bar and zhoq: "have" and "not have" in one word
Kazakh has no verb "to have". Two short words at the end of the sentence do the job: For example: “Су бар ма?” — Is there water?. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Kazakh has no verb "to have". Two short words at the end of the sentence do the job:
bar — there is, there are. zhoq — there is not.
Su bar — there is water. Su zhoq — there is no water. Meniñ kölígim bar — I have a car (word for word "my car is").
The question is made by the particle ma/me/ba/be/pa/pe — chosen by harmony and by the last consonant: Su bar ma? — is there water?
By example
- Су бар ма?Is there water?
- Уақыт жоқThere is no time
- Менің екі балам барI have two children
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
Bar vs zhoq in Kazakh?
Kazakh has no verb "to have". Two short words at the end of the sentence do the job:
How to say I have in Kazakh?
bar — there is, there are. zhoq — there is not.
Why Kazakh has no verb to have?
Su bar — there is water. Su zhoq — there is no water. Meniñ kölígim bar — I have a car (word for word "my car is").
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Су бар ма?” — Is there water?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.