Azerbaijani or Azeri (Azərbaycan dili, آذربایجان دیلی) is the primary and official language of Azerbaijan. It is also the primary language in northwestern Iran, and is also spoken to a small extent in southern Dagestan (Russia), the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia, eastern Turkey, in Shia cities of Iraq, like Karbala and Kirkuk. It is a Turkic language and is to an extent mutually intelligible with modern Turkish although a fair amount of vocabulary has been added from Russian, Arab or Persian influence in Azerbaijan and Iran respectively.
Pronunciation guide
[edit]|
A Language of Many Scripts
The Perso-Arabic script was used among all Azerbaijani speakers until 1922, when the Latin alphabet was adopted (slightly different from the current one in use). In 1939, Stalin sought to cut ties between Azerbaijanis (a Turkic peoples) and Turkey and use of the Latin alphabet was forbidden thereafter under Soviet rule replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet. In Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani language has been written in the Latin alphabet since 1991 and Cyrillic has fallen out of use. In Iran, the Perso-Arabic script, with a few letters created especially for Azerbaijani, has remained in use; however, there is no standard for written Azerbaijani in terms of spelling. |
Azerbaijani is written in an extended Latin script with specific letters by its 8.8 million native speakers in Azerbaijan, and the rest of southern Caucasus. Standard Turkish orthography, also Latin script-based, is in use in eastern Turkey and in Iraq (where the language is more commonly called Iraqi Turkmen), as the dialects in these areas form a continuum between the standard varieties of Turkish and Azerbaijani. Azerbaijani is written in the Perso-Arabic script by its estimated 20 million speakers in Iran. Be careful as many Latin letters are pronounced differently from the way they are in English and a few letters share the same sound in the Perso-Arabic script!
The Perso-Arabic script is an abjad, not an alphabet, meaning that only the consonants are written out, and the vowels are usually omitted.
The following letters are in Latin (Azerbaijan since 1991) & Arabic (Iran; Azerbaijan until 1922).
- Aa ﺍ
- - short as in 'along' or long as in 'army'.
- Bb ﺏ
- - pronounced like 'b' in 'bell'.
- Cc ﺝ
- - pronounced like 'J' in Japan.
- Çç چ
- - pronounced like 'ch' in chat..
- Dd ﺩ
- - pronounced like 'd' in death; otherwise, like 'th' in 'the'.
- Ee ﻩ
- - pronounced like soft 'e' in Embassy. This can be long as in 'bate'.
- Əə ع
- - pronounced like 'a' in fat or apple. (This letter was represented by Ää from 1991-1992). This is long as in 'bate' or 'cape'.
- Ff ﻑ
- - pronounced like 'f' in 'fold'.
- Gg گ
- - pronounced like 'g' in goal. More like g' , while Xx is English g.
- Ğğ ﻍ
- - pronounced at the back of throat like the French 'r'
- Hh ﺡ / ﻩ
- - pronounced like 'h'.
- Xx ﺥ
- - pronounced like 'c' (or 'kh') in cartoon. More like a soft kh, while Kk is a hard k.
- Iı ی
- - pronounced like 'u' in 'butter' or 'Sutton'.
- İi ی
- - pronounced like 'i' in 'pit'. This can be 'ee' as in 'meet'.
- Jj ژ
- - pronounced like 'j' (or 'zh') in déjà vu.
- Kk ک
- - pronounced like 'k' in 'kill'.
- Qq ﻕ
- - pronounced like 'q' in 'Qatar'; usually a slide between 'g' in 'goal' and 'k' in 'kill'.
- Ll ﻝ
- - pronounced like 'l' in 'Lauren'
- Mm ﻡ
- - pronounced like 'm' in 'Maeve'.
- Nn ﻥ
- - pronounced like 'n' in 'noon'. Before 'b', 'm', and/or 'p', like 'm' in 'man'. Before 'g', 'k', and/or 'q', this is the 'ng' sound of 'pink'.
- Oo ﻭ
- - pronounced like 'o' in 'not'; otherwise, 'oh' as in 'note'.
- Öö ﻭ
- - same as in German, like 'er' in 'her'.
- Pp پ
- - pronounced like 'p'.
- Rr ﺭ
- - Roll you r's!
- Ss ﺙ / ﺱ / ﺹ
- - pronounced like 's' in sizzle.
- Şş ﺵ
- - pronounced like 'sh' in shape.
- Tt ﺕ / ﻁ
- - pronounced like 't'.
- Uu ﻭ
- - pronounced like 'u' in put.
- Üü ﻭ
- - pronounced like 'u' (or 'yu') in mute.
- Vv ﻭ
- - pronounced like 'v' in 'van'; otherwise, like 'w' in 'world'.
- Yy ی
- - pronounced like 'y' in year.
- Zz ﺫ / ﺯ / ﺽ / ﻅ
- - pronounced like 'z' in zebra, same as 's' in 'nose' or 'his'.
Vowels
[edit]There are 9 vowels: a, ı, o, u, e, ə, i, ö, ü
Phrase list
[edit]I love Baku/Azerbaijan Mən Bakını/Azərbaycanı sevirəm
Visiting Baku/Azerbaijan is my dream Bakını/Azərbaycanı görmək mənim arzumdur
Basics
[edit]|
Common signs
|
- Hello.
