I can say which languages I know and how I speak them — ingiliscə bilirəm, azərbaycanca bir az danışa bilirəm — name a language (Azərbaycan dili), and if I don't understand, ask someone to repeat, speak more slowly, or explain a word.
Azərbaycan dili, azərbaycanca: languages and “I don't understand”
Azərbaycan dili, azərbaycanca: languages and “I don't understand”
In which language? The ending -ca / -cə, by the last vowel: azərbaycanca, rusca, ingiliscə. It is unstressed: the stress is on the syllable before it. It's written lowercase, unlike English.
The name of a language is two words: the first without an ending, the second dil with the ending -i: Azərbaycan dili, rus dili. The same in ingilis dili müəllimi. Compare “whose” from module 2: müəllimin çantası — there both words take an ending.
“I know a language” is bilmək: “İngiliscə bilirəm”, “Rusca bilmirəm”. “I can speak” is the set phrase danışa bilirəm.
If you don't understand, the phrases in the table help: you can say them anytime, to anyone.
Niyə? and nə üçün? mean “why?”. The answer is a simple sentence: “Həyat yoldaşım Bakıda işləyir”. Danışmaq is to speak a language, to talk; demək is to say something. Kurs is both “course” and “classes”.
Common mistakes:
• × “İngiliscə deyirəm” → İngiliscə danışıram: to speak a language is only danışıram; demək is for the words you say, not a language.
• × “Azərbaycan dil” → Azərbaycan dili.
• × “Mən azərbaycanca” with no verb → … danışıram or … bilirəm.
Language: “in which language” and the name
-ca / -cə answers “in which language?”; a language name has two words, and the second is dili.
| In which language | Language name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| azərbaycanca | Azərbaycan dili | Azərbaycan |
| rusca | rus dili | Rusiya |
| ingiliscə | ingilis dili | İngiltərə |
| türkcə | türk dili | Türkiyə |
| almanca | alman dili | Almaniya |
| fransızca | fransız dili | Fransa |
If you didn't understand
Learn these phrases as a whole; they work in any situation.
| Situation | What to say |
|---|---|
| you didn't understand | başa düşmürəm |
| ask someone to repeat | bir də deyin |
| ask someone to speak more slowly | yavaş danışın |
| what a word means | … nə deməkdir? |
| how to say it in Azerbaijani | … azərbaycanca necə deyilir? |
Lesson notes
Azərbaycan dili, azərbaycanca: languages and “I don't understand”
In which language? The ending -ca / -cə, by the last vowel: azərbaycanca, rusca, ingiliscə. It is unstressed: the stress is on the syllable before it. It's written lowercase, unlike English.
The name of a language is two words: the first without an ending, the second dil with the ending -i: Azərbaycan dili, rus dili. The same in ingilis dili müəllimi. Compare “whose” from module 2: müəllimin çantası — there both words take an ending.
“I know a language” is bilmək: “İngiliscə bilirəm”, “Rusca bilmirəm”. “I can speak” is the set phrase danışa bilirəm.
If you don't understand, the phrases in the table help: you can say them anytime, to anyone.
Niyə? and nə üçün? mean “why?”. The answer is a simple sentence: “Həyat yoldaşım Bakıda işləyir”. Danışmaq is to speak a language, to talk; demək is to say something. Kurs is both “course” and “classes”.
Common mistakes:
• × “İngiliscə deyirəm” → İngiliscə danışıram: to speak a language is only danışıram; demək is for the words you say, not a language.
• × “Azərbaycan dil” → Azərbaycan dili.
• × “Mən azərbaycanca” with no verb → … danışıram or … bilirəm.