-ishni bilmoq

Knowing How to

Level 2

Suzishni bilaman means "I know how to swim". The skill is an -ish verb noun with -ni, and bilmoq (to know) comes last.

How It Works

Knowing a skill
Bilmoq means "to know", and what you know takes The Definite Object Ending -ni: Oʻzbek tilini bilaman (I know Uzbek). A skill works the same way, with the verb noun from The Verb Noun -(i)sh as the thing you know:

  • suz- → suzishni bilaman I know how to swim
  • ovqat pishir- → ovqat pishirishni bilasizmi? Do you know how to cook?
  • mashina hayda- → mashina haydashni bilmayman I don't know how to drive

Words that belong to the skill come before the verb noun: gitara chalishni (how to play the guitar).

Know how or can?
-ishni bilmoq is about a skill you have learned. Can: -a olmoq is about being able for any reason, so Suza olaman (I can swim) can describe the same skill. Only -a olmoq can say that something stops you today: someone who knows how to swim might still say Bugun suza olmayman (I can't swim today) because the water is too cold.

Knowing what to do
With a question word and a possessive ending, the same pattern means "know what or how I should do": Nima qilishimni bilmayman (I don't know what to do).

Examples (6)

  1. Suzishni bilaman.

    I know how to swim.

    Word by Word: Swimming-object know-I.

  2. Ovqat pishirishni bilasizmi?

    Do you know how to cook?

    Word by Word: Food cooking-object know-you-question?

  3. Men mashina haydashni bilmayman.

    I don't know how to drive a car.

    Word by Word: I car driving-object know-not-I.

  4. U gitara chalishni biladi.

    She knows how to play the guitar.

    Word by Word: She guitar playing-object knows.

  5. Bolam hali oʻqishni bilmaydi.

    My child can't read yet.

    Word by Word: Child-my still reading-object know-not.

    A skill not learned yet uses bilmaydi.

  6. Nima qilishimni bilmayman.

    I don't know what to do.

    Word by Word: What doing-my-object know-not-I.

    With a question word, the verb noun takes a possessive before -ni.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting a conjugated verb before bilmoq.

    Men suzaman bilaman.
    Men suzishni bilaman.

    Bilmoq needs a noun as its object. Use the -ish verb noun with -ni: suzishni.

  • Using the -ga ending instead of -ni.

    Men suzishga bilaman.
    Men suzishni bilaman.

    What you know is the object of bilmoq, so it takes -ni.

How It Connects

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

-ishni bilmoqLevel 2Knowing How to

Learn This First

Builds on The Verb Noun -(i)sh, The Definite Object Ending -ni and Can: -a olmoq.

Words in This Pattern

bilmoqni