In this post, you will learn how to say ‘how are you?’ in Kurdish Kurmanji. You’ll also learn common responses so you can respond if you’re asked this question. This can be really useful if you’re speaking with someone from the Kurdistan region or if you’re travelling there.
There are 3 dialects of the Kurdish language, Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji), Central Kurdish (Sorani) and Southern Kurdish (Xwarin). This post will focus on the most spoken Kurdish dialect, Northern Kurdish which is also known as Kurmanji.
Kurmanji is spoken by around 15 million people worldwide, predominantly in southwest Turkey, northern Iran, northern Iraq and northern Syria.
Table of Contents
How To Say ‘How Are You?’ In Kurdish Kurmanji
There are a few different ways to say ‘how are you?’ in Kurmanji, these depend on the situation and number of people you’re talking to.
In informal situations, such as with friends, use:
| How are you? (to 1 person) | Chawa yee? |
| How are you? (to a group) | Hun chawa yee? |
In formal situations, such as with people you don’t know or people who are older than you, use:
| How are you? (to 1 person) | Tu chawa yee? |
| How are you? (to a group) | Hun chawa nin? |
The most common form you will hear is ‘Tu chawa yee?’ so I’d suggest learning this first.
How To Respond To ‘How Are You?’ In Kurdish Kurmanji
There are many different ways that you can reply to this question. Below are the most common responses to this question. I’ve also included how to say ‘thank you’ as it’s polite to thank someone if they ask how you are.
| Thank you | Spas |
| I’m fine | Ez bashem |
| I’m very happy | Ez geleki kef-wa-sh um |
| I’m very tired | Ez pir westiyayi me |
| I’m very sad | Ez gelek hemgin em |
| I’m very worried | Ez pir ditersim |
| I don’t feel well | Ez ne bashem |
The video below shows you pronunciation for some of these phrases. Press play and it should start at the most relevant section for ‘how are you?’, or watch the whole video for some additional phrases:
The video below is useful for responses. If you click on the video below and it will start from the most relevant section on responses.
Example Conversation:
Person 1: Tu chawa yee? (How are you?)
Person 2: Ez bashem, spas. Tu chawa yee? (I’m fine, thank you. How are you?)
Person 1: Ez bashem, spas. (I’m fine, thank you)
Thanks for reading this post.
You should now know how to say ‘how are you?’ in Kurdish Kurmanji and you should also be able to respond if you’re asked!
You can’t go wrong with these simple phrases.
If you found this post useful, you may also want to learn how to say I love you in Kurdish Kurmanji.
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