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Yes and no in Kyrgyz: ooba and jok

“Yes” in Kyrgyz is ооба, “no” is жок. Жок does more work than English “no”: it also means “there is none” — китеп жок means “there is no book”. The polite “please” when asking for something is сураныч.

Ооба.ooba.Yes.

Variants

Жок.jok.No.
Сураныч.suranych.Please (when asking)

What people reply

Ооба.ooba.Yes.
Жок.jok.No.

In real speech

Ооба, мен мугалиммин.ooba, men mugalimmin.Yes, I am a teacher (sample answer)
Жок, мен окуучумун.jok, men okuuchumun.No, I am a pupil (sample answer)

How to pronounce it

Ооба has a double “o” — a long vowel, and length matters in Kyrgyz: сат “sell” versus саат “hour”. Жок starts with a “j” sound, close to “jok”.

Frequently asked questions

How do I answer in full, not just “yes”?

Repeat the predicate with its ending: ооба, мен мугалиммин — “yes, I am a teacher”; жок, мен окуучумун — “no, I am a student”.

How do I say “please”?

It depends on the sense: сураныч when requesting, эчтеке эмес (“you're welcome”) in reply to thanks.

Does jok only mean “no”?

No — it also means “there is none”: акча жок means “there is no money”. It is one of the most frequent words in the language.

Where to hear more

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