Asking the way in Kazakh
18 words Kazakh words on the topic “asking the way”: Қайда? — where?, Мұнда — here, Анда — there, Оңға — to the right. 18 words can be played from recordings.
18 words on the topic
- Қайда?where?Both "where" and "where to": the verb tells you the direction. "Qaidan" is "from where" — the same root with the ablative tail.
- МұндаhereThe ending "-da" does the job of the preposition "in": Kazakh has no prepositions.
- АндаthereThe far "there", from the demonstrative "ana". The near "here" is "munda", from "myna": the pair is built on the pair of demonstratives.
- Оңғаto the right"On" is "right", "-gha" is direction. The same piece as in "uige", "home(ward)".
- Солғаto the left"Sol" is "left" plus the directional tail "-gha": literally "to the left one". "Ongha" is built exactly the same way.
- Тураstraight ahead"Straight" about a road, and "straight, honest" about a person: "tura soz" is a word said looking you in the eye.
- ЖақынcloseAbout distance and about people alike: "zhaqyn adam" is a close person, "zhaqyndar" are your kin.
- АлысfarThe partner of "zhaqyn". With the ablative tail it gives "alystan", "from afar", where "-tan" went voiceless after the s.
- қалай жетуге боладыhow do I get there?Literally "how can one reach". The goal always takes the directional case: "vokzalgha qalai zhetuge bolady".
- жетіп баруto get toThe bare "zhetu" the course keeps for "to reach"; "zhetip baru" adds that the way was seen through to the end. Only the second verb is conjugated.
- арғы беттеon the far side"Argy" is "the far one"; "bet" stands in the locative "-te", or else it is simply "a face".
- екі қадам жердеtwo steps awayLiterally "at the ground of two steps": "zher" here measures distance, and without it the phrase does not sound.
- бұрылыстың артындаaround the cornerThe chain holds on both sides: the genitive "-tyn" on the first word and "-ynda" on the service noun.
- сол жағындаto the left ofA service noun: whatever you count from needs the genitive — "dukennin sol jaghynda".
- оң жағындаto the right ofThe pair of "sol jaghynda". "On" means both "right" and "true, lucky".
- дәл ортасындаin the very middleThe bare "ortasynda" the course keeps for "amid"; the booster "dal" gives a standalone "right in the middle".
- келесі бұрылысthe next turn"Kelesi", from "kelu", is "the one coming next"; the same in "kelesi aialdama", the next stop.
- жол-жөнекейon the wayA hyphenated pair; the second half never stands alone, and the order cannot be swapped.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
Қайда? — where?. Both "where" and "where to": the verb tells you the direction. "Qaidan" is "from where" — the same root with the ablative tail.
Мұнда — here. The ending "-da" does the job of the preposition "in": Kazakh has no prepositions.
Анда — there. The far "there", from the demonstrative "ana". The near "here" is "munda", from "myna": the pair is built on the pair of demonstratives.
Оңға — to the right. "On" is "right", "-gha" is direction. The same piece as in "uige", "home(ward)".
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is Қайда? — where?.
- What is this word?
It is Алыс — far.
- What is this word?
It is оң жағында — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is Оңға — to the right.
- What is this word?
It is арғы бетте — on the far side.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where?” in Kazakh?
Both "where" and "where to": the verb tells you the direction. "Qaidan" is "from where" — the same root with the ablative tail.
- How do you say “far” in Kazakh?
The partner of "zhaqyn". With the ablative tail it gives "alystan", "from afar", where "-tan" went voiceless after the s.
- How do you say “to the right of” in Kazakh?
The pair of "sol jaghynda". "On" means both "right" and "true, lucky".
- How do you say “to the right” in Kazakh?
"On" is "right", "-gha" is direction. The same piece as in "uige", "home(ward)".
- How do you say “on the far side” in Kazakh?
"Argy" is "the far one"; "bet" stands in the locative "-te", or else it is simply "a face".
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where?” in Kazakh?
«Қайда?» Both "where" and "where to": the verb tells you the direction. "Qaidan" is "from where" — the same root with the ablative tail. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 18 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 18 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.