Üşten bir, eki eselep, odan tömen: arithmetic inside out
The unit about quantity breaks three English habits at once, and all three are word order. Having learned them, you will stop translating numbers word for word. For example: “Топтың үштен бірі емтихан тапсырмады” — A third of the group did not pass the exam. A rule from the Kazakh course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The unit about quantity breaks three English habits at once, and all three are word order. Having learned them, you will stop translating numbers word for word.
A fraction is read backwards. English names the numerator first: "one third". Kazakh puts the denominator first and puts it in the ablative: üşten bir — word for word "out of three, one". Then by the model: törtten üş — three quarters, zhüzden on — ten hundredths. English keeps the same relic in "two out of three". Percentages go their own way — on paiyz — and are the only exception.
Multiples are carried by the word ese, not by a tail. Eki ese — twice as much, üsh ese — three times, birneşe ese — several times over. If the multiple stands at a verb, ese turns into an adverbial form: eki eselep östi — it grew twofold. The distinction is subtle but real: eki ese köp — twice as much as a quality, eki eselep östi — twice as much as a manner of action.
Comparison manages without the conjunction "than". The thing compared with takes the ablative, and that is enough: mennen biiik — taller than me, ötken zhildan tömen — lower than last year. The word "than" does not exist in Kazakh at all, and stuffing qarağanda into every comparison makes the speech heavy: qarağanda is needed only when two whole sentences are compared.
A measure is named by a noun, not a preposition. "A hundred meters long" — uzynuğy zhuz metr, word for word "its length is a hundred meters". The same: salmaghı eki keli, biiiktiği üş metr. The English preposition "in" is not translated by anything here: its role is played by the possessive tail.
Adverbs of quantity almost do not exist — there are cases. Danamen — one by one (the instrumental), bir-birden — one at a time (the ablative from a doubling), teñ bölip — in equal parts (an adverbial form). The "adv" label in the syllabus describes the English side of the card; the Kazakh side turns out to be a form of a noun or a verb every time.
Table
| in English | in Kazakh | what happens |
|---|---|---|
| one third | üşten bir | the denominator first, in the ablative |
| three quarters | törtten üş | the same make-up |
| one and a half | bir zharım | two words, no single word |
| twice as much | eki ese | the multiple by the word "ese" |
| twofold (at a verb) | eki eselep | an adverbial form of "eseleu" |
| lower than last year | ötken zhildan tömen | the ablative instead of "than" |
| a hundred meters long | uzynuğy zhuz metr | a possessive tail instead of a preposition |
| one by one | danamen | the instrumental instead of an adverb |
By example
- Топтың үштен бірі емтихан тапсырмадыA third of the group did not pass the exam
- Биылғы шығын өткен жылдан төменThis year's expenses are lower than last year's
- Көпірдің ұзындығы жүз метрThe length of the bridge is a hundred meters
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
Üşten bir, eki eselep, odan tömen: how does it work in Kazakh?
The unit about quantity breaks three English habits at once, and all three are word order. Having learned them, you will stop translating numbers word for word.
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Топтың үштен бірі емтихан тапсырмады” — A third of the group did not pass the exam. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.