Kyrgyz phrasebook
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
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
Vowels
Consonants
Common diphthongs
Phrase list
Basics
|
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
Numbers
- 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
Clock time
Duration
Days
Monday - Duishombu Tuesday - Sheishembi Wednesday - Sharshembi Thursday- Beishembi 'Friday - Juma Saturday - Ishembi Sunday - Jekshembi
Months
Writing time and date
Colors
White - "Ak" Black - "Khara" Red - "Kyzyl"
Transportation
Bus and train
Directions
Taxi
Lodging
Money
- Money
- Ackcha
- Worth/Price
- Baa
- Pay
- To'lo'
Eating
Bars
Shopping
Driving
Authority
Learning more
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.