kerak
Need
Kerak means "needed": Menga yordam kerak (I need help, literally "to me help is needed").
How It Works
Think "to me, it is needed"
English says "I need help", with I as the subject. Uzbek turns this around: yordam (help) is what is needed, and the person gets To or Toward: -ga. With pronouns this gives menga, senga, unga, bizga, sizga, ularga; see Pronouns With Case Endings.
- Menga suv kerak. I need water.
- Onamga dori kerak. My mother needs medicine.
- Sizga nima kerak? What do you need?
When it is clear who needs something, the -ga word is often left out: Qalam kerakmi? (Do you need a pen?)
Negatives, questions and the past
- kerak emas not needed: Menga hech narsa kerak emas (I don't need anything). See Saying Something Is Not.
- kerakmi? is it needed?
- kerak edi was needed: Unga yangi telefon kerak edi (He needed a new phone). See Was and Were: edi.
Kerak with verbs
After the verb noun, kerak means "have to": Ketishim kerak (I have to leave). See Have To. After an -sa form it makes a guess instead: Uyda boʻlsa kerak (He must be at home). See Must Be: -sa kerak.
Examples (6)
- Menga yordam kerak.
I need help.
Word by Word: Me-to help needed.
The person takes -ga; yordam takes no ending.
- Sizga nima kerak?
What do you need?
Word by Word: You-to what needed?
- Bizga yana ikkita stul kerak.
We need two more chairs.
Word by Word: Us-to again two chair needed.
After a number the noun stays singular: ikkita stul.
- Qalam kerakmi?
Do you need a pen?
Word by Word: Pen needed-question?
The person is clear from context, so sizga is left out.
- Menga hech narsa kerak emas.
I don't need anything.
Word by Word: Me-to no thing needed not.
- Unga yangi telefon kerak edi.
He needed a new phone.
Word by Word: Him-to new phone needed was.
Edi puts kerak in the past.
Common Mistakes
Using men as the subject, as in English "I need".
Men yordam kerak.Menga yordam kerak.The person who needs something takes -ga: menga, sizga, unga.
Adding the object ending -ni to the thing that is needed.
Menga yordamni kerak.Menga yordam kerak.The needed thing is the subject of the sentence, so it takes no ending.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on Pronouns With Case Endings.
Related Patterns
- -(i)sh kerakHave to
With a verb noun, kerak means have to: ketishim kerak.
Level 2 - -ga/-ka/-qaTo or Toward: -ga
The person who needs something takes this ending.
Level 1 - emasSaying Something Is Not
Kerak emas means not needed.
Level 1 - -sa kerakMust Be: -sa Kerak
After an -sa form, kerak makes a confident guess instead of a need.
Level 4 - zarur / lozimNecessary (Formal)
Zarur and lozim are more formal words for necessary.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice kerak in Bubblegum
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