Köp, az, birneşe, barlyq: exactly how much and roughly how much
To answer that money is short, or that it will take about ten days, you need the words of quantity. For example: “Бөлімде бірнеше бос жұмыс орны бар” — The department has several vacancies. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
To answer that money is short, or that it will take about ten days, you need the words of quantity.
Köp is many and az is few. Both stand before the noun and never change. Birneşe is several, for things you can count. Biraz is some, for what you cannot count and for stretches of time: biraz uaqyt.
Barlyq and bükil both mean all. Barlyq oqushylar is all the pupils, one by one; bükil el is the whole country as a single thing. Bäri means all of them and stands with no noun: bäri keldi.
The trap: after a number and after köp the noun stays singular. Bes kitap is five books, not kitaptar. Köp adam is many people.
Table
| The word | The meaning | What follows it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| köp | many | the singular | köp aqsha jumsadym |
| az | few | the singular | uaqyt az |
| birneşe | several (countable) | the singular | birneşe suraq |
| biraz | some | uncountables, time | biraz uaqyt ötti |
| barlyq | all (one by one) | the plural is fine too | barlyq qyzmetkerler |
| bükil | the whole (as one) | the singular | bükil el |
| bäri | all of them | — stands alone | bäri daiyn |
| shamamen | approximately | before the number | shamamen elu mıñ |
| -ğa zhuyıq | about, almost | after the number, the -ğa tail | zhüzge zhuyıq adam |
| eki-üsh | two or three | a pair of numbers | eki-üsh künde |
By example
- Бөлімде бірнеше бос жұмыс орны барThe department has several vacancies
- Жөндеуге шамамен екі ай кетедіThe repair will take about two months
- Барлық құжатты тапсырдым, тек анықтама қалдыI have submitted all the documents, only the certificate is left
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
Köp, az, birneşe, barlyq: how does it work in Kazakh?
To answer that money is short, or that it will take about ten days, you need the words of quantity.
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Бөлімде бірнеше бос жұмыс орны бар” — The department has several vacancies. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.