← Vegerîn bo Rêziman
Pirsyar
Questions
📌 What are Questions?
Questions are sentences that ask for information. In Kurdish, there are two main types of questions:
- Yes/No Questions: Questions that can be answered with "yes" or "no"
- Wh-Questions: Questions that use interrogative words (who, what, where, when, why, how)
1. Yes/No Questions
Questions with "...an?" or intonation
In Kurdish, you can form yes/no questions in two ways:
- Add "...an?" or "...in?" at the end of the sentence
- Use rising intonation (like in English)
Method 1: Adding "...an?" or "...in?"
| Statement | Question | English |
|---|---|---|
| Tu diçî. | Tu diçî? / Tu diçîn? | You go. / Do you go? |
| Ew li malê ye. | Ew li malê ye? | He is at home. / Is he at home? |
| Hûn dixwazin. | Hûn dixwazin? | You want. / Do you want? |
| Ez karim. | Ez karim? | I can. / Can I? |
📌 Examples:
Tu diçî dibistanê?
Do you go to school?
Ew pirtûkê dixwîne?
Does he/she read the book?
Hûn li vir in?
Are you here?
Ez karim biçim?
Can I go?
Answering Yes/No Questions:
| Answer Type | Kurdish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | Erê / Belê | Yes |
| No | Na / Ne | No |
📌 Question & Answer Examples:
Q: Tu diçî dibistanê? → A: Erê, ez diçim. / Na, ez naçim.
Q: Do you go to school? → A: Yes, I go. / No, I don't go.
Q: Ew li malê ye? → A: Belê, ew li malê ye. / Na, ew li malê nîne.
Q: Is he at home? → A: Yes, he is at home. / No, he is not at home.
💡 Simple Rule!
In spoken Kurdish, you often just use rising intonation at the end of a statement to make it a question, just like in English! The question mark in writing indicates this.
2. Interrogative Words (Wh-Questions)
Who, What, Where, When, Why, How
Kurdish has specific words for asking different types of questions. These are called interrogative words.
| Kurdish | English | Asks About | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kî | Who | People (identity) | Kî ye? (Who is it?) |
| Çi | What | Things, actions | Çi ye? (What is it?) |
| Kîjan | Which / Which one | Choice, selection | Kîjan dixwazî? (Which do you want?) |
| Li ku / Ku | Where | Place, location | Tu li ku yî? (Where are you?) |
| Kengî | When | Time | Kengî tê? (When are you coming?) |
| Çima | Why | Reason | Çima? (Why?) |
| Çawa | How | Manner, state | Çawa yî? (How are you?) |
| Çend | How many / How much | Quantity, number | Çend? (How many?) |
| Çiqas | How much (price) | Price, cost | Çiqas e? (How much is it?) |
3. "Who" Questions (Kî)
Asking about people
📌 Examples with "Kî":
Kî ye?
Who is it? / Who is he/she?
Kî li vir e?
Who is here?
Kî hat?
Who came?
Ev kî ye?
Who is this?
Tu bi kî re diaxivî?
Who are you talking with?
📌 Answers:
Q: Kî ye? → A: Ew Ahmad e.
Q: Who is it? → A: It's Ahmad.
Q: Kî hat? → A: Hevalê min hat.
Q: Who came? → A: My friend came.
4. "What" Questions (Çi)
Asking about things and actions
📌 Examples with "Çi":
Çi ye?
What is it?
Ev çi ye?
What is this?
Tu çi dixwazî?
What do you want?
Tu çi dikî?
What are you doing?
Çi bû?
What happened?
Tu çi dixwî?
What do you eat?
📌 Answers:
Q: Ev çi ye? → A: Ev pirtûk e.
Q: What is this? → A: This is a book.
Q: Tu çi dikî? → A: Ez dixwînim.
Q: What are you doing? → A: I'm reading.
5. "Where" Questions (Li ku / Ku)
Asking about location
📌 Examples with "Li ku" / "Ku":
Tu li ku yî?
Where are you?
Ew li ku ye?
Where is he/she?
Pirtûk li ku ye?
Where is the book?
Tu diçî ku?
Where are you going?
Tu ji ku têyî?
Where are you from? / Where do you come from?
📌 Answers:
Q: Tu li ku yî? → A: Ez li malê me.
Q: Where are you? → A: I'm at home.
Q: Tu diçî ku? → A: Ez diçim dibistanê.
Q: Where are you going? → A: I'm going to school.
6. When, Why, How Questions
Kengî, Çima, Çawa
"When" (Kengî):
📌 Examples:
Kengî tê?
When are you coming?
Kengî diçî?
When are you going?
Kengî hat?
When did he/she come?
Q: Kengî tê? → A: Ez sibehê têm.
Q: When are you coming? → A: I'm coming in the morning.
"Why" (Çima):
📌 Examples:
Çima?
Why?
Çima tu nayê?
Why aren't you coming?
Çima tu naçî?
Why don't you go?
Q: Çima tu nayê? → A: Ji ber ku ez nexweş im.
Q: Why aren't you coming? → A: Because I'm sick.
"How" (Çawa):
📌 Examples:
Çawa yî?
How are you?
Çawa bû?
How did it happen?
Çawa dikî?
How do you do it?
Q: Çawa yî? → A: Ez baş im, spas.
Q: How are you? → A: I'm good, thanks.
7. "How Many/Much" Questions
Çend, Çiqas
"How many/much" (Çend):
📌 Examples:
Çend pirtûk hene?
How many books are there?
Çend kes hatin?
How many people came?
Çend salî tu yî?
How old are you? (How many years are you?)
Q: Çend salî tu yî? → A: Ez bîst salî me.
Q: How old are you? → A: I'm 20 years old.
"How much (price)" (Çiqas):
📌 Examples:
Çiqas e?
How much is it?
Ev çiqas e?
How much is this?
Pirtûk çiqas e?
How much is the book?
8. "Which" Questions (Kîjan)
Asking about choice or selection
📌 Examples with "Kîjan":
Kîjan dixwazî?
Which one do you want?
Kîjan pirtûk dixwazî?
Which book do you want?
Kîjan yek baştir e?
Which one is better?
Q: Kîjan dixwazî? → A: Ez vê yekê dixwazim.
Q: Which one do you want? → A: I want this one.
Quick Reference: All Question Words
| Kurdish | English | Quick Example |
|---|---|---|
| Kî | Who | Kî ye? (Who is it?) |
| Çi | What | Çi ye? (What is it?) |
| Kîjan | Which | Kîjan dixwazî? (Which do you want?) |
| Li ku / Ku | Where | Tu li ku yî? (Where are you?) |
| Kengî | When | Kengî tê? (When are you coming?) |
| Çima | Why | Çima? (Why?) |
| Çawa | How | Çawa yî? (How are you?) |
| Çend | How many/much | Çend? (How many?) |
| Çiqas | How much (price) | Çiqas e? (How much is it?) |
📚 Summary:
- Yes/No questions: Use rising intonation or add "...an?" / "...in?" at the end
- Answers: Erê/Belê (yes), Na/Ne (no)
- Who: Kî (Kî ye? = Who is it?)
- What: Çi (Çi ye? = What is it?)
- Where: Li ku / Ku (Tu li ku yî? = Where are you?)
- When: Kengî (Kengî tê? = When are you coming?)
- Why: Çima (Çima? = Why?)
- How: Çawa (Çawa yî? = How are you?)
- How many: Çend (Çend? = How many?)
- Which: Kîjan (Kîjan dixwazî? = Which do you want?)