Kurmanji Grammar Series 12 — Adjectives (Rengdêr). Learn adjective placement, ezafe links, comparison and superlatives with English explanations and exercises. Download the four-page illustrated PDF lesson.
Learning objectives — Armancên fêrbûnê
Recognize descriptive adjectives (rengdêr), place them in noun phrases, distinguish attributive and predicative use, recognize common ezafe linkers, and form basic comparisons. Examples use a pedagogical standard of Kurmanji; dialects and case environments can vary.
1. What is an adjective? — Rengdêr çi ye?
An adjective describes a person, thing, place or quality. Examples: mezin (big), biçûk (small), baş (good), xirab (bad), nû (new), kevn (old), dirêj (long/tall), kurt (short), sor (red), reş (black), spî (white), germ (warm), sar (cold).
2. Adjectives in a noun phrase
In many ordinary Kurmanji noun phrases, a descriptive adjective follows the noun and is linked by ezafe. mêrê mezin (the big man), jina mezin (the big woman), zarokên biçûk (the small children), mala mezin (the big house).
3. Ezafe: a linking element — Îzafe
Ezafe links a noun to a following adjective or possessor. In common direct-case definite patterns, a masculine singular noun can take -ê, a feminine singular noun -a, and a plural noun -ên. The linker belongs to the noun phrase, not the adjective. Case, definiteness and dialect affect the full paradigm.
4. Ezafe comparison table
| Noun type | Noun + adjective | English |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine singular | mêrê mezin | the big man |
| Feminine singular | jina mezin | the big woman |
| Plural | zarokên biçûk | the small children |
5. Attributive versus predicative adjectives
Attributive: mêrê mezin — the big man; jina baş — the good woman. Predicative: Ev mal mezin e. — This house is big. Ev pirtûk nû ye. — This book is new. Predicative adjectives do not require the same noun–adjective ezafe construction.
6. Position and word order
English often places adjectives before nouns: a new book. Kurmanji commonly uses a noun followed by ezafe and adjective: pirtûka nû. Do not mechanically transfer English word order.
7. Colours — Reng
sor — red; şîn — blue; kesk — green; zer — yellow; reş — black; spî — white. Example: gula sor — the red flower; gulên sor — the red flowers.
8. Describing people and places
mêrê dirêj — the tall man; zarokê biçûk — the small child (masculine example); bajarê mezin — the big city (masculine example). Word choice for human height can vary; dirêj also means long.
9. Comparative: -tir — Berawirdkirin
The suffix -tir often forms comparatives: mezin → mezintir (bigger), biçûk → biçûktir (smaller), baş → baştir (better), dirêj → dirêjtir (longer/taller). Ev mal ji wê malê mezintir e. — This house is bigger than that house.
10. Superlative: herî — Herî
A common superlative strategy places herî before an adjective: herî mezin (biggest), herî baş (best), herî biçûk (smallest). Ev herî baş e. — This is the best.
11. Comparison table
| Base adjective | Comparative (-tir) | Superlative (herî) |
|---|---|---|
| mezin | mezintir | herî mezin |
| biçûk | biçûktir | herî biçûk |
| baş | baştir | herî baş |
| dirêj | dirêjtir | herî dirêj |
12. Adjective versus adverb
An adjective describes a noun: pirtûka nû (the new book). An adverb modifies a verb or clause; Kurmanji does not always mark the distinction the way English does. Lesson 13 covers adverbs.
13. Negation in descriptions
Ev mal mezin nîne. — This house is not big. Compare Ev mal mezin e. — This house is big. Copular negation differs with person and context.
14. Mini dialogue — Axaftin
A: Ev pirtûk çawa ye? — What is this book like? B: Ev pirtûk baş e. — This book is good. A: Kîjan pirtûk baştir e? — Which book is better? B: Ev pirtûk baştir e. — This book is better.
15. Frequent mistakes — Çewtiyên gelemperî
Avoid copying English adjective placement, omitting ezafe in attributive noun phrases, attaching the noun’s gender marker to the adjective, confusing -tir with herî, or treating the introductory ezafe chart as a full oblique/indefinite paradigm.
16. Exercises — Rahênan
A. Translate: mezin, biçûk, nû, sor, baş. B. Match: mêrê mezin; jina mezin; zarokên biçûk. C. Fill: Ev mal ___ e. (big) D. Make comparatives: baş, mezin, dirêj. E. Make superlatives: baş, biçûk. F. Translate: Ev pirtûk nû ye. G. Which part of mêrê mezin carries ezafe? H. Explain pirtûka nû versus Ev pirtûk nû ye.
17. Answer key — Bersiv
A. big; small; new; red; good. B. the big man; the big woman; the small children. C. mezin. D. baştir, mezintir, dirêjtir. E. herî baş, herî biçûk. F. This book is new. G. The noun mêr, in the form mêrê. H. The first is a noun phrase with an attributive adjective; the second is a sentence with a predicative adjective.
18. Sources and editorial note — Çavkanî
Suggested reference grammars include W. M. Thackston, Kurmanji Kurdish: A Reference Grammar (2006), and descriptive work by Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin. This is an introductory educational synthesis, not a quotation from those works. Noun gender, ezafe, case and dialectal usage should receive native-speaker review before being treated as universal.
19. Next lesson — Dersa pêş
Lesson 13 — Adverbs (Hoker): time, manner, place, frequency and sentence modification.
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