-(i)sh (harakat nomi)

The Verb Noun -(i)sh

Level 2

-(i)sh turns a verb into a noun, much like English "-ing": suz- → suzish (swimming), oʻqi- → oʻqish (reading, studying).

How It Works

Forming it

  • After a consonant, add -ish: kel- → kelish, yoz- → yozish, suz- → suzish
  • After a vowel, add -sh: oʻqi- → oʻqish, ishla- → ishlash, hayda- → haydash
  • Two short verbs add a y: de- → deyish (saying), ye- → yeyish (eating)

Start from the stem, which is the dictionary form without -moq (The Dictionary Form -moq).

It works like a noun
The verb noun keeps its own object in front of it (kitob oʻqish, reading books) and then takes noun endings:

  • As a subject: Oʻzbek tilini oʻrganish oson emas (Learning Uzbek is not easy).
  • With -ni: Suzishni bilaman (I know how to swim). See Knowing How To.
  • With a possessive: Ketishim kerak (I have to leave). See Have To.
  • With uchun: oʻrganish uchun (in order to learn). See In Order To: -ish uchun.

The negative
The verb noun never takes -ma- plus -ish. Its negative is Not Doing: -maslik: kechikmaslik (not being late).

Words that became ordinary nouns
Some -ish forms are now everyday words: kirish (entrance), chiqish (exit), oʻqish (studies at college).

A different -ish
An -ish that is followed by verb endings, as in yozishdi (they wrote) or yozishmoq (to write to each other), is a different suffix. See Doing Something Together: -(i)sh.

Examples (6)

  1. Kitob oʻqish foydali.

    Reading books is useful.

    Word by Word: Book reading useful.

    oʻqi- ends in a vowel, so it takes -sh.

  2. Suzish sogʻliq uchun foydali.

    Swimming is good for your health.

    Word by Word: Swimming health for useful.

    suz- ends in a consonant, so it takes -ish.

  3. Oʻzbek tilini oʻrganish oson emas.

    Learning Uzbek is not easy.

    Word by Word: Uzbek language-its-object learning easy not.

    The verb noun keeps its own object: oʻzbek tilini.

  4. Bu yerda ishlash qiziq.

    It is interesting to work here.

    Word by Word: This place-at working interesting.

  5. Kirish qayerda?

    Where is the entrance?

    Word by Word: Entrance where?

    Kirish (entering) is also the ordinary word for entrance.

  6. Ukam oʻqishga kirdi.

    My younger brother got into university.

    Word by Word: Younger-brother-my study-to entered.

    Oʻqish also means studies, and oʻqishga kirmoq means to be admitted.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -ish after a vowel.

    Men oʻqiishni yaxshi koʻraman.
    Men oʻqishni yaxshi koʻraman.

    After a vowel the ending is only -sh: oʻqi- → oʻqish.

  • Making the negative with -ma- plus -ish.

    Darsga kechikmaish kerak.
    Darsga kechikmaslik kerak.

    The negative verb noun is -maslik: kechikmaslik (not being late).

How It Connects

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

-(i)sh (harakat nomi)Level 2The Verb Noun -(i)sh

Learn This First

Builds on The Dictionary Form -moq.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 4 more in the full list.