Ол
“Ол” — he in Kazakh. Pronoun, level A0, topic — pronouns. Also "she" and "it": there is no gender at all, one word for all three. The same word points at things — "that one". In a live sentence: “Ол дәрігер болып істейді” — He works as a doctor. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 25 words in the set “pronouns” in the Kazakh course.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Ол |
| Translation | he |
| Part of speech | pronoun |
| Level | A0 |
- Олhe
Why it looks that way
Also "she" and "it": there is no gender at all, one word for all three. The same word points at things — "that one".
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.
- Ол дәрігер болып істейдіHe works as a doctor
Nearby words: pronouns
I, you, we, they. There is a handful of them, they turn up in every sentence, and politeness rides on them: most of these languages keep a formal “you” apart from a familiar one, and choosing the wrong one is noticed faster than a mispronounced word.
- МенIUsually dropped in speech: the verb ending already announces who is acting.
- Сенyou (informal)For your own people and the younger ones. To a stranger or an elder it is siz.
- Сізyou (polite)The polite address to strangers and elders. The i is the short letter, closer to the vowel in "bit" than in "see" — do not mix it up with the dotted kind.
- БізweOne "we" for everyone: the language does not split "we with you" from "we without you". It does not derive from men by rule — the form is ancient.
- Оларthey"Ol" plus "-lar", the plural ending. You will meet the same tail in kitaptar, "books".
- меніңmyThe noun after it takes a tail of its own: "menin uim" is literally "my house-mine". The tail is not optional.
- сеніңyour (informal)The polite "your" is "sizdin", and it is the one to use with anyone older. A slip here is noticed at once.
- біздіңourThe noun tail is -ymyz/-imiz: "bizdin peterimiz". It is long, and it is the one people drop most often.
- сіздіңyour (polite)Also the polite "your" to one person. "Senderdin" is "your" about a group addressed informally — a fourth form.
- оныңhis, her, their (whose)There is no gender: "onyn" is the same about a man and a woman. "Their" is "olardyn".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “pronouns”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “he” in Kazakh?
Also "she" and "it": there is no gender at all, one word for all three. The same word points at things — "that one".
- How do you say “your (informal)” in Kazakh?
The polite "your" is "sizdin", and it is the one to use with anyone older. A slip here is noticed at once.
- How do you say “you (polite)” in Kazakh?
The polite address to strangers and elders. The i is the short letter, closer to the vowel in "bit" than in "see" — do not mix it up with the dotted kind.
- How do you say “his, her, their (whose)” in Kazakh?
There is no gender: "onyn" is the same about a man and a woman. "Their" is "olardyn".
- How do you say “my” in Kazakh?
The noun after it takes a tail of its own: "menin uim" is literally "my house-mine". The tail is not optional.
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 “he” in Kazakh?
«Ол». In a live sentence: “Ол дәрігер болып істейді” — He works as a doctor. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Pronoun, level A0, from the set “pronouns”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Also "she" and "it": there is no gender at all, one word for all three. The same word points at things — "that one". 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.