na ... na
Neither ... nor
na A, na B = neither A nor B: Na choy bor, na non. (There is neither tea nor bread.) U na yozadi, na oʻqiydi. (He neither writes nor reads.)
How It Works
Na ... na is the negative conjunction of Uzbek. It denies each of the items it joins.
1. Affirmative and negative verbs
Na can do the work of not without adding -ma- or yoʻq:
- U na yozadi, na oʻqiydi. He neither writes nor reads.
- Na choy bor, na non. There is neither tea nor bread.
Na can also occur with a negative verb to strengthen the negation: U na yozmaydi, na oʻqimaydi also means he neither writes nor reads, with added emphasis. This is a documented Uzbek construction, not a mistake.
2. What it can join
- Nouns: Men na goʻsht yeyman, na baliq. I eat neither meat nor fish.
- Adjectives: Kecha na issiq edi, na sovuq. Yesterday it was neither hot nor cold.
- Subjects: Buni na men bilaman, na akam biladi. Neither I nor my brother knows this.
3. Punctuation
Put a comma before each na after the first: na choy, na non, na shakar.
4. Related pairs
The positive partner is ham ... ham (both ... and). For no one or nothing at all, use hech kim, hech narsa with a negative verb.
Examples (5)
- Na choy bor, na non.
There's neither tea nor bread.
Word by Word: Neither tea there-is, nor bread.
- U na yozadi, na oʻqiydi.
He neither writes nor reads.
Word by Word: He neither writes, nor reads.
Both verbs are affirmative; na carries the not.
- Men na goʻsht yeyman, na baliq.
I eat neither meat nor fish.
Word by Word: I neither meat eat, nor fish.
- Kecha na issiq edi, na sovuq.
Yesterday it was neither hot nor cold.
Word by Word: Yesterday neither hot was, nor cold.
- Buni na men bilaman, na akam biladi.
Neither I nor my brother knows this.
Word by Word: This-(obj.) neither I know, nor brother-my knows.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out na when you mean neither action happens.
U yozadi, oʻqiydi.U na yozadi, na oʻqiydi.Without na or another negative marker, this sentence says he writes and reads. Put na before each verb to mean neither action happens.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on Both ... And and Negative Verbs With -ma-.
Related Patterns
- hech kim / hech narsa / hech qachonNobody, Nothing, Never
Another way to say no one or nothing, but these words need a negative verb.
Level 2 - yokiOr
Offers a choice between items, while na ... na denies all of them.
Level 2 - goh ... gohNow ... Now
Another paired conjunction, used for things that happen by turns.
Level 6
Words in This Pattern
Practice na ... na in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Uzbek lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
