Kurdish Academy

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Daçek

Prepositions

📌 What are Prepositions?

Prepositions are small words that show the relationship between nouns/pronouns and other words in a sentence. They indicate location, direction, time, manner, and more.

Examples in English:

  • in the house
  • on the table
  • with my friend
  • from school
⚠️ Important!

In Kurdish, prepositions require pronouns to be in the oblique case!
Example: bi min (with me) - NOT "bi ez"

1. Place & Location (Cîh û Şûn)
Where something is
Kurdish English Example Translation
li at, in, on Ez li malê me. I am at home.
di...de in, inside Pirtûk di çenteyê de ye. The book is in the bag.
li ser on, on top of Pirtûk li ser maseyê ye. The book is on the table.
li bin under, below Pişîk li bin maseyê ye. The cat is under the table.
li pey behind Ez li pey malê me. I am behind the house.
li ber in front of Ez li ber derî me. I am in front of the door.
li rex beside, next to Ez li rex te me. I am beside you.
li nav among, between Ez li nava wan me. I am among them.
📌 More Examples:
Pirtûk li ser maseyê ye.
The book is on the table.
Ez di malê de me.
I am in the house.
Ew li ber pencereyê ye.
He/She is in front of the window.
💡 Note about "li"

"Li" is the most common preposition for location. It's very versatile and can mean "at," "in," or "on" depending on context. It's often combined with other words: li ser (on), li bin (under), li ber (in front of).

2. Direction & Movement (Alî û Tevger)
Where something is going
Kurdish English Example Translation
bo to, for Ez diçim bo malê. I go to the house.
ji from Ez ji malê têm. I come from home.
ber bi...ve towards Ez ber bi malê ve diçim. I go towards the house.
heta until, up to Ez heta malê diçim. I go up to the house.
di nav...de through Ez di nava daristanê de diçim. I go through the forest.
📌 Examples:
Ez ji dibistanê têm.
I come from school.
Ew diçe bo bazarê.
He/She goes to the market.
Em ber bi malê ve diçin.
We go towards home.
3. Time (Dem)
When something happens
Kurdish English Example Translation
di...de in, during Di havînê de ez diçim. In summer I go.
piştî after Piştî xwarinê ez diçim. After eating I go.
berî before Berî xwarinê ez kar dikim. Before eating I work.
dema ku when, while Dema ku ez dixwînim... When I read...
heta until Ez heta êvarê li vir im. I am here until evening.
ji...ve since, from (time) Ji sibehê ve ez li vir im. I've been here since morning.
📌 Examples:
Di şevê de ez radizim.
At night I sleep.
Piştî xebatê ez vedigerim malê.
After work I return home.
Berî ku ez biçim, ez dixwînim.
Before I go, I read.
4. Manner & Accompaniment (Awayî û Hevrêtî)
How and with whom
Kurdish English Example Translation
bi with, by (means) Ez bi otomobîlê diçim. I go by car.
bi...re with (person) Ez bi te re diçim. I go with you.
bê without Ez bê te naçim. I won't go without you.
ji bo for, for the sake of Ev ji bo te ye. This is for you.
ji ber because of Ji ber baranê ez namêm. Because of rain I don't stay.
wek like, as Ew wek bavê min e. He is like my father.
📌 Examples with Pronouns (Oblique Case):
Ez bi min re diaxivim.
I speak with myself.
Tu bi te re diçî?
Are you going with yourself?
Ez bi wî re diçim.
I go with him.
Em bi wan re diaxivin.
We speak with them.
⚠️ Critical Rule!

When using prepositions with pronouns, ALWAYS use the oblique case:
• bi min re (with me) - NOT "bi ez re"
• ji te (from you) - NOT "ji tu"
• li wî (at him) - NOT "li ew"

5. Compound Prepositions (Daçekên Hevgirtin)
Multi-word prepositions

Kurdish has many compound prepositions made of two or more words. These are very common!

Kurdish English Example
li ser on, on top of li ser maseyê (on the table)
li bin under li bin darê (under the tree)
li ber in front of li ber malê (in front of the house)
li pey behind li pey derî (behind the door)
li rex beside, next to li rex min (beside me)
li nav among, between li nava me (among us)
ji bo for ji bo te (for you)
ji ber because of ji ber baranê (because of rain)
bi...re with (person) bi min re (with me)
ber bi...ve towards ber bi malê ve (towards home)
di...de in, inside di malê de (in the house)
ji...ve since, from ji sibehê ve (since morning)
💡 Pattern Recognition!

Notice that many compound prepositions start with li (for location) or ji (for source/origin). This helps you understand their meaning!

6. Prepositions with Pronouns
Complete reference table

Common Preposition + Pronoun Combinations:

Preposition With "me" With "you" With "him" With "her"
li (at) li min li te li wî li wê
bi (with/by) bi min bi te bi wî bi wê
ji (from) ji min ji te ji wî ji wê
bo (for/to) bo min bo te bo wî bo wê
bi...re (with) bi min re bi te re bi wî re bi wê re
📌 Full Sentence Examples:
Li min binêre!
Look at me!
Ez bi te re diaxivim.
I speak with you.
Ji te re spas!
Thank you! (Thanks to you!)
Ev ji bo wê ye.
This is for her.
Ez ji wî hêvî dikim.
I hope from him. (I hope he will)

Quick Reference: Most Common Prepositions

Kurdish English Category Quick Example
li at, in, on Location li malê (at home)
di...de in, inside Location di malê de (in the house)
ji from Direction ji malê (from home)
bo to, for Direction bo malê (to home)
bi with, by Manner bi min (with me)
bi...re with (person) Accompaniment bi te re (with you)
bê without Manner bê te (without you)
li ser on Location li ser maseyê (on the table)
📚 Summary:
  • Prepositions show relationships of place, time, direction, and manner
  • Most common: li (at), di...de (in), ji (from), bo (to/for), bi (with/by)
  • Compound prepositions: li ser (on), li bin (under), bi...re (with person), ji bo (for)
  • Critical rule: Always use OBLIQUE case pronouns with prepositions (bi min, ji te, li wî)
  • Location base: "li" is the foundation for many location prepositions
  • Source base: "ji" indicates origin or source in many expressions