Language/Kazakh/Grammar/Adjectives

Kazakh Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Kazakh learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will explore the use of adjectives in Kazakh. Adjectives are important in every language as they help to describe and give more information about nouns. Understanding how to use Kazakh adjectives will help you to better communicate in the language. We will also include interesting cultural information along the way, so let's get started!

Take some time to dive into these other pages after completing this lesson: Nouns, Consonants, Instrumental Case & Stress and Intonation.

What are adjectives?

In grammar, an adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. Adjectives provide more information about the noun, including its size, color, type, quantity, and other characteristics.

For example:

• Beautiful Kazakh rug (the adjective "beautiful" describes the noun "rug")
• Small Kazakh village (the adjective "small" describes the noun "village")

In Kazakh, adjectives are usually placed before the noun. The order of words is generally subject – adjective – noun – verb.

For example:

• Жақсы ойыншыл мұң (Good player)
• Қысқа шәһәрдегі мектептер (Schools in a small town)

Kazakh Adjective Endings

In Kazakh, there are three types of adjectives: descriptive, relative and possessive. Each type of adjective has a different ending, depending on the noun it modifies.

Descriptive Adjectives

Descriptive adjectives describe and provide more information about a noun. In Kazakh, descriptive adjectives usually end in -дық/-дік, -лық/-лік or -ға/-ге.

Here are some examples:

Kazakh	Pronunciation	English
қара-дық	qara-dıq	black
аз-лық	az-lyq	few
тәлан-ға	tälan-ğa	to the mountain
шын-дық	shyn-dyq	true
қазына-лық	qazyna-lyq	rich

Relative Adjectives

Relative adjectives are used to express possession or relationship between two nouns. In Kazakh, relative adjectives usually end in -ның/-нің, -дағы/-дегі, -да/-де/-та/-те or -нан/-нен.

Here are some examples:

Kazakh	Pronunciation	English
әке-нің	äke-niń	father's
қала-дағы	qala-dağy	city's
кітап-та	kitap-ta	in the book
құм-нан	qum-nan	from the sand

Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are used to indicate ownership or possession of something. In Kazakh, possessive adjectives usually end in -ым/-ім, -ың/-ің, -ы/-і, -ымыз/-іміз, -ыңыз/-іңіз or -ылар/-ілер.

Here are some examples:

Kazakh	Pronunciation	English
менің	meniń	my
сенің	seniń	your
оның	onyń	his/her/its
біздің	bizdiń	our
сендердің	senderdiń	your (plural)
олардың	olardyń	their

Examples in context

Let's see how Kazakh adjectives are used in context:

• Dialogue: A: Осы мектеп қанша оқушы бар? (How many students are in this school?) B: Осы мектепте үлкен оқушы тобы бар. (This school has a large group of students.)
• Dialogue: A: Жақсы жер емес ба? (Isn't it a good place?) B: Жоғары деңгейдегі жерді қатар жақсы жер емес. (It's not a good place compared to the high-level places.)

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding how to use Kazakh adjectives is essential for building your vocabulary and communicating effectively in the language. Don't forget to practice using adjectives in your conversations with native speakers on Polyglot Club. Find native speakers and ask them any questions. For more resources on Kazakh Grammar, please check out our Kazakh section. We hope you found this lesson informative and interesting!

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Congratulations on finishing this lesson! Explore these related pages to keep learning: Negation, Kazakh Grammar → Kazakh Cases → Accusative Case, Compound Prepositions and Postpositions & Simple Prepositions.

Other Lessons

• Consonants
• Questions
• Plurals
• Future Tense
• Negation
• How to Use Be
• Give your Opinion
• Past Tense (ӨТКЕН ШАҚ)
• Conditional Mood

Sources

• A Grammar of Kazakh Zura Dotton, Ph.D John Doyle Wagner
• Kazakh Grammar - with Affix List