Compliments

1. Xwarina we pir xweş bû

   Xwa-ri-na we pir xweş bû

   Your food was very delicious

   Usage

   Complimenting someone on a delicious meal they prepared

   Grammar Note

   we is the polite/plural second-person pronoun. When addressing family it means "your (all)"

2. Ev cîhê pir xweş e

   Ev cî-hê pir xweş e

   This is a very beautiful place

   Usage

   Praising the beauty of a place; also apt for Kurdish mountain landscapes

   Grammar Note

   cîh means "place/spot". Kurdistan's mountains are celebrated for their natural beauty

3. Tu Kurdî baş diaxivî

   Tu Kur-dî baş di-a-xi-vî

   You speak Kurdish well

   Usage

   A compliment on someone's Kurdish language skills, often said to or by travelers

   Grammar Note

   diaxivî is the present 2nd-person singular of axaftin (to speak). baş works as adj. and adv.

4. Spas ji bo mêvanperweriya we

   Spas ji bo mê-van-per-we-ri-ya we

   Thank you for your hospitality

   Usage

   Thanking hosts for their generous hospitality after being welcomed into a Kurdish home

   Grammar Note

   mêvanperwer combines mêvan (guest) and perwer (nurturer). Hospitality is deeply valued in Kurdish culture

5. Kurdistan welateke bedew e

   Kur-dis-tan we-la-te-ke be-dew e

   Kurdistan is a beautiful land

   Usage

   Praising the Kurdish homeland, showing respect and appreciation to the people

   Grammar Note

   bedew means "beautiful" with a more poetic nuance than xweş; common in Kurdish poetry

6. Kincên te pir spehî ne

   Kin-cên te pir spe-hî ne

   Your clothes are very elegant

   Usage

   Complimenting someone's outfit; also apt when admiring Kurdish traditional dress

   Grammar Note

   spehî means "elegant/beautiful". ne is the plural copula (plural form of the copula e)

7. Tu pir jêhatî yî

   Tu pir jê-ha-tî yî

   You are very talented

   Usage

   Praising someone's talent or skill, especially appreciated by craftspeople or artists

   Grammar Note

   jêhatî means "skillful/talented". It derives from jê (from it) + hatî (came), originally "capable"

8. Dengê te pir xweş e

   Den-gê te pir xweş e

   Your voice is very beautiful

   Usage

   Complimenting a singer or speaker's voice; Kurdish music culture values vocal beauty

   Grammar Note

   deng means "sound/voice/vote". It is the root word in dengbêj (oral poet-singer)

9. Mêvanperweriya we bêhempa ye

   Mê-van-per-we-ri-ya we bê-hem-pa ye

   Your hospitality is unmatched

   Usage

   Paying the highest compliment to Kurdish hosts for their generous hospitality

   Grammar Note

   bêhempa combines bê (without) and hempa (equal/peer), meaning "unparalleled". A high compliment in Kurdish

10. Tu çanda kurdî baş dizanî

    Tu çan-da kur-dî baş di-za-nî

    You know Kurdish culture well

    Usage

    Praising someone for their knowledge of Kurdish culture; often said to knowledgeable travelers

    Grammar Note

    dizanî is the 2sg present of zanîn (to know) and takes a direct object. "Culture" is çand (çanda Kurdî). "bi kurd" puts a bare ethnonym after the preposition bi and does not mean anything

Browse all TravelPhrases languages