Uzbek has a small, regular set of question words, and all of them except kim (who) start with q or n, so they are easy to spot. The one grammar idea on this page is that a question word does not move to the front: it sits in the sentence where the answer would be. Yes/no questions use a small ending, -mi.
The main question words
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| nima | ni-MA | what |
| kim | KIM | who |
| qayer | qa-YER | where (the stem; it takes the endings below) |
| qayerda | qa-yer-DA | where (at) |
| qayerga | qa-yer-GA | where to |
| qayerdan | qa-yer-DAN | where from |
| qachon | qa-CHON | when |
| nega | ne-GA | why |
| nima uchun | ni-MA u-CHUN | why (literally “for what”; a little more formal) |
| qanday | qan-DAY | how; what kind of |
| qancha | qan-CHA | how much |
| necha | ne-CHA | how many (used with numbers and time) |
| qaysi | qay-SI | which |
Question words in sentences
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bu nima? | BU ni-MA | What is this? |
| Bu kim? | BU KIM | Who is this? |
| Qachon kelasiz? | qa-CHON ke-la-SIZ | When will you come? |
| Nega kechikdingiz? | ne-GA ke-chik-din-GIZ | Why were you late? |
| Qanday? | qan-DAY | How is it? What is it like? |
| Qaysi biri? | qay-SI bi-RI | Which one? |
| Necha yoshdasiz? | ne-CHA yosh-da-SIZ | How old are you? |
Yes/no questions with -mi
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bormi? | bor-MI | Is there any? (literally “is there?”) |
| Suv bormi? | SUV bor-MI | Is there water? |
| Kelasizmi? | ke-la-siz-MI | Will you come? Are you coming? |
| Siz talabamisiz? | siz ta-la-ba-mi-SIZ | Are you a student? |
| Bu yaxshimi? | bu yakh-shi-MI | Is this good? |
| Tushundingizmi? | tu-shun-din-giz-MI | Did you understand? |
| Ha, bor. | HA, BOR | Yes, there is. |
| Yoʻq. | YOʻQ | No, there isn’t. |
How the questions work
- -mi goes on the word being asked about. Siz talabamisiz? asks about “student”, Kelasizmi? asks about “come”. It is written together with that word: on a noun or adjective it comes before the person ending (talaba-mi-siz), on a verb after it (kelasiz-mi).
- Question words stay in place. English moves “where” to the front; Uzbek does not: Siz qayerga ketyapsiz? (you where are-going?). The answer takes the same slot: Men bozorga ketyapman.
- Qayer takes the usual endings. -da is “at”, -ga is “to” and -dan is “from”: qayerda, qayerga, qayerdan.
- Answer with the word, not a long sentence. Nima ichasiz? (what will you drink?) can be answered with just Choy. (tea).
A short conversation
A: Kechirasiz, bu nima?
Excuse me, what is this?
B: Bu somsa. Xohlaysizmi?
It’s a samsa. Do you want one?
A: Ha, rahmat. Qachon tayyor boʻladi?
Yes, thanks. When will it be ready?
B: Hozir.
Right now.
Looking for one question? See what is this, where is the toilet, how much is it, what time is it and what happened. For the numbers behind necha and qancha, see Uzbek numbers 1 to 10.
Uzbekcha is an app for learning Uzbek, with lessons in English and audio on every word. It is on Android now and coming soon to iPhone. Get the app.
