Oiatqysh, sorğy, ölşeuish: what names a device
In the unit about devices half of the words are borrowings, and they are learned as they are. The other half is assembled with tails, and these do not need to be memorized one by one: knowing three tails, you will understand a device you have never seen. English names things by trade haphazardly — "alarm clock", "pump", "vacuum cleaner", "meter" — Kazakh does the same in three ways, and each hangs on a verb. For…
How it works
In the unit about devices half of the words are borrowings, and they are learned as they are. The other half is assembled with tails, and these do not need to be memorized one by one: knowing three tails, you will understand a device you have never seen. English names things by trade haphazardly — "alarm clock", "pump", "vacuum cleaner", "meter" — Kazakh does the same in three ways, and each hangs on a verb.
-ğysh / -giş / -qysh / -kiş — the most frequent. It takes a verb and yields the thing that performs the action: oiatu (to wake) gives oiatqysh (an alarm clock), shañ soru (to suck dust) — shañsorğysh (a vacuum cleaner), zhuu — zhuğysh (in kir zhuğysh mashina, a washing machine), söndiru — söndirgiş (a fire extinguisher), qyzdyru — qyzdyrğysh (a heater). The choice among the four variants is decided by two rules: vowel harmony gives "y" after a back syllable and "i" after a front one, and the voicedness of the last sound of the stem chooses between ğ/g and q/k. English builds the same with "-er": "mower", "printer". The tail is alive: a device for a new verb is made at once.
-ğy / -gi / -qy / -ki yields a thing, not a doer. Soru — sorğy (a pump), tarau — tarğy (a comb), quru — qurylğy (a device), burğylau — burğy (a drill). The difference from -ğysh is subtle and almost inaudible, but it exists: -ğysh stresses the one who does (and therefore also yields propensities — umytshaq, sözuar), -ğy — a plain object.
-uuş / -uiş assembles the devices of measurement and counting. Ölşeu — ölşeuish (a meter), sanau — sanauysh (a counter), körsetu — körsetkish (an indicator). This very row stands on the water meter and on the dashboard.
And what gets in the way most of all: the measure after a numeral stands in the singular. Eki metr, bes litr, zhiyrma gramm — there is no -lar tail and cannot be, because the quantity has already been named by the number (a separate note in unit 43 was about that). And the measure itself stands between the number and the thing: eki metr mata — two meters of fabric, bir litr süt — a liter of milk. The order is strict, and the words cannot be swapped — here English agrees, which makes the rule painless.
Table
| the tail | what it yields | the verb | the device |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ğysh / -qysh | what performs the action | oiatu — to wake | oiatqysh — alarm clock |
| -ğysh / -qysh | what performs the action | soru — to suck | shañsorğysh — vacuum cleaner |
| -giş / -kiş | the same, the front row | söndiru — to extinguish | söndirgiş — fire extinguisher |
| -ğy / -qy | an instrument-object | soru — to suck | sorğy — pump |
| -ğy / -qy | an instrument-object | quru — to assemble | qurylğy — device |
| -uuş / -uiş | a measuring device | ölşeu — to measure | ölşeuish — meter |
| -uuş / -uiş | a measuring device | sanau — to count | sanauysh — counter |
| number + measure | no -lar, the measure before the thing | eki + metr | eki metr mata — two meters of fabric |
By example
- Оятқыш пен термометр бір сөреде тұрThe alarm clock and the thermometer stand on one shelf
- Су есептегіш көрсеткішін айына бір рет жазамынI write down the water meter reading once a month
- Дүкеннен үш метр мата және екі литр бояу алдымAt the shop I bought three meters of fabric and two liters of paint
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
Oiatqysh, sorğy, ölşeuish: how does it work in Kazakh?
In the unit about devices half of the words are borrowings, and they are learned as they are. The other half is assembled with tails, and these do not need to be memorized one by one: knowing three tails, you will understand a device you have never seen. English names things by trade haphazardly…
What does it look like in an example sentence Kazakh?
“Оятқыш пен термометр бір сөреде тұр” — The alarm clock and the thermometer stand on one shelf. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.