-yl, -yn and tyym salynady: the language of signs, where there is no doer
A sign on a door, a line in a law, a reply from an office — everywhere the same thing: there is an action, and who acts is not said. English manages with "is being done" and "it is forbidden"; Kazakh does it with the passive voice, a separate suffix on the verb. Without having learned it, you will not read a single sign. For example: “Өтініш он жұмыс күні ішінде қаралады” — The application is considered within ten…
How it works
A sign on a door, a line in a law, a reply from an office — everywhere the same thing: there is an action, and who acts is not said. English manages with "is being done" and "it is forbidden"; Kazakh does it with the passive voice, a separate suffix on the verb. Without having learned it, you will not read a single sign.
The suffix is one, but it has three faces, and the choice is purely phonetic. -l/-la after a vowel: zhasa-u → zhasalu (to be made), toltyr-u → toltyrylu. -yn/-in after "l": al-u → alynu (to be taken), böl-u → bölinu. -yl/-il after other consonants: zhaz-u → zhazylu (to be written), ash-u → ashylu (to be opened). Notice: you already know zhazylu as "to sign up" — that is the same passive, only frozen into a separate meaning. Built the same way: körsetiledi (is shown), beriledi (is issued), qaralady (is considered).
Who does it, in a passive sentence, is usually not named at all — and that is the norm, not an omission. If naming is still needed, the postposition tarapynan is used: sot tarapynan sheshim qabyldandy — the decision was made by the court. English marks the doer with "by"; here the mark is a whole postposition, and it is bookish — speech almost never uses it.
A separate life is led by compound verbs with "etu" and "bolu". Half of the abstract actions in Kazakh are a noun plus a service verb: ruqsat etu (to permit), tyym salu (to forbid), yqpal etu (to influence). The passive settles on the service part: ruqsat etiledi — it is permitted, tyym salynady — it is forbidden. Note the case: what is forbidden stands in the dative of the "-uğa" form — temeki sheguge tyym salynady, smoking is prohibited. Next to it lives the pair familiar from wave 2, -uğa bolady / bolmaidy — allowed and not allowed. The difference is stylistic: bolmaidy is a person speaking to you, tyym salynady is the law speaking.
Table
| The stem ends in | The suffix | Example | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a vowel | -l | zhasalady | it is made |
| l | -yn / -in | alynady | it is taken |
| another consonant | -yl / -il | zhazylady | it is written |
| noun + etu | on the service verb | ruqsat etiledi | it is permitted |
| noun + salu | on the service verb | tyym salynady | it is forbidden |
| the doer is named | tarapynan | sot tarapynan | by the court |
| the colloquial "not allowed" | -uğa bolmaidy | kiruge bolmaidy | no entry |
By example
- Өтініш он жұмыс күні ішінде қараладыThe application is considered within ten working days
- Мұнда суретке түсіруге тыйым салынадыTaking pictures here is prohibited
- Құжат нотариус тарапынан расталдыThe document was certified by a notary
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
-yl, -yn and tyym salynady: how does it work in Kazakh?
A sign on a door, a line in a law, a reply from an office — everywhere the same thing: there is an action, and who acts is not said. English manages with "is being done" and "it is forbidden"; Kazakh does it with the passive voice, a separate suffix on the verb. Without having learned it, you will…
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Өтініш он жұмыс күні ішінде қаралады” — The application is considered within ten working days. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.