Language/Southern-kurdish/Grammar/Questions
Hi Southern Kurdish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be focusing on questions in Southern Kurdish grammar. Asking questions is an essential part of communication, and it is crucial to understand how to use question words in order to form proper sentences. Let's get started!
After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Conditional Mood, Pronouns & Negation.
Basic Questions[edit | edit source]
There are two types of basic questions in Southern Kurdish: yes/no questions and interrogative questions.
Yes/no questions are formed by adding the particle "هەر" (her) at the beginning of a declarative sentence. For example,
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| هەر ئەو تەرمێنێکە کردە؟ | her ew termenek kerde? | Did he make a mistake? |
Interrogative questions are formed by using question words such as "چەر" (cher-why), "چەند" (chend-how many), "چی" (chi-what), and "کەم" (kem-how much). For example,
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ئەو بابەتە چەر بچێت؟ | ew babete cher bchet? | Why did he leave that topic? |
In both types of questions, the question word usually appears at the beginning of the sentence.
Question Particles[edit | edit source]
Southern Kurdish also uses question particles at the end of a sentence to indicate a question. There are two question particles in Southern Kurdish: "؟هە" (ha?) and "؟نا" (na?). The former is used for general questions, while the latter is used to indicate doubt or incredulity. For example,
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| زیندووە یان بەرەو خانەیەکی؟ هە | zinduwe yan bero khane-yeki? ha? | Does (s)he live in Zinduwa or in another house? |
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ئایا دڵت خشکە نەکرد؟ نا | aya dlat khosheke nekrd? na? | Didn't you enjoy the meal? |
Question Words[edit | edit source]
Question words are used to form more complex questions, and to seek specific information. Here are some of the most common question words in Southern Kurdish:
چی[edit | edit source]
"چی" (chi) means "what" in English. For example:
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| چی دەکەی؟ | chi dekay? | What are you doing? |
کەم[edit | edit source]
"کەم" (kem) means "how much" in English. For example:
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ئەم ژمارەیە کەمێکی دەگۆڕێت؟ | am jmar-e kemeki degorret? | How much does this number decrease by? |
چەند[edit | edit source]
"چەند" (chend) means "how many" in English. For example:
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| لامەکانی چەند بوون؟ | lamakan-i chend boon? | How many students were there? |
کەڵەچ[edit | edit source]
"کەڵەچ" (kelech) means "which" in English. For example:
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| کەڵەچ کەسی بەجێمولە؟ | kelech kasi bejemule? | Which person should I call? |
چەر[edit | edit source]
"چەر" (cher) means "why" in English. For example:
| Southern Kurdish | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| چەر ئەو خشکە شو دەچیرێت؟ | cher ew khosheke sho dechiret? | Why is that food difficult to digest? |
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
Person 1: چی دەکی؟ (chi deki?) (What are you doing?) Person 2: دەرتەوە دەخوابمەکە (dartewe dekhawabmeka) (I'm taking a nap.) Person 1: ئایا تۆ ژمارەی خۆت جوانتر کردووە؟ (aya to jmar-ey xod jawanter kerdewe?) (Did you make yourself younger?) Person 2: نە، ئەو پارەیەی دڵت دەکات. (ne, ew pareyey dlat dekat.) (No, it's the dress you're wearing.)
Recap[edit | edit source]
In this lesson, we covered the basic types of questions in Southern Kurdish grammar, and introduced some of the most common question words. Remember that practicing with native speakers is the best way to improve your skills. Use this Polyglot Club page to find native speakers and ask them any questions! Don't forget to check out our Grammar page to further enhance your Southern Kurdish skills! 😎
➡ 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. 😎