-dan (qiyoslash)
Than: -dan
To say than, Uzbek puts -dan on the thing you compare with: Toshkent Samarqanddan katta (Tashkent is bigger than Samarkand).
How It Works
English puts than before the second thing: bigger than Samarkand. Uzbek puts the ending -dan on the second thing and says the adjective last:
- Toshkent Samarqanddan katta. (Tashkent is bigger than Samarkand.)
- Poyezd avtobusdan tezroq. (The train is faster than the bus.)
This is the same ending as -dan meaning from, so you can think of it as measuring from the second thing. It has only one shape, because Uzbek has no vowel harmony.
-roq is optional. Because -dan already shows a comparison, the plain adjective is enough: Samarqanddan katta. Adding -roq is just as correct and a little more explicit: Samarqanddan kattaroq. Without a -dan word, you need -roq to say more: Kattaroq xona bormi? (Is there a bigger room?)
Pronouns. men → mendan, sen → sendan, biz → bizdan, siz → sizdan, ular → ulardan. The words u, bu, shu and oʻsha add an n: undan, bundan, shundan; see unga / bunga / shunga.
How much more. Put the amount right before the adjective: Akam mendan ikki yosh katta (My brother is two years older than me).
With verbs. The same pattern compares actions, with an adverb before the verb: U oʻzbek tilini mendan yaxshiroq biladi (She knows Uzbek better than I do).
Later you will meet two other ways to compare: -dan koʻra (rather than) and -ga qaraganda (compared with).
Examples (5)
- Toshkent Samarqanddan katta.
Tashkent is bigger than Samarkand.
Word by Word: Tashkent Samarkand-than big.
Samarqand takes -dan because it is the thing Tashkent is compared with.
- Bu koʻylak undan arzonroq.
This shirt is cheaper than that one.
Word by Word: This shirt that-than cheap-er.
u adds n before -dan: undan. -roq is optional here; it makes the comparison a little more explicit.
- Poyezd avtobusdan tezroq.
The train is faster than the bus.
Word by Word: Train bus-than fast-er.
- Akam mendan ikki yosh katta.
My older brother is two years older than me.
Word by Word: Older-brother-my me-than two year big.
The amount ikki yosh goes right before the adjective.
- U oʻzbek tilini mendan yaxshiroq biladi.
She knows Uzbek better than I do.
Word by Word: She Uzbek language-ACC me-than good-er knows.
-dan also compares actions; the adverb yaxshiroq comes before the verb.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out -dan.
Toshkent Samarqand kattaroq.Toshkent Samarqanddan kattaroq.Without -dan the listener cannot tell what is being compared. The thing you compare with must carry -dan.
Putting -dan on the wrong noun (meant: Tashkent is bigger than Samarkand).
Toshkentdan Samarqand katta.Toshkent Samarqanddan katta.The incorrect sentence is real Uzbek, but it says Samarkand is bigger than Tashkent. -dan goes on the second thing, the one you measure against.
Forgetting the extra n after u or bu.
Bu koʻylak udan arzon.Bu koʻylak undan arzon.The words u, bu, shu and oʻsha add an n before -dan: undan, bundan, shundan. Udan is a spelling and pronunciation error.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on Comparing With -roq and From: -dan.
Related Patterns
- engThe Most: Eng
Goes one step further, from bigger than to the biggest.
Level 2 - unga / bunga / shungaThe Extra N in Unga and Bunga
Explains the extra n in undan and bundan.
Level 2 - -dan koʻraRather than
A later way to compare two choices: rather than.
Level 4 - -ga qaragandaCompared with
A later way to say compared with.
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice -dan (qiyoslash) in Bubblegum
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