Counting in Northern Kurdish

Language overview

Forty-two in Northern Kurdish Northern Kurdish, or Kurmanji (Kurmancî), is the most spoken dialect of Kurdish, which belongs to the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family. Spoken in all four parts of Greater Kurdistan, it is spoken by 80% of all Kurds, ie. about 9 million people, in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey, Syria, Iran and Irak. It can be written in Latin alphabet (Latin Kurmanjî or Unified Kurdish), or in Cyrillic alphabet (Cyrillic Kurmanjí).

Northern Kurdish numbers list

  • 1 – yek
  • 2 – du
  • 3 – sê
  • 4 – çar
  • 5 – pênc
  • 6 – şeş
  • 7 – heft
  • 8 – heşt
  • 9 – neh
  • 10 – deh
  • 11 – yanzdeh
  • 12 – dwanzdeh
  • 13 – sêzdeh
  • 14 – çardeh
  • 15 – panzdeh
  • 16 – şanzdeh
  • 17 – hivdeh
  • 18 – hijdeh
  • 19 – nozdeh
  • 20 – bîst
  • 30 – sî
  • 40 – çil
  • 50 – pêncî
  • 60 – şêst
  • 70 – heftê
  • 80 – heştê
  • 90 – nod
  • 100 – sed
  • 1,000 – hezar
  • one million – milyon

Northern Kurdish 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 zero to nine are specific words, namely sifir [0], yek [1], du/didu [2], /sisê [3], çar [4], pênc [5], şeş [6], heft [7], heşt [8], and neh [9].
  • Numbers from eleven to nineteen are made by setting the unit digit root before the word for ten (deh), with no space: yanzdeh/yazde(h) [11], dwanzdeh [12], sêzdeh [13], çardeh [14], panzdeh/pazdeh [15], şanzdeh/şazdeh [16], hivdeh [17], hijdeh [18], and nozdeh [19].
  • The tens have specific names based on the multipliers digits roots, except for ten and twenty: deh [10], bîst [20], [30], çil [40], pêncî [50], şêst [60], heftê [70], heştê [80], and nod [90].
  • The hundreds are built by telling the multiplier digit, then the word for hundred (sed), with no space (e.g.: pêncsed [500], şeşsed [600]).
  • The thousands are built by telling the multiplier digit, then the word for thousand (hezar), with an exception for five thousand (e.g.: çar hezar [4,000], pênj hezar [5,000], şeş hezar [6,000]).
  • Compound numbers are built by spelling out the ten, then the digit, united with the word û (e.g.: sî û du [32], heftê û yek [71]). The rule is the same between hundred and ten or unit, and between thousand and hundred (e.g.: sed û yek [101], hezar û dused [1,200]).
  • There are also specific words for one hundred thousand (lek [100,000]), and five hundred thousands (kirûr [500,000]).
  • One million is milyon.

Write a number in full in Northern Kurdish

Let’s move now to the practice of the numbering rules in Northern Kurdish. 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

Kurdish phrasebook and culture: A Beginner’s Guide to Developing Essential Communication Skills in Kurmanji-Kurdish Kurdish phrasebook and culture: A Beginner’s Guide to Developing Essential Communication Skills in Kurmanji-Kurdish
by , editors Trafford Publishing, (2011)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com Kindle - Amazon.com]

A Basic Course in Modern Kurmanji A Basic Course in Modern Kurmanji
by , editors CreateSpace (2010)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Webster’s Kurmanji - English Thesaurus Dictionary Webster’s Kurmanji - English Thesaurus Dictionary
by , editors ICON Group International, (2008)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Kurmanji Kurdish Kurmanji Kurdish
by , editors LINCOM publishers (2007)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com]

Manuel de kurde: Kurmanji Manuel de kurde: Kurmanji
by , editors L’Harmattan (1999)
[Amazon.com Amazon.com, Kindle - Amazon.com Kindle - 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.