-iy / -viy

Adjectives with -iy

Level 4

Noun + -iy / -viy = related to it: ilm → ilmiy (scientific), tarix → tarixiy (historical), oila → oilaviy (family).

How It Works

1. After a consonant: -iy

  • ilm (science, knowledge) → ilmiy (scientific, academic)
  • tarix (history) → tarixiy (historical)
  • adab (literature, manners) → adabiy (literary)
  • ruh (spirit, mind) → ruhiy (mental, psychological)

2. After a vowel: -viy

  • oila (family) → oilaviy (family)
  • kimyo (chemistry) → kimyoviy (chemical)
  • dunyo (world) → dunyoviy (secular, worldly)
  • tarbiya (upbringing) → tarbiyaviy (educational)

3. Words that drop -at
Many Arabic nouns ending in -at or -iyat drop that ending before -iy: siyosat → siyosiy (political), tabiat → tabiiy (natural), millat → milliy (national), madaniyat → madaniy (cultural). Some pairs are simply learned together, like maʼnaviyat (spirituality) and maʼnaviy (spiritual, moral).

4. -iy or -li?
With and Without: -li and -siz means having something. -iy means related to it. The difference matters: ilmli odam is a learned, knowledgeable person, but ilmiy maqola is an academic article.

5. How to use them
These adjectives go before a noun like any other: tarixiy shahar (a historic city), rasmiy til (an official language). From them you can make abstract nouns with Abstract Nouns With -lik: ilmiylik (scientific character). Some are everyday words, like tabiiy and rasmiy, but most are heard more in news, school and official language.

Examples (6)

  1. Bu mavzu boʻyicha ilmiy maqola yozyapman.

    I'm writing an academic article on this topic.

  2. Buxoro — qadimiy va tarixiy shahar.

    Bukhara is an ancient, historic city.

    Qadimiy (ancient) and tarixiy (historic) both use -iy.

  3. Bu sharbat tabiiy, shakar qoʻshilmagan.

    This juice is natural; no sugar has been added.

    Tabiat (nature) drops -at: tabi + iy = tabiiy.

  4. Bayramda oilaviy suratga tushdik.

    We had a family photo taken at the holiday.

    Oila ends in a vowel, so it takes -viy.

  5. Kimyoviy moddalarni bolalardan uzoqroq saqlang.

    Keep chemicals away from children.

  6. Uchrashuv rasmiy emas, bemalol keling.

    The meeting isn't formal, so feel free to come.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -iy after a vowel.

    Kimyoiy moddalar xavfli.
    Kimyoviy moddalar xavfli.

    After a vowel the ending is -viy: kimyo → kimyoviy, oila → oilaviy.

  • Using -li when you mean related to.

    U ilmli maqola yozdi.
    U ilmiy maqola yozdi.

    Ilmli describes a learned person. For an academic or scientific article, use ilmiy.

  • Keeping -at before -iy.

    Bu siyosatiy masala.
    Bu siyosiy masala.

    Siyosat drops -at before the ending: siyosiy (political). Tabiat → tabiiy and millat → milliy work the same way.

How It Connects

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

-iy / -viyLevel 4Adjectives with -iy

Learn This First

Builds on Abstract Nouns With -lik.