-kor / -dor / -gar

Doers and Owners: -kor, -dor, -gar

Level 5

Three endings from Persian make words for people: paxta (cotton) + -kor → paxtakor (cotton grower), doʻkon (shop) + -dor → doʻkondor (shopkeeper), savdo (trade) + -gar → savdogar (merchant).

How It Works

1. -kor: someone who does or makes

  • paxtakor (cotton grower), sholikor (rice grower)
  • ijodkor (creator), from ijod (creative work)
  • tadbirkor (entrepreneur), from tadbir (a plan, a measure)
  • sanʼatkor (performing artist), from sanʼat (art)

2. -dor: someone who has or keeps

  • doʻkondor (shopkeeper), from doʻkon (shop)
  • chorvador (livestock farmer), from chorva (livestock)
  • qarzdor (debtor, in debt), from qarz (debt)

Some -dor words are adjectives that say what something has: aybdor (guilty), from ayb (fault), and hosildor (high-yielding), from hosil (harvest).

3. -gar: crafts and trades

  • savdogar (merchant), from savdo (trade)
  • zargar (jeweller), from zar (gold)
  • kimyogar (chemist), from kimyo (chemistry)
  • sehrgar (magician), from sehr (magic)

4. Using them
These words are written as one piece and work like any noun or adjective: tadbirkorlar (entrepreneurs), Otam paxtakor (My father is a cotton grower), Men sizdan qarzdorman (I owe you). Add -lik to name the activity: tadbirkorlik (entrepreneurship), zargarlik (jewellery making).

5. What to use instead
For most jobs, everyday Uzbek uses -chi: ishchi (worker). To say that you own something, use a possessive with bor: Mening mashinam bor (I have a car). Other Persian word parts work the same way, such as -noma and -shunos and -parvar.

Examples (6)

  1. Otam oʻttiz yildan beri paxtakor.

    My father has been a cotton grower for thirty years.

    Word by Word: Father-my thirty year-from since cotton-grower.

  2. Akam yosh tadbirkor, uning oʻz kafesi bor.

    My older brother is a young entrepreneur; he has his own café.

    Word by Word: Brother-my young entrepreneur, his own café-his there-is.

  3. Doʻkondor bizga issiq non berdi.

    The shopkeeper gave us warm bread.

    Word by Word: Shopkeeper us-to warm bread gave.

  4. Men sizdan ellik ming soʻm qarzdorman.

    I owe you fifty thousand soʻm.

    Word by Word: I you-from fifty thousand soʻm debtor-am-I.

    The person you owe takes -dan: sizdan qarzdorman.

  5. Qadimda savdogarlar Buxoroga karvon bilan kelishgan.

    In the old days merchants came to Bukhara with caravans.

    Word by Word: Old-times-in merchants Bukhara-to caravan with came-they.

  6. Sud uni aybdor deb topdi.

    The court found him guilty.

    Word by Word: Court him guilty saying found.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing up the endings.

    Qoʻshnimiz doʻkonkor.
    Qoʻshnimiz doʻkondor.

    Each word has its own ending: doʻkondor with -dor, paxtakor with -kor, savdogar with -gar. Learn the whole word.

  • Using -dor to say you own something (meant: I have a car).

    Men mashinadorman.
    Mening mashinam bor.

    -dor is not a free way to show possession. To say you have something, use a possessive ending with bor.

How It Connects

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

-kor / -dor / -garLevel 5Doers and Owners: -kor, -dor, -gar

Learn This First

Builds on People Who Do Something: -chi.