o / a

The Vowels O and a

Level 1

o is an open, rounded vowel like the o in British hot: ota (father), non (bread). a is usually the a of cat: aka (older brother), katta (big).

How It Works

Standard Uzbek has six vowels, and three of them are easy to mix up:

  • a is a front vowel, like the a in cat: aka, katta (big). Next to q, gʻ and x it moves back and sounds more like the a in father: qalam (pen), xat (letter).
  • o is open and rounded, like the o in British hot or the aw in law: ona (mother), ota (father), non (bread). It is the vowel in Toshkent, which English spells Tashkent. Trust the Uzbek spelling, not the English name.
  • oʻ is closer and rounder, like a pure o in go: oʻqituvchi (teacher), koʻz (eye). See the letters oʻ and gʻ.

Changing the vowel changes the word:

  • ana (there it is) / ona (mother)
  • sal (a little) / sol- (put)
  • ot (horse) / oʻt (grass)
  • bor (there is) / boʻr (chalk)

Words borrowed from Russian keep their Russian spelling, and there o is said more like the Russian o: direktor, poyezd (train). The Uzbek words around them keep the open o.

Stress does not change these vowels. See word stress for where the beat falls.

Examples (5)

  1. Onam uyda.

    My mother is at home.

    Word by Word: Mother-my house-in.

    Ona has the open o, and uyda ends in a.

  2. Otam va onam bozorda.

    My father and mother are at the bazaar.

    Word by Word: Father-my and mother-my bazaar-at.

    Every o here is the open, rounded vowel.

  3. Akam Toshkentda ishlaydi.

    My older brother works in Tashkent.

    Word by Word: Older-brother-my Tashkent-in works.

    Aka has two a sounds. Toshkent is spelled with o in Uzbek.

  4. Oʻqituvchi sinfda.

    The teacher is in the classroom.

    Word by Word: Teacher class-in.

    Oʻqituvchi starts with the closer vowel oʻ, not o.

  5. Kitobni sumkaga soling.

    Please put the book in the bag.

    Word by Word: Book-the bag-to put-please.

    Sol- (put) has o. Sal, with a, means a little.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing a for o because of the English or Russian spelling.

    Men Tashkentda yashayman.
    Men Toshkentda yashayman.

    The capital's Uzbek name has the open vowel o: Toshkent. English and Russian spell it with a because Uzbek o sounds a little like a.

  • Writing o where the word needs oʻ.

    Stolda bor bor.
    Stolda boʻr bor.

    Boʻr with oʻ means chalk. Bor with o means there is, so the incorrect sentence repeats the same word and makes no sense.

How It Connects

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

o / aLevel 1The Vowels O and a

Learn This First

Builds on The Uzbek Latin Alphabet.

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Patterns that build on this one.