Learn Cyrillic script for Kazakh alphabet

Learn Cyrillic script for Kazakh alphabet

## Why?

Because for now, it is still official script used. Even though the Latin script will be introduced in 2031 (as it was extended from 2025), many Kazakh resources and books will be in Cyrillic and it will take time for everything to get updated and more importantly people to get used to writing in Latin. Especially in rural areas, they may be writing in Cyrillic for quite a long time before they will switch to Latin alphabet.

## Where to start?

Kazakh Cyrillic contains **42 letters**: 33 from the Russian alphabet with 9 additional letters for sounds of the Kazakh language: Ә, Ғ, Қ, Ң, Ө, Ұ, Ү, Һ, І (until 1957 *Ӯ* was used instead of *Ұ*). Cyrillic was introduced in Kazakhstan in 1800s and in XIXth century it was use to transcribing Kazakh language. It was officially accepted in 1940.

I would recommend to watch below videos and listen different native speakers pronouncing the letters. You can also leave this for a little bit later and fast forward to see separate letter groups that may be easier to learn, understand, and hear the difference - see vowels and consonant section.

## Alphabet

You can also listen to children alphabet song:

   Once you got used to sounds, I would also reccomend to have a look on handwritten Cyrillic script:

Once you got a grasp of Cyrillic letters and their pronunciation and writing, it is time to explore it a bit deeper: how to actually divide this 42 letters to smaller chunks that may be easier to remember and learn.

## Vowels

There are 9 main vowels in Kazakh language, but 12 phonetic surface vowels which includes 3 phonetic vowels in the beginning of the word:**/o/, /œ/, /ə/.**

We can divide all vowels depending on 3 dimensions of our mouths:

* Height dimensions: close -> mid-close -> open

* Backness (where the sound is created): front -> central -> back

* Rounding of lips and mouth: unrounded or rounded

Front vowels are also called soft vowels or thin vowels. Back vowels are also called hard vowels or thick vowels.

There are 4 main back (hard / thick) vowels: **а, о, ұ, ы.**

There are 5 main front (soft / thin) vowels: **ә, ө, ү, і, е.**

Vowel ‘**и**’ is usually front, however depending on the word it can be also back.

There is also one letter ‘**у**’ which can act as vowel (usually back, but also can be back) and can act as consonant. As you noticed I used IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols. I highly recommend reading a bit more about it, maybe starting from good, old Wikipedia. Here are sounds of all IPA vowels (link ). Below is a chart of full IPA vowels and those existing in Kazakh language.

### Vowel harmony

Based on the division of vowels into back (thick / hard) vowels and front (thin / soft) vowels, we can divide words for:

* "thick" words - containing only back vowels

* "thin" words - containing only back vowels

There are only few exeptions, which are mainly words of foreign words (e.g. Russian, Arabic, Persian) or compoud words (those buid by combaining 2 or more words).
It is also worth noting that Kazakh consonants **қ** and **ғ** are associated with back (think) vowels, while **к** and **г** - with front (thin) vowels.
Suffixes have 2 variants of vowel alterations:

* **A** (capital A) - i2-way variation: **a** (a) or **e** (e) (e.g. Dative -Г**A**: -г**а** or -г**е --** in Latin -ga or -ge)
* **I** (capital I) - i2-way variation: **ы** (y) or **і** (i) (e.g. 3rd person possessive -(с)**I**, -с**ы** or -с**і --** in Latin -sy or -si) ('c' in brackets indicates that it is added when words ends with vowel, it separates 2 vowels)

Watch the video about Kazakh sound system:

and listen to similarly sounding vowels that differ mainly in backness

   Listen to Kazakh vowels by different native speakers

## Consonants

    There are 26 consonants in Kazakh language, which can be divided in several ways.

* place of articulation (labial, alveolar, palatal, velar, uvular, glottal, etc.)
* phonation = voicing (voiced, unvoiced)
* manner of articulation (stops, fricatives, sonorants, etc.)

The main 3 groups of consonants that are important to know for learning Kazakh are:

* voiced - vocal cords vibrate during articulation
* unvoiced - vocal cords don't vibrate during articulation
* sonorants  (which are usually voiced) - continuous, non-turbulent airflow in the vocal tract (vowels are also sonorants, the difference between vowel and sonorant consonants are possibility to create syllable) - many sonorants are called approximants (i.e. vowel-like sounds)

Most unvoiced consonants are paired with their voiced equivalent (e.g. p - b, t - d, k - g).
In Kazakh there are:

* 7 sonorants: й, л, м, н, ң, р, у
* 8 voiced consonants: б, в,г, ғ, д, ж, з, һ
* 11 unvoiced consonants: к, қ, п, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш, щ

