Alîkariyê bikin!
A-lî-ka-ri-yê bi-kin!
Help!
Usage
Calling for help in an emergency situation
Grammar Note
bikin is the plural imperative of kirin (to do). Plural form is used as a polite imperative
Polîs bang bikin!
Po-lîs bang bi-kin!
Call the police!
Usage
Asking someone to call the police in a dangerous situation
Grammar Note
bang kirin is a compound verb meaning "to call/shout". bang means "voice/shout" as a noun. | ⚠ No emergency telephone number is given for Kurdish on purpose. Kurdish speakers live across Türkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria, and the emergency number differs by country. Listing one country's number would mislead users in the others, so this is deliberately left blank — it is not missing data and should not be filled in. Check the number for the country you are travelling in.
Nexweşxane li ku ye?
Ne-xweş-xa-ne li ku ye?
Where is the hospital?
Usage
Asking for the hospital location in an emergency or illness
Grammar Note
nexweş (sick) + xane (house/place). xane is a suffix used in many institution names
Min xwe winda kiriye
Min xwe win-da ki-ri-ye
I have gotten lost
Usage
Letting someone know you have lost your way
Grammar Note
winda kirin is a compound verb meaning "to lose/get lost". -iye is the perfect auxiliary
Ambulansekê bang bikin!
Am-bu-lan-se-kê bang bi-kin!
Call an ambulance!
Usage
Requesting an ambulance in a serious medical emergency
Grammar Note
-ekê is the indefinite oblique suffix (indefinite article + oblique case). ambulans is a loanword. | ⚠ No emergency telephone number is given for Kurdish on purpose. Kurdish speakers live across Türkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria, and the emergency number differs by country. Listing one country's number would mislead users in the others, so this is deliberately left blank — it is not missing data and should not be filled in. Check the number for the country you are travelling in.
Diz heye! Alîkariyê bikin!
Diz he-ye! A-lî-ka-ri-yê bi-kin!
Thief! Help!
Usage
Alerting others when you have been robbed or witnessed a theft
Grammar Note
diz is "thief"; do not use dozger, which means "public prosecutor". heye = "there is"
Pasaporta min hate dizîn
Pa-sa-por-ta min ha-te di-zîn
My passport has been stolen
Usage
Reporting a stolen passport to the police or embassy
Grammar Note
The passive is formed with hatin plus the infinitive: hate dizîn ("was stolen"). dizîye is an active perfect and would say that the passport did the stealing. pasaport is a loanword
Êşa dilê min heye
Ê-şa di-lê min he-ye
I have chest pain
Usage
Communicating a serious medical symptom like chest pain
Grammar Note
dil means "heart/chest/mind". êşa dilê min heye uses the possession structure "X of Y is there"
Dermanxane li ku ye?
Der-man-xa-ne li ku ye?
Where is the pharmacy?
Usage
Finding a pharmacy urgently for medication
Grammar Note
derman (medicine) + xane (place) compound. xane is a productive suffix for institution names
Ez bi agir şewitîm
Ez bi a-gir şe-wi-tîm
I have been burned
Usage
Telling medical personnel that you have suffered a burn injury
Grammar Note
şewitîn is intransitive, so the subject is the nominative ez and the 1sg past is şewitîm. The oblique min is the ergative subject of a transitive verb and does not fit here. The instrument is bi plus a noun
Raweste!
Stop it
Usage
Lets you refuse firmly without raising your voice
Destê xwe li min nede!
Don't touch me
Usage
Show it as-is to a pushy tout or anyone unsafe
Ez ê polîs bang bikim.
I will call the police
Usage
Show it firmly against a scam or a threat
Ji min dûr keve!
Get away from me
Usage
For when someone will not leave you alone
Şewat
Fire
Usage
A building or place on fire; the element fire itself is the separate word agir
Talan
Robbery
Usage
Taking someone's belongings by force; the thief himself is a diz
Revandin
Kidnapping
Usage
Carrying a person off; kidnapping for ransom is spelled out as mirovrevandin
Mirovkujî
Murder
Usage
The killing of a person; the killer is a mirovkuj
Bombe
Bomb
Usage
Shown to report a suspicious package or an explosive
Qereqol li ku ye?
Where is the police station?
Usage
Asking where the police station is, to file a report after a theft or an accident
Grammar Note
The "X li ku ye?" ("where is X?") frame with "qereqol" filled in. "Qereqol" names the station building, as distinct from "polîs", the police as an institution.
Kesek heye ku bi Japonî diaxive?
Is there anyone who speaks Japanese?
Usage
Used at a hospital or a police station to look for a Japanese speaker when you cannot explain yourself
Grammar Note
The "…ek heye ku …" frame ("there is a … that …"), filled with the "bi + language + axaftin" pattern. "Diaxive" is the third-person singular present of axaftin (to speak).
Cizdana min hate dizîn
My wallet was stolen
Usage
Used when reporting the theft to the police or raising the alarm on the spot
Grammar Note
The ezafe ending follows the gender of the noun, and feminine nouns take "-a". "Cizdan" (wallet) is feminine, hence "Cizdana min". "Hate + infinitive" forms the passive.
Diz! Bigirin!
Thief! Catch him!
Usage
Shouted right after a theft, to get bystanders to stop the person running away
Grammar Note
"Diz" means "thief". "Bigirin" is the plural imperative of girtin (to seize, to take). Girtin also forms the compound "wêne girtin" (to take a photo), but on its own it means to catch or hold.
Hişyar be!
Watch out!
Usage
Shouted to warn someone of immediate danger; this is the singular form, "Hişyar bin!" to more than one person
Grammar Note
The "hişyar be" ("be alert") expression, used on its own without a prepositional phrase naming what to watch out for. "Be" is the imperative of bûn (to be).
Ji derketina awarte derkevin.
Please escape through the emergency exit
Usage
Telling the people around you to use the emergency exit during a fire or an earthquake
Grammar Note
"Derketina awarte" (emergency exit) governed by "ji" ("through"), closed by "derkevin", the plural imperative of derketin (to go out). The noun "derketin" (exit, departure) and the verb share a root; the first names the place, the second the act.
Ji kerema xwe niha werin.
Please come right away
Usage
Used on the phone or on the spot to ask someone to come immediately
Grammar Note
The polite "Ji kerema xwe" means "please". "Werin" is the plural imperative of hatin (to come). "Niha" means "now".
Ez hatim xapandin.
I was deceived
Usage
Telling the police or the people around you that you have been cheated or overcharged
Grammar Note
Kurmanji forms the passive with "hatin + infinitive". With a first-person subject the auxiliary becomes "hatim". "Xapandin" means "to deceive".
Min tiştek ji bîr kir.
I forgot something
Usage
Said first to staff when you have left something behind in a shop or a vehicle
Grammar Note
The compound verb "ji bîr kirin" (to forget), with "tiştek" ("something") as its object. Past transitive clauses take an oblique subject, hence "Min".
Qezaya trafîkê çêbû.
There has been a traffic accident
Usage
Tell the police or bystanders that a traffic accident has happened
Grammar Note
The "qeza … çêbû" (an accident happened) frame, with the indefinite "qezayekê" (an accident) replaced by the ezafe phrase "qezaya trafîkê" (traffic accident)
Ez dixwazim dizîyê ragihînim.
I want to report a theft
Usage
Said at a police station counter when you want to file a report of a theft
Grammar Note
"Ez dixwazim … ragihînim" is the frame for "I want to report …". "Dizî" (theft) is a feminine noun sharing its root with "dizîn" (to steal), so its oblique form as an object takes "-ê": "dizîyê".
More Kurdish phrases
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