Introduction to Uzbek Structures: Lesson 1

This is the first of five lessons to introduce some basic Uzbek structures and a limited vocabulary to use in them. In the last lesson , all you have learned will be put together so that you can take part in a short dialog about finding a hotel room. The lessons should be done in sequence.

If you’ve got a question about your response to a question, click the English. The checker doesn’t always correctly recognize words with internal apostrophes.

Let’s start!

The word for this is bu.

The word for coffee is kofe.

Uzbek doesn’t use a word for is in the present tense. To say This is coffee, you simply say This-coffee. Let’s try it.

?This-coffee.|Bu-kofe.

You should have said Bu-kofe.

The word for good is yaxshi.

To say This coffee is good you say This coffee good.

?This coffee good.|Bu kofe yaxshi.

The word for tea is choy. How would you say This is tea?

?This-tea.|Bu-choy.

And how would you say This tea is good?

?This tea good.|Bu choy yaxshi.

Uzbek adds prefixes, suffixes and infixes to words to change the meaning of a word or a sentence. Once such infix, mi, is used to form questions.

Is this tea good? = Bu choy yaxshimi?

How do you say Is this coffee?

?This coffee?|Bu kofemi?

How do you say Is this coffee good?

?This coffee good?|Bu kofe yaxshimi?

To answer, you might say, Yes, this coffee is good. The word for yes is ha.

?Yes, this coffee is good.|Ha, bu kofe yaxshi.

The word for no is yo’q. And the word for not is emas. The sentence goes No, this coffee good not.

No, this coffee is not good. = Yo’q, bu kofe yaxhshi emas.

How do you say, Is this tea good?

?This tea good?|Bu choy yaxshimi?

Now answer, No, this tea is not good.

?No, this tea good not.|Yo’q, bu choy yaxshi emas.

So far, you have seen how to form sentences of the type X=Y and make corresponding questions and negations. Let’s finish up by putting it all together with a short dialog:

You enter an office and are presented with a mug. You ask, is this tea?

?Is this tea?|Bu choymi?

He answer that no, it is not tea, it is coffee.

?No, this is not tea.|Yo’q, bu choy emas.

?This is coffee.|Bu kofe.

You take a sip, and he asks Is the coffee good?

?Is the coffee good?|Bu kofe yaxshimi?

You answer, Yes, the coffee is good.

?Yes, the coffee is good.|Ha, bu kofe yaxshi.

In the next lesson, you will continue to use X=Y sentences. You will also learn about postpositions - Uzbek’s version of prepositions - and compound words.

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