Qalaisyz? and Qalaisyñ?: how you are, formal and friendly
Qalai — how. Kazakh puts no separate pronoun after it: the person glues onto the word with a tail. -syz/-siz is the polite "you", -syñ/-siñ is "thou". From one root you get Qalaisyz? and Qalaisyñ? — "how are you?" in the formal and the friendly key, one word each. For example: “— Қалайсыз? — Өте жақсы, рақмет.” — — How are you? — Very well, thank you.. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not…
How it works
Qalai — how. Kazakh puts no separate pronoun after it: the person glues onto the word with a tail. -syz/-siz is the polite "you", -syñ/-siñ is "thou". From one root you get Qalaisyz? and Qalaisyñ? — "how are you?" in the formal and the friendly key, one word each.
The tail is not tied to this one question: it stands everywhere English would put the pronoun. Qaidansyz? — where are you from; bilesiz be? — do you know. And which vowel the tail takes — the hard or the soft pair — is decided not by politeness but by vowel harmony: the vowels of the ending copy the vowels of the root.
The answer is short: Zhaqsy — fine; Öte zhaqsy — very well; Zhaman — bad. Zhaqsy and zhaman serve as adverb and adjective at once: zhaqsy adam — a good person, zhaman kün — a bad day. With someone older, people often ask about health instead of "how are you": Densaulyğyñyz qalai?
Table
| The tail | It means | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -syz / -siz | the polite "you" | Qalaisyz? | how are you |
| -syñ / -siñ | "thou" | Qalaisyñ? | how are you, friendly |
| -syz in another question | the same "you" | Qaidansyz? | where are you from |
| the answer | — | Zhaqsy / Öte zhaqsy / Zhaman | fine / very well / bad |
By example
- — Қалайсыз? — Өте жақсы, рақмет.— How are you? — Very well, thank you.
- Сәлем, қалайсың?Hi, how are you?
- Денсаулығыңыз қалай?How is your health?
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
Qalaisyz or qalaisyñ: how are you in Kazakh?
Qalai — how. Kazakh puts no separate pronoun after it: the person glues onto the word with a tail. -syz/-siz is the polite "you", -syñ/-siñ is "thou". From one root you get Qalaisyz? and Qalaisyñ? — "how are you?" in the formal and the friendly key, one word each.
How to ask how are you in Kazakh?
The tail is not tied to this one question: it stands everywhere English would put the pronoun. Qaidansyz? — where are you from; bilesiz be? — do you know. And which vowel the tail takes — the hard or the soft pair — is decided not by politeness but by vowel harmony: the vowels of the ending copy…
What to answer to qalaisyz?
The answer is short: Zhaqsy — fine; Öte zhaqsy — very well; Zhaman — bad. Zhaqsy and zhaman serve as adverb and adjective at once: zhaqsy adam — a good person, zhaman kün — a bad day. With someone older, people often ask about health instead of "how are you": Densaulyğyñyz qalai?
What the polite Kazakh ending -syz means?
The answer is short: Zhaqsy — fine; Öte zhaqsy — very well; Zhaman — bad. Zhaqsy and zhaman serve as adverb and adjective at once: zhaqsy adam — a good person, zhaman kün — a bad day. With someone older, people often ask about health instead of "how are you": Densaulyğyñyz qalai?
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“— Қалайсыз? — Өте жақсы, рақмет.” — — How are you? — Very well, thank you.. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.