• "Bajarê me bi zêde ji bajarên din ên herêmê zor e." (Our city is stronger than other cities in the region.)
• "Navçeyek herî zêde î kêfxweşîye." (This village is the happiest.)

Notice in the first example, we use "bi zêde" (than) to show the comparison. In the second example, we use "herî" (most) to indicate the superlative form.

Examples

Here are some common Northern Kurdish adjectives along with their English translations:

Northern Kurdish	Pronunciation	English
şîrîn	shee-reen	sweet
xirab	khee-rahb	bad
nerm	nehrm	warm
sar	sahr	yellow
qelî	qeh-lee	blue
mêr	mehr	male
jin	jeen	female

Dialogue

Here's a dialogue so you can see these adjectives in context:

• Person 1: "Neva te şîrîn e?" (Is your tea sweet?)
• Person 2: "Na, ne şîrîn e." (No, it is not sweet.)
• Person 1: "Nivîsa te xirab e?" (Is your handwriting bad?)
• Person 2: "Bengîm xirab e." (Unfortunately, it is bad.)

Practice Makes Perfect

To improve your Northern Kurdish Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions! You can also practice making sentences with these adjectives on your own. Here are some practice prompts to get you started:

• Choose one of the adjectives from the table above and use it in a sentence with a noun of your choice.
• Practice expressing comparisons and superlatives with adjectives. For example, "Min biharê bi zêde ji te kêfxweş bû." (I was happier than you in the summer.)

---

➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• Questions
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion
• Negation
• Plurals
• How to Use Have
• Pronouns
• Gender

Template:Northern-kurdish-Page-Bottom