### Consonant harmony / Consonant assimilation

There are 2 ways consonant assimilation work:

* forward - progressive consonant assimilation (determine suffixes)

* backward - regressice consonant assimilation (may change the last sound of a word, usually in voicing, and usually it happens without changing the spelling)

#### Progressive consonant assimilation (Ілгерінді ықпал)

The suffixes change their form depending on the last consonant of the word. Which means that letters alternate based on the phonetic properties of nearby sounds. They are adjusted depending on the following features of haromny: voicing, sonority, and backness.
Typical patterns of consonant variatioin in suffixes (don't give up, just read through, do not worry if you don't understand it fully, it will come with time and further explanations):

* **Қ (Q)** - 2-way variation: **қ (q) or к (k)** - variable backness (more back / hard - uvular *vs* more front / soft - velar )
* **Д (D)** - 2-way variation: **д (d) or т (t)** - variable voicing (voiced and its unvoiced equivalent)
* **Н (N)** - 3-way variation: **н (n), д (d), or т (t)** - all those consonants have the same backness (alveolar ), variable is voicing (voiced д, unvoiced т) and resonance, creating nasal sonorant  (nasal н) *vs* plosive (д and т) - the shape of mouth and tongue remains the same
* **М (M)** - 3-way variation: **м (m), б (b), or п (p)** - it is similar situation as above, but all consonants are more frontal than previous three - those consonants are bilablial , the consonants differ between each other in nasal sonorant  (м) *vs* plosive (п, б), and in voicing (voiced б, unvoiced п)
* **Л (L)** - 3-way variation: **л (l), д (d), or т (t)** - the same backness (alveolar ), different voicing, instead of nasality like in Н (N) - 3 way variation with н (n), we move in direction towards vowels, by creating liquid  sonorant  л (l)
* **Г (G)** - 4-way variation: **г (g), к (k), ғ (ǵ), or қ (q)** - variable voicing (voiced and its unvoiced equivalent) as well as variable backness (more back / hard - uvular *vs* more front / soft - velar )

General rules of progressive consonant assimilation:

* use suffix starting with **unvoiced consonant**, when it follow: any of 11 unvoiced consonants (к, қ, п, с, т, ф, х, ц, ч, ш, щ) or one of these 4 voiced consonants (б, в, г, д)
* use suffix starting with **voiced consonant**, when word ends with voiced **ж** or **з**
* suffixes containing sonorant or voiced consonant may follow vowel, sonorant, or one of other voiced consonants (ғ and һ, but also sometimes б, в,г, д)

#### Regressive consonant assimilation (Кейінді ықпал)

    It is effect of added suffix (or word) affecting and changing the final sound of the preceding word. It usually changes the pronunciation without changing the spelling.

The spelling changes in the following situation:

* word ends on **unvoiced consonant п, к,** or **қ** and added suffix starts with **vowel** - in this situation unvoiced consonant changes to its voiced variant:
	+ **п** --> **б**
	+ **к** --> **г**
	+ **қ** --> **ғ**
* when adding possessive ending, vowel **ы** or **і**  in last syllable drop out (only about 20 words)

#### Examples

* кіта**п** (kita**p** - book) --> оның кіта**б**ы (onyń kita**b**y - his book) - voicing п (p) to б (b), as we add suffix starting with vowel ы (-ы / -y)
* кө**к** (kó**k** - blue) --> кө**г**ілдір (kó**g**ildir - light blue / cyan) - voicing к (k) to г (g), as we add suffix starting with vowel i (-ілдір / -ildir)
* мысы**қ** (mysy**q** - cat) --> сенің мысығың (ceniń mysy**ǵ**yń) - voicing қ (q) to ғ (ǵ), as we add suffix starting with vowel ы (-ың / -yń)
* көр**і**к (kór**i**k - beauty) --> сенің көркің (ceniń kórkiń - your beauty) - dropping out i (i) in the last syllable -рік (-rik) as we add suffix indicating possessive ending your - ің (-iń)

## Kazakhstan beyboard

I would also reccomend installing on your mobile and/or laptop/computer Kazakhstan keyboard, which allows you to write in Kazakh Cyrillic

Few useful notes about the alphabet:

* The letters В, Ё (since 1957), Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Щ, Ъ, Ь and Э are not used in native Kazakh words.

* Of these, Ё, Ц, Ч, Щ, Ъ, Ь, Э, are used only in words borrowed from Russian or through the Russian language which are written according to Russian orthographic rules.

* The letter Һ is used only in Arabic-Persian borrowings and is often pronounced like an unvoiced Х (as /h/, or a voiceless glottal fricative).