Bul, ol, anau: this, that and that one over there
Kazakh has not two demonstratives but three, and they divide not by "near — far" but by three steps of distance. Bul — this, here in my hands or right in front of me. Osy — this very one, already named or near the person you are talking to. Anau — that one over there, in the distance and visible from here. There is also sol — that same one from the conversation — and ol, which gets a paragraph of its own below. For…
How it works
Kazakh has not two demonstratives but three, and they divide not by "near — far" but by three steps of distance. Bul — this, here in my hands or right in front of me. Osy — this very one, already named or near the person you are talking to. Anau — that one over there, in the distance and visible from here. There is also sol — that same one from the conversation — and ol, which gets a paragraph of its own below.
The paragraph is needed for this reason. Ol is at once "he/she" and "that", and nothing in English prepares you for the double duty. Ol keldi — he came. Ol kitap qyzyq — that book is interesting. What tells them apart is whether a noun stands behind ol: a noun — it is a demonstrative; no noun — a pronoun. The one typical mistake is saying ol kitap in the meaning "this book". A book in your own hands is bul kitap; ol kitap sends the book far away or back into the last conversation.
Second, something the textbooks keep quiet about: a demonstrative does not agree in number or in case while it stands as a modifier. Bul kitaptar, bul kitapta, bul kitaptarda — the bul itself never changes. But when it stands without a noun and works as subject or object, case appears on it, and the root deforms: bul → buğan, buny (in speech more often muny), bunda (more often munda). The familiar munda — "here" — comes exactly from there.
And third, the reason this note stands in wave 2: the demonstratives point at what was said earlier. Sol sebepti — for that (mentioned) reason; osyny aıtqym keldi — this is exactly what I wanted to say; sonyñ bäri — all of that. English gets by with "this" for such references; Kazakh tells them apart: osy — what I have just said, sol — what we agreed on earlier.
Table
| The word | Where the thing is | With a noun | On its own |
|---|---|---|---|
| bul | right here, with me | bul surät — this photo | bul — this is |
| osy | nearby, already named | osy apta — this week | osynda — right here |
| sol | that same one, from the talk | sol kitap — that book | sonda — then, there |
| ol | farther; he, she | ol üy — that house | ol — he, she |
| anau | over there, in view | anau köshe — that street over there | anau — that one over there |
| myna | this one here, I am pointing | myna tüyme — this button here | mynau — this here |
By example
- Бұл телефон менікі, ал анау сенікіThis phone is mine, and that one over there is yours
- Ол қосымшаны жүктеп алдың ба?Is it that app you downloaded?
- Сол себепті мен кешіктімThat is the reason I was late
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
Bul, ol, anau: how does it work in Kazakh?
Kazakh has not two demonstratives but three, and they divide not by "near — far" but by three steps of distance. Bul — this, here in my hands or right in front of me. Osy — this very one, already named or near the person you are talking to. Anau — that one over there, in the distance and visible…
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Бұл телефон менікі, ал анау сенікі” — This phone is mine, and that one over there is yours. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.