Zhattığu and zhattıqtıru: oneself, others and with oneself
The sports unit rests on a pair of verbs that English tells apart by an extra word — "train" versus "be trained" — while Kazakh tells them apart by a tail inside the word. Zhattığu — to train oneself, zhattyqtıru — to train others. One tail of difference, and the same tail turns a coach into zhattyqtırushy and an exercise machine into zhattyqtırğysh. Such tails are called voices, and this wave holds three of them.…
How it works
The sports unit rests on a pair of verbs that English tells apart by an extra word — "train" versus "be trained" — while Kazakh tells them apart by a tail inside the word. Zhattığu — to train oneself, zhattyqtıru — to train others. One tail of difference, and the same tail turns a coach into zhattyqtırushy and an exercise machine into zhattyqtırğysh. Such tails are called voices, and this wave holds three of them.
The causative -dyr / -tyr / -t / -qyz shifts the action onto someone else. Qyzu — to get warm, qyzdyru — to warm something; tanu — to recognize, tanystyru — to introduce; eñkeiu — to bend down, eñkeitu — to tilt something. English does the same with "make" or with a whole new verb; Kazakh spends one syllable. The same device covers "make someone do": zhazdyrdym — I had it written, I asked for it to be written.
The passive -yl / -il / -l / -yn / -in removes the doer. Sozu — to stretch, sozylu — to get stretched; ashu — to open, ashylu — to be opened; zhasau — to make, zhasalu — to be made. Hence the language of signs: sportzal altyda ashylady — the gym opens at six, and nobody is named.
The reflexive -yn / -in / -n turns the action on oneself. Sheshu — to take off, sheshinu — to undress; las — dirty, lastanu — to get dirty; zhylu — warmth, zhylynu — to warm oneself. The tail looks the same as the passive's, and only the meaning tells them apart: kiindi — he dressed himself, kiildi — it was put on.
And the fourth, familiar from unit 42 — the reciprocal -ys / -is / -s. Amandasu, qoshtasu, bölisu, zharysu, qatysu: to do something with each other or on a par with others. That is why "to participate" in Kazakh is qatysu, not a separate verb: to participate means to be among others.
How to read it. An unfamiliar verb is taken apart from the end: strip the tail — see the root; recognize the root — understand the word. Zhattıqtırğysh is zhat + -tu + -tyr + -ğysh: the thing that makes one exercise. An error in the voice does not break the sentence grammatically, but it flips the meaning: oiatty — woke someone up, oiandy — woke up.
Table
| the voice | the tail | example | in English |
|---|---|---|---|
| the causative | -dyr / -tyr | qyzdyru | to warm something |
| the causative | -t | eñkeitu | to tilt something |
| the passive | -yl / -il | sozylu | to be stretched |
| the passive | -l | zhasalu | to be made |
| the reflexive | -yn / -in | sheshinu | to undress |
| the reflexive | -n | lastanu | to get dirty |
| the reciprocal | -ys / -is | bölisu | to share with each other |
| the reciprocal | -s | qatysu | to participate |
By example
- Жаттықтырушы бізді жаттықтырады, біз жаттығамызThe coach trains us, and we train
- Бассейн жетіде ашыладыThe pool opens at seven
- Шешінетін бөлмеде шешініп, душқа түстімHaving undressed in the changing room, I went to the shower
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
Zhattığu and zhattıqtıru: how does it work in Kazakh?
The sports unit rests on a pair of verbs that English tells apart by an extra word — "train" versus "be trained" — while Kazakh tells them apart by a tail inside the word. Zhattığu — to train oneself, zhattyqtıru — to train others. One tail of difference, and the same tail turns a coach into…
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Жаттықтырушы бізді жаттықтырады, біз жаттығамыз” — The coach trains us, and we train. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.