çi
The Kurdish word for the English interrogative pronoun "what" is çi. Wiktionary also lists چی (çî).
Meaning: what? (interrogative pronoun) (pron)
Ways to say it
| Kurdish | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| çi | |
| چی | çî |
Did you know?
- The Kurdish çi is a distant linguistic cousin to the English word 'which', both tracing back to the same ancient Indo-European roots.
- In some colloquial Kurdish phrases, çi is used in a way that functions like the English 'how' when asking about the manner or state of something.
- In Kurdish, çi can be used to create an indefinite pronoun meaning 'something' or 'anything' depending on the context of the sentence.
Examples in context
- Roj çi reng e?What color is the sun?This sentence shows how to ask about the color of the sun using çi.Tatoeba #9209711 by CrowdsourceKurdish, translation #12437327 by insularis
- Em ê çi bikin?What are we going to do?This sentence demonstrates how to ask what an action will be using çi.Tatoeba #10126749 by derengiyazadiye, translation #1839607 by CK
- چیت دا بە تۆم؟What did you give Tom?This sentence shows a way to ask what was given to Tom using چی.Tatoeba #10368445 by Sarchia, translation #3151183 by CK
- 350 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Soran and Sarya are talking about a mysterious object on the table.
- SoranEv çi ye?What is this?
- SaryaEz nizanim ev çi ye.I don't know what this is.
- SoranTu çi dibêjî?What are you saying?
- SaryaEz dibêjim em lê binêrin.I am saying let's look at it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “what” translations and entries çi, چی, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries çi, چی, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
