Transliteration of Kazakh
A correspondence table between the Kazakh script and Latin letters: 42 letters, with names and sounds. The rendering is practical — it exists so you can read aloud and be understood, not to meet a scholarly standard.
Kazakh character → Latin
| Character | Name | In Latin | How it sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| А а | a | a as in "father" | A pure open a, like the a of "father" — it never wanders toward "uh" the way an unstressed English a can. The back-vowel partner of ä |
| Ә ә | ä | broad eh, between a and e | Open the mouth for "father" but raise the tongue toward "bed": something between the a of "cat" and the e of "bed". The front-vowel partner of a — words with ä pull their endings to the front row |
| Б б | be | b as in "bat" | An ordinary b |
| В в | ve | v as in "van" | An ordinary v. Never occurs in native words — loanwords only |
| Г г | ge | g as in "get" | An ordinary g as in "get". It stands only in front (soft) words |
| Ғ ғ | ğ | a throaty, gargled gh | The voiced partner of q: a gargled g made deep in the throat, as if gargling water |
| Д д | de | d as in "dog" | An ordinary d |
| Е е | e | ye as in "yes" | At the start of a word it is ye as in "yes"; inside a word, plain e as in "bed" |
| Ё ё | yo | yo as in "yolk" | Exactly like the yo of "yolk" |
| Ж ж | zhe | zh as in "measure" | Like the s of "measure" or the g of "beige" |
| З з | ze | z as in "zoo" | An ordinary z |
| И и | i | long ee as a glide (yee) | Not one sound but a combination: y plus ee, like the start of "eagle" held longer |
| Й й | y | y as in "boy" (a glide) | An ordinary y glide, like the y at the end of "boy" |
| К к | ka | k as in "key" | An ordinary k. It stands only in front (soft) words |
| Қ қ | q | a deep k from the throat | Like k, but formed at the very back of the throat |
| Л л | el | l as in "lamp" | An ordinary l |
| М м | em | m as in "map" | An ordinary m |
| Н н | en | n as in "nap" | An ordinary n |
| Ң ң | ñ | ng as in "song" | Like the ng at the end of "song": the air goes through the nose, and the tongue never reaches the roof of the mouth |
| О о | o | o as in "more" | A pure o, steady and unshifted. The back-vowel partner of ö |
| Ө ө | ö | ö — a rounded "eh" | Say "bed" and round the lips: the vowel of "learn" without the r |
| П п | pe | p as in "pin" | An ordinary p |
| Р р | er | a rolled r | Rolled, like a Scottish r. No native word begins with it |
| С с | es | s as in "sun" | An ordinary s |
| Т т | te | t as in "top" | An ordinary t |
| У у | u | a glide: yu-hooked ("ew" in "new") | Not a plain oo but a combination: oo with a w-glide after it, as in "new" finished with rounded lips |
| Ұ ұ | ū | short oo as in "book" | A short oo as in "book", with the lips barely rounded |
| Ү ү | ü | ü — a rounded "ee" | Say "see" and round the lips tightly, keeping the tongue forward |
| Ф ф | ef | f as in "fun" | An ordinary f. Only in loanwords |
| Х х | kh | kh as in "Bach" | A raspy kh like the ch of Scottish "loch". Comes with Arabic and other borrowed words |
| Һ һ | h | h as in "hat" | A light breath, exactly the h of English "hat" — not the raspier kh |
| Ц ц | ts | ts as in "cats" | Like the ts at the end of "cats" |
| Ч ч | ch | ch as in "chat" | Like the ch of "chat" |
| Ш ш | sh | sh as in "shut" | An ordinary sh |
| Щ щ | shch | a long sh | A long sh, like "fresh shrimp" said together |
| Ъ ъ | separator sign | a silent separator | No sound of its own |
| Ы ы | y | a short deep i, like the u of "just" tightened | A short vowel between the i of "bit" and the u of "put", said from deeper in the mouth. The back partner of dotted i |
| І і | i (dotted) | short i as in "sit" | A short, crisp i as in "sit" |
| Ь ь | soft sign | a softening mark | No sound of its own |
| Э э | e | e as in "met" | Like the e of "met" |
| Ю ю | yu | yu as in "yule" | A combination: y plus oo, like the start of "yule" |
| Я я | ya | ya as in "yard" | A combination: y plus ah, like the start of "yard" |
How practical transliteration differs from the scholarly kind
Any script has several Latin renderings, and they solve different problems. The scholarly one (ISO, GOST) is reversible: the original spelling can be restored character for character — which is why it is full of marks that are not on any keyboard and that nobody ever reads aloud correctly.
The practical one solves the reverse problem: a person reads it aloud and is understood. That is what the table above uses, and that is what our courses use.
What to watch out for
The nine letters of their own. Everything the familiar alphabet lacks. Six of them are vowels, and vowel harmony rests on them. A word is spoken all-back or all-front, and the ending adjusts to it.
The letters that trick you. They look like plain vowels but sound like two sounds in a row — the way English sneaks a y-glide into yes or yule. Read one as a single sound and the word goes wrong at once.
Only in loanwords. Six signs that never occur in native Kazakh words. They came in with borrowed vocabulary, and the new Latin alphabet has already dropped them.
Read them as written. Twenty-two letters that read exactly as you would guess. There is nothing to learn in them.
Frequently asked
How to write Kazakh text in Latin letters?
Using the table above, character by character. The practical rendering records sound, not spelling, so the original text cannot always be restored from it backwards.
Why do transliterations differ across sources?
Because they solve different problems: the scholarly one is reversible and precise, the practical one is readable, the passport one is fixed by the country's rules. They are not required to agree.