-xona

Places with -xona

Level 3

-xona comes from xona (room). Joined to a noun it makes a place word: choy (tea) → choyxona (teahouse), dori (medicine) → dorixona (pharmacy).

How It Works

Xona on its own means room: Bu mening xonam (This is my room). Joined to the end of another noun, it names a room or building for that thing or activity. Many everyday place words are made this way:

  • osh (food, pilaf) → oshxona (kitchen; canteen)
  • kutub (books, an old Arabic word) → kutubxona (library)
  • choy (tea) → choyxona (teahouse)
  • kasal (sick) → kasalxona (hospital)
  • dori (medicine) → dorixona (pharmacy)
  • mehmon (guest) → mehmonxona (hotel; guest room)
  • yotoq (sleeping place) → yotoqxona (bedroom; dormitory)
  • usta (craftsman) → ustaxona (workshop)

Write it as one word. The official spelling rules join xona to the word before it: qabulxona (reception office), not qabul xona. Written apart, the words mean something else: kasal xona is a room with a sick person in it.

Endings. A -xona word ends in a vowel, so the case endings go straight on: -da (in, at), -ga (to), -dan (from): kutubxonada, kasalxonaga, dorixonadan. The possessive after a vowel is -si: maktab kutubxonasi (the school library).

Learn the words. Each -xona word is fixed vocabulary, and the meaning is not always the sum of its parts: mehmonxona usually means a hotel. Do not invent new ones; many places use a phrase instead, such as non doʻkoni (bread shop). -chi names the person and -xona names the place, and the two can combine: choyxonachi (the person who runs a teahouse).

Examples (6)

  1. Onam oshxonada ovqat pishiryapti.

    My mother is cooking in the kitchen.

    Word by Word: Mother-my kitchen-in food is-cooking.

    oshxona + -da (in).

  2. Kutubxona soat toʻqqizda ochiladi.

    The library opens at nine.

    Word by Word: Library hour nine-at opens.

    kutubxona is one word, written together.

  3. Kechqurun choyxonaga boramiz.

    We will go to the teahouse in the evening.

    Word by Word: Evening teahouse-to go-we.

    choyxona + -ga (to).

  4. Buvim hozir kasalxonada.

    My grandmother is in hospital now.

    Word by Word: Grandmother-my now hospital-in.

    kasal (sick) + -xona = hospital.

  5. Kechirasiz, dorixona qayerda?

    Excuse me, where is the pharmacy?

    Word by Word: Excuse-me, medicine-house where?

    dori (medicine) + -xona.

  6. Biz mehmonxonada uch kun turdik.

    We stayed at the hotel for three days.

    Word by Word: We guest-house-at three day stayed.

    mehmonxona usually means hotel.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing xona as a separate word.

    Buvim hozir kasal xonada.
    Buvim hozir kasalxonada.

    Kasalxona (hospital) is one word. Written apart, kasal xonada reads as in the sick room.

  • Dropping the possessive after a -xona word in a noun pair.

    Maktab kutubxona juda katta.
    Maktab kutubxonasi juda katta.

    When one noun says whose or which place it is, the second noun takes -si: maktab kutubxonasi (the school library).

How It Connects

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

-xonaLevel 3Places with -xona

Learn This First

Builds on People Who Do Something: -chi and In, At or On: -da.

Words in This Pattern