I can say hello and goodbye to a friend and to an older person, ask “how are you?”, say thank you and apologize — and not mix up the informal and the formal “you”.
Сәлем and Сәлеметсіз бе: informal and formal “you”
Сәлем and Сәлеметсіз бе: informal and formal “you”
Why: to say hello, ask “how are you?”, say thank you, apologize, and say goodbye — to a friend and to an older person.
English has one “you”; Kazakh has two for one person. Сен is for a friend, someone your age, a child. Сіз is for ONE person, formally: an adult you don't know, a teacher, a doctor. To anyone older than you — only сіз.
The whole phrase depends on it (see the table):
• to a friend: Сәлем! Қалайсың? Сау бол!
• formally: Сәлеметсіз бе! Қалайсыз? Халіңіз қалай? Сау болыңыз!
Greetings for the morning, afternoon, and evening: Қайырлы таң! Қайырлы күн! Қайырлы кеш!
A form of address is the first name + a word of respect. It comes after the name (unlike Mr. and Ms.) and is written with a small letter:
• мырза (to a man) and ханым (to a woman) — formal: Асхат мырза, Динара ханым;
• аға (to a man) and апай (to a woman) — to older people you know: Жандос аға, Зейнеп апай.
With these words — only сіз.
Learn the phrases as a whole: we'll take them apart later.
Common mistakes:
• ×Ханым Динара → Динара ханым;
• ×Сәлем, Зейнеп апай! → Сәлеметсіз бе, Зейнеп апай!
• ×Сәлеметсізбе → Сәлеметсіз бе: бе is a separate word.
One situation, two phrases
With мырза, ханым, аға, апай: only the right-hand column.
| What to say | to a friend (сен) | formally (сіз) |
|---|---|---|
| say hello | Сәлем! | Сәлеметсіз бе! |
| ask how someone is | Қалайсың? | Қалайсыз? Халіңіз қалай? |
| say goodbye | Сау бол! | Сау болыңыз! |
| say thanks, say “see you” | Рақмет! Кездескенше! | Рақмет! Кездескенше! |
Greetings by time of day
Қайырлы таң, күн, кеш work for a friend and for an older person alike; Қош келдіңіз is formal.
| When | Greeting |
|---|---|
| in the morning | Қайырлы таң! |
| in the afternoon | Қайырлы күн! |
| in the evening | Қайырлы кеш! |
| at bedtime | Қайырлы түн! (recognition only for now) |
| to a guest | Қош келдіңіз! |
The name and a word of respect
The word of respect comes after the name and is written with a small letter.
| To whom | Word after the name | Example |
|---|---|---|
| formal, to a man | мырза | Асхат мырза |
| formal, to a woman | ханым | Динара ханым |
| to an older man you know | аға | Жандос аға |
| to an older woman you know, to a woman teacher | апай | Зейнеп апай |
Lesson notes
Сәлем and Сәлеметсіз бе: informal and formal “you”
Why: to say hello, ask “how are you?”, say thank you, apologize, and say goodbye — to a friend and to an older person.
English has one “you”; Kazakh has two for one person. Сен is for a friend, someone your age, a child. Сіз is for ONE person, formally: an adult you don't know, a teacher, a doctor. To anyone older than you — only сіз.
The whole phrase depends on it (see the table):
• to a friend: Сәлем! Қалайсың? Сау бол!
• formally: Сәлеметсіз бе! Қалайсыз? Халіңіз қалай? Сау болыңыз!
Greetings for the morning, afternoon, and evening: Қайырлы таң! Қайырлы күн! Қайырлы кеш!
A form of address is the first name + a word of respect. It comes after the name (unlike Mr. and Ms.) and is written with a small letter:
• мырза (to a man) and ханым (to a woman) — formal: Асхат мырза, Динара ханым;
• аға (to a man) and апай (to a woman) — to older people you know: Жандос аға, Зейнеп апай.
With these words — only сіз.
Learn the phrases as a whole: we'll take them apart later.
Common mistakes:
• ×Ханым Динара → Динара ханым;
• ×Сәлем, Зейнеп апай! → Сәлеметсіз бе, Зейнеп апай!
• ×Сәлеметсізбе → Сәлеметсіз бе: бе is a separate word.