Kyrgyz (кыргызча / قىرعىزچا) is a language spoken by 4 million people primarily in Kyrgyzstan and, to a lesser extent, in adjacent regions such as Kazakhstan, Xinjiang (China), Uzbekistan, & Tajikistan. In Kyrgyzstan, the language is co-official with Russian, which is the predominate language used in urban areas (especially Bishkek) while Kyrgyz is predominate in rural areas and small cities/towns. It is a Turkic language and has many similarities with languages such as Turkish, Tatar, Kazakh, Azeri, & Uzbek. As a result of close ties culturally and economically, Kyrgyz has become increasingly mutually intelligible with Kazakh in recent decades.
Script[edit]
The alphabet used for Kyrgyz was originally an Arabic script followed by a 20th century conversion to Roman script, much like the Arabic-Roman switch in other Turkic languages. However, cyrillic script was forced on the language by the Soviet government (as they did with all other Turkic languages) and cyrillic remains the alphabet used today by the overwhelming percentage of Kyrgyz speakers except in China, where Arabic script is the official script imposed by Chinese authorities.
| Cyrillic | Arabic (initial) | Latin |
|---|---|---|
| А а | ا | A a |
| Б б | ب | B b |
| В в | ۋ | V v |
| Г г | گ | G g |
| Д д | د | D d |
| Е е | ه | Ye ye |
| Ё ё | يو | Yo yo |
| Ж ж | ج | J j |
| З з | ز | Z z |
| И и | ي | İ i |
| Й й | ي | Y y |
| К к | ك | K k |
| Л л | ل | L l |
| М м | م | M m |
| Н н | ن | N n |
| Ң ң | ڭ | Ñ ñ |
| О о | و | O o |
| Ө ө | ۅ | Ö ö |
| П п | پ | P p |
| Р р | ر | R r |
| С с | س | S s |
| Т т | ت | T t |
| У у | ۇ | U u |
| Ү ү | ۉ | Ü ü |
| Ф ф | ف | F f |
| Х х | ح | X x |
| Ц ц | تس | C c |
| Ч ч | چ | Ç ç |
| Ш ш | ش | Ş ş |
| Щ щ | -- | Şç şç |
| Ъ ъ | -- | |
| Ы ы | ى | I ı |
| Ь ь | -- | |
| Э э | ه | E e |
| Ю ю | يۋ | Yu yu |
| Я я | يا | Ya ya |
Pronunciation guide[edit]
Vowels[edit]
Consonants[edit]
Common diphthongs[edit]
Phrase list[edit]
Basics[edit]
|
Common signs
|
- Hello.
- Salamatsyzby. ( )
- Hello. (informal)
- Salam. ( )
- How are you?
- Kandaisiz? ( ?)
- Fine, thank you.
- Jakshuh, rakhmat. ( )
- What is your name?
- Atyngyz kim? ( ?)
- My name is ______ .
- Menim atem______. ( _____.)
- Nice to meet you.
- Siz menen tanyshkanyma kubanychtumun. ( )
- Please.
- Suranych/Otunuch. ( )
- Thank you.
- Rakhmat. ( )
- You're welcome.
- Echteke emes. ( )
- Yes.
- Ooba. ( )
- No.
- Jok. ( )
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- Ozor dilerem. ( )
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- Kecheraysis. ( )
- I'm sorry.
- Korushkoncho. ( )
- Goodbye
- Jakshuh Kalgula. ( )
- Help!
- Jardam Bergulay! ( !)
- Good morning.
- Kutmanduu tangyngyz menen. ( )
- Good evening.
- Kutmanduu kechingiz menen. ( )
- I don't understand.
- Men tushunbaym. ( )
- Where is the toilet?
- Tualet kaida? ( ?)
Problems[edit]
Numbers[edit]
- one
- бир (bir)
- two
- Eki
- three
- ooch
- four
- turt
- five
- Besh
- six
- Altuh
- seven
- жети (..jeti.)
- eight
- сегиз (segiz)
- nine
- toguz
- ten
- On
- twenty
- jyirma
Otuz Kyrk Eluu Altymish jetimysh Seksen tokson Júz Meen
Time[edit]
Clock time[edit]
Duration[edit]
Days[edit]
Monday - Duishombu Tuesday - Sheishembi Wednesday - Sharshembi Thursday- Beishembi 'Friday - Juma Saturday - Ishembi Sunday - Jekshembi
Months[edit]
Writing time and date[edit]
Colors[edit]
White - "Ak" Black - "Khara" Red - "Kyzyl"
Transportation[edit]
Bus and train[edit]
Directions[edit]
Taxi[edit]
Lodging[edit]
Money[edit]
- Money
- Ackcha
- Worth/Price
- Baa
- Pay
- To'lo'
Eating[edit]
Bars[edit]
Shopping[edit]
Driving[edit]
Authority[edit]
Learning more[edit]
A 325 page PDF document covering the Kyrgyz language, originally created for US Peace Corps volunteers in Kyrgyzstan, is available to view and download here.