Convenience Store

1. Ev çiqas e?

   Ev çi-qas e?

   How much is this?

   Usage

   The basic line for a corner shop (dikan, also bakal from Turkish). Everything here is Kurmanji written in the Latin Hawar alphabet — the variety spoken in southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, Armenia and in cities such as Diyarbakır and Mardin. Iraqi Kurdistan (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah) uses Sorani, written in Arabic script with different vocabulary and grammar, which may not be understood.

   Grammar Note

   The Kurmanji copula varies with the preceding sound: e after a consonant, ye after a vowel. Çiqas asks about amount, while çend (how many) is used for countable items.

2. Tu kîsik dixwazî?

   Tu kî-sik di-xwa-zî?

   Do you want a bag?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Turkey began charging for carrier bags in 2019, so you will always be asked. In small Kurdish shops the owner and customer usually know each other, so the familiar tu (you) is normal; with strangers or elders the polite hûn is more appropriate.

   Grammar Note

   The prefix di- marks the present tense on the stem xwaz of xwestin (to want): dixwazim (I want), dixwazî (you want), dixwaze (he/she wants). Kurmanji is SOV, so the object precedes the verb.

3. Kîsikekê bidin min, ji kerema xwe.

   Kî-si-ke-kê bi-din min, ji ke-re-ma xwe.

   Please give me a bag

   Usage

   The customer's version. Ji kerema xwe literally means "by your kindness" and is the courteous way to close a request; many speakers simply use the Turkish lütfen instead.

   Grammar Note

   The indefinite suffix -ek attaches to the noun and appears as -ekê for a feminine noun (kîsik) in the oblique case used for objects. Bidin is the polite (plural) imperative of dan (to give), with bi- marking the imperative/subjunctive; min is the oblique form of "I".

4. Bi pere an bi kartê?

   Bi pe-re an bi kar-tê?

   Cash or card?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Card payment is widespread in Turkey and even small shops have a terminal. In Iraqi Kurdistan the picture is quite different — cash dominates, with Iraqi dinars and US dollars circulating side by side.

   Grammar Note

   Nouns after the preposition bi go into the oblique case, taking -î / -ê for masculines and -ê for feminines. Kart is treated as feminine, hence kartê; pere shows no visible change, so its case is not marked on the surface.

5. Ez dikarim bi kartê bidim?

   Ez di-ka-rim bi kar-tê bi-dim?

   Can I pay by card?

   Usage

   The customer's version. Turkish shops rarely refuse, though for very small amounts they may ask for cash, and some terminals do not accept foreign-issued cards. Keep a little cash on you.

   Grammar Note

   A verb following karîn (to be able) goes into the subjunctive with the prefix bi-, giving bidim. Dan (to give) doubles as the everyday verb for paying.

6. Tu fatûreyê dixwazî?

   Tu fa-tû-re-yê di-xwa-zî?

   Do you want a receipt?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Turkish distinguishes the everyday till slip (fiş) from the formal invoice (fatura), and Kurdish speakers keep the same distinction. Small shops may have no till and issue neither.

   Grammar Note

   When the oblique -ê is added to a feminine noun ending in a vowel, a linking -y- appears: fatûre → fatûreyê. The Turkish spelling fatura is also common.

7. Ez wê germ bikim?

   Ez wê germ bi-kim?

   Shall I heat it up?

   Usage

   Said by staff. Small shops in Turkey and the Kurdish regions often toast a sandwich (tost) for you on the spot, and a bakery-cum-shop will have nan (bread) and simit still warm from the oven.

   Grammar Note

   Germ kirin is a compound verb from germ (hot) and kirin (to do): to heat up. Kurmanji builds many verbs on this "adjective/noun + kirin / bûn" pattern — paqij kirin (to clean), hazir bûn (to be ready).

8. Ava sar bidin min, ji kerema xwe.

   A-va sar bi-din min, ji ke-re-ma xwe.

   Please give me cold water

   Usage

   Summers in the Kurdish regions are punishing, so water matters. In southeastern Turkey most people avoid tap water and keep a 20-litre bottle (damacana) at home; shops sell small bottles cheaply.

   Grammar Note

   Av (water) is feminine, so a modifier is linked with the ezafe -a: ava sar (cold water). Masculine nouns take -ê instead — nanê germ (warm bread). The ezafe is the backbone of noun modification in Kurmanji.

9. Nan li ku derê ye?

   Nan li ku de-rê ye?

   Where is the bread?

