Counting in Kirmanjki
Language overview
Kirmanjki, or Northern Zaza, is a western Iranian language. Spoken by the Zazas of Turkey, it is grouped under the macro-language Zaza, and counts about 140,000 speakers.
Kirmanjki numbers list
- 1 – yew
- 2 – di
- 3 – hîrê
- 4 – çar
- 5 – panc
- 6 – şeş
- 7 – hewt
- 8 – heşt
- 9 – new
- 10 – des
- 11 – yewendes
- 12 – diwês
- 13 – hîrês
- 14 – çarês
- 15 – pancês
- 16 – şîyês
- 17 – hewtês
- 18 – heştês
- 19 – newês
- 20 – vîst
- 30 – hîris
- 40 – çewres
- 50 – pancas
- 60 – şeştî
- 70 – hewtay
- 80 – heştay
- 90 – neway
- 100 – se
- 1,000 – hezar
Kirmanjki numbering rules
Now that you’ve had a gist of the most useful numbers, let’s move to the writing rules for the tens, the compound numbers, and why not the hundreds, the thousands and beyond (if possible).
- Digits from one to nine are rendered by specific words, namely yew [1], di [2], hîrê [3], çar [4], panc [5], şeş [6], hewt [7], heşt [8], and new [9].
- Numbers from eleven to nineteen are formed starting with the unit suffixed with a form of the word for ten (des), except for eleven: yewendes [11], diwês [12], hîrês [13], çarês [14], pancês [15], şîyês [16], hewtês [17], heştês [18], and newês [19].
- Tens are quite irregular, but formed on the multiplier root for thirty and forty, and by suffixing the multiplier digit from fifty on: des [10], vîst [20], hîris [30], çewres [40], pancas [50], şeştî [60], hewtay [70], heştay [80], and neway [90].
- Compound numbers are formed starting with the ten, then the conjunction û (and), and the unit separated with spaces (e.g.: vîst u panc [25], hîris û heşt [38], hewtay û yew [71]).
- Hundreds are formed starting with the multiplier digit, followed by the word for hundred (se, plural sey), separated with a space, except for one hundred itself: se [100], di sey [200], hîrê sey [300], çar sey [400], panc sey [500], ses sey [600], hewt sey [700], heşt sey [800], and new sey [900].
- The word for thousand is hezar (plural: hezarî).
- The word for million is milyonêk (plural: milyonî).
Write a number in full in Kirmanjki
Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Kirmanjki. Will you guess how to write a number in full? Enter a number and try to write it down in your head, or maybe on a piece of paper, before displaying the result.
Books
Zazaki / Kirmancki Kurdish
by Gülsat Aygen, editors LINCOM publishers (2010)
[ Amazon.com]
Iranian languages
Kirmanjki, Northern Kurdish, and Persian.
Other supported languages
As the other currently supported languages are too numerous to list extensively here, please select a language from the full list of supported languages.