I'm from Middle Euphrates Iraq
and I really want to learn Turkmen and Kurdish (Sorani) for travel and better communication.
However, most Turkmen content isn't readily available in instructional videos (unlike English) and for Kurdish it seems you almost always need a paid course
I don't mind taking courses , but I don't want to start Kurdish completely from scratch
right now I only know a few swear words and a handful of basic expressions to get by
which isn't enough.
I'd love to connect with someone who wants to learn Arabic or English while teaching me Kurdish or Turkmen so we can both benefit 🙏

https://x.com/Judy20255/status/2094077154627604924

Hey wonderful people!

I'm learning Sorani Kurdish; I've been collecting a lot of Kurdish learning Materials to share, as well!

There’s a language WhatsApp group that a friend started and it’s become a really nice place for endangered languages or diverse languages to gather, practice and connect with!

We JUST started a Channel/Group Chat specifically for Indo-Iranian Languages (Farsi, Pashto, Kurdish), and we’re especially hoping to interest any Kurdish learners/speakers!

ANY is expressly welcome; Here’s the link for anyone who would like to join, practice, and explore languages:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/LkfToSmQ4SVAktDby1B7ed

Let’s practice your favorite dialects of Kurdish together!!🙏

Hey, I can speak English perfectly, but I want to learn Kurdish. DM me, please we can help each other.

Silav everyone,

Six months ago I posted here about a free Kurdish (Kurmanji) learning app I built. I am Kurdish, I grew up struggling with my own language, and I made this so people like me could stop losing it. Some of you gave feedback in that thread and in DMs, and it shaped what I built next. This is the update I owe you.

Still true, and it is not going to change: the app is completely free, there are no ads, there is no paid tier, and there is no plan to add one. This is not a business. It is one person and a lot of evenings.

Where it is now

More than 1,500 people have registered and more than 2000 people have downlaoded, entirely organically, with zero marketing spend. iOS and Android, in Turkish and English.

What has been added since the last post

• Tap any Kurmanji word anywhere in the app to see what it means and hear it. 722 words, cached on your phone, works with no internet.
• Listening practice built from 402 clips of real Kurdish speakers.
• An interactive trainer for all 31 letters and their sounds.
• A guided daily session, so you do not have to decide what to study. One tap walks you from the grammar reference to practice to listening.
• Spaced repetition. Words you looked up come back on the day you are about to forget them.
• The app now teaches you when you get something wrong, instead of just marking it red.
• A real leaderboard, streaks, and reminders you can switch off.
• Awa, the mascot, who now has a voice and animations and introduces the app to new learners.

What is coming next

Speaking practice. Awa says a word or a sentence, you record yourself, and the two play back to back so you can hear the difference.

I want to be straight about one thing there. I tested automatic pronunciation scoring properly, the kind that gives you a percentage, and it was not accurate enough for Kurmanji to be worth shipping. There is no speech recognition for our language, and the acoustic matching I could build on the phone could not reliably tell a correct attempt from a wrong one. I would rather give you your own ear next to a native reference than a number that means nothing.

After that, a rebuild of how the lessons are ordered. Right now they follow grammar, the way a reference book does. I want them to follow what you can actually say, step by step.

The goal has not changed

The heart of the app is still the reference library, a practical grammar you can actually sit down and study and keep coming back to. The lessons and tests support that, not the other way round. And the reason I built it is still the same: so someone can understand their grandmother, and say something back to her.

Where else we are

Instagram: awakurmanji TikTok: awa.kurmanji

How you can help

Feedback is genuinely the most useful thing, including the harsh kind. Beyond that:

• Grammar and vocabulary corrections. I am one native speaker and I get things wrong.
• Voice recordings. More real Kurdish voices would improve this app more than any feature I could code.
• Help with animation for Awa.
• Telling one person who is trying to learn.

Spas dikim!

