Question words are a great place to start building vocabulary. Few words offer as much “bang for your buck” as question words. They are the tools you use to gather more information.
What?
چی؟
What is this?
ئەمە چییە؟
What are you doing?
چی ئەكەیت؟
What do you do for work?
ئیشت چییە؟
What did you do yesterday?
دوێنێ چیت كرد؟
Whats up?
لە چییایت؟
How?
چۆن؟
How are you?
چۆنیت؟
How is this used?
چۆن ئەمە بەكار ئەهێنیت
How much / How many?
چەند؟
How much rent do you all pay?
كرێی خانوەكەتان چەندە؟
What time is it?
1 سەعات چەندە؟
Where?
لە كوێ؟
Where are you?
لە كوێیت؟
Where were you?
لە كوێ بوویت؟
Where are you going?
بۆ كوێ ئەچیت؟
Where is your house?
ماڵتان لە كوێیە؟
When?
كەی؟
When will you come to our house?
كەی یەیت بۆ ماڵمان؟
Who?
كێ؟
Who is that?
ئه‌وه كێه؟
Why?
بۆ چی؟
Why did you come to Kurdistan?
بۆ چی هاتیت بۆ كوردستان؟
1In spoken Sorani, Arabic words are often substituted. In this example, سەعات is Arabic, but it is more commonly used. The Kurdish word is كاتژمێر (katzhmer) and would appear more in formal writing.