Kurmanji ⇄ English · 180 terms · source-cited

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Search Yazidi religious vocabulary, oral genres, festivals, places, community terms, and everyday Kurmanji used in the tradition. Every headword has a stable page, a concise English definition, broad IPA, and transparent script-reading aids.

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Pre-publication reference set. The 180-entry launch dataset is technically complete; spellings and interpretive definitions still require the named Yazidi-affiliated or specialist reviewer required by the site’s editorial gate.

22 matching terms.

Belief & cosmology Audio later

afirandin

creation

Creation or the act of bringing the world into being.

IPA: /afɪrandɪn/
Arabic reading: افِراندِن

Full entry

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axiret

hereafter

The hereafter or world to come; the word also appears in names for ritual kinship relations.

IPA: /axɪrɛt/
Arabic reading: اخِرەت

Full entry

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bereket

blessing

Blessing, abundance, or beneficent power associated with a sacred person, place, object, or act.

IPA: /bɛrɛkɛt/
Arabic reading: بەرەکەت

Full entry

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dîn

religion or faith

Religion, faith, or religious law; its nuance depends on the phrase and speaker.

IPA: /diːn/
Arabic reading: دین

Full entry

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dinya

world

The present world or worldly life, often contrasted with axiret, the hereafter.

IPA: /dɪnja/
Arabic reading: دِنیا

Full entry

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dur

pearl

A pearl. In Yazidi cosmogonic narratives the image of a primordial pearl is associated with the beginning of creation.

IPA: /dʊr/
Arabic reading: دور

Full entry

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êzdiyatî

Yazidism

A Kurmanji name for the Yazidi religion or Yazidi religious way.

IPA: /eːzdɪjatiː/
Arabic reading: ێزدِیاتی

Full entry

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Heft Sirr

Seven Mysteries

The Seven Mysteries or sacred angelic beings through whom divine activity is expressed in Yazidi tradition.

IPA: /hɛft sɪrr/
Arabic reading: هەفت سِرر

Full entry

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kirasgorîn

changing the garment

Literally changing the garment, a Kurmanji expression used for the transmigration or rebirth of the soul.

IPA: /kɪrasɡoriːn/
Arabic reading: کِراسگۆرین

Full entry

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melek

angel

An angel or divine messenger. The word appears in the names and descriptions of Yazidi sacred beings.

IPA: /mɛlɛk/
Arabic reading: مەلەک

Full entry

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mêr

holy man

Literally a man; in religious language mêr can title a revered holy figure, patron, or saintly personage.

IPA: /meːr/
Arabic reading: مێر

Full entry

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nûr

divine light

Light, especially sacred or divine light in cosmological and devotional language.

IPA: /nuːr/
Arabic reading: نوور

Full entry

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ol

religion

Religion, faith, or a religious tradition in Kurmanji.

IPA: /ol/
Arabic reading: ۆل

Full entry

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pîroz

holy

Holy, sacred, or blessed; also used in greetings and expressions of congratulation.

IPA: /piːroz/
Arabic reading: پیرۆز

Full entry

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qendîl

lamp

A lamp or luminous vessel; lamps and light imagery occur in Yazidi sacred language and ritual settings.

IPA: /qɛndiːl/
Arabic reading: قەندیل

Full entry

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qible

direction of prayer

A sacred orientation or direction faced in prayer; the intended direction can depend on place and practice.

IPA: /qɪblɛ/
Arabic reading: قِبلە

Full entry

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qismet

destiny

One's allotted fate, portion, or destiny.

IPA: /qɪsmɛt/
Arabic reading: قِسمەت

Full entry

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ruh

soul

The soul or spirit of a person.

IPA: /rʊh/
Arabic reading: روه

Full entry

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sirr

mystery

A mystery, sacred secret, or numinous essence. In Yazidi usage it can also denote one of the sacred Mysteries.

IPA: /sɪrr/
Arabic reading: سِرر

Full entry

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Tawûsî Melek

Peacock Angel

The Peacock Angel, the pre-eminent angelic figure in Yazidi religious tradition and one of the Heft Sirr.

IPA: /tawuːsiː mɛlɛk/
Arabic reading: تاوووسی مەلەک

Full entry

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xas

holy personage

An honorific for a chosen or holy personage in Yazidi religious vocabulary; its exact referent depends on context.

IPA: /xas/
Arabic reading: خاس

Full entry

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Xwedê

God

The usual Kurmanji name for God. In Yazidi discourse Xwedê is the creator and ultimate divine source.

IPA: /xwɛdeː/
Arabic reading: خوەدێ

Full entry

How to read this lexicon

One canonical form, transparent aids

The lexicon separates sourced lexical content from mechanically generated reading aids. That distinction matters because Yazidi Kurmanji is written in more than one script and spelling practice is not uniform across Iraq, the Caucasus, and diaspora communities.

01
Headword and meaning
The Latin Kurmanji form is the editorial key. Definitions are concise syntheses checked against at least two category-appropriate scholarly sources.
02
Broad IPA
The IPA line maps the written Kurmanji form to a broad, stress-neutral reading. It is a pronunciation aid, not a recording or dialect claim.
03
Script reading variants
Arabic and Cyrillic forms are deterministic transliterations of the Latin headword. They are labelled “reading” forms and must not be mistaken for attested local spellings.
04
Audio slots
Every entry reserves an audio control, but no synthetic voice is substituted for a speaker. Recordings can be attached after speaker consent and dialect metadata are available.

Named authorities

Sources and verification

Definitions are editorial paraphrases, never copied qewl text. Individual entries show a smaller category-specific source set.

Khanna Omarkhali

The Yezidi Religious Textual Tradition: From Oral to Written

Harrassowitz, 2017. Anchor reference for religious terminology, textual genres, transmission, and lineages; includes a specialist glossary.

Philip G. Kreyenbroek

Yezidism: Its Background, Observances and Textual Tradition

Edwin Mellen Press, 1995. Foundational account of holy beings, social organization, observances, and the qewl corpus.

Philip G. Kreyenbroek and Khalil J. Rashow

God and Sheikh Adi are Perfect

Harrassowitz, 2005. A documented selection of Yazidi sacred poems and narratives with discussion of genres, performance, and oral transmission.

Christine Allison

The Yezidi Oral Tradition in Iraqi Kurdistan

Routledge, 2001. Reference for oral narrative, performance, place names, identity, and Kurmanji usage in northern Iraq.

Christine Allison

“Yazidis i. General,” Encyclopaedia Iranica

Specialist overview of history, religious life, language, geography, identity, and institutions.

Philip G. Kreyenbroek

“Yazidis ii. Initiation in Yazidism,” Encyclopaedia Iranica

Specialist account of mor kirin, bisk birîn, ritual kinship, and hereditary religious relationships.

Birgül Açikyildiz

The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion

Bloomsbury, 2014. Reference for belief, hierarchy, festivals, material culture, sacred sites, and architecture.

Geoffrey Haig

Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji)

Bamberg linguistic reference used for the Kurmanji sound inventory and the broad, stress-neutral IPA reading key.

Encyclopaedia Iranica

“Iran vi. Iranian Languages and Scripts,” Writing Systems

Background reference for the multiple scripts used to write Iranian languages, including Kurdish varieties.

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