The Grammar

Kazakh Grammar can seem quite complicated. There are numerous verb tenses and six noun cases. However, in most cases, Kazakh grammar rules apply consistently, and there are few exceptions to the rules, although there are many rules. For this lesson, it is highly recommended that you review the section on the Kazakh alphabet.

Following the Rules

As far as rules go, the rules that govern vowel and consonant harmony are applicable primarily to the suffixes that are attached to the end of Kazakh root words. The best way to explain, however, might be to give an example. Let's start with the most basic and common - the method of expressing that there is more than one of something, i.e. the plural!

The Plural

The plural is formed with the following endings:



  • лар/лер  lar/ler
  • дар/дер  dar/der
  • тар/тер  tar/ter

Some examples

As an example of how these endings are used. Notice that the endings change, depending on the last letter of the base form of the modified word. By base form, I of course mean the simplest form of the word, as it would appear in a dictionary.
Here is a list of the words we're changing, in their base form:



  • алма-alma-apple
  • әңгіме-anggime-legend
  • пікір-pikir-thought
  • қарар-qarar-decision
  • қалам-qalam-pen
  • өлең-oleng-poem
  • қағаз-qaghaz-paper
  • сәбіз-sabiz-carrot
  • бұрқыт-burqyt-falcon
  • студент-student-student
  • сабақ-sabaq-class/lesson
  • сөздік-sozdik-dictionary

The Plural in Action

Words ending in vowels and –рWords ending in voiced consonantsWords ending in voiceless consonants
Hard vowelsалмалар–almalar–apples қаламдар–qalamdar–pens бұрқыттар–burqyttar–falcons
қарарлар–qararlar–decisions қағаздар–qaghazdar–papers сабақтар–sabaqtar–classes
Soft vowelsәңгімелер–anggimeler–legends өлеңдер–olengder–poems студенттер–studentter–students
пікірлер–pikirler–thoughts сәбіздер–sabizder–carrots сөздіктер–sozdikter–dictionaries

An Important Fact About Using the Plural

The plural in its form above is only used when the number of the noun isn't specified. That is, if you want to say there are “five men” one would use the singular form of the Kazakh word for “man” (адам) adam i.e. Бес адам Bes adam for “five men” as opposed to just “men”, in which case one would use the plural адамдар adamdar.

Speaking of numbers, let's introduce those now since we're on the topic. The Kazakh numbers are:

  1. бір–bir–one
  2. екі–yeki–two
  3. үш–osh–three
  4. төрт–tort–four
  5. бес–bes–five
  6. алты–alty–six
  7. жеті–zheti–seven
  8. сегіз–segiz–eight
  9. тоғыз–toghyz–nine
  10. он–on–ten
  11. он бір–on bir–eleven
  12. он екі–on yeki–twelve
  13. он үш–on ush–thirteen
  14. он төрт–on tort–fourteen
  15. он бес–on bes–fifteen
  16. он алты–on alty–sixteen
  17. он жеті–on zheti–seventeen
  18. он сегіз–on segiz–eighteen
  19. он тоғыз–on toghyz–nineteen
  20. жиырма–zhiyirma–twenty
  21. отыс–otys–thirty
  22. қырық–qyryq–forty
  23. елу–yelu–fifty
  24. алпыс–alpys–sixty
  25. жетпіс–zhetpis–seventy
  26. сексен–ceksen–eighty
  27. тоқсан–toqsan–ninety
  28. жүз–zhuz–one–hundred