Language/Northern-kurdish/Grammar/Plurals

Northern Kurdish Grammar - Plurals

Hi Northern Kurdish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about plurals in Northern Kurdish grammar. As you may know, plurals are used when there is more than one of something. In Northern Kurdish, we use different methods for forming plurals, so let's have a closer look!

Regular Plurals

One of the most common ways to form plurals in Northern Kurdish is by adding the suffix "-ên" to the end of the word. This suffix is used for most masculine nouns. Here are some examples:

Northern Kurdish	Pronunciation	English
کتێب	kitêb	book
کتێبەکان	kitêbekan	books
سەر	ser	head
سەرەکان	sarekan	heads
مێو	mev	fruit
مێوەکان	mevekan	fruits

As you can see, the plural is formed by adding the suffix "-ên" to the end of the word. However, be aware that some words may have an irregular plural.

For feminine nouns, we use the suffix "-an" to form plurals. Here are some examples:

Northern Kurdish	Pronunciation	English
خۆشک	xoşk	girl
خۆشکان	xoşkan	girls
خانم	xanım	woman
خانمەکان	xanimekan	women
مێ	me	moon
مانگەکان	manyekan	moons

For some words, we may use both the masculine and feminine plurals, depending on the context. For example, the word "ئەندام" (member) can have two different plurals:

Northern Kurdish	Pronunciation	English
ئەندامەکان	endamekan	members (feminine plural)
ئەندامان	endaman	members (masculine plural)

Dual Plurals

In Northern Kurdish, we also have a special plural form for pairs of things. This form is called the "dual plural". To form the dual plural, we add the suffix "-یه‌ک" to the singular form of the word.

Here are some examples:

Northern Kurdish	Pronunciation	English
دڵ	del	heart
دڵ-یه‌ک	delyek	pair of hearts
دوور	dûr	door
دوور-یه‌ک	dûryek	pair of doors

There are also some words in Northern Kurdish which have irregular dual plurals. For example, the word "لەم" (hand) has the dual form "لەمه‌یه‌ن" (pair of hands).

Plurals of Loanwords

Loanwords are words that have been borrowed from other languages. Like in English, we usually do not change the plural form of loanwords in Northern Kurdish. However, some loanwords may be adapted to the Northern Kurdish grammar rules. In this case, we use the regular plural forms described above. For example:

Northern Kurdish	Pronunciation	English
تاکسی	taksî	taxi
تاکسیکان	taksîkan	taxis
رۆکێشان	rokeşan	rockers

As you can see, we add the "-ên" or "-an" suffixes as usual to form the plural.

Dialogue

To help you understand plurals in Northern Kurdish better, here is a dialogue between two friends:

• Person 1: سلام، چۆنیت؟ (selam, çonît?) (Hi, how are you?)
• Person 2: باشم، تو؟ (başim, to?) (I'm good, and you?)
• Person 1: بەخێری، ناوەکانی خۆشکانی تۆ بچوو؟ (bexerî, nawekanî xoşkanî to bçwû?) (Good, did your girls have names?)
• Person 2: ئەیرە، زنجیرەوە و زیندووە. (ere, zinjirêwe û zîndûwe) (Yes, their names are Zinjirewe and Zinduwe.)

In this dialogue, Person 1 asked about the names of Person 2's daughters. Person 2 replied with their names, "Zinjirewe and Zinduwe." Notice how the noun "خۆشک" (girl) is pluralized with the "-an" suffix.

Conclusion

Congratulations! Now you know how to form plurals in Northern Kurdish grammar. Remember that regular plurals are formed by adding the "-ên" or "-an" suffixes, while dual plurals are formed by adding the "-یه‌ک" suffix. If you have any questions or would like to practice more, you can use the Find native speakers and ask them any questions. You may also want to check out our Grammar page for more Northern Kurdish grammar lessons. Happy learning! 😊

Sources

• Kurdish Language
• Kurdish Grammar