- Salam; Salam əleyküm.
- How are you?
- Necəsən?
- How are you? (formal)
- Necəsiniz?
- Fine, thank you.
- Mən yaxşıyam, təşəkkürlər.
- Good.
- Yaxşı
- Bad.
- Pis
- So-so.
- Elə-belə
- What is your name? (informal)
- Sənin adın nədir?
- What is your name? (formal)
- Sizin adınız nədir?
- My name is ______ .
- Mənim adım _____ .
- Nice to meet you.
- Çox şadam.
- Şad oldum.
- Tanışlığımıza şadam.
- Please.
- Zəhmət olmasa.
- Mümkünsə.
- Thank you.
- Təşəkkür edirəm/Təşəkkürlər/Çox sağ olun.
- You're welcome.
- Buyurun.
- Dəyməz.
- You're welcome. (informal)
- Buyur.
- Yes. (formal)
- Bəli.
- No. (formal)
- Xeyr.
- Yes. (informal)
- Hə.
- No. (informal)
- Yox.
- Excuse me. (getting attention or begging pardon)
- Üzr istəyirəm.
- Bağışlayın.
- I'm sorry.
- Məni bağışlayın.
- Goodbye
- Sağolun.
- Görüşənədək.
- Hələlik.
I love you
[edit]- Mən səni sevirəm.
- I can't speak Azerbaijani [well].
- Mən Azərbaycanca [yaxşı] danışa bilmirəm.
- I do not understand.
- Başa düşmədim.
- Do you speak [English/French/Russian]?
- [İngiliscə/fransızca/rusca] danışa bilirsiz\bilirsən?
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- Burada İngiliscə danışan var?
- Help!
- Kömək edin!
- Look out!
- Ehtiyyatlı olun\ol!
- Good morning.
- Sabahın xeyir.
- Good afternoon.
- Günortan xeyir.
- Good evening.
- Axşamın xeyir.
- Good night.
- Gecən xeyrə.
- Congratulations
- Təbriklər.
Problems
[edit]- Can you help me?
- Mənə kömək edə bilərsiniz?
- I feel bad.
- Mən özümü pis hiss edirəm.
- I am lost.
- Mən azmışam.
- Where is _____?
- ______ haradadır?
- How can I find hotel _____?
- Mən _____ otelini necə tapa bilərəm?
- Are there any vacancies tonight?
- Bu gün üçün boş otaq varmı?
- Where is the toilet (bathroom)?
- Tualet (ayaq yolu) haradadır?
- Male
- kişi
- Female
- qadın
Numbers
[edit]- zero
- sıfır
- one
- bir
- two
- iki
- three
- üç
- four
- dörd
- five
- beş
- six
- altı
- seven
- yeddi
- eight
- səkkiz
- nine
- doqquz
- ten
- on
- eleven
- on bir
- twelve
- on iki
- thirteen
- on üç
- fourteen
- on dörd
- fifteen
- on beş
- sixteen
- on altı
- seventeen
- on yeddi
- eighteen
- on səkkiz
- nineteen
- on doqquz
- twenty
- iyirmi
- thirty
- otuz
- forty
- qırx
- fifty
- əlli
- sixty
- altmiş
- seventy
- yetmiş
- eighty
- səksən
- ninety
- doxsan
- hundred
- yüz
- thousand
- min
Time
[edit]- What time is it?
- (Saat neçədir?)
- It's two o'clock
- (Saat ikidir)
Clock time
[edit]- It is 2:30.
- Saat üçün yarısıdır.
- It is 2:00.
- Saat ikidir.
- It is 2:50.
- Saat üçə on dəqiqə qalır.
Duration
[edit]Days
[edit]- Monday
- bazar ertəsi
- Tuesday
- çərşənbə axşamı
- Wednesday
- çərşənbə
- Thursday
- cümə axşamı
- Friday
- cümə
- Saturday
- şənbə
- Sunday
- bazar
Months
[edit]- January
- yanvar
- February
- fevral
- March
- mart
- April
- aprel
- May
- may
- June
- iyun
- July
- iyul
- August
- avqust
- September
- sentyabr
- October
- oktyabr
- November
- noyabr
- December
- dekabr
Writing time and date
[edit]Colors
[edit]- white
- ağ/bəyaz
- black
- qara
- red
- qırmızı
- green
- yaşıl
- blue
- göy/mavi
- orange
- narıncı
- grey
- boz
- brown
- şabalıdı/qəhvəyi
- yellow
- sarı
- pink
- çəhrayı
Transportation
[edit]Nəqliyyat
Bus and train
[edit]Avtobus və qatar
Direction
[edit]İstiqamət
Taxi
[edit]Taksi
Lodging
[edit]Rent
İcarə
Lease
Kirayə
Money
[edit]Pul
Eating
[edit]- Bring us a menu.
- (Bizə menu gətirin.)
- What's our bill?
- (Hesab nə qədərdir?)
Bars
[edit]Buy
[edit]Driving
[edit]Suruculuk