You need a Kurdish interpreter when a Kurdish-language text created in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, Turkey, Iran, Syria or another country has to be understood or submitted in Georgian, or when a Georgian document has to be prepared in Kurdish. TARGMANEBI prepares written translations in both directions and helps the client find out in advance what kind of translation the receiving institution requires.
The particular feature of Kurdish is that behind a single name there are several significantly different varieties and three different writing traditions. Someone who knows Kurmanji cannot always read an official text written in Sorani with ease, and vice versa. That is why the first step of an order is not the translation itself but determining the language variety, the alphabet and the document's country of origin.
The main areas of Kurdish translation
The service covers both translation from Kurdish into Georgian and preparation from Georgian into Kurdish. The first direction is more common: documents from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, personal letters, applications, statements and recordings that have to be submitted to Georgian authorities or a court. The second direction is needed when a Georgian certificate or contract has to be delivered to a Kurdish-speaking addressee or to an institution in the Kurdistan Region. The other languages are gathered on the interpreter services page.
From Kurdish into Georgian
Written texts in Kurmanji and Sorani, bilingual Iraqi documents, personal correspondence and applications in Georgian.
From Georgian into Kurdish
Preparation of Georgian certificates, statements and contracts in the variety and alphabet the recipient prefers.
Recordings and spoken text
Transcription and translation of Kurdish audio and video material, and an interpreter for a meeting or an interview.
Kurmanji, Sorani and other Kurdish varieties
In the Kurdish-speaking area two large groups are most often distinguished. Kurmanji, or Northern Kurdish, is spoken in Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq, north-western Iran, and in the communities living in Armenia and Georgia. Sorani, or Central Kurdish, is used mainly in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and in the western part of Iran.
Besides these two there are Southern Kurdish varieties, while Zazaki and Gorani are counted as part of Kurdish in some classifications and as independent languages in others. For an interpreter this question has practical significance: if the language of a text is identified wrongly, the material may end up with a specialist who cannot read it fully accurately. That is why, with a recording or letter of unknown origin, we first look at a sample and only after that confirm the work.
Latin or Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet?
Today Kurmanji is written mainly in the Latin alphabet. The basis of this system was introduced in 1932 by Celadet Bedirxan in the pages of the journal "Hawar", which is why it is often called the Hawar alphabet. In addition to the basic Latin letters it has letters with diacritics, for example ê, î, û, ç and ş. Below is a sample of the fields of a Kurmanji form: first name and surname, father's name, date of birth, place of birth.
In Iraq and Iran, Sorani is written in an Arabic-based alphabet, from right to left. Unlike Arabic and Persian writing, the Kurdish variant marks vowels systematically and also uses additional letters, such as ڕ, ڵ, ۆ and ێ. The sample below lists the typical fields of an Iraqi form: first name, father's name, grandfather's name, date and place of birth.
In the Soviet Union, especially in Armenia, the Kurdish-speaking population also used a Cyrillic-based alphabet. That is why Cyrillic Kurdish can still be found today in old books, family archives and some personal letters. One and the same word looks completely different in the three alphabets, and the interpreter has to recognize all three forms.
Badini: Kurmanji in the Arabic alphabet
Badini (Bahdini), spoken in Iraq's Duhok area and in part of Erbil Province, is a south-eastern variety of Kurmanji. Its particular feature is that in Iraq it is, as a rule, written in the Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet. The result is a text that looks like Sorani on the outside but is closer to Kurmanji in grammar and vocabulary.
When translating such a letter or application, identifying the language by the alphabet alone is a mistake. Badini also has more Arabic loanwords. That is why, with material received from Duhok, Zakho or nearby settlements, we clarify in advance who the author is and where the text was created. This simple question often saves time and rules out choosing the wrong specialist.
Kurdish-speaking communities in Georgia
Kurmanji has a long history in Georgia. Historically the Yazidis settled mainly in the old districts of Tbilisi, although members of the community also live in other cities. Many Yazidis speak Kurmanji, which some call the Yazidi language, or Ezdiki.
