I can read a word with қ, ғ, ң and һ, choose қ or к and ы or і by the vowels of the word, and understand how the letters и and у sound.
Four Kazakh consonants: қ, ғ, ң, һ
Four Kazakh consonants: қ, ғ, ң, һ
қ is a k made deep in the throat: the back of the tongue touches the very back of the mouth — қала (city), ақ (white). The plain к is an ordinary k — кім (who), екі (two), көк (blue). The rule: қ goes with hard vowels (а, о, ұ, ы), к with soft ones (ә, ө, ү, і, е).
ғ is the voiced partner of қ: a gargled g with no stop, like the r of French “Paris” — аға (older brother). The plain г is the g of “go” and goes with soft vowels: гүл (flower). The same rule.
So a Kazakh word with қ or ғ is written with ы, and one with к or г with і.
ң is the ng of “sing”: таң (morning), жаңа (new), мың (thousand). No word starts with ң.
һ is a light breath, like English h. It is rare: recognizing it is enough — қаһарман “hero”. The letter х is different: the ch of “loch” — дәріхана (pharmacy).
One letter changes the word: он “ten”, оң “right (side)”. More pairs in the second table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT қ as English k — in қала the sound is made deep in the throat.
• NOT ң as n — таң ends in the ng of “sing”.
• NOT ғ as the g of “go” — in аға the sound is gargled, with no stop.
The Kazakh consonants and their neighbors
| Letter | Where it goes | Words |
|---|---|---|
| қ | next to hard vowels | қала — city · ақ — white |
| к | next to soft vowels | кім — who · екі — two · көк — blue |
| ғ | next to hard vowels | аға — older brother |
| г | next to soft vowels | гүл — flower |
| ң | inside and at the end of a word | таң — morning · жаңа — new · мың — thousand |
| һ | a rare letter | қаһарман — hero |
A Kazakh letter, another word
We check such words by choice, not in writing.
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| он | ten | оң | right (side) |
| қол | hand, arm | көл | lake |
| тон | fur coat | тоң | frozen ground |
Lesson notes
Four Kazakh consonants: қ, ғ, ң, һ
қ is a k made deep in the throat: the back of the tongue touches the very back of the mouth — қала (city), ақ (white). The plain к is an ordinary k — кім (who), екі (two), көк (blue). The rule: қ goes with hard vowels (а, о, ұ, ы), к with soft ones (ә, ө, ү, і, е).
ғ is the voiced partner of қ: a gargled g with no stop, like the r of French “Paris” — аға (older brother). The plain г is the g of “go” and goes with soft vowels: гүл (flower). The same rule.
So a Kazakh word with қ or ғ is written with ы, and one with к or г with і.
ң is the ng of “sing”: таң (morning), жаңа (new), мың (thousand). No word starts with ң.
һ is a light breath, like English h. It is rare: recognizing it is enough — қаһарман “hero”. The letter х is different: the ch of “loch” — дәріхана (pharmacy).
One letter changes the word: он “ten”, оң “right (side)”. More pairs in the second table.
Common mistakes:
• NOT қ as English k — in қала the sound is made deep in the throat.
• NOT ң as n — таң ends in the ng of “sing”.
• NOT ғ as the g of “go” — in аға the sound is gargled, with no stop.
Letters with a special sound: е, о, и, у
е at the start of a word has a light y before it: ел (country), екі (two). о and ө at the start of a word have a light w before them — the lips round first: он (ten), өте (very).
и is two sounds written with one letter: in a hard word [əj], “uh-y”: жиырма (twenty); in a soft word [ɪj], close to the ee of “see”: киім (clothes).
у after a consonant is two sounds too, [ʊw], oo + w: су (water), оқу (studying). After or before a vowel, у is a short sound, like English w: тау (mountain), жауап (answer), уақыт (time).
The letters в, ё, ф, ц, ч, щ, ъ, ь, э are written in words from Russian and other languages — автобус, футбол, полиция; see the chart for each sound.
The Kazakh keyboard has қ, ғ, ң, һ; if you type к, г, н, х instead, the answer counts, and the answer key shows the right spelling.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “кийім”, NOT “сұу” — one letter is written: киім, су.
• NOT “тав” — тау ends in the letter у, said like English w.