Start with subject–object–verb
- Мен китеп окуйм.
- Men kitep okuym.I read a book.I + book + read.
- Ал чай ичет.
- Al chay ichet.He or she drinks tea.
- Биз кыргызча үйрөнөбүз.
- Biz kyrgyzcha üyrönöbüz.We learn Kyrgyz.
- Атам банкта иштейт.
- Atam bankta ishteyt.My father works at a bank.
Put descriptions before nouns
Adjectives normally come before the noun and do not agree in gender or number. A noun plus adjective can also make a present-tense statement without a separate word for “is.”
- чоң үй
- chong üya large house
- кызыл алма
- kyzyl almaa red apple
- Бул үй чоң.
- Bul üy chong.This house is large.
- Бүгүн аба суук.
- Bügün aba suuk.The weather is cold today.
Use case endings for direction and place
- Мен үйгө барам.
- Men üygö baram.I am going home.-гө marks destination.
- Мен үйдө отурам.
- Men üydö oturam.I am sitting at home.-дө marks location.
- Мен үйдөн келдим.
- Men üydön keldim.I came from home.-дөн marks source.
- Мен досума китеп бердим.
- Men dosuma kitep berdim.I gave my friend a book.
Make a sentence negative
The negative marker joins the verb and follows vowel and consonant harmony: -ба/-бе/-бо/-бө or -па/-пе/-по/-пө. Tense and person endings come after it.
- Мен барбайм.
- Men barbaym.I am not going.
- Ал эт жебейт.
- Al et jebeyt.He or she does not eat meat.
- Биз түшүнгөн жокпуз.
- Biz tüshüngön jokpuz.We did not understand.
- Бул кымбат эмес.
- Bul kymbat emes.This is not expensive.эмес negates a noun or adjective statement.
Turn a statement into a yes/no question
Add a separate question particle that harmonizes with the preceding word: -бы/-би/-бу/-бү or -пы/-пи/-пу/-пү. It is written together with the word before it in standard Kyrgyz spelling.
- Сиз кыргызча сүйлөйсүзбү?
- Siz kyrgyzcha süylöysüzbü?Do you speak Kyrgyz?
- Бул автобусту күтөсүзбү?
- Bul avtobustu kütösüzbü?Are you waiting for this bus?
- Чай ысыкпы?
- Chay ysykpy?Is the tea hot?
Add time, then expand
Time expressions often come near the beginning. Build one layer at a time: time + subject + place or object + verb.
- Бүгүн мен иштейм.
- Bügün men ishteym.Today I work.
- Эртең биз тоого барабыз.
- Erteng biz toogo barabyz.Tomorrow we will go to the mountains.
- Кечээ мен досум менен киного бардым.
- Kechöö men dosum menen kinogo bardym.Yesterday I went to the cinema with my friend.
Case endings let you expand these patterns without losing clarity.
Study the six cases