   Usage

   Bread is the centre of the meal in Kurdish regions, above all the thin nanê tenûrê baked in a tandoor oven. Bakeries (firin) sit alongside the shops and draw a queue when a fresh batch comes out. Nan means both "bread" and "a meal".

   Grammar Note

   Li ku derê literally means "at which place": li (at) + ku (which) + the oblique of der (place). The shorter li ku? is also used.

10. Tuwalet li ku derê ye?

    Tu-wa-let li ku de-rê ye?

    Where is the toilet?

    Usage

    Small shops have no customer toilet. Every mosque (mizgeft) has washing and toilet facilities open to anyone, which makes it the most reliable option for a traveller; petrol stations and restaurants work too.

    Grammar Note

    Tuwalet comes from French toilette by way of Turkish tuvalet. Native alternatives such as avdestxane (place of ablution) and destavxane exist, but tuwalet is what people say.

11. Ez dikarim telefona xwe li vir şarj bikim?

    Ez di-ka-rim te-le-fo-na xwe li vir şarj bi-kim?

    Can I charge my phone here?

    Usage

    A small shop may say no, but hospitality runs deep in the Kurdish regions and you will often be handed a socket — and sometimes a glass of tea (çay) while you wait. Şarj kirin shares its root with Turkish şarj etmek and is entirely everyday.

    Grammar Note

    Xwe is the reflexive possessive, meaning "belonging to the subject". With ez it means my phone, with tu your phone — one word covers every person, so there is no separate possessive to memorise.

12. Powerbank heye?

    Po-wer-bank he-ye?

    Do you have a power bank?

    Usage

    Rarely stocked by a small shop — a phone shop (dikana telefonan) is the place to look. Power cuts are common in rural and mountainous areas, so travellers do well to bring their own.

    Grammar Note

    Heye expresses existence ("there is"), and its negative is tune ye. Possession uses the same word — "X ya min heye" means "I have X" — so existence and possession share one construction.

13. Ez dixwazim kontor bikirim.

    Ez di-xwa-zim kon-tor bi-ki-rim.

    I want to buy phone credit

    Usage

    In Turkey prepaid phone balance is called kontör and is topped up at shops and kiosks. The three operators are Turkcell, Vodafone and Türk Telekom; give your number and the amount and it is loaded on the spot. Visitors usually buy a tourist SIM at the airport or a city phone shop.

    Grammar Note

    A verb after xwestin (to want) takes the subjunctive prefix bi-, so kirîn (to buy) gives bikirim. Watch the single letter î that distinguishes it from kirin (to do).

14. Li vir ATM heye?

    Li vir A-T-M he-ye?

    Is there an ATM near here?

    Usage

    ATMs are plentiful in Turkish cities but confined to town centres in the countryside. In Iraqi Kurdistan they are scarce and people change US dollars into dinars at a money changer (sarraf) instead. Draw cash before leaving the cities.

    Grammar Note

    Locative demonstratives grade by distance: li vir (here) and li wir (there). The preposition li marks static location, as opposed to directional bo or ji … re.

15. Pereyê hûr tune ye.

    Pe-re-yê hûr tu-ne ye.

    There is no small change

    Usage

    Said by staff, and equally usable by you. A small shop may not be able to break a large note and will sometimes make up the difference in chewing gum. With Turkish lira inflation pushing denominations up, hold on to small notes and coins when you get them.

    Grammar Note

    Pere is masculine, so the ezafe surfaces as -yê after its final vowel: pereyê hûr. Hûr means fine or small, with derivatives such as hûrik. Tune ye is simply the negative of heye.

16. Tenê yek, ji kerema xwe.

    Te-nê yek, ji ke-re-ma xwe.

    Just one, please

    Usage

    For making the quantity clear; small shops will sometimes sell cigarettes or sweets singly. Swap in du (two) or sê (three) for more.

    Grammar Note

    Kurmanji cardinals: yek (1), du (2), sê (3), çar (4), pênc (5). "Tenê yek" means "just one".

17. Ev dikan kengî digire?

    Ev di-kan ken-gî di-gi-re?

    What time does this shop close?

    Usage

    Small shops in Turkey and the Kurdish regions open early and close late, but hours shift during Ramadan (Remezan) — some shut briefly around the iftar meal at sunset, and many close for a short while during Friday prayers.

    Grammar Note

    Digire is the 3rd-person singular present of girtin (to close, to hold). To ask about opening, swap in vedike from vekirin (to open). Dikan is of Persian origin; the Turkish-derived bakal names the same kind of shop.

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