bu

Near Demonstrative

Level 1

Bu is the Azerbaijani equivalent of 'this'. It points to objects, people, or ideas that are close to the speaker in space, time, or conversation.

How It Works

1. As a Determiner (Adjective)
When bu comes before a noun to describe it (e.g., 'this book'), it is uninflected. This means it never changes its form, even if the noun is plural.

  • Bu kitab (This book)
  • Bu kitablar (These books) — Note that bu does not become plural here.

2. As a Pronoun
When bu stands alone as a noun (e.g., 'Give me this'), it must take case endings. A special -n- buffer is required before any suffix is added:

  • Nominative: bu (this)
  • Genitive: bunun (of this)
  • Dative: buna (to this)
  • Accusative: bunu (this [object])
  • Locative: bunda (in/on this)
  • Ablative: bundan (from this)

The plural pronoun form is bunlar (these).

3. Punctuation Note
In written Azerbaijani, a comma is often placed after bu when it acts as the subject of a sentence to prevent confusion with its adjective form. For example: Bu, almadır (This is an apple) vs. Bu alma şirindir (This apple is sweet).

Examples (5)

  1. Bu kitab çox maraqlıdır.

    This book is very interesting.

    Word by Word: This book very interesting-is.

    Here 'bu' acts as a determiner. Notice it is not inflected.

  2. Bunu mənə ver.

    Give this to me.

    Word by Word: This-acc me-to give.

    Here 'bu' is a pronoun in the accusative case, using the -n- buffer.

  3. Bu, mənim evimdir.

    This is my house.

    Word by Word: This, my house-my-is.

    A comma is used after 'bu' because it is the subject of the sentence.

  4. Bu uşaqlar məktəbə gedirlər.

    These children are going to school.

    Word by Word: This children school-to go-they.

    Even though 'uşaqlar' is plural, 'bu' remains in its base form as a determiner.

  5. Bundan xoşum gəlir.

    I like this (literally: My pleasure comes from this).

    Word by Word: This-from pleasure-my comes.

    The ablative case suffix -dan is added to 'bu' using the -n- buffer.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the plural form 'bunlar' as a determiner.

    Bunlar kitablar çox bahadır.
    Bu kitablar çox bahadır.

    In Azerbaijani, demonstrative adjectives do not agree in number with the noun. Use 'bu' for both singular and plural nouns.

  • Forgetting the -n- buffer in oblique cases.

    Bua bax.
    Buna bax.

    When adding case endings to 'bu', you must insert an 'n' before the suffix.

How It Connects

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buLevel 1Near Demonstrative

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Words in This Pattern

bubu