LingoflyСөзбе-сөз
- Сөзбе-сөзSözbe-sözword for word
“Сөзбе-сөз” (Sözbe-söz) — word for word in Kazakh. Phrase, level B1. Rounded lips at the e, twice: soz-BE SOZ. In a live sentence: “Ол айтқанын сөзбе-сөз жеткізді” (Ol aitqanyn sözbe-söz zhetkizdi) — He passed on what was said word for word. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters С, ө, з, б, е, с, ө, з. A word from the everyday Kazakh course, level B1.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Сөзбе-сөз (Sözbe-söz) |
| Read in Latin letters | Sözbe-söz |
| Translation | word for word |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | B1 |
How to pronounce it
rounded lips at the e, twice: soz-BE SOZ
Why it looks that way
a doubling with the -be tail: word after word; the same build gives face-to-face and day by day
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.
- Ол айтқанын сөзбе-сөз жеткіздіOl aitqanyn sözbe-söz zhetkizdiHe passed on what was said word for word
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 “word for word” in Kazakh?
«Сөзбе-сөз» (Sözbe-söz), read “Sözbe-söz”. Rounded lips at the e, twice: soz-BE SOZ. In a live sentence: “Ол айтқанын сөзбе-сөз жеткізді” (Ol aitqanyn sözbe-söz zhetkizdi) — He passed on what was said word for word. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level B1; written with the characters С, ө, з, б, е, с, ө, з.
How is “Сөзбе-сөз” (Sözbe-söz) written in Latin letters?
Sözbe-söz. 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?
A doubling with the -be tail: word after word; the same build gives face-to-face and day by day. 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.