People often talk about "Kurdish" as if it were a single language. It's not. Kurdish is actually a group of related languages and dialects spoken by roughly 30 to 40 million people across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and diaspora communities worldwide. Some of these varieties are mutually intelligible. Others are different enough that speakers need a shared second language to communicate. Understanding these distinctions matters if you want to learn Kurdish, translate Kurdish text, or simply understand why "Kurdish" can mean different things to different people.
Kurmanji (Northern Kurdish)
Kurmanji is the largest Kurdish language group by number of speakers, with estimates ranging from 15 to 20 million. It's spoken across a wide geographic area: most of Kurdish-speaking Turkey, all of Kurdish-speaking Syria, northern Iraq (the Badinan region), parts of Armenia and Georgia, and pockets of northwestern Iran. The Kurdish diaspora in Europe, especially in Germany, also predominantly speaks Kurmanji.
Kurmanji uses two different scripts depending on location. In Turkey, Syria, and the European diaspora, the Latin-based Hawar alphabet is standard. In Iraq, a modified Arabic script is used instead. This script split is one of the more confusing aspects of Kurdish for outsiders, since the same language can look completely different on paper depending on where it was written.
Grammatically, Kurmanji retains a case system that distinguishes between subject and object forms of nouns. It also has grammatical gender (masculine and feminine), which affects articles, adjectives, and verb forms. These features make Kurmanji structurally distinct from Sorani, which has largely dropped both case and gender marking.
Badiniis a variety of Kurmanji spoken specifically in the Duhok Governorate and surrounding areas of northern Iraq. It shares the core grammar and vocabulary of Kurmanji but has its own pronunciation patterns, Arabic loanwords (from Iraq's Arabic-speaking environment), and local expressions.
Sorani (Central Kurdish)
Sorani is the second-largest Kurdish variety, spoken by an estimated 6 to 7 million people. Its main areas are the Sulaymaniyah and Erbil governorates in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, along with parts of western Iran (particularly around Sanandaj and Kermanshah province). Sorani serves as one of the two official languages of the Kurdistan Region, alongside Arabic.
Unlike Kurmanji, Sorani is written almost exclusively in a modified Arabic script. It has a different alphabet from the one used for Badini/Kurmanji in Iraq, with some letters and vowel representations that differ between the two systems. Sorani has also simplified its grammar compared to Kurmanji: it has dropped the case system and grammatical gender, and its verb conjugation patterns differ significantly.
The differences between Kurmanji and Sorani are significant enough that some linguists classify them as separate languages rather than dialects of one language. A Kurmanji speaker from Duhok and a Sorani speaker from Sulaymaniyah can partially understand each other, especially on basic topics, but complex conversations often require switching to Arabic or English. You can read more about these differences in our Badini vs Sorani comparison.
Southern Kurdish
Southern Kurdish is less well known internationally but is spoken by several million people, primarily in the Kermanshah and Ilam provinces of western Iran, with some speakers in eastern Iraq. It includes several sub-varieties, the most notable being Kelhuri and Feyli (also spelled Faili).
Feyli Kurds have a particularly complex history. Many lived in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities for generations before being expelled to Iran during the Saddam Hussein era. Their dialect reflects this mixed geographic heritage, with influences from both Persian and Arabic.
Southern Kurdish varieties are generally harder for Kurmanji and Sorani speakers to understand than those two are for each other. They have distinct phonological features, different vocabulary, and grammatical structures that set them apart. Southern Kurdish is primarily written in a modified Arabic/Persian script when it's written at all, though it receives less institutional support than either Kurmanji or Sorani.
Gorani and Hawrami
Gorani (sometimes spelled Gurani) and its closely related variety Hawrami are spoken in the border areas between Iraq and Iran, particularly around the Hawraman region. The classification of Gorani is debated. Some linguists consider it part of the Kurdish language family, while others classify it as a separate Northwestern Iranian language that happens to be spoken by people who identify as Kurdish.