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6758975949

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.awakurmanji.app&hl

How can i learn Kurmanji as a Sorani speaker? I couldn’t find anyone who teaches Kurmanji in depth both grammar and dialect, I could only find the basics and a bunch of short videos for English speakers and that’s it. I’d really appreciate any recommendations

Been curious and chose to learn this language. Anyone got any good tools especially to double check pronunciation? So far ive been using kurdish wikipedia and learn.akausa

Hey guys so im looking to either rent or buy a jli kurdi but like cheap cause im lowkey broke (150$) and im more then willing to buy the belt too yea im part kurdish but i was born in jordan and live in america im not really in touch with my kirdish side but i have been invited recently to a wedding and i need a dress help please. Im looking for a either teal turquoise (like jasmines in alladin) or a red wine so please help me anyone i dont have no kurdish community around me at all

Im honestly curious how different do sorani kurds do things compared to badinis? (Im half kurd/badini thats why im curious) ive always had that question in mind because i like sorani kurds the culture the jokes even the weddings but im curious how they view badinis too

Hey guys! So I plan to meet my partner’s family in December and they’re Kurdish, don’t speak English, so I plan to learn Kurdish, so I can have conversations with them without the need for my boyfriend to translate what I say. Can someone help me with learning it? Like, from where to start?

Hi ! I wanted to know about your folkloric practices or herbs and flowers with meanings. For exemple in my region there’s a plant that is known for being the plant of dreams of prophecies.

I've just learned of a recent doctoral dissertation comprising a comprehensive Kurmanji grammar in English that is now available.

The introduction and table of contents can be seen here, and copies in various formats can be ordered from the same website:

https://www.proquest.com/openview/a7f1de7752d7443541c8a38793732be5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

As far as I'm aware, there hasn't been a full reference grammar available in English, although shorter grammatical sketches have been published. I would hope that this will become available as a formal publication at some point, but in the meantime, pdf downloads and hardcopies in various formats can be ordered from the website above.

I haven't seen the full dissertation yet, but am much encouraged by the table of contents, and wanted to pass on the information for others who might be seeking such a reference.

Hello! I'm wanting to learn Kurmanji from scratch - my partner is Kurdish but only speaks Turkish, and we're both wanting to learn his mother tongue rather than me learning the oppressor's language... I'm looking into free websites and apps for absolute beginners (vocab, phrases, basic grammar) before paying for a course or lessons. Are there any recommendations that don't use AI? I'm aware some apps say they use native speakers for their audio which is amazing, but they're still clearly using GenAI for their design/website/animations (ZimanGo, Kurdish Class, Bersiv). I see no point in wanting to fight learning the oppressor's language if I am then using apps and websites that will equally destroy the Kurdish landscape. Also happy for some good ol' book recommendations if they come with an audio feature! Thank you <3

Do you say tû or tō from your city ? Im from prdê and we mix them but we mostly say tû.

لە شاری ئێوە دەڵێن تۆ یان توو؟ من خەڵکی پردێم تێکەڵاوی دەکەین، بەڵام زیاتر دەڵێین توو

I made this post on r/Kurdistan as well, but I deemed it fit

Do we have a long and rich history?

Do we have a long-held community that spans for millennia?

Those are questions that can be answered, but we must be able to demonstrate it, and language is at the epicenter of it. I see, unfortunately, that none but a few understand where our language even came from,

And then even after they come to learn a bit, it is all in the lens of others, they can distort it however they desire, history is written by the winners, and if one thinks that preservation isn't a battle, must be deluded,

I have been searching for a book about Kurdish etymology, I cannot seem to find it, I simply can't, why is that...?

My parents only taught me Farsi but I‘d like to learn Kurdish as well. Does knowing farsi make the process easier? 😅 And where should I start?

I'm curious about the perceived level of "childishness" / "formalness" with different terms you could call your mother in kurdish?

for an example of what I mean, in english calling your mother "mama" would be considered childish, while calling your mother "mother" would be considered very formal. is there a similar thing with kurdish?

I asked my mother what for her opinion, and she considered "daye" to be the most childish and "maman" to be the most adult. I asked a cousin the same thing and they answered the exact opposite. I'd like to hear what other people have to say about it !! does a similar to english 'formalness ranking' exist in kurdish or are opinions pretty skewed?

I was trying to make a little post on the Kurdistan sub Reddit but it didn’t appear. Is it because I’m in turkey or was it simply suppressed?