u (kishilik olmoshi)

He, She or It

Level 1

U means he, she or it. Uzbek has no grammatical gender, so one word covers a man, a woman, an animal or a thing: U mening doʻstim (He or she is my friend).

How It Works

One word, no gender
English has to choose between he, she and it. Uzbek does not: u covers all three, and only the situation tells you which one is meant. U shifokor can mean "He is a doctor" or "She is a doctor". When you translate into English, pick he, she or it from context.

What comes after u

  • In a noun or adjective sentence there is no ending and no word for "is": U talaba. (She is a student.) U kasal. (He is ill.) See Third Person Takes No Ending.
  • In the present-future tense, a verb takes the third-person ending -di: kel- + -a + -di → keladi (he comes, she will come). See Present-Future Tense.

Case endings add an n
Before -ga, -da and -dan, u gains an n: u + -ga → unga (to him, to her), u + -da → unda (at him, on it), u + -dan → undan (from him). With -ni and -ning there is no extra letter: uni (him, her, it as an object), uning (his, her, its). See The Extra n in unga and bunga.

Talking about someone you respect
For an older or respected person, Uzbeks often say u kishi (literally "that person") instead of plain u: U kishi bizning oʻqituvchimiz (He is our teacher). Plural endings used as a mark of respect are covered in The Plural of Respect.

The same word points, too
Before a noun, u means "that": u uy (that house). See That (Far Away).

Examples (6)

  1. U mening doʻstim.

    He is my friend. / She is my friend.

    Word by Word: He/she my friend-my.

    There is no word for "is", and u can refer to a man or a woman.

  2. U ertaga keladi.

    She will come tomorrow.

    Word by Word: She tomorrow come-will-3SG.

    The verb ends in -di, the third-person form. The same sentence could mean he.

  3. U shifokor.

    He is a doctor.

    Word by Word: He doctor.

    Nothing is added to shifokor, because the third person takes no ending.

  4. Bu mening mushugim. U juda katta.

    This is my cat. It is very big.

    Word by Word: This my cat-my. It very big.

    U also means it, for animals and things.

  5. U kishi bizning oʻqituvchimiz.

    He is our teacher.

    Word by Word: That person our teacher-our.

    U kishi is the respectful way to say he or she about an older person.

  6. Unga choy bering.

    Give her some tea.

    Word by Word: Her-to tea give.

    Before -ga, u becomes un-: unga.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding the I-ending -man after u.

    U talabaman.
    U talaba.

    -man means "I am". With u, a noun sentence takes no ending at all.

  • Adding -ga straight to u.

    Men uga kitob beraman.
    Men unga kitob beraman.

    U, bu and shu add an n before -ga, -da and -dan: unga, unda, undan.

How It Connects

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u (kishilik olmoshi)Level 1He, She or It

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