The Kurdish Alphabet: All 31 Kurmanji Letters (with Audio)

Kurmanji Kurdish is written in the Latin-based Hawar alphabet, which makes it one of the most approachable languages in the region for English speakers. Tap the speaker on any letter to hear it from a native speaker.

Quick facts: The Hawar alphabet was created by Celadet Alî Bedirxan in 1932. It has 31 letters — 8 vowels and 23 consonants. Kurmanji is fully phonetic: every letter always makes the same sound, so once you know the letters you can read any word.

The tricky letters for English speakers

Csounds like English "j" (/dʒ/) — "can" is "jahn", not "kan".

Çsounds like "ch" (/tʃ/) as in "chair".

Jsounds like "zh" (/ʒ/) as in "pleasure" — like French "j".

Şsounds like "sh" (/ʃ/) as in "shoe".

Xa guttural "kh" (/x/) like the German "Bach" or Scottish "loch".

Qa uvular "k" made at the very back of the throat — deeper than K.

Vowels (8 letters)

The circumflex vowels ê, î and û are distinct sounds — don't confuse them with plain e, i, u. The pairs i/î, e/ê and u/û can change a word's meaning.

A a

ah (as in "father")

e.g. av — water

E e

eh (as in "bed")

e.g. ez — I

Ê ê

ay (as in "day")(Unique to Kurdish)

e.g. êvar — evening

I i

uh (short schwa, as in "sofa")(Weaker/shorter than English "i")

e.g. jin — woman

Î î

ee (as in "see")(Long "ee")

e.g. şîr — milk

O o

oh (as in "go")

e.g. got — said

U u

oo (short, as in "put")

e.g. tu — you

Û û

oo (long, as in "moon")(Longer than U)

e.g. rûn — butter

Consonants (23 letters)

Most consonants match English. Watch out for C, Ç, J, Ş, X and Q (see above).

B b

b (as in "boy")

e.g. baş — good

C c

j (as in "jam") — /dʒ/(NOT English "c")

e.g. can — soul / dear

Ç ç

ch (as in "chair") — /tʃ/

e.g. çay — tea

D d

d (as in "dog")

e.g. dar — tree

F f

f (as in "fish")

e.g. fêr — learning

G g

g (as in "go")

e.g. gul — flower / rose

H h

h (as in "hat")

e.g. heval — friend

J j

zh (as in "pleasure") — /ʒ/(Like French "j")

e.g. jin — woman

K k

k (as in "key")

e.g. kar — work

L l

l (as in "love")

e.g. lê — but / hey

M m

m (as in "mom")

e.g. mal — house

N n

n (as in "no")

e.g. nan — bread

P p

p (as in "pen")

e.g. pir — bridge / a lot

Q q

uvular k (from the back of the throat)(Deeper than K)

e.g. qed — height / stature

R r

rolled r (like Spanish)

e.g. roj — sun / day

S s

s (as in "sun")

e.g. silav — hello

Ş ş

sh (as in "shoe") — /ʃ/

e.g. şev — night

T t

t (as in "top")

e.g. tişt — thing

V v

v (as in "very")

e.g. av — water

W w

w (as in "water")

e.g. welat — country

X x

kh (guttural, as in German "Bach") — /x/(No English equivalent)

e.g. xwe — self

Y y

y (as in "yes")

e.g. yek — one

Z z

z (as in "zoo")

e.g. zer — yellow

Kurmanji-Latin vs Sorani-Arabic

This is the Kurmanji alphabet, written in Latin (Hawar) script and used in Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, and the diaspora. The other main dialect, Sorani (Iraqi Kurdistan and western Iran), is written in a modified Arabic script that reads right-to-left. Same language family, two very different writing systems.

Kurmanji vs Sorani — which should you learn?

Frequently asked questions

How many letters are in the Kurdish alphabet?

The Kurmanji (Hawar) alphabet has 31 letters: 8 vowels and 23 consonants. It uses Latin script with the extra letters Ç, Ê, Î, Ş and Û.

