Өткен күндер
“Өткен күндер” — days gone by in Kazakh. Noun, level B1, topic — time, days and hours. rounded o, round u lips forward: ot-KEN kun-DER. In a live sentence: “Өткен күндерді жиі есіне алады” — He often recalls days gone by. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 137 words in the set “time, days and hours” in the Kazakh course.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Өткен күндер |
| Translation | days gone by |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | B1 |
- Өткен күндерdays gone by
How to pronounce it
rounded o, round u lips forward: ot-KEN kun-DER
Why it looks that way
literally the past days; there is no separate noun for the past days; in songs people sigh it with a particle — ah, days gone by
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.
- Өткен күндерді жиі есіне аладыHe often recalls days gone by
Nearby words: time, days and hours
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
- СағатhourThe same word means "clock", wrist or wall: "qol sagaty" is a wristwatch. "Sagat neshe?" is "what time is it?".
- КүнdayThe same word means "sun", as in many Turkic languages: the luminary and the day it measures share a name. When you need the luminary itself, it is "kun kozi".
- Бүгінtoday"Bul", "this", plus "kun", "day". Assembled from two words you already know.
- ЕртеңtomorrowDo not confuse with "ertemen", "early in the morning": the root "erte", "early", is shared, but the meanings have drifted apart.
- КешеyesterdayDo not confuse with "kesh", "evening": one letter moves a whole day.
- КешeveningAlso "late": "kesh boldy" is both "it got late" and "evening has come". One root in "keshke", "in the evening", and "keshikti", "was late".
- ТүнnightThe deep night, already without light. The evening before dark is "kesh", and for Kazakh the border between them is firm.
- Сағат нешеде?at what time?"Hour" from unit 3, "how many", plus the locative. Literally "at which hour".
- Кеш болып қалдыit is already lateAgain that "qaldy" — "it went and became". Literally "it became late", not "it is late".
- Таңғы асbreakfastng is an n said in the nose; gh is a throaty g on the exhale: tan-GHY as
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “time, days and hours”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “days gone by” in Kazakh?
literally the past days; there is no separate noun for the past days; in songs people sigh it with a particle — ah, days gone by
- How do you say “night” in Kazakh?
The deep night, already without light. The evening before dark is "kesh", and for Kazakh the border between them is firm.
- How do you say “today” in Kazakh?
"Bul", "this", plus "kun", "day". Assembled from two words you already know.
- How do you say “breakfast” in Kazakh?
"Tan" is "daybreak", "-ghy" turns it into a quality: "the morning meal". Lunch and dinner are assembled exactly the same way.
- How do you say “evening” in Kazakh?
Also "late": "kesh boldy" is both "it got late" and "evening has come". One root in "keshke", "in the evening", and "keshikti", "was late".
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 “days gone by” in Kazakh?
«Өткен күндер». rounded o, round u lips forward: ot-KEN kun-DER. In a live sentence: “Өткен күндерді жиі есіне алады” — He often recalls days gone by. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level B1, from the set “time, days and hours”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
literally the past days; there is no separate noun for the past days; in songs people sigh it with a particle — ah, days gone by. 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.