-lan / -lash

Becoming and Doing Together: -lan and -lash

Level 5

-lan and -lash turn nouns and adjectives into verbs: kasal (ill) → kasallanmoq (to fall ill), yaqin (near) → yaqinlashmoq (to come closer), salom (hello) → salomlashmoq (to greet each other).

How It Works

1. -lan: getting into a state
Add -lan to a noun or adjective. The verb says the subject gets into a state or gets something:

  • kasal (ill) → kasallanmoq (to fall ill)
  • gʻazab (anger) → gʻazablanmoq (to get angry)
  • hayajon (excitement) → hayajonlanmoq (to get excited, to be moved)
  • tinch (calm) → tinchlanmoq (to calm down)
  • tayyor (ready) → tayyorlanmoq (to get ready)
  • uy (house) → uylanmoq (to get married, said of a man)

Many -lan verbs have a partner in -la that takes an object: Onam ovqat tayyorladi (My mother prepared the food), but Men imtihonga tayyorlandim (I got ready for the exam). Because -n is also a passive ending, some of these verbs can also be passive: Xona tozalandi (The room was cleaned).

2. -lash: becoming more and more so
With adjectives, -lash says a quality grows:

  • yaqin (near) → yaqinlashmoq (to come closer)
  • uzoq (far) → uzoqlashmoq (to move away)
  • katta (big) → kattalashmoq (to get bigger)
  • qiyin (hard) → qiyinlashmoq (to get harder)
  • oson (easy) → osonlashmoq (to get easier)

3. -lash: doing something with each other
With some nouns, -lash means two or more people do something together. Name the other person with bilan:

  • salom (hello) → salomlashmoq (to greet each other)
  • xayr (goodbye) → xayrlashmoq (to say goodbye to each other)
  • gap (talk) → gaplashmoq (to talk with someone)
  • maslahat (advice) → maslahatlashmoq (to consult each other)

Men doʻstim bilan salomlashdim (My friend and I greeted each other). This is the same -sh as in doing something together.

4. Forms
Both endings leave a stem that ends in a consonant, so the present tense takes -a: kasallanaman (I fall ill), gaplashamiz (we talk). The past is kasallandi, gaplashdi. To make someone else do it, add -tir: tinchlantirmoq (to calm someone down), yaqinlashtirmoq (to bring closer). Like -la, these endings do not go on every word, so learn each verb as you meet it.

Examples (6)

  1. Qishda koʻp odamlar kasallanadi.

    In winter many people fall ill.

    Word by Word: Winter-in many people ill-become.

    kasal (ill) + -lan → kasallan-, then -a + -di.

  2. Ertaga imtihon bor, shuning uchun tayyorlanyapman.

    I have an exam tomorrow, so I'm getting ready.

    Word by Word: Tomorrow exam there-is, so ready-getting-am-I.

  3. U bu gapni eshitib gʻazablandi.

    He got angry when he heard this.

    Word by Word: He this word-(object) hearing angry-became.

  4. Poyezd shaharga yaqinlashyapti.

    The train is approaching the city.

    Word by Word: Train city-to near-becoming-is.

    yaqinlashmoq takes -ga for the place you come closer to.

  5. Mehmonlar uy egasi bilan salomlashdi.

    The guests and the host greeted each other.

    Word by Word: Guests house owner-its with greeted-each-other.

  6. Kecha dadam bilan telefonda gaplashdim.

    Yesterday I talked with my dad on the phone.

    Word by Word: Yesterday dad-my with phone-on talked-I.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -ni for the other person with a verb of doing something together.

    Men akamni gaplashdim.
    Men akam bilan gaplashdim.

    A -lash verb of joint action names the other person with bilan, not -ni: akam bilan gaplashdim (I talked with my brother), doʻstim bilan salomlashdim.

  • Using the -la verb when you are getting yourself ready (meant: I'm getting ready for the exam).

    Men imtihonga tayyorlayapman.
    Men imtihonga tayyorlanyapman.

    Tayyorlamoq means to prepare something and needs an object: ovqat tayyorlamoq (to cook a meal). To get yourself ready, use tayyorlanmoq.

How It Connects

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

-lan / -lashLevel 5Becoming and Doing Together: -lan and -lash

Learn This First

Builds on Making Verbs With -la and Doing Something Together: -(i)sh.