Kurmanji ⇄ English · 180 terms · source-cited

Words carry a living tradition.

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.

Search the lexicon

Find a term or meaning

Works without JavaScript. With JavaScript enabled, results update as you type.

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.

26 matching terms.

Oral tradition Audio later

bend

stanza

A stanza, section, or bounded unit of verse.

IPA: /bɛnd/
Arabic reading: بەند

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

beranê qewlan

opening of qewls

A conventional introductory or opening passage associated with the performance and organization of qewls.

IPA: /bɛraneː qɛwlan/
Arabic reading: بەرانێ قەولان

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

beyt

sacred poem

A genre of Yazidi religious verse distinct from but related to the qewl corpus.

IPA: /bɛjt/
Arabic reading: بەیت

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

çîrok

story

A story or tale in Kurmanji oral narrative.

IPA: /t͡ʃiːrok/
Arabic reading: چیرۆک

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

çîrokbêj

storyteller

A teller or performer of stories.

IPA: /t͡ʃiːrokbeːʒ/
Arabic reading: چیرۆکبێژ

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

çîvanok

short tale

A short tale, anecdote, or narrative form in Kurdish oral tradition.

IPA: /t͡ʃiːvanok/
Arabic reading: چیڤانۆک

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

dastan

epic narrative

A long narrative or epic account, often concerning named heroes and remembered events.

IPA: /dastan/
Arabic reading: داستان

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

def

frame drum

A frame drum traditionally played by qewals during the performance of sacred hymns.

IPA: /dɛf/
Arabic reading: دەف

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

dengbêj

oral singer

A singer-poet known for orally performed songs and narratives in Kurdish culture.

IPA: /dɛnɡbeːʒ/
Arabic reading: دەنگبێژ

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

du‘a

prayer

A prayer or supplicatory formula; forms, occasions, and permissions differ across the tradition.

IPA: /dʊʕa/
Arabic reading: دوعا

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

gotin

saying

A saying, utterance, or act of speaking; it can refer broadly to transmitted words.

IPA: /ɡotɪn/
Arabic reading: گۆتِن

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

lavij

lament

A lamenting or devotional song genre in Kurdish and Yazidi oral tradition.

IPA: /lavɪʒ/
Arabic reading: لاڤِژ

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

mişabet

religious discourse

A prose discourse or learned religious conversation used to explain and transmit tradition.

IPA: /mɪʃabɛt/
Arabic reading: مِشابەت

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

payîzok

autumn song

A seasonal song genre whose name is related to payîz, autumn.

IPA: /pajiːzok/
Arabic reading: پاییزۆک

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

qesîde

ode

A named genre of extended religious or praise poetry in the Yazidi oral corpus.

IPA: /qɛsiːdɛ/
Arabic reading: قەسیدە

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

qewl

sacred hymn

A prestigious genre of Yazidi sacred hymn transmitted and performed orally; individual qewls have named titles and recognized structures.

IPA: /qɛwl/
Arabic reading: قەول

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

robarîn

processional song

A named performance genre in scholarly classifications of Yazidi oral tradition.

IPA: /robariːn/
Arabic reading: رۆبارین

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

sema

ritual hymn

A performed religious genre associated with ceremonial recitation and listening.

IPA: /sɛma/
Arabic reading: سەما

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

serbend

refrain

A repeated heading, opening, or refrain associated with sections of a performed text.

IPA: /sɛrbɛnd/
Arabic reading: سەربەند

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

şibab

flute

A wind instrument or flute traditionally paired with the def in qewal performance.

IPA: /ʃɪbab/
Arabic reading: شِباب

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

stran

song

A song in Kurmanji, including secular and narrative forms distinct from the most restricted sacred genres.

IPA: /stran/
Arabic reading: ستران

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

stranbêj

singer

A singer or performer of songs; the term does not by itself identify a hereditary qewal.

IPA: /stranbeːʒ/
Arabic reading: سترانبێژ

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

vegotin

narration

The telling or recounting of a story, event, or body of knowledge.

IPA: /vɛɡotɪn/
Arabic reading: ڤەگۆتِن

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

xerîbo

stranger song

A lyrical genre associated by name with the stranger, exile, or one away from home.

IPA: /xɛriːbo/
Arabic reading: خەریبۆ

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

xizêmok

lyric genre

A short named genre within classifications of Yazidi oral religious and lyrical texts.

IPA: /xɪzeːmok/
Arabic reading: خِزێمۆک

Full entry

Oral tradition Audio later

zargotin

oral literature

Oral expression or oral literature, literally speech of the tongue or mouth.

IPA: /zarɡotɪn/
Arabic reading: زارگۆتِن

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

Find a term or meaning

26 terms shown