Көлік
“Көлік” — car in Kazakh. Noun, level A1, topic — transport. rounded o, short i: ko-LIK. In a live sentence: “Көлігімді аулаға қойдым” — I parked my car in the yard. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 21 words in the set “transport” in the Kazakh course.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Көлік |
| Translation | car |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- Көлікcar
How to pronounce it
rounded o, short i: ko-LIK
Why it looks that way
wider than a car: any transport, as in public transport; in living speech about your own car people say kolik and the Russian mashina alike — the second even more often — but documents and signs keep kolik
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Көлігімді аулаға қойдымI parked my car in the yard
Nearby words: transport
Bus, metro, taxi, stop, station. These are words you need to recognize in writing — off a departure board and off a sign.
- АвтобусbusA loanword that came by way of Russian, but with Kazakh stress — on the last syllable: av-to-BUS.
- ТаксиtaxiDoes not change for number, but takes cases as its own: "taksimen" is "by taxi", "taksige" is "into the taxi".
- БекетstationOne word for the station and the stop alike: "avtobus beketi" is a bus stop, "temir zhol beketi" is a railway station.
- БилетticketA loanword Kazakh took in whole and does not give back; the native phrase appears only in the carrier's rules.
- Ұшақairplaneu is a short "u" with tense lips: U-shaq
- Қайықboatq at the start and the end: QA-yiq
- ВелосипедbicycleThe dictionaries carry an old jesting name — "the devil's cart"; it is a real historical name. In the city only the borrowed word is said.
- Автобус аялдамасыbus stop signThe word for "stop" comes from "to linger". The sign on the pole in Almaty is labeled exactly with this phrase.
- Жол жүру картасыtransit passu rounded: zU-ru
- Бағытroutegh voiced throaty: ba-GHYT
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “transport”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “car” in Kazakh?
wider than a car: any transport, as in public transport; in living speech about your own car people say kolik and the Russian mashina alike — the second even more often — but documents and signs keep kolik
- How do you say “bicycle” in Kazakh?
The dictionaries carry an old jesting name — "the devil's cart"; it is a real historical name. In the city only the borrowed word is said.
- How do you say “station” in Kazakh?
One word for the station and the stop alike: "avtobus beketi" is a bus stop, "temir zhol beketi" is a railway station.
- How do you say “route” in Kazakh?
A bus route and a direction in general. The same-root word you have already seen in "traffic light".
- How do you say “boat” in Kazakh?
A small boat. The ship is a different word and a different size.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “car” in Kazakh?
«Көлік». rounded o, short i: ko-LIK. In a live sentence: “Көлігімді аулаға қойдым” — I parked my car in the yard. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “transport”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
wider than a car: any transport, as in public transport; in living speech about your own car people say kolik and the Russian mashina alike — the second even more often — but documents and signs keep kolik. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.