A Brief Zulu - Kurdish Wordlist

[Quaere Verum]

A brief Kurdish – Zulu wordlist, for the sake of FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa:

(Zulu is a Bantu language and is not related to Kurdish which is an Indo-European one. Most Zulu speakers live in South Africa and their language is well-known for owning one of the most complex grammatical structures among languages spoken by mankind)

Zulu : Kurdish (Kirmanjí) : English

ngi : ez : I

u : tu : thou

u : ew : he

si : em : we

ni : wúm : you

ba : ewan : they

lapha : eyre : here

lapho : wire : there

ubani : kí : who

ni : ko, cet : what

phi : kwe : where

nini : key : when

kanjani : kowa, cawa : how

onke : gisht : all

ningi : kertek, zor : many

nye : hendek : some

dwa : hew, yek : one

bili : du : two

thathu : sé : three

ne : cuwar : four

hlanu : pénj : five

khulu : mezin : big

de : diréjh : long

banzi : wireh, fireh : wide

nzima : giran : heavy

ncane : bicuk : small

fuphi : kurt : short

umfazi : jhin : woman

umlisa : mérd : man

umuntu : mere : human

umntwana : zarok : child

unkosikazi : jhinik : wife

umyeni : mérik : husband

umama : dayik, mak : mother

ubaba : bawik, píyak : father

isilwane : ajhel : animal

ufishi : masí : fish

inyoni : miríshk : bird

inja : sipe : dog

inyoka : mar : snake

msundu : kirm : worm

umuthi : dar, wen : tree

ihlathi : daristan : forest

isithelo : méwe : fruit

inhlamvu : tom : seed

impande : rete : root

imbali : gorale : flower

isikhumba : pést, tojhik : skin

inyama : gosht : meat

igazi : win, xwín : blood

iqanda : hék : egg

uphondo : istirí : horn

umsila : dúcik : tail

uphaphe : pert : feaher

unwele : qijh : hair

ikhanda : kep, ser : head

indlebe : gúwé : ear

iso : cev : eye

izinyo : dan : tooth

umlomo : zar : mouth

ikhala : lut : nose

ulimi : ziman : tongue (as an anatomical organ)

uzipho : enok : fingernail

nuyawo : pé : foot

umlenze : laq : leg

idolo : jhenu : knee

isandla : dest : hand

umkhaba : ur : belly

phuza : hellqorandin : to drink

dla : hwardin : to eat

[Londoner]

mrishk = chicken
balnda = bird



Dear Quaere Verum,

How happen you know Kurdish and Zulu?
It is so interesting to see some one knows these two languages.

The first time I heard about Zulus was on 1960s when I saw a film about war between Zulus and British Army on 1800s in South Africa.

[Quaere Verum]

mrishk = chicken
balnda = bird



Dear Quaere Verum,

How happen you know Kurdish and Zulu?
It is so interesting to see some one knows these two languages.

The first time I heard about Zulus was on 1960s when I saw a film about war between Zulus and British Army on 1800s in South Africa.

It is really hard to discern words meticulously since we do not have a standard language yet. But let me illustrate them, Kak Londoner:

miríshk : bird

pelewer / pertewer : bird

ballinde : bird (following a Persian sense "per+ende")

mir : fowl (akin to Persian "morgh")

mamir : hen, chicken

warok : chicken, young fowl


Well I know Kurdish (particularly Erdellaní Soraní) since it is my mother tongue. And regarding to Zulu, unfortunately I cannot speak Zulu. I just got the Zulu entries from a "Swadesh" wordlist.

Yea it would be pretty interesting and somehow weird if someone knew both Zulu and Kurdish. As I have already mentioned Zulu has a very complex grammar and you may add the significant difference between its formal and urban forms, the last one which has been a subject to a vast English influence, and then you will feel that it is almost a matter of demanding perseverance to get the ability to speak Zulu.

[Johny Bravo]

Emanoel, "win" is not Kurdish, is Hewramish.

[Quaere Verum]

Emanoel, "win" is not Kurdish, is Hewramish.

Nope buddy. Hewramí got two words for "blood": "winí"/"wúní" and "hún". You may add a classical (archaic) Goraní word "gúní" to them which is not used in the colloquial speech but indicates a stronger relation with Zaza as it too has "gúní" for "blood".

In Soraní Kurdish there is an alternative word for "blood" whose usage is currently obsolete and restrained to some definitions: "bin"/"win". In a combination such as "winaw" or "binaw" ~ "plasma" (literally "blood-water" akin to Persian "xúnab") or expressions like "bé-bin" ~ "a girl who has lost her virginity" (literally "without blood") you can still notice this word. "Bin" in many Soraní subdialects serves in sense of the "blood after loosing virginity". Someone may still be suspicious of it being borrowed from Goraní ("winí"), in spite of the fact that Goraní loans do not usually change in Kirmanjí Kurdish specially by loosing a final "-í", but Northern Kirmanjí (Kurmanjí) "ún" ~ "blood" puts an end to any objection since it is most likely a derivative of an earlier "win" ("wi-" > "ú-" change) which matches with Soraní "win"/"bin" indeed. I think of "win" as the most original Kurdish word for "blood" while "xwín", "xín", "xwén", "xén", "xún", "hún", "hwín", are probably followed by a Middle Persian loan "hún*" > "xún". Nonetheless Khotanese Scythian word for "blood" is "húní*" too. Zaza varieties for this definition and classical Goraní "gúní" are directly borrowed from Parthian.

[Johny Bravo]

Why should "win" in Kurmanji the most original word while the isogloss from Kurmanji shows, that Hewrami "w" is in Kurdisch "xw"?

[Quaere Verum]

Why should "win" in Kurmanji the most original word while the isogloss from Kurmanji shows, that Hewrami "w" is in Kurdisch "xw"?

I know you are a little bit infuriated by now because I should not be reminding you that Kirmanjí "xw-" and Hewramí "w-" follow Old Iranian "hv-" while "win" is derived from Old Iranian "vohun-*" (no matter if later it changes into "howun*" > "hun").