Qalaisyz? and Qalaisyñ?: how you are, formal and friendly
Qalai means how. Kazakh puts no separate pronoun after it: the person glues onto the word as a tail. The polite you is -syz, and the familiar you is -syñ. One root therefore gives Qalaisyz and Qalaisyñ, one word each. For example: “— Қалайсыз? — Өте жақсы, рақмет.” — — How are you? — Very well, thank you.. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Qalai means how. Kazakh puts no separate pronoun after it: the person glues onto the word as a tail. The polite you is -syz, and the familiar you is -syñ. One root therefore gives Qalaisyz and Qalaisyñ, one word each.
The tail is not tied to this one question. It stands wherever English would use a pronoun: Qaidansyz, where are you from; bilesiz be, do you know.
Between the hard and the soft shape the choice is made by vowel harmony, not by politeness.
Answers are short: Zhaqsy, fine; Öte zhaqsy, very well; Zhaman, bad. Zhaqsy serves as adverb and adjective at once: zhaqsy adam, a good person. With an elder people often ask Densaulyğyñyz qalai instead.
Table
| The tail | It means | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -syz / -siz | the polite "you" | Qalaisyz? | how are you |
| -syñ / -siñ | "thou" | Qalaisyñ? | how are you, friendly |
| -syz in another question | the same "you" | Qaidansyz? | where are you from |
| the answer | — | Zhaqsy / Öte zhaqsy / Zhaman | fine / very well / bad |
By example
- — Қалайсыз? — Өте жақсы, рақмет.— How are you? — Very well, thank you.
- Сәлем, қалайсың?Hi, how are you?
- Денсаулығыңыз қалай?How is your health?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to ask how are you in Kazakh?
Qalai means how. Kazakh puts no separate pronoun after it: the person glues onto the word as a tail. The polite you is -syz, and the familiar you is -syñ. One root therefore gives Qalaisyz and Qalaisyñ, one word each.
Qalaisyz or qalaisyñ: how are you in Kazakh?
The tail is not tied to this one question. It stands wherever English would use a pronoun: Qaidansyz, where are you from; bilesiz be, do you know.
What to answer to qalaisyz?
Between the hard and the soft shape the choice is made by vowel harmony, not by politeness.
What the polite Kazakh ending -syz means?
Answers are short: Zhaqsy, fine; Öte zhaqsy, very well; Zhaman, bad. Zhaqsy serves as adverb and adjective at once: zhaqsy adam, a good person. With an elder people often ask Densaulyğyñyz qalai instead.
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“— Қалайсыз? — Өте жақсы, рақмет.” — — How are you? — Very well, thank you.. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.