LingoflyЖұмыс
- ЖұмысZhūmyswork
“Жұмыс” (Zhūmys) — work in Kazakh. Noun, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. Both the workplace and the thing being done. To work is "isteu" or "zhumys isteu", literally "to do work". In a live sentence: “Мен жаңа жұмыс таптым” (Men zhaña zhūmys taptym) — I found a new job. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Ж, ұ, м, ы, с. One of 12 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Kazakh course.
In short
| Written in Kazakh | Жұмыс (Zhūmys) |
| Read in Latin letters | Zhūmys |
| Translation | work |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
Both the workplace and the thing being done. To work is "isteu" or "zhumys isteu", literally "to do work".
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: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- ІстеуIsteuto workThe same word says "to do": "ne istep zhaturshyn?" is "what are you doing?". About the workplace: "bankte isteimin", "I work at a bank".
- оянуoyanuto wake upTo wake someone else is the make-it-happen form "oyatu". One tail apart are "wake up" and "wake someone".
- тұруtūruto get upAlso "to stand" and "to live somewhere": "Almatyda turamyn" is "I live in Almaty".
- бет жууbet zhuuto wash one's faceLiterally "to wash the face" — the language names what is washed, as Turkish does.
- тарануtaranuto comb one's hairThe reflexive of "tarau", "to comb". The tail "-n" turns the action onto oneself.
- сақал алуsaqal aluto shaveLiterally "to take the beard". There is also a verb of its own: "qyrynu", to shave.
- киінуkiinuto get dressedThe reflexive of "kiyu", "to put on". "Kiyu" demands a thing to put on, "kiinu" does not.
- шешінуsheshinuto undressFrom "sheshu" — to take off, to untie, to solve. Three senses on one root.
- отыруotyruto sit downAlso "to sit". As an auxiliary it marks an ongoing action: "oqyp otyrmin", "I am sitting and reading".
- жатуzhatuto lie downAlso "to lie". As an auxiliary it marks an ongoing action too.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “work” in Kazakh?
Both the workplace and the thing being done. To work is "isteu" or "zhumys isteu", literally "to do work".
- How do you say “to get dressed” in Kazakh?
The reflexive of "kiyu", "to put on". "Kiyu" demands a thing to put on, "kiinu" does not.
- How do you say “to get up” in Kazakh?
Also "to stand" and "to live somewhere": "Almatyda turamyn" is "I live in Almaty".
- How do you say “to lie down” in Kazakh?
Also "to lie". As an auxiliary it marks an ongoing action too.
- How do you say “to shave” in Kazakh?
Literally "to take the beard". There is also a verb of its own: "qyrynu", to shave.
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 “work” in Kazakh?
«Жұмыс» (Zhūmys), read “Zhūmys”. In a live sentence: “Мен жаңа жұмыс таптым” (Men zhaña zhūmys taptym) — I found a new job. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”; written with the characters Ж, ұ, м, ы, с.
How is “Жұмыс” (Zhūmys) written in Latin letters?
Zhūmys. 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?
Both the workplace and the thing being done. To work is "isteu" or "zhumys isteu", literally "to do work". 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.