Who created the Kurdish Hawar alphabet?

The Latin-based Hawar alphabet was created by Celadet Alî Bedirxan in 1932.

Is the Kurdish alphabet the same as Arabic?

No. Kurmanji uses a Latin alphabet (Hawar). Sorani Kurdish uses a modified Arabic script. They are different writing systems for different dialects.

Practice the alphabet interactively

Learn Kurdi's interactive alphabet lesson drills every letter with audio and writing practice. Start free.

Start learning free

The tricky letters for English speakers

Csounds like English "j" (/dʒ/) — "can" is "jahn", not "kan".

Çsounds like "ch" (/tʃ/) as in "chair".

Jsounds like "zh" (/ʒ/) as in "pleasure" — like French "j".

Şsounds like "sh" (/ʃ/) as in "shoe".

Xa guttural "kh" (/x/) like the German "Bach" or Scottish "loch".

Qa uvular "k" made at the very back of the throat — deeper than K.

Vowels (8 letters)

The circumflex vowels ê, î and û are distinct sounds — don't confuse them with plain e, i, u. The pairs i/î, e/ê and u/û can change a word's meaning.

A a

ah (as in "father")

e.g. av — water

E e

eh (as in "bed")

e.g. ez — I

Ê ê

ay (as in "day")(Unique to Kurdish)

e.g. êvar — evening

I i

uh (short schwa, as in "sofa")(Weaker/shorter than English "i")

e.g. jin — woman

Î î

ee (as in "see")(Long "ee")

e.g. şîr — milk

O o

oh (as in "go")

e.g. got — said

U u

oo (short, as in "put")

e.g. tu — you

Û û

oo (long, as in "moon")(Longer than U)

e.g. rûn — butter

Consonants (23 letters)

Most consonants match English. Watch out for C, Ç, J, Ş, X and Q (see above).

B b

b (as in "boy")

e.g. baş — good

C c

j (as in "jam") — /dʒ/(NOT English "c")

e.g. can — soul / dear

Ç ç

ch (as in "chair") — /tʃ/

e.g. çay — tea

D d

d (as in "dog")

e.g. dar — tree

F f

f (as in "fish")

e.g. fêr — learning

G g

g (as in "go")

e.g. gul — flower / rose

H h

h (as in "hat")

e.g. heval — friend

J j

zh (as in "pleasure") — /ʒ/(Like French "j")

e.g. jin — woman

K k

k (as in "key")

e.g. kar — work

L l

l (as in "love")

e.g. lê — but / hey

M m

m (as in "mom")

e.g. mal — house

N n

n (as in "no")

e.g. nan — bread

P p

p (as in "pen")

e.g. pir — bridge / a lot

Q q

uvular k (from the back of the throat)(Deeper than K)

e.g. qed — height / stature

R r

rolled r (like Spanish)

e.g. roj — sun / day

S s

s (as in "sun")

e.g. silav — hello

Ş ş

sh (as in "shoe") — /ʃ/

e.g. şev — night

T t

t (as in "top")

e.g. tişt — thing

V v

v (as in "very")

e.g. av — water

W w

w (as in "water")

e.g. welat — country

X x

kh (guttural, as in German "Bach") — /x/(No English equivalent)

e.g. xwe — self

Y y

y (as in "yes")

e.g. yek — one

Z z

z (as in "zoo")

e.g. zer — yellow

Kurmanji-Latin vs Sorani-Arabic

Kurmanji vs Sorani — which should you learn?

Frequently asked questions

How many letters are in the Kurdish alphabet?

The Kurmanji (Hawar) alphabet has 31 letters: 8 vowels and 23 consonants. It uses Latin script with the extra letters Ç, Ê, Î, Ş and Û.

Who created the Kurdish Hawar alphabet?

The Latin-based Hawar alphabet was created by Celadet Alî Bedirxan in 1932.

Is the Kurdish alphabet the same as Arabic?

No. Kurmanji uses a Latin alphabet (Hawar). Sorani Kurdish uses a modified Arabic script. They are different writing systems for different dialects.