LingoflyОтбасы
- ОтбасыOtbasyfamily
“Отбасы” (Otbasy) — family in Kazakh. Noun, level A1, topic — people and family. "Ot" is "fire", "basy" is "its head": literally "the ones at the hearth". In a live sentence: “Отбасым Астанада тұрады” (Otbasym Astanada tūrady) — My family lives in Astana. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters О, т, б, а, с, ы. One of 194 words in the set “people and family” in the Kazakh course.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Отбасы (Otbasy) |
| Read in Latin letters | Otbasy |
| Translation | family |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
"Ot" is "fire", "basy" is "its head": literally "the ones at the hearth".
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: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- ДосDosfriendA Persian loanword — the same one you hear in dinner-party company words of the east.
- АнаAnamomHence "ana tili", "the mother tongue" — literally "the mother's language".
- ӘкеÄkedadFather. To one's own father one says "ake" or "aketai"; the grandfather is "ata", and the two must not stand in for each other.
- БалаBalachildA child of either sex, until grown. "Ul" is "son", "qyz" is "daughter": they specify, they do not replace.
- СатушыSatushyseller"Satu" is "to sell", "-shy" is "the one who does it": satu-shy. The same piece in "zhurgizushi", "driver".
- Сатып алушыSatyp alushybuyer"Satyp alu" is "to buy", literally "to take by selling". Plus the same "-shy": satyp alu-shy.
- КөршіKörshineighborFrom "koru", "to see": a neighbor is one you can see. "Korshiles" is "neighboring".
- АдамAdampersonThe plural is "adamdar". Politely one says "kisi": "bir kisi keldi" — "a person came". Adam is also a man's name.
- Ер адамEr adammanTwo words: "er" is "man, husband", "adam" is "person". There is also the shorter "erkek", a man; it also names male animals.
- ӘйелÄielwomana midway between "a" and "e", the mouth wider than for "e": a-YEL
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “family” in Kazakh?
"Ot" is "fire", "basy" is "its head": literally "the ones at the hearth".
- How do you say “neighbor” in Kazakh?
From "koru", "to see": a neighbor is one you can see. "Korshiles" is "neighboring".
- How do you say “dad” in Kazakh?
Father. To one's own father one says "ake" or "aketai"; the grandfather is "ata", and the two must not stand in for each other.
- How do you say “woman” in Kazakh?
Also "wife": "menin aielim" is "my wife". Which of the two is shown by the possessive ending.
- How do you say “buyer” in Kazakh?
"Satyp alu" is "to buy", literally "to take by selling". Plus the same "-shy": satyp alu-shy.
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 “family” in Kazakh?
«Отбасы» (Otbasy), read “Otbasy”. In a live sentence: “Отбасым Астанада тұрады” (Otbasym Astanada tūrady) — My family lives in Astana. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “people and family”; written with the characters О, т, б, а, с, ы.
How is “Отбасы” (Otbasy) written in Latin letters?
Otbasy. 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?
"Ot" is "fire", "basy" is "its head": literally "the ones at the hearth". 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.