oldida / orqasida

In Front of and Behind

Level 2

old is the front and orqa is the back: maktab oldida (in front of the school), uy orqasida (behind the house).

How It Works

  • old + -i + -da → oldida: Maktab oldida kutaman (I'll wait in front of the school).
  • orqa + -si + -da → orqasida: Uy orqasida bogʻ bor (There is a garden behind the house). It is -si here because the possessive ending adds s after a vowel.

With pronouns the possessive agrees with the person, as in yonida: oldimda (in front of me), oldingizda (in front of you), orqamda (behind me), orqangizda (behind you). mening or sizning can be added for emphasis.

Movement. oldiga means to the front of and orqasidan means from behind. With a person, oldiga simply means to: Doʻstimning oldiga bordim (I went to see my friend). See koʻmakchi ot + kelishik.

In front of people. oldida also means in the presence of: hamma oldida (in front of everyone).

Not the same as oldin. Do not confuse oldida with oldin (before, earlier): maktab oldida is in front of the school, but maktabdan oldin is before school. oldida is mainly about place; for time, use -dan oldin.

orqa by itself also means back, the part of the body: Orqam ogʻriyapti (My back hurts). In writing you will also meet ortida, a more bookish word for behind.

Examples (6)

  1. Maktab oldida kutaman.

    I'll wait in front of the school.

    Word by Word: School front-its-at I-wait.

  2. Uy orqasida bogʻ bor.

    There is a garden behind the house.

    Word by Word: House back-its-at garden exists.

    orqa ends in a vowel, so the possessive is -si.

  3. Oldimda uzun navbat bor.

    There's a long line in front of me.

    Word by Word: Front-my-at long line exists.

    With a person, the possessive matches: -im for me.

  4. Mashina bank orqasida.

    The car is behind the bank.

    Word by Word: Car bank back-its-at.

  5. Hamma oldida uyaldim.

    I felt embarrassed in front of everyone.

    Word by Word: Everyone front-its-at I-was-embarrassed.

    oldida can mean in the presence of.

  6. Kecha doʻstimning oldiga bordim.

    Yesterday I went to see my friend.

    Word by Word: Yesterday friend-my's front-its-to I-went.

    With a person, oldiga simply means to.

Common Mistakes

  • Confusing oldida (in front of) with oldin (before).

    Maktab oldin kutaman.
    Maktab oldida kutaman.

    oldin is about time, and it follows -dan: maktabdan oldin (before school). For a place, use oldida.

  • Forgetting to match the person.

    Mening oldida uzun navbat bor.
    Mening oldimda uzun navbat bor.

    After mening the place word needs -im: oldimda. The -i form is for he, she, it, they or a thing.

  • Using -i after orqa.

    Uy orqaida bogʻ bor.
    Uy orqasida bogʻ bor.

    orqa ends in a vowel, so the possessive ending is -si: orqasida.

How It Connects

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oldida / orqasidaLevel 2In Front of and Behind

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Builds on On Top Of.

Words in This Pattern

oldorqa