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Basic words in Kazakh

303 words in Kazakh on the topic “basic words”: Иә (Iä) — yes, Жоқ (Zhoq) — no, Жақсы (Zhaqsy) — good, well, Жаман (Zhaman) — bad, badly. 303 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

303 words on the topic

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

The CSV contains spelling, reading guides, translations and links to word pages. Use the browser menu to save the printable sheet as a PDF.

How it sounds in a sentence

A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.

What is worth knowing about these words

Иә (Iä) — yes. The soft partner of zhoq, "no". In conversation the vowel is stretched — "iyaaa" — and that is not sloppiness: it signals you are being listened to.

Жоқ (Zhoq) — no. The same word means "there is not": su zhoq is "there is no water". It is the negative partner of bar, "there is".

Жақсы (Zhaqsy) — good, well. The standard answer to "how are you?". One word serves as adverb and adjective alike: zhaqsy adam is "a good person".

Жаман (Zhaman) — bad, badly. Like zhaqsy, one word for adjective and adverb: zhaman kun is "a bad day", zhaman boldy is "it went badly".

Test yourself

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “yes” in Kazakh?

  2. How do you say “half” in Kazakh?

  3. How do you say “light” in Kazakh?

  4. How do you say “eleven” in Kazakh?

  5. How do you say “eighteen” in Kazakh?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.

A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.

Frequently asked

How do you say “yes” in Kazakh?

«Иә» (Iä), read “Iä”. Ä is like the e in "met", but wider: iy-E. It is one of 303 words in the set “basic words” — the rest are in the table above.

How many basic words do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 303 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 303 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.

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