-а білу
“-а білу” — to know how to in Kazakh. Verb, level A2, topic — verbs. There is no verb of its own: "bilu" the course gave as "to know", and ability is assembled with the tail "-a/-e/-y" on the main verb plus "bilu" — hence the card is written with the tail. In a live sentence: “Мен жүзе білемін” — I know how to swim. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 107 words in the set “verbs” in the Kazakh course.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | -а білу |
| Translation | to know how to |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A2 |
- -а білуto know how to
Why it looks that way
There is no verb of its own: "bilu" the course gave as "to know", and ability is assembled with the tail "-a/-e/-y" on the main verb plus "bilu" — hence the card is written with the tail.
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.
- Мен жүзе білемінI know how to swim
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- КерекneededStands at the end of the sentence: "magan su kerek" is "I need water" — literally "for-me water [is] needed".
- Ұнайдыis likedThe subject is the thing that pleases: "magan shai unaidy" is "the tea appeals to me" — the liking is done by the tea, not by you.
- Баруto goThe infinitive ends in "-u". "Uige baramyn" is "I am going home".
- Жеуto eatOnly about food: "eat" in the sense of "exist" is a different word, "bar". Inviting you to the table, they say "zhengiz" — do eat.
- Ішуto drinkAlso "to take medicine": "dari ishu". Soup is "drunk" too, not eaten.
- Оқуto readThe same word says "to study": "universitette oqimyn" is "I study at the university". Exactly like the Turkish okumak.
- Сөйлеуto speakTo speak in general; to say something specific is "aitu". One root with "soz", "word", and "soilem", "sentence".
- Істеуto workThe same word says "to do": "ne istep zhaturshyn?" is "what are you doing?". About the workplace: "bankte isteimin", "I work at a bank".
- Тұруto liveThe same word says "to stand up" and "to cost": "erte turamyn" is "I get up early", "qansha turady?" is "how much does it cost". Only the phrase tells them apart.
- Барthere isA whole verb in three letters, placed at the end: "su bar ma?" is "is there water?". Much like the Turkish var. "To eat" is the other word, "zheu".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to know how to” in Kazakh?
There is no verb of its own: "bilu" the course gave as "to know", and ability is assembled with the tail "-a/-e/-y" on the main verb plus "bilu" — hence the card is written with the tail.
- How do you say “to speak” in Kazakh?
To speak in general; to say something specific is "aitu". One root with "soz", "word", and "soilem", "sentence".
- How do you say “to go” in Kazakh?
The infinitive ends in "-u". "Uige baramyn" is "I am going home".
- How do you say “there is” in Kazakh?
A whole verb in three letters, placed at the end: "su bar ma?" is "is there water?". Much like the Turkish var. "To eat" is the other word, "zheu".
- How do you say “to read” in Kazakh?
The same word says "to study": "universitette oqimyn" is "I study at the university". Exactly like the Turkish okumak.
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 “to know how to” in Kazakh?
«-а білу». In a live sentence: “Мен жүзе білемін” — I know how to swim. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A2, from the set “verbs”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
There is no verb of its own: "bilu" the course gave as "to know", and ability is assembled with the tail "-a/-e/-y" on the main verb plus "bilu" — hence the card is written with the tail. 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.