Transportation

1. Taksî çiqas e?

   Tak-sî çi-qas e?

   How much is the taxi?

   Usage

   Asking the price before getting in a taxi

   Grammar Note

   çiqas is used to ask about quantity or price. The final e is a light copula

2. Kîjan otobus diçe navenda bajêr?

   Kî-jan o-to-bus di-çe na-ven-da ba-jêr?

   Which bus goes to the city center?

   Usage

   At a bus stop or terminal, finding the right bus

   Grammar Note

   "Which bus goes to …" is asked with kîjan; çawa means "how" and cannot mean "which". The city centre is navenda bajêr — bajarê navîn would mean "the middle city"

3. Balafirgeh li ku ye?

   Ba-la-fir-geh li ku ye?

   Where is the airport?

   Usage

   Asking for the location of the airport

   Grammar Note

   balafir (airplane) + -geh (place). li is the locative preposition "at/in"

4. Li vir rawestin, ji kerema xwe

   Li vir ra-wes-tin, ji ke-re-ma xwe

   Please stop here

   Usage

   Used in a taxi or shared bus to ask the driver to stop

   Grammar Note

   ji kerema xwe is a polite please expression. rawestin is the plural imperative of "to stop", the polite form for addressing a driver (singular: raweste)

5. Ev rê ber bi Diyarbekirê ve diçe?

   Ev rê ber bi Di-yar-be-ki-rê ve di-çe?

   Does this road go towards Diyarbakir?

   Usage

   Confirming direction; Diyarbakir is a major cultural city in Kurdish regions

   Grammar Note

   ber bi...ve is a compound directional preposition. The -ê in Diyarbekirê is the oblique-case ending (the place name takes the oblique after ber bi...ve). rê is the word for "road"

6. Îstgeha trênê li ku ye?

   Îst-ge-ha trê-nê li ku ye?

   Where is the train station?

   Usage

   Asking for the location of the train station

   Grammar Note

   "Station" is îstgeh; with the ezafe, "train station" is îstgeha trênê. "Trên li ku rawestiyaye?" would ask "where did the train stop?"

7. Bileta bêvegere dixwazim

   Bi-le-ta bê-ve-ge-re di-xwa-zim

   I would like a one-way ticket

   Usage

   Buying a one-way ticket at a bus or train terminal

   Grammar Note

   bê- is a prefix meaning "without". vegere means "return". Round-trip is bileta çû û hatinê

8. Ev rê çiqas dirêj e?

   Ev rê çi-qas di-rêj e?

   How long is this journey?

   Usage

   Asking how long the road or route is (distance). To ask how long it takes, say Ev rê çiqas dem digire?

   Grammar Note

   dirêj means "long". It is a basic adjective alongside kûr (deep) and bilind (high/tall)

9. Destavxane li ku ye?

   Dest-av-xa-ne li ku ye?

   Where is the restroom?

   Usage

   Asking for the restroom at a bus terminal or station

   Grammar Note

   destavxane is destav (relieving oneself) + xane (room) = toilet. Do not use serşok, which is the place for washing — a bathroom or shower room. The loanword tuwalet is also understood

10. Ji kerema xwe hêdî bajo

    Ji ke-re-ma xwe hê-dî ba-jo

    Please drive slowly

    Usage

    Asking the taxi or shared vehicle driver to slow down

    Grammar Note

    "To drive" is ajotin; its 2sg imperative is bajo (plural/polite: bajin)

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