LingoflyОнша емес
- Онша емесOnsha emesnot quite
“Онша емес” (Onsha emes) — not quite in Kazakh. Phrase, level B1, topic — basic words. Literally not that much: onsha means so much, to that degree; it frames an adjective on both sides: not all that expensive. In a live sentence: “Фильм онша қызық емес екен” (Film onsha qyzyq emes eken) — The film, it turns out, is not quite interesting. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters О, н, ш, а, е, м, е, с.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Онша емес (Onsha emes) |
| Read in Latin letters | Onsha emes |
| Translation | not quite |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
Why it looks that way
literally not that much: onsha means so much, to that degree; it frames an adjective on both sides: not all that expensive
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.
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- ИәIäyesä is like the e in "met", but wider: iy-E
- ЖоқZhoqnoThe same word means "there is not": su zhoq is "there is no water". It is the negative partner of bar, "there is".
- ЖақсыZhaqsygood, wellThe standard answer to "how are you?". One word serves as adverb and adjective alike: zhaqsy adam is "a good person".
- ЖаманZhamanbad, badlyLike zhaqsy, one word for adjective and adverb: zhaman kun is "a bad day", zhaman boldy is "it went badly".
- Өте жақсыÖte zhaqsyvery well"Ote" means "very" and always stands right before the word it boosts.
- ЖәнеZhäneandA bookish conjunction joining words and sentences alike. In living speech "men" often stands in its place: "agham men epkem" — brother and sister.
- БірақBiraqbutStands at the head of the second part: "bilemin, birak aitpaimyn" — I know, but I will not say. The bookish replacement is "alaida".
- ЖартыZhartyhalf"Zharty keli" is half a kilo, and "zharty sagat" is half an hour: the word works with weight and with time alike.
- Тағы бірTağy birone more"Taghy" is "more", "bir" is "one". At the table this asks for a second helping: "taghy bir kese" — one more cup.
- ЖетедіZhetediit is enoughFrom "zhetu", "to reach, to suffice". Literally "it will reach", that is, it will do.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “not quite” in Kazakh?
literally not that much: onsha means so much, to that degree; it frames an adjective on both sides: not all that expensive
- How do you say “but” in Kazakh?
Stands at the head of the second part: "bilemin, birak aitpaimyn" — I know, but I will not say. The bookish replacement is "alaida".
- How do you say “good, well” in Kazakh?
The standard answer to "how are you?". One word serves as adverb and adjective alike: zhaqsy adam is "a good person".
- How do you say “it is enough” in Kazakh?
From "zhetu", "to reach, to suffice". Literally "it will reach", that is, it will do.
- How do you say “and” in Kazakh?
A bookish conjunction joining words and sentences alike. In living speech "men" often stands in its place: "agham men epkem" — brother and sister.
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 “not quite” in Kazakh?
«Онша емес» (Onsha emes), read “Onsha emes”. In a live sentence: “Фильм онша қызық емес екен” (Film onsha qyzyq emes eken) — The film, it turns out, is not quite interesting. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters О, н, ш, а, е, м, е, с.
How is “Онша емес” (Onsha emes) written in Latin letters?
Onsha emes. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally not that much: onsha means so much, to that degree; it frames an adjective on both sides: not all that expensive. 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 this 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.