No article, but definiteness exists: a tail on the object carries it
Kazakh has no article at all. Yet it still separates that one we spoke of from some one or other, and it does so by another means. For example: “Мен мәзірді оқыдым” — I read the menu. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Kazakh has no article at all. Yet it still separates that one we spoke of from some one or other, and it does so by another means.
Men bilet aldym is I bought a ticket, one of many. Men biletti aldym is I took that ticket we talked about. The whole difference is a tail: -ny, -dy or -ty. A bare word is the thing in general; a tailed word is this one here.
The tail is obligatory once the thing has been mentioned, and always with a name. It is needed too when bul, sol or meniñ stands beside it. Sömkeni äkeliñiz means bring that bag.
The other side of it: a bare word sticks to the verb and makes one notion. Balyq aulau is fishing; balyqty aulau is catching that fish.
Table
| The word ends in | The ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a vowel | -ny / -ni | kese → keseni; bölme → bölmeni |
| a voiced or sonorant consonant (l, r, m, n, ñ, zh, z) | -dy / -di | qol → qoldy; äñ → äñdi |
| a voiceless consonant | -ty / -ti | bilet → biletti; kitap → kitapty |
| a possessive ending | -n | kitabym → kitabymdy; kilti → kiltin |
By example
- Мен мәзірді оқыдымI read the menu
- Даяшы мәзір әкелдіThe waiter brought a menu (some menu or other)
- Жоғалған жүкті таптықWe found the lost luggage
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
No article, but definiteness exists: how does it work in Kazakh?
Kazakh has no article at all. Yet it still separates that one we spoke of from some one or other, and it does so by another means.
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Мен мәзірді оқыдым” — I read the menu. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.