Within the community there are different views on the question of identity and the name of the language: some consider themselves Kurds, while others regard the Yazidis as a separate people. For example, within the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Armenia names Yazidi and Kurdish as two separate languages. For us, what matters most is an accurate translation of the text: we state the name of the language as the document holder or the receiving authority requests, and we draw no conclusion about the person's identity.
In practice the need for a Kurdish translation arises for various reasons: a letter from a relative living abroad, a family record received from another country, a voice message attached to a court case, or a Georgian document that has to be handed to a Kurdish-speaking family member. In each case we first find out which variety and alphabet will be clearest for the addressee.
Iraqi documents: Arabic and Kurdish together
Under Article 4 of the 2005 Constitution of Iraq, Arabic and Kurdish are the two official languages of the country, and in the Kurdistan Region federal and official institutions use both languages. In practice this means that on many documents of the authorities of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Sorani and Arabic text stand together, and sometimes English fields are added as well.
In a bilingual or trilingual form the text blocks are not always exact copies of each other. One part may be more complete and another shortened, and a handwritten note may be made in only one language. In the translation each language block is checked separately, and any discrepancy, if there is one, is clearly marked. For details of how we work on the Arabic part of a document, see the Arabic interpreter page.
Civil status
- Birth record
- Marriage document
- Divorce decision
- Death certificate
Identity and residence
- Unified National Card
- Iraqi passport
- Residence card
- Mukhtar's certificate
Education and employment
- Diploma and supplement
- Transcript of grades
- Employment certificate
- Professional certificate
The Iraqi Unified National Card and older documents
In recent years Iraq has gradually introduced the Unified National Card (البطاقة الوطنية الموحدة), which replaced the old civil status identity card and the nationality certificate. According to a report by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), the Iraqi Ministry of Interior ended the use of the old civil identity card from 1 April 2024.
Despite this, old-type identity cards, nationality certificates and residence cards are still found in family matters, inheritance disputes and archives. The translation reflects the type of document exactly and does not "update" it: an old card is translated as an old card, and its numbers and entries are carried over in the same form as in the source. If you have an old and a new document together in one case, we compare their data with each other.
Documents of the Kurdistan Region authorities
| Document | Language feature | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Civil status record | Sorani and Arabic fields, sometimes handwriting in Badini | The three-part form of the name, the parents' data, the registration number |
| Court decision or certificate | The main text and the seal may be in different languages | The name of the court, the case number, the date, the note that the decision has entered into force |
| University diploma and grades | Sometimes the university also issues an English version | The official name of the university, the degree, the credits, the period of study |
| Certificate from a mukhtar or a local body | Often a handwritten or semi-handwritten form | The name of the authority, the address, the position of the signatory, the seal |
The seals of the Kurdistan Region ministries often carry text in two languages, and sometimes the names of a federal and a regional body can be read on them together. In the translation the seal is described as far as it is legible, and the name of the authority is carried over as it appears on the document, not in a free version. If the document has more than one certification stamp, each one is translated separately, because it is precisely these stamps that show which stages the document has already gone through.
Iraq and the apostille: the legalization route
In the HCCH status table, Iraq does not appear as a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, while Georgia has been a member of the Convention since 14 May 2007. Accordingly, an Iraqi public document cannot carry an apostille, and for use in Georgia a legalization chain is, as a rule, considered.
In general this chain looks like this: first the document is confirmed by the issuing body or its superior authority, then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, which has a branch in Erbil, and finally by the Georgian diplomatic mission that covers Iraq. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, diplomatic activity in respect of Iraq is carried out by the Embassy of Georgia in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Kurdistan Regional Government also has its own Department of Foreign Relations, which takes part in document certification procedures.
Kurdish in Iran and Turkey: where the text appears
The official language of Iran is Persian, although the constitution allows the use of regional languages in the press and the media. In Turkey official documentation is produced in Turkish. Accordingly, state documents of these countries, such as a birth certificate, a passport or a diploma, are, as a rule, drawn up in Persian or Turkish. In such a case, see the Persian interpreter or Turkish interpreter pages.
