nə vaxt

When Question Word

Level 2

Nə vaxt is the most common way to ask 'when' in Azerbaijani. It is a compound of nə (what) and vaxt (time).

How It Works

The phrase nə vaxt functions as a temporal interrogative.

  • Word Order: In natural Azerbaijani, the question word usually sits immediately before the verb to receive the focus of the sentence (e.g., Qatar nə vaxt çatır?).
  • Case Suffixes: Because vaxt is a noun, it can take case endings to change the meaning:
    • nə vaxtdan (since when / from what time)
    • nə vaxta (for when / until when)
    • nə vaxtadır (when is it scheduled for)
  • Vowel Harmony: Since vaxt contains a back vowel 'a', all suffixes attached to it must follow back vowel harmony (using -a, -dan, -dır).
  • Distinctions: While nə vaxt is general, use saat neçədə if you need a specific clock time.

Examples (4)

  1. Sən Bakıya nə vaxt gələcəksən?

    When will you come to Baku?

    Word by Word: You Baku-to what time come-will?

    A standard question using the future tense.

  2. Dərslər nə vaxt başlayır?

    When do lessons start?

    Word by Word: Lessons what time start?

    Using the present tense to ask about a scheduled event.

  3. Siz bu işi nə vaxtdan görürsünüz?

    Since when have you been doing this work?

    Word by Word: You this work-acc what time-from see-are?

    The ablative case suffix -dan is added to ask 'since when'.

  4. İclas nə vaxtadır?

    When is the meeting (scheduled for)?

    Word by Word: Meeting what time-for-is?

    The predicative suffix -dır is used here to ask about the scheduled time of an event.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding the yes/no question particle -mi to a 'nə vaxt' question.

    Nə vaxt gəlirsənmi?
    Nə vaxt gəlirsən?

    In Azerbaijani, you do not use the question particle -mi if the sentence already contains a question word like 'nə vaxt'.

  • Using 'nə vaxt' as a conjunction to mean 'when I was...'

    Nə vaxt mən uşaq idim, Bakıda yaşayırdım.
    Mən uşaq olanda Bakıda yaşayırdım.

    To say 'when' in a statement (not a question), you should use the temporal converb suffix -anda/-əndə.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

nə vaxtLevel 2When Question Word

Learn This First

To understand 'nə vaxt' (when), learners should first be familiar with the basic question word 'nə' (what) and how question words function within the standard Azerbaijani sentence structure.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

nə vaxtvaxtnə