The first real conversation you have in Uzbek will be about you: your name, your country, your job, and why on earth you are learning Uzbek. Every one of those sentences uses the same small set of suffixes, so this page teaches more grammar than it looks.
Looking for one phrase? How to say “my name is” in Uzbek has its own page, with the reply. This page is step 3 of how to learn Uzbek, the whole path in order.
This page is part of Uzbek for medical students, the guide for international and MBBS students in Uzbekistan.
The phrases
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Mening ismim Anna. | me-NING is-MIM AN-na | My name is Anna. |
| Ismingiz nima? | is-min-GIZ ni-MA | What is your name? (polite) |
| Tanishganimdan xursandman. | ta-nish-ga-nim-DAN xur-sand-MAN | Nice to meet you. |
| Men Xitoydanman. | men xi-toy-dan-MAN | I’m from China. |
| Men Rossiyadanman. | men ros-si-ya-dan-MAN | I’m from Russia. |
| Men Turkiyadanman. | men tur-ki-ya-dan-MAN | I’m from Turkey. |
| Men Hindistondanman. | men hin-dis-ton-dan-MAN | I’m from India. |
| Men Koreyadanman. | men ko-re-ya-dan-MAN | I’m from Korea. |
| Men Amerikadanman. | men a-me-ri-ka-dan-MAN | I’m from America. |
| Men talabaman. | men ta-la-ba-MAN | I’m a student. |
| Men dasturchiman. | men das-tur-chi-MAN | I’m a programmer. |
| Men shifokorman. | men shi-fo-kor-MAN | I’m a doctor. |
| Men muhandisman. | men mu-han-dis-MAN | I’m an engineer. |
| Men Toshkentda yashayman. | men tosh-kent-DA ya-shay-MAN | I live in Tashkent. |
| Men oʻzbekcha oʻrganyapman. | men oʻz-bek-CHA oʻr-gan-yap-MAN | I’m learning Uzbek. |
| Ozgina oʻzbekcha bilaman. | oz-gi-NA oʻz-bek-CHA bi-la-MAN | I know a little Uzbek. |
| Tushunmadim. | tu-shun-ma-DIM | I didn’t understand. |
| Sekinroq gapiring, iltimos. | se-kin-ROQ ga-pi-RING, il-ti-MOS | Please speak more slowly. |
| Inglizcha bilasizmi? | in-gliz-CHA bi-la-siz-MI | Do you speak English? |
“I am” is a suffix: -man
Uzbek does not use a separate verb for “I am a student”. The word for student, talaba, takes the ending -man:
- talaba + -man = talabaman (I am a student)
- shifokor + -man = shifokorman (I am a doctor)
- xursand + -man = xursandman (I am glad)
The word men (I) at the start is optional, because -man already says who. Talabaman alone is a full sentence. Use men for emphasis or clarity.
For “you are” (polite), the ending is -siz: talabasiz, shifokorsiz. That is the same -siz you met in Yaxshimisiz?
“From” is a suffix too: -dan
Stack -dan (from) and then -man (I am) on a country and you have “I’m from …”:
- Xitoy (China) + -dan + -man = Xitoydanman
Three pieces, one word. This stacking is what “agglutinative” means, and it is the single habit that makes Uzbek click. Once you see Xitoy-dan-man you can build Toshkent-da-man (I am in Tashkent) and uy-da-man (I am at home) yourself.
The word oʻzbekcha
Oʻzbek is the people; oʻzbekcha is the language, or “the Uzbek way”. The -cha suffix does the same for any nationality: inglizcha (English), ruscha (Russian), xitoycha (Chinese), turkcha (Turkish). It is also the name of this app, for exactly that reason.
Uzbekcha is being built to make this its first lesson, generated with your name, your country and your job already filled in, in English at launch and compared with your first language. Join the waitlist.