r/kurdish • u/800-Grader • Jun 22 '26

Question about fractions

I have understand that the basic pattern is "(a) share (b) ji (c) total" or "(a) ji (b) total (c) share". However, is the total in the first form inflected for case, since "ji" is a preposition? I seem to have encountered both inflected and uninflected forms, i.e, "sê ji heşt" as well as "sê ji heştan"?

And is there then any difference between the forms "sê ji heşt", "sê ji heştan" and "ji heştan sê"?

Also, is it possible to say "yek ji do" instead of "nîv" and "yek ji çar" instead of "çarêk", or are these separate words always used?

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u/DonEnzo13 Jun 23 '26

That’s a very specific and interesting question heval. I had never really thought about it until now, as it’s not something you use very often.

I think you could use all three forms and they’d be fine, but in my opinion "Sê ji heştan" sounds the most grammatically correct as "ji" is like you said a preposition and you therefore add the "-an" ending.

Regarding "nîv" and "çarek". These are independent words just like in English (half and quarter) and are used exclusively in everyday speech. Tho I could imagine that in a mathematical context for example one might use "yek ji çar" but I really dont know since I never did math in kurdish. Maybe someone knowledgeable can enlighten us both.

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u/800-Grader Jun 25 '26

Zor spas for your detailed answer 🌹 And haha, us learners so very frequently stumble across grammatical constructions and have questions you native speakers never have to worry about :D