Hawrami has a literary tradition stretching back centuries, and some of the earliest known Kurdish poetry was written in Gorani rather than Kurmanji or Sorani. Today, the number of Gorani speakers is declining as younger generations shift toward Sorani, which has more institutional support and media presence.
Zazaki
Zazaki (also called Zaza, Dimli, or Kirmanjki) is spoken by an estimated 2 to 4 million people, mainly in the Tunceli, Bingol, and Diyarbakir provinces of central-eastern Turkey. Whether Zazaki is a Kurdish dialect or a separate language is one of the most debated questions in Kurdish linguistics.
Linguistically, Zazaki shares features with both Kurdish and other Iranian languages like Persian and Gorani. It is not mutually intelligible with Kurmanji or Sorani. However, most Zazaki speakers identify culturally and politically as Kurdish, which makes the "dialect vs. language" question as much a political one as a linguistic one.
Zazaki is written in Latin script when written, following the conventions used for Kurmanji in Turkey. It has its own grammar, vocabulary, and phonology that set it clearly apart from Kurmanji, even though the two are often spoken in neighboring or overlapping regions.
Mutual Intelligibility
How well can speakers of different Kurdish varieties understand each other? The answer varies. Kurmanji and Sorani speakers can often catch the general meaning of simple conversations, especially if they've had some exposure to the other variety through media or travel. But detailed discussions, technical vocabulary, and rapid speech can cause breakdowns quickly.
Southern Kurdish is harder for both Kurmanji and Sorani speakers to follow. Zazaki is essentially opaque to speakers of other Kurdish varieties without prior study. Gorani falls somewhere in between, depending on the specific sub-variety and the listener's experience.
Within each major group, intelligibility is generally high. A Badini speaker from Duhok and a Kurmanji speaker from Diyarbakir will understand each other well, despite differences in accent, loanwords, and some expressions. Similarly, a Sorani speaker from Sulaymaniyah and one from Erbil will communicate without difficulty.
The "Dialect" vs "Language" Question
There's a famous saying in linguistics: "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy." This applies directly to the Kurdish situation. Whether Kurmanji and Sorani are "dialects of Kurdish" or "separate Kurdish languages" depends partly on linguistic criteria (mutual intelligibility, grammatical similarity) and partly on political context.
Many Kurds prefer to speak of a single "Kurdish language" with regional varieties, emphasizing shared identity and common heritage. Linguists often lean toward treating Kurmanji and Sorani as separate languages within a Kurdish language family, given the significant structural differences between them. Both perspectives have merit, and the debate reflects real tensions between linguistic precision and political solidarity.
Where Badini Fits
Within this landscape, Badinisits firmly within the Kurmanji branch. It's not a separate language from Kurmanji but rather a regional variety with its own character. Think of it like the difference between American English and British English, or Castilian Spanish and Mexican Spanish. The core language is shared, but local features make each variety recognizable.
What makes Badini distinctive is its context. It's spoken in Iraq, where the other major Kurdish varietyis Sorani, not another form of Kurmanji. This means Badini speakers in the Kurdistan Region regularly encounter a Kurdish variety quite different from their own, creating a unique linguistic dynamic that Kurmanji speakers in Turkey or Syria don't face in the same way.
Digital Support for Kurdish Languages
Most major translation tools focus on either Sorani or Kurmanji in broad terms. Google Translate supports "Kurdish (Kurmanji)" and "Kurdish (Sorani)" as separate options. But these broad categories don't account for regional differences like Badini's distinct vocabulary and Arabic loanwords. A translation that sounds natural in Kurmanji from Turkey might sound slightly off to a Badini speaker in Duhok.
Badini-specific translation tools are rare, which is one of the reasons we built the Badini Translator. It's designed to produce output that reflects how Kurdish is actually spoken in the Badinan region, with support for both Arabic and Latin scripts. As digital tools for Kurdish continue to develop, covering the full range of Kurdish varieties, not just the largest ones, will be important for keeping these languages alive online.
Want to try translating Badini yourself? Open the Badini Translator and start translating between English and Badini Kurdish for free.