Kurdish text from these countries appears mainly in other kinds of material: personal letters, messenger correspondence, voice messages, video, statements, local media articles and family records. Kurdish material received from Iran is often in Sorani in the Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet, while material received from Turkey is, as a rule, in Kurmanji in the Latin alphabet.
Material received from Syria
Syria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so for a Syrian public document too a legalization route is usually considered, which has to be agreed with the receiving body in advance. Syrian civil documents are, as a rule, in Arabic, while Kurdish text, mainly Kurmanji in the Latin alphabet, is found more often in personal correspondence, applications and recordings.
If in one case you have both an official Arabic document and a Kurdish letter or recording, we plan the material in both languages as one order, so that the names, dates and geographical names are written identically in both translations.
Audio, video and voice messages
Kurdish is often the language of spoken communication even where official business is conducted in another language. That is why many orders concern not a written document but a recording: a telephone conversation, a voice message, a video interview or a family member's account.
Work on a recording takes place in two stages. First a transcription in the original language is prepared with time stamps, and then the translation into Georgian. A passage that is hard to hear is marked as unclear and is not filled in by guesswork. Together with the file, tell us who is speaking in the recording and on what subject, because this helps us identify the dialect quickly.
You can send us the recording as a file in a common format or as a link. If several people speak in it, the speakers are marked in the transcription conventionally, for example "Speaker 1" and "Speaker 2", so that in the Georgian text it is clear who said what. Background noise, overlapping speech and the quality of the recording directly affect how long the work takes.
Court, police and migration interviews
In court, during an investigative action or in a migration and asylum procedure, a Kurdish-speaking person must understand what they are being asked, and their answer must be recorded accurately. In such cases it is especially important that the interpreter speaks the same variety: a person who speaks Kurmanji will not always fully understand a Sorani interpreter.
When requesting oral interpreting, state in advance the person's region of origin, their native variety and the nature of the meeting. The interpreter is neutral: they do not give advice, do not shorten the answer and do not add their own explanation. If a term has no exact equivalent in Georgian, the interpreter says so openly.
Transliteration of names between three alphabets
A Kurdish name may be written in three ways in one person's documents: in the Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet, in the Latin form of the Iraqi passport and in Kurmanji Latin spelling. On top of this comes the usual structure of Iraqi documents, where the person's name is followed by the father's and the grandfather's names. This model does not fit directly into the Georgian "first name, surname" scheme.
For transliteration we take the Latin form in the passport as the reference, if there is one. If there is no passport, we use the form agreed with the client and keep it unchanged in all documents. Two Georgian versions of one name must not appear in one case.
- The spelling of vowels in the Arabic-based Kurdish form is checked against the Latin form.
- Every component of a three-part name is carried over separately.
- A tribal or family name, if it is on the document, is not lost.
- For place names we use the form established in Georgian.
Dates, numerals and bilingual tables
Iraqi and Iranian Kurdish documents often use Eastern Arabic numerals (٠١٢٣٤٥٦٧٨٩), while Kurmanji text written in the Latin alphabet uses ordinary numerals. In a bilingual form one and the same number may be given twice, in different numerals, which provides a good way of comparing them with each other.
In material received from Iran you may come across a date written in the Solar Hijri calendar, while Iraqi documents, as a rule, use the Gregorian calendar, although a Lunar Hijri date also appears in some religious or old records. The translation keeps the date of the source, and where needed the equivalent is stated separately. In a table laid out from right to left we check whether every value is in the right column.
Notarized translation in Georgia
If a document translated from Kurdish has to be submitted to a Georgian state authority, a court, a notary or a bank, a notarized translation is often needed. On such a translation the notary's certification concerns the translator's signature, while the authenticity of the foreign document and the content of the translation are not checked by the notary.
That is precisely why the legalization or apostille of a foreign document and a Georgian notarized translation are two different steps. As a rule, the foreign document must first be properly certified, and then the translation is prepared, including the certification entries. Plan the sequence in advance so that you do not have to have the document translated again.
