English and Kurmanji only. A detailed final lesson on verbal prefixes, agreement suffixes, lexical preverbs, derivation, comparison, case, ezafe and ordinals. Download the complete five-page PDF.
Learning goals
Recognize grammatical prefixes and suffixes, distinguish derivation from inflection, and understand why the same written sequence can serve different grammatical functions. Forms and productivity vary across Kurmanji dialects.
1. Prefixes and suffixes
A prefix comes before a stem: di-xwîn-im. A suffix follows a stem: xwîn-im. Derivational affixes may create words; inflectional affixes mark person, number, case, or comparison. Lexical preverbs are not freely productive prefixes.
2. Verbal prefixes: indicative, subjunctive and negation
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| di- | present indicative | di-xwîn-im | I read / am reading |
| di- | present indicative | di-nivîs-im | I write / am writing |
| di- | present indicative | di-ç-im | I go |
| bi- | subjunctive | bi-xwîn-im | that I read |
| bi- | subjunctive | bi-ç-im | that I go |
| bi- | imperative | bi-xwîn-e | Read! |
| bi- | imperative | bi-nivîs-e | Write! |
| na- | negative present | na-xwîn-im | I do not read |
| na- | negative present | na-ç-im | I do not go |
| ne- | negative past | ne-hat-im | I did not come |
| ne- | negative subjunctive | ne-ç-im | that I not go |
| ni- | special negative | ni-zan-im | I do not know |
| ni- | special negative | ni-kar-im | I cannot |
3. Verb agreement endings
Present and past stems use agreement endings differently. Past transitive clauses have an ergative alignment pattern: the simple present endings below should not be generalized to all past-tense sentences.
4. Present-person endings: xwendin
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -(i)m | first singular | Ez dixwînim. | I read. |
| -î | second singular | Tu dixwînî. | You read. |
| -e | third singular | Ew dixwîne. | He/she reads. |
| -(i)n | first plural | Em dixwînin. | We read. |
| -(i)n | second plural | Hûn dixwînin. | You (plural) read. |
| -(i)n | third plural | Ew dixwînin. | They read. |
5. Past intransitive endings: hatin
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -im | first singular | Ez hatim. | I came. |
| -î | second singular | Tu hatî. | You came. |
| zero | third singular | Ew hat. | He/she came. |
| -in | first plural | Em hatin. | We came. |
| -in | second plural | Hûn hatin. | You (plural) came. |
| -in | third plural | Ew hatin. | They came. |
6. Lexical verbal preverbs
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ve- | open / lexical verb | vekirin → ez vedikim | to open → I open |
| ra- | rise | rabûn → ez radibim | to get up → I get up |
| da- | down | daxistin → ez dadixim | to lower → I lower |
| hil- | lift | hilgirtin → ez hildigirim | to lift → I lift |
| wer- | receive | wergirtin → ez werdigirim | to receive → I receive |
| der- | out | derketin → ez derdikevim | to go out → I go out |
7. Prefix versus separate word
In ji malê (from home), ji is a separate preposition, not a prefix. In bi min re (with me), bi is an adposition, not the verbal subjunctive prefix bi-.
8. Nominal and adjectival derivation
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -î | abstract noun | azad → azadî | free → freedom |
| -î | quality | ciwan → ciwanî | young → youth |
| -î | quality | baş → başî | good → goodness |
| -î | language / relation | Kurd → kurdî | Kurd → Kurdish |
| -dar | associated with | pere → peredar | money → wealthy (regional/lexical) |
| -dar | possessing | mal → maldar | property → wealthy |
| -van | person / occupation | şivan | shepherd (lexical word) |
| -van | occupation | karwanvan | caravan driver |
| -geh | place | zanîn → zanîngeh | knowledge → university |
| -geh | place | kar → kargeh | work → workshop |
| -xane | place, borrowed formative | çay → çayxane | tea → teahouse |
| -istan | region | Kurd → Kurdistan | Kurd → Kurdistan |
9. Limits of derivation
These are recognizable word families, not guarantees of unrestricted productivity. Several formations are lexicalized, historically complex or borrowed. Do not attach -dar or -van indiscriminately to nouns.
