How do you say school in Kurdish?

Dibistan in Kurmancî and قوتابخانە in Soranî.

How do you say teacher in Kurdish?

Mamoste in Kurmancî and مامۆستا in Soranî.

Kurdish school: vocabulary and where Kurdish is taught

“Kurdish school” can mean two things: the words you need to talk about school in Kurdish, and the places where children and adults learn the language. This guide covers both, with the school vocabulary used in ZimanGo’s lessons and a short, factual look at where Kurdish is taught.

School words in Kurdish

Kurmancî	Soranî	English
dibistan	قوتابخانە	school
mamoste	مامۆستا	teacher
xwendekar	قوتابی	student
pol	پۆل	class
pirtûk	پەرتووک	book
penûs	پێنووس	pen
erkên malê	ئەرکی ماڵ	homework
îmtîhan	تاقیکردنەوە	exam
zanîngeh	زانکۆ	university
perwerde	پەروەردە	education

Notice that “school”, “student” and “homework” differ in Soranî, even though the idea is the same. For a closer comparison see Kurmancî vs Soranî.

School sentences you can use

Kurmancî	Soranî	English
Ez diçim dibistanê	دەچم بۆ قوتابخانە	I go to school
Ez xwendekar im	قوتابیم	I am a student
Ez mamoste me	مامۆستام	I am a teacher
Mamosteya min Leyla ye	مامۆستاکەم لەیلایە	My teacher is Leyla
Pola me mezin e	پۆلەکەمان گەورەیە	Our class is big
Dibistan li ku ye	قوتابخانە لە کوێیە	Where is the school?
Dibistan kîngê dest pê dike	قوتابخانە کەی دەست پێدەکات	When does school start?

These sentences also help when you ask for directions or talk about daily routines.

Where Kurdish is taught

Kurdish was long limited in public education in several countries, which is one reason many Kurdish families learned to read and write it only as adults. Today the situation varies. In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Kurdish is a language of schooling. In other places it is taught as an elective, in cultural centres or in weekend classes. In Europe, many families and community groups run mother-tongue classes for children.

Learning at home

If there is no class near you, home learning is a real option. Parents can follow our guide How to teach kids Kurdish at home, and adults can use the 10-minute daily routine. If you grew up speaking Kurdish but never learned to read it, learning as a heritage speaker is for you.

A school in your pocket

ZimanGo is built as a course you can carry: Kurmancî and Soranî lessons from beginner to advanced, an alphabet level with letter tracing in both scripts, speaking practice and audio in every lesson. The core course is free.