The Uzbek Latin Alphabet

Level 1

Uzbek uses the Latin alphabet with a few changes. It adds oʻ, gʻ, sh, ch and ng, drops c and w, and uses the sign ʼ in some borrowed words.

How It Works

The Uzbek Latin alphabet in use today dates from 1995, when a first version from 1993 was revised. It is the one you see on signs, in schoolbooks and on many websites. In dictionary order it runs: a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, x, y, z, oʻ, gʻ, sh, ch, ng. Officially that is 26 letters and 3 letter pairs, 29 in all. The sign ʼ (tutuq belgisi) comes last but is not a letter.

A few things surprise English speakers:

  • oʻ and gʻ are letters of their own, written with a turned comma. They are filed after z, so oʻn (ten) is near the end of the dictionary. See the letters oʻ and gʻ.
  • sh, ch and ng each spell one sound: shahar, choy, yangi (new). See sh, ch and ng.
  • c and w are not Uzbek letters. The sound of English ch is written ch, and there is no separate w.
  • x never says ks. It is the rough sound in xona (room) and xat (letter). q is a deep k, as in qiz (girl). See q, x, gʻ and h.
  • y is always the y of yes: yaxshi (good), yoʻl (road).

The spelling is very regular, so once you know the letters you can read most new words aloud. Watch out for English and Russian spellings of Uzbek names: the city is Toshkent, not Tashkent, and the country is Oʻzbekiston. The vowels behind that difference are covered in the vowels o and a.

Uzbek was also written in Cyrillic for decades, and many older people and books still use it. This course writes everything in the Latin alphabet. See reading Uzbek in Cyrillic when you are ready.

A proposed alphabet change. On 10 September 2026, the Senate approved a reform that would write oʻ, gʻ, sh and ch as ö, ğ, ş and ç. The announcement says documents issued in the existing alphabet before the law takes effect remain valid. This course uses the 1995 alphabet.

Examples (5)

  1. Men Oʻzbekistonda yashayman.

    I live in Uzbekistan.

    Word by Word: I Uzbekistan-in live-I.

    Oʻzbekiston starts with the letter oʻ, and yashayman has the letter y twice.

  2. Toshkent katta shahar.

    Tashkent is a big city.

    Sh in shahar spells one sound. The capital is spelled Toshkent in Uzbek.

  3. Choy ichasizmi?

    Would you like some tea?

    Word by Word: Tea drink-you-?

    Ch in choy and ichasizmi spells one sound, the ch of English chair.

  4. Xona toza.

    The room is clean.

    Word by Word: Room clean.

    X is a throaty sound, never ks.

  5. Yangi kitob qayerda?

    Where is the new book?

    Word by Word: New book where?

    Ng in yangi is one sound, and q in qayerda is a deep k.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing kh for x, as English spellings do.

    Khona toza.
    Xona toza.

    English books often write this sound as kh. In Uzbek it is always the single letter x: xona, xat, yaxshi.

  • Using the English spelling of the country's name.

    Men Uzbekistonda yashayman.
    Men Oʻzbekistonda yashayman.

    The Uzbek name starts with the letter oʻ, not u. Write Oʻzbekiston, and oʻzbek for the language and the people.

How It Connects

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

The Uzbek Latin AlphabetLevel 1