-ğan and -atyn: the participle instead of "who / which"
English says the man who called. Kazakh has no word for who or which at all. For example: “Кеше сұхбаттан өткен үміткер хабарласты” — The candidate who passed the interview yesterday got in touch. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English says the man who called. Kazakh has no word for who or which at all.
The phrase is built inside out: first the description, then the noun, with the verb turned into a describing form. Keshe qoñyrau shalğan adam is, word for word, yesterday having-called man.
There are two such forms, and choosing between them is choosing a tense. The -ğan form says the thing has happened: qol qoğan shart, the contract that was signed. The -atyn form says now, always or later: Astanada zhumys isteitin ağam, my brother who works in Astana.
The trap shows up in a pair. Oqyğan kitap is a book that was read; oqityn kitap is a book people read or will read.
Table
| The form | The tense | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ğan / -gen | past | jaldağan päter | the flat that was rented |
| -qan / -ken | after a voiceless consonant | qol qoğan shart | the signed contract |
| -atyn / -etin | present, habit | istetin adam | the person who works |
| -ytyn / -itin | after a vowel | oqytyn bala | the child who studies |
| -mağan / -megen | negation | kelmegen qonaq | the guest who did not come |
| the whose-tail + the his-tail | its own doer | meniñ alğan nesiem | the loan I took |
| the participle + case | "the one who / what" | aıtqanyn tüsindim | I understood what he said |
By example
- Кеше сұхбаттан өткен үміткер хабарластыThe candidate who passed the interview yesterday got in touch
- Банкте істейтін досым несие туралы айтып бердіMy friend, who works at a bank, told me about the loan
- Дәрігердің айтқанын дәптерге жазып алдымWhat the doctor said, I wrote down in my notebook
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
-ğan and -atyn: how does it work in Kazakh?
English says the man who called. Kazakh has no word for who or which at all.
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Кеше сұхбаттан өткен үміткер хабарласты” — The candidate who passed the interview yesterday got in touch. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.