Translation from Georgian into Kurdish
When preparing a Georgian document in Kurdish, the first question is who the text is being prepared for. For an institution in the Kurdistan Region, Sorani and the Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet are, as a rule, more suitable, while for a Kurdish-speaking addressee in Turkey, Syria or the Caucasus it is Kurmanji in the Latin alphabet. For Iraqi federal bodies an Arabic translation is sometimes more practical, so the language has to be agreed with the recipient.
Georgian terms such as "Public Registry", "Public Service Hall" or "personal number" often have no established equivalent in Kurdish. In such cases we use a descriptive translation and, where needed, give the Georgian name in brackets in Latin transliteration, so that the recipient can identify the institution. For other languages of the Caucasus region, see also the Armenian interpreter page.
How do I order a Kurdish translation?
Send us a complete copy of the document or recording and briefly describe where you need to use the translation. If you know which variety the text is in, say so; if you do not, we will establish it.
Sending the material
Every page, the back side, the seals and the certification entries, or the audio or video file.
Establishing the language and the alphabet
The variety, the script, the issuing country and the final form of the translation.
Translation and checking
Names, numbers, dates and bilingual fields are checked separately.
The finished translation
An electronic version or a notarized copy.
The Tbilisi office and remote ordering
Our office address is: 118 Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, Tbilisi. You need to bring the original when the translation has to be notarized or when the receiving body asks for a copy bound to the original. In other cases a clear scan, photo or file is enough, and you can send it from any city in Georgia or from abroad.
For a document of ordinary size our typical turnaround is the same or the next day. This is a guideline, not a guarantee: a long recording, hard-to-read handwriting, a rare dialect or a large volume takes more time. We will tell you the exact turnaround after seeing the material. Call us: 501 113 200.
Quality control in Kurdish translation
The finished translation is checked both linguistically and at the level of the data. With Kurdish, particular attention is paid to making sure that one and the same name written in different alphabets is carried over as one Georgian form, and that both parts of a bilingual document are reflected in full.
- The language variety and the alphabet are confirmed before the work starts.
- Eastern Arabic and Latin numerals are compared with each other.
- Names are checked against the passport or the agreed form.
- Seals, signatures and handwritten notes are described.
- Unclear passages of a recording are marked, not guessed.
Do you have a Kurdish document, letter or recording? Send us the complete copy and tell us where you will submit the translation. We will determine the variety, the alphabet and the required form together.
Call: 501 113 200Frequently asked questions
Which Kurdish varieties do you work with?
Mainly with Kurmanji, in the Latin alphabet and including Badini written in the Arabic alphabet, and also with Sorani in the Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet. In the case of another variety or a Cyrillic text, we first look at a sample and then tell you whether we can do the work.
How do I find out which variety my document is in?
You do not need to know this. Send us a copy or a fragment of the recording and tell us which country or region it comes from. The alphabet, the vocabulary and the issuing authority are, as a rule, enough to identify the variety.
Does an Iraqi document need an apostille?
Iraq is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so for an Iraqi public document a legalization route is usually used: the issuing body, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq and the Georgian mission that covers Iraq. You should check the specific requirement with the receiving body in advance.
Can a Kurdish translation be notarized?
Yes, the translation can be prepared for notarization. Notarization confirms the translator's signature, but it does not establish the authenticity of the Kurdish or Iraqi document itself, so the legalization of a foreign document is a separate matter.
Can an audio or video recording be translated?
Yes. A transcription in the original language and a translation into Georgian are prepared, with time stamps. A passage that is hard to hear is marked as unclear and is not filled in by guesswork.
My name is written differently in different documents. What should I do?
Give us copies of all the documents, first of all the passport. In the Georgian translation we will choose one agreed form and repeat it in all the documents. A translation cannot remove the difference between the originals, but it is clearly visible and will not mislead the recipient.
Can I send you the document online?
Yes. A clear photo, scan or file in which every page and certification entry is fully visible is enough. The original is needed only when notarization or the receiving body requires it.
How long does a Kurdish translation take?
A document of ordinary size is, as a rule, ready the same or the next day. This is a guideline, not a guarantee: a long recording, difficult handwriting or a large volume needs more time.