The most widely spoken Kurdish variety, used across southeast Turkey, northern Syria, and parts of Iraq and Iran.
Sorani
Spoken across Iraqi Kurdistan and western Iran. The main written language in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Frequently asked questions
What language is Sorani?
Sorani is a dialect of Kurdish.
Where is Sorani spoken?
Sorani is primarily spoken in Iraq, Iran.
Which region is Sorani associated with?
Sorani is part of the Middle East region on DialectAtlas.
How many people speak Sorani?
Sorani is spoken by approximately 7,000,000 people.
Is Sorani endangered?
Sorani is not currently classified as endangered. It has a stable speaker community with active intergenerational transmission.
What are the other dialects of Kurdish?
Kurdish also includes Kurmanji, Bahdini, Hawrami, Zaza. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Kurdish dialects
See on the atlas →Behdini · Badini · Behdînî · Bahdînî
A southern Kurmanji subdialect spoken in Duhok province of Iraqi Kurdistan and adjacent areas of southeastern Turkey. Mutually intelligible with northern Kurmanji but with distinct phonology and vocabulary, and traditionally written in Arabic script alongside Sorani rather than the Latin script used for Kurmanji further north.
An older and distinctive Kurdish variety spoken in pockets along the Iran-Iraq border, rich in classical poetic tradition.
Spoken in eastern Turkey. Closely related to Kurdish varieties, with its own grammar and vocabulary.