You will probably never need this page, and it is still the one worth learning before you travel. A few short sentences, said slowly, are enough to get help, and they use two endings you can reuse everywhere: -ing for a polite urgent request and -im for “my”.
This page is part of Uzbek for travellers, the guide for a one- or two-week trip.
Asking for help
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Yordam bering! | yor-DAM be-RING | Help! |
| Menga yordam kerak. | men-GA yor-DAM ke-RAK | I need help. |
| Tez yordam chaqiring! | TEZ yor-DAM cha-qi-RING | Call an ambulance! |
| Politsiyani chaqiring! | po-li-tsi-ya-NI cha-qi-RING | Call the police! |
| Shifokor chaqiring! | shi-fo-KOR cha-qi-RING | Call a doctor! |
| Menga shifokor kerak. | men-GA shi-fo-KOR ke-RAK | I need a doctor. |
| Adashib qoldim. | a-da-SHIB qol-DIM | I am lost. |
| Politsiya boʻlimi qayerda? | po-li-tsi-YA boʻ-li-MI qa-yer-DA | Where is the police station? |
| Elchixona qayerda? | el-chi-kho-NA qa-yer-DA | Where is the embassy? |
| Telefoningizdan qoʻngʻiroq qilsam boʻladimi? | te-le-fo-nin-giz-DAN qoʻn-gʻi-ROQ qil-SAM boʻ-la-di-MI | May I make a call from your phone? |
Lost or stolen
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Pasportimni yoʻqotdim. | pas-por-tim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my passport. |
| Telefonimni yoʻqotdim. | te-le-fo-nim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my phone. |
| Sumkamni yoʻqotdim. | sum-kam-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my bag. |
| Hamyonimni yoʻqotdim. | ham-yo-nim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my wallet. |
| Kalitimni yoʻqotdim. | ka-li-tim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my key. |
| Sumkamni oʻgʻirlashdi. | sum-kam-NI oʻ-gʻir-lash-DI | My bag was stolen. |
| Telefonimni oʻgʻirlashdi. | te-le-fo-nim-NI oʻ-gʻir-lash-DI | My phone was stolen. |
| Qayerda yoʻqotdingiz? | qa-yer-DA yoʻ-qot-din-GIZ | Where did you lose it? (what they ask you) |
| Bozorda edim. | bo-zor-DA e-DIM | I was at the bazaar. |
Feeling ill, and being understood
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Oʻzimni yomon his qilyapman. | oʻ-zim-NI yo-MON HIS qil-yap-MAN | I feel ill. |
| Shu yerim ogʻriyapti. | shu ye-RIM ogʻ-ri-yap-TI | It hurts here. |
| Penitsillinga allergiyam bor. | pe-nit-sil-lin-GA al-ler-gi-YAM BOR | I am allergic to penicillin. |
| …ga allergiyam bor. | …-GA al-ler-gi-YAM BOR | I am allergic to … |
| Dorixona qayerda? | do-ri-kho-NA qa-yer-DA | Where is the pharmacy? |
| Kasalxona qayerda? | ka-sal-kho-NA qa-yer-DA | Where is the hospital? |
| Sekinroq gapiring, iltimos. | se-kin-ROQ ga-pi-RING, il-ti-MOS | Please speak more slowly. |
| Yozib bering, iltimos. | yo-ZIB be-RING, il-ti-MOS | Please write it down. |
| Tushunmadim. | tu-shun-ma-DIM | I did not understand. |
| Inglizcha bilasizmi? | in-gliz-CHA bi-la-siz-MI | Do you speak English? |
For symptoms, the pharmacy and what a doctor asks back, see Uzbek phrases for the doctor and the pharmacy. The single phrase has its own page too: how to say help in Uzbek, and so does I don’t understand.
-ing for “please do it” and -im for “my”
- -ing after a verb stem is the polite command, the one to use with strangers: ber- (give) → bering, chaqir- (call) → chaqiring, gapir- (speak) → gapiring. Yordam bering! is literally “give help!”, and Yozib bering is “write it down for me”.
- -im after a noun is “my”: pasport → pasportim, telefon → telefonim, kalit → kalitim. After a vowel it is -m: sumka → sumkam, oila → oilam.
- -ni after “my + noun” shows what was lost: pasportimni yoʻqotdim, sumkamni yoʻqotdim. Same pattern, any noun.
- -shdi (-ishdi after a consonant) means “they did it” when nobody is named, the everyday way to say something was done to you: Sumkamni oʻgʻirlashdi is literally “they stole my bag”, that is, my bag was stolen.
- -dim at the end means “I did it” in the past: yoʻqotdim (I lost), tushunmadim (I did not understand), qoldim (I stayed, I ended up).
Losing a passport
A: Kechirasiz, yordam bering! Pasportimni yoʻqotdim.
Excuse me, help me! I lost my passport.
B: Xavotir olmang. Qayerda yoʻqotdingiz?
Don’t worry. Where did you lose it?
A: Bilmayman. Bozorda edim.
I don’t know. I was at the bazaar.
B: Politsiyani chaqiramiz.
We will call the police.
A: Elchixona qayerda?
Where is the embassy?
B: Manzilini hozir yozib beraman.
I will write down the address for you now.
A: Rahmat, katta rahmat.
Thank you, thank you very much.
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