Жыл
“Жыл” — year in Kazakh. Noun, level A1, topic — time, days and hours. The year as a stretch of time and the year as an animal of the twelve-year cycle: "zhylan zhyly" is the year of the snake. A person's age is counted with "zhas". In a live sentence: “Бір жылда он екі ай бар” — There are twelve months in a year. You can hear how it sounds right here.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Жыл |
| Translation | year |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- Жылyear
Why it looks that way
The year as a stretch of time and the year as an animal of the twelve-year cycle: "zhylan zhyly" is the year of the snake. A person's age is counted with "zhas".
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.
- Бір жылда он екі ай барThere are twelve months in a year
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 “year” in Kazakh?
The year as a stretch of time and the year as an animal of the twelve-year cycle: "zhylan zhyly" is the year of the snake. A person's age is counted with "zhas".
- 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 “year” in Kazakh?
«Жыл». In a live sentence: “Бір жылда он екі ай бар” — There are twelve months in a year. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “time, days and hours”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
The year as a stretch of time and the year as an animal of the twelve-year cycle: "zhylan zhyly" is the year of the snake. A person's age is counted with "zhas". 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.