Köp, az, birneşe, barlyq: exactly how much and roughly how much
Counting the course learned in the first wave, but saying "many", "few", "several", "about twenty" — it has not. This section looks small until you find yourself at a bank counter: "how much money?" — "not enough"; "how many days?" — "about ten". Without quantifiers such an answer cannot be assembled. For example: “Бөлімде бірнеше бос жұмыс орны бар” — The department has several vacancies. A rule from the Kazakh…
How it works
Counting the course learned in the first wave, but saying "many", "few", "several", "about twenty" — it has not. This section looks small until you find yourself at a bank counter: "how much money?" — "not enough"; "how many days?" — "about ten". Without quantifiers such an answer cannot be assembled.
The first and main rule, the one phrasebooks keep quiet about: after a number and after "köp" the noun stands in the singular. Bes kitap — five books, not kitaptar. Köp adam — many people. English agrees — "five books" doubles the marking with the numeral and the -s; Kazakh marks once and forbids the plural. It appears only where there is no number and the talk is about things in general: kitaptar sörede tur — the books are standing on the shelf.
Now the words themselves. Köp — many, az — few; both stand before the noun and do not change. Birneşe — several, about countables; biraz — some, about uncountables and about time: biraz aqsha, biraz uaqyt. Barlyq and bükil — all, but differently: barlyq oquşylar — all the pupils one by one, bükil el — the whole country as a single body. There is also bäri — "all of them", and it stands already without a noun: bäri keldi.
And the approximateness that B1 demands. It is made in three ways, and they are not interchangeable. Shamamen — approximately, before the number: shamamen zhiyrma adam. Zhuyıq — almost, about, after the number and in the dative: zhiyrmağa zhuyıq. And the most Kazakh device — a pair of numbers in a row: eki-üsh kün — two or three days, on-on bes mıñ — some ten or fifteen thousand. The last one is heard in speech more often than the first two together.
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 dative | 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?
Counting the course learned in the first wave, but saying "many", "few", "several", "about twenty" — it has not. This section looks small until you find yourself at a bank counter: "how much money?" — "not enough"; "how many days?" — "about ten". Without quantifiers such an answer cannot be…
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.