Lingofly-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 (Keshe) сұхбаттан (Sūkhbattan) өткен (Ötken) үміткер (Ümitker) 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
- Дәрігердің айтқанын дәптерге жазып алдымDärigerdiñ aitqanyn däpterge zhazyp aldymWhat 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 a Kazakh example sentence?
“Кеше (Keshe) сұхбаттан (Sūkhbattan) өткен (Ötken) үміткер (Ümitker) хабарласты” (Keshe sūkhbattan ötken ümitker khabarlasty) — 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.