10. Comparison endings
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -tir | comparative | mezin → mezintir | big → bigger |
| -tir | comparative | biçûk → biçûktir | small → smaller |
| -tir | comparative | baş → baştir | good → better |
| herî + adjective | superlative | herî mezin | biggest |
| herî + adjective | superlative | herî baş | best |
11. Noun case, plural and indefinite markers
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ek | indefinite singular | pirtûkek | a book |
| -ekî | masculine indefinite oblique | mirovekî | a man/person (oblique) |
| -ekê | feminine indefinite oblique | pirtûkekê | a book (oblique) |
| -an | plural oblique | ji mirovan | from the people |
| -ê | feminine singular oblique | ji malê | from the house |
| -î | masculine singular oblique | ji kurî | from the boy (contextual) |
| -ên | plural ezafe | pirtûkên nû | new books |
| -a | feminine ezafe | mala mezin | the big house |
| -ê | masculine ezafe | kurê mezin | the big boy |
12. Ezafe is a linker
Ezafe links nouns to modifiers or possessors: kurê mezin (the big boy), mala mezin (the big house), pirtûkên nû (new books). It is not a general-purpose word-building suffix.
13. Ordinal endings
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -em | ordinal | yekem | first |
| -em | ordinal | duyem | second |
| -em | ordinal | sêyem | third |
| -em | ordinal | çarem | fourth |
| -em | ordinal | pêncem | fifth |
| -em | ordinal | dehem | tenth |
14. Word-building workshop
azad → azadî (free → freedom); ciwan → ciwanî (young → youth); mezin → mezintir (big → bigger); Kurd → kurdî (Kurd → Kurdish); kar → kargeh (work → workplace). These demonstrate distinct lexical and grammatical processes.
15. Full-sentence comparisons
| Affix / form | Function | Kurmanji example | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| di- | indicative | Ez dixwînim. | I am reading. |
| na- | negative | Ez naxwînim. | I am not reading. |
| bi- | subjunctive | Divê ez bixwînim. | I should read. |
| ne- | past negative | Ez nehatim. | I did not come. |
| ni- | special negative | Ez nizanim. | I do not know. |
| ve- | lexical preverb | Ez derî vedikim. | I open the door. |
| ra- | lexical preverb | Ez radibim. | I get up. |
| -tir | comparative | Ev mal mezintir e. | This house is bigger. |
| -ek | indefinite | Min pirtûkek kirî. | I bought a book. |
| -ên | plural ezafe | Pirtûkên nû li vir in. | The new books are here. |
| -î | abstract noun | Azadî girîng e. | Freedom is important. |
16. Common mistakes
Do not add English -ly to Kurmanji adjectives. Ordinary present negative is naxwînim, not na-di-xwînim. Do not treat ji or prepositional bi as verb prefixes. The ending -î does not always have the same function. Learn prefixed verbs as complete lexical items.
17. Exercises
1. Segment dixwînim. 2. Negate Ez dixwînim. 3. Form the subjunctive of xwendin for ez. 4. Translate I do not know. 5. Identify the preverb in vekirin. 6. Give the comparative of mezin. 7. Translate azadî. 8. Identify the suffix in pirtûkek. 9. Explain -ên in pirtûkên nû. 10. Is ji in ji malê a prefix? 11. Translate I get up. 12. Explain the difference between -î in azadî and -ê in kurê mezin.
18. Answer key
1. di- + xwîn- + -im. 2. Ez naxwînim. 3. bixwînim. 4. Ez nizanim. 5. ve-. 6. mezintir. 7. freedom. 8. -ek, indefinite. 9. plural ezafe linker. 10. No, a separate preposition. 11. Ez radibim. 12. -î derives an abstract noun; -ê is the masculine ezafe linker.
19. References and editorial note
Geoffrey Haig (2018), Northern Kurdish (Kurmanjî); Geoffrey Haig and Ergin Öpengin (2018), Kurmanji Kurdish in Turkey: structure, varieties, and status; Songül Gündoğdu (2015), Negation in Kurmanji. Examples may vary across dialects; independent native-speaker editorial review remains advisable.
20. Series closing note
This lesson closes the initial grammar series. Continue studying case, ezafe, verb stems, past-tense alignment and regional variation.
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