Kyrgyz phrasebook - Wikitravel https://wikitravel.

org/en/Kyrgyz_phrasebook

Kyrgyz 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, Tartar, 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.

1 of 6 8/12/2019, 7:57 PM
Kyrgyz phrasebook - Wikitravel https://wikitravel.org/en/Kyrgyz_phrasebook

Cyrillic Arabic (initial) Latin

Аа ‫ﺍ‬ Aa

Бб ‫ﺏ‬ Bb

Вв ‫ۋ‬ Vv

Гг ‫گ‬ Gg

Дд ‫ﺩ‬ Dd

Ее ‫ﻩ‬ Ye ye

Ёё ‫ﻳﻮ‬ Yo yo

Жж ‫ﺝ‬ Jj

Зз ‫ﺯ‬ Zz

Ии ‫ﻱ‬ İi

Йй ‫ﻱ‬ Yy

Кк ‫ﻙ‬ Kk

Лл ‫ﻝ‬ Ll

Мм ‫ﻡ‬ Mm

Нн ‫ﻥ‬ Nn

Ңң ‫ڭ‬ Ng ng

Оо ‫ﻭ‬ Oo

Өө ‫ۅ‬ Öö

Пп ‫پ‬ Pp

Рр ‫ﺭ‬ Rr

Сс ‫ﺱ‬ Ss

Тт ‫ﺕ‬ Tt

Уу ‫ۇ‬ Uu

Үү ‫ۉ‬ Üü

Фф ‫ﻑ‬ Ff

Хх ‫ﺡ‬ Hh

Цц ‫ﺗﺲ‬ Cc

Чч ‫چ‬ Ch ch

Шш ‫ﺵ‬ Sh sh

Щщ -- Shch shch

Ъъ --

Ыы ‫ﻯ‬ Yy

Ьь --

2 of 6 8/12/2019, 7:57 PM
Kyrgyz phrasebook - Wikitravel https://wikitravel.org/en/Kyrgyz_phrasebook

Ээ ‫ﻩ‬ Ee

Юю ‫ﻳﯟ‬ Yu yu

Яя ‫ﻳﺎ‬ Ya ya

Pronunciation guide
Vowels

a ah like father, hunt, sun o oh like score, long y oo like cartoon, spoon, moon but do not pronounce it long. и
ee like big, lip, hip ы yh like little, sit, hit, but pronounced far further down the throat, as if being punched in
the stomach э eh like end (also pronounced further down the throat, as if being punched in the stomach) e yeh
like yes, yet, yesterday.

Consonants

Common diphthongs

Phrase list
Basics

Common signs
Hello.
Salamatsyzby. ( ) OPEN
Hello. (informal) CLOSED
Salam. ( ) ENTRANCE
How are you? EXIT
Kandaysyz? ( ?) PUSH
Fine, thank you. PULL
Jakshy, yrakmat. ( ) TOILET
What is your name? MEN
Atyngyz kim? ( ?) WOMEN
My name is ______ . FORBIDDEN
Menim atym______. ( _____.)
Nice to meet you.
Siz menen tanyshkanyma kubanychtamyn. ( )
Please.
Suranych/Ötünüch. ( )
Thank you.
Yrakmat. ( )
You're welcome.
Echteke emes. ( )
Yes.
Ooba. ( )
No.
Jok. ( )

3 of 6 8/12/2019, 7:57 PM
Kyrgyz phrasebook - Wikitravel https://wikitravel.org/en/Kyrgyz_phrasebook

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Kechiresiz. ( )
Excuse me. (begging pardon)
Kechiresiz. ( )
I'm sorry.
Kechiresiz. ( )
Goodbye
Jakshy kalgyla/Jakshy kalyngyz. ( )
See you
Körüshkönchö. ( )
Help!
Jardam bergile! ( !)
Good morning.
Kutmanduu tangyngyz menen. ( )
Good evening.
Kutmanduu kechingiz menen. ( )
I don't understand.
Men tüshünböym/Tüshünböy jatam/Tüshünbödüm. ( )
Where is the toilet?
Daaratkana kaierde? ( ?)

Problems

Numbers

one
Bir
two
Eki
three
Üch
four
Tört
five
Besh
six
Alty
seven
Jeti
eight
Segiz
nine
Toguz
ten
On

Jyiyrma Otuz Kyrk Elüü Altymysh Jetimish Seksen Tokson Jüz Ming

Time

4 of 6 8/12/2019, 7:57 PM
Kyrgyz phrasebook - Wikitravel https://wikitravel.org/en/Kyrgyz_phrasebook

Clock time

Duration

Days

English Latin Cyrillic Phonetic

Monday Düyşömbü ДҮйшөмбү Doo sham boo

Tuesday Şeyşembi Шейшемби Shay shem bee

Wednesday Şarşembi Шаршемби Shar shem bee

Thursday Beyşembi бейшемби Be shem bee

Friday Cuma Жuмa Joo ma

Saturday Işembi Ишемби Ee shem bee

Sunday Cekşembi Жекшемби Jek shem bee

Months

Writing time and date

Colors

Transportation

Bus and train

Directions

Taxi

Lodging

Money

Eating

Bars

Shopping

Driving

Authority

5 of 6 8/12/2019, 7:57 PM
Kyrgyz phrasebook - Wikitravel https://wikitravel.org/en/Kyrgyz_phrasebook

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 (http://eric.ed.gov/?q=kyrgyz&ft=on&id=ED461284).

This phrasebook is an outline and needs more content. It has an

introduction and a template, but there is not enough information
present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!

Retrieved from "https://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Kyrgyz_phrasebook&oldid=2603224"

This page was last edited on 28 June 2019, at 23:03.

Text is available under [http://wikitravel.org/shared/Copyleft Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
3.0] images are available under [http://wikitravel.org/shared/How_to_re-use_Wikitravel_guides various
licenses], see each image for details. This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba
Internet Brands. Copyright © 2018 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands.

6 of 6 8/12/2019, 7:57 PM