I can say what I eat and drink, and tell “bread in general” from “this bread”: Non yeyman — Bu nonni yeyman; I can say “me”, “you”, “him”, and “my book”.
Bread in general and this bread: the -ni ending
Bread in general and this bread: the -ni ending
Why: to say what exactly you eat, take, or see, and whom you're waiting for.
This is the accusative (whom? what?). Something in general has no ending: Men non yeyman — I eat bread. A definite, known thing takes -ni: Men bu nonni yeyman — I eat this bread. Where English says “the” or “this”, Uzbek adds the ending. The ending is the same for every word.
Always with -ni:
• a person's or a city's name: Annani, Toshkentni;
• a pronoun: meni, seni, uni (see the table);
• a word with bu, shu, u, oʻsha;
• a word with a possessive ending (my, your, his).
The endings go one after another: daftar + im + ni = daftarimni (my notebook); after the “his / her” ending, -ni goes right on: daftarini. The familiar phrase Men oʻzbek tilini oʻrganaman is built the same way: til + i + ni.
Questions: kimni? — whom? nimani? — what exactly? For something in general, ask nima?
Watch out: non is bread and flatbread.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Men shu suv ichaman” → Men shu suvni ichaman.
• NOT “U men biladi” → U meni biladi.
• NOT “Men ota koʻraman” → Men otamni koʻraman.
• NOT “Men bu non ni yeyman” → Men bu nonni yeyman (the ending is joined to the object).
When you need the -ni ending
Something in general — no ending. A specific thing, a name, a pronoun, and a word with “my, your, his” — with -ni.
| What it is | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| something in general | Anna xat yozadi. | Anna writes letters. |
| this particular thing | Anna bu xatni yozadi. | Anna is writing this letter. |
| name | Sevara Buxoroni biladi. | Sevara knows Bukhara. |
| pronoun | U meni tushunadi. | He (she) understands me. |
| a word with “my, your, his” | Rustam singlisini kutadi. | Rustam is waiting for his younger sister. |
Pronouns: whom? what?
The -ni ending is joined to the word. Ask nima? about something in general and nimani? about a known thing.
| Who, what | Whom, what | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| men | meni | me |
| sen | seni | you (informal) |
| siz | sizni | you (formal, to one person) |
| u | uni | him, her |
| biz | bizni | us |
| sizlar | sizlarni | you (to several people) |
| ular | ularni | them |
| bu | buni | this |
| shu | shuni | this (the one we're talking about) |
| kim? | kimni? | whom? |
| nima? | nimani? | what exactly? |
Lesson notes
Bread in general and this bread: the -ni ending
Why: to say what exactly you eat, take, or see, and whom you're waiting for.
This is the accusative (whom? what?). Something in general has no ending: Men non yeyman — I eat bread. A definite, known thing takes -ni: Men bu nonni yeyman — I eat this bread. Where English says “the” or “this”, Uzbek adds the ending. The ending is the same for every word.
Always with -ni:
• a person's or a city's name: Annani, Toshkentni;
• a pronoun: meni, seni, uni (see the table);
• a word with bu, shu, u, oʻsha;
• a word with a possessive ending (my, your, his).
The endings go one after another: daftar + im + ni = daftarimni (my notebook); after the “his / her” ending, -ni goes right on: daftarini. The familiar phrase Men oʻzbek tilini oʻrganaman is built the same way: til + i + ni.
Questions: kimni? — whom? nimani? — what exactly? For something in general, ask nima?
Watch out: non is bread and flatbread.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Men shu suv ichaman” → Men shu suvni ichaman.
• NOT “U men biladi” → U meni biladi.
• NOT “Men ota koʻraman” → Men otamni koʻraman.
• NOT “Men bu non ni yeyman” → Men bu nonni yeyman (the ending is joined to the object).