Kazakhstan is comfortably bilingual: Kazakh is the state language, Russian is spoken everywhere, and in Astana most signs carry both. English is common at the university and in newer cafés, less so in taxis and bazaars. Nobody expects you to speak Kazakh — which is exactly why a single rakhmet gets you a grin.
The essentials
| English | Kazakh | Say it | Russian | Say it |
|---|
| Hello (polite) | Сәлеметсіз бе | sah-leh-met-SEEZ beh | Здравствуйте | ZDRAH-stvooy-tye |
| Hi | Сәлем | sah-LEM | Привет | pree-VYET |
| Thank you | Рақмет | rakh-MET | Спасибо | spa-SEE-ba |
| Yes | Иә | ee-YAH | Да | da |
| No | Жоқ | zhok | Нет | nyet |
| Please / you're welcome | Өтінемін | uh-tee-neh-MEEN | Пожалуйста | pa-ZHAL-sta |
| Excuse me | Кешіріңіз | keh-shee-reen-EEZ | Извините | eez-vee-NEE-tye |
| Goodbye | Сау болыңыз | saw bo-luh-NUZ | До свидания | da svee-DA-nya |
Surviving a purchase
| English | Kazakh | Say it | Russian | Say it |
|---|
| How much? | Қанша? | kan-SHA | Сколько? | SKOL-ka |
| Expensive! | Қымбат! | kum-BAT | Дорого! | DOH-ra-ga |
| Tasty | Дәмді | dam-DUH | Вкусно | FKOOS-na |
| Water | Су | soo | Вода | va-DA |
| Tea | Шай | shai | Чай | chai |
Numbers, quickly
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 100 | 1000 |
|---|
| Kazakh | бір (beer) | екі (ye-KEE) | үш (üsh) | төрт (tört) | бес (bes) | он (on) | жүз (zhüz) | мың (muhng) |
| Russian | один (a-DEEN) | два (dva) | три (tree) | четыре (chye-TY-rye) | пять (pyat) | десять (DYE-syat) | сто (sto) | тысяча (TY-sya-cha) |
Three tips
- Pronunciation hints above are rough English approximations — close enough is genuinely good enough; people will help you with the rest.
- Kazakh ә, ө, ү, і, ң, ғ, қ are distinct letters; if a word looks unpronounceable, the Russian column always works too.
- The one word to remember leaving this page: Рақмет (rakh-MET) — thank you.
