-lik (kelib chiqish)

Where Someone Is from: -lik

Level 3

Add -lik to a place name to say someone is from there: toshkentlik (a person from Tashkent), Men samarqandlikman (I am from Samarkand). To ask, say Siz qayerliksiz? (Where are you from?)

How It Works

Uzbek makes a word for someone from a place by adding -lik to the place name:

  • Toshkent → toshkentlik (from Tashkent)
  • Buxoro → buxorolik (from Bukhara)
  • qishloq → qishloqlik (from a village, a villager)
  • shahar → shaharlik (from a city, a city dweller)
  • Amerika → amerikalik (American)

Small letter. The place name has a capital letter, but the -lik word is written with a small letter: Toshkent, but toshkentlik.

Saying where you are from. Add the personal endings such as -man: Men samarqandlikman (I am from Samarkand), Siz andijonliksiz (You are from Andijan). The question word is qayerlik, built from qayer as in qayerda / qayerga / qayerdan: Siz qayerliksiz? (Where are you from?) Men Samarqanddanman, with -dan, means the same.

Noun or adjective. As a noun it can be plural: buxoroliklar (people from Bukhara). Before another noun it describes it: toshkentlik doʻstim (my friend from Tashkent).

Countries. Where a nationality word exists, such as oʻzbek or rus, it names the people. -lik is used for places that have no such word, like amerikalik or kanadalik, and it names where someone lives or comes from, not their ethnic group: oʻzbekistonlik sportchilar are athletes from Uzbekistan.

This -lik looks the same as the ending of abstract nouns, -lik (mavhum ot); the word it is attached to tells you which one it is. Do not confuse it with -li, which means with or having. In casual speech you may hear toshkentli for someone from Tashkent, but the standard form is toshkentlik.

Examples (5)

  1. Men samarqandlikman.

    I am from Samarkand.

    Word by Word: I Samarkand-from-person-am.

  2. Siz qayerliksiz?

    Where are you from?

    Word by Word: You where-from-person-are?

  3. Toshkentlik doʻstim bizni mehmonga chaqirdi.

    My friend from Tashkent invited us over.

    Word by Word: Tashkent-from friend-my us-ACC guest-to called.

    Before a noun, the -lik word works like an adjective.

  4. Buxoroliklar juda mehmondoʻst.

    People from Bukhara are very hospitable.

    Word by Word: Bukhara-from-people very hospitable.

  5. Bu yerda amerikalik talabalar ham oʻqiydi.

    American students study here too.

    Word by Word: This place-at America-from students also study.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -dan before -lik.

    Men Samarqanddanlikman.
    Men samarqandlikman.

    -lik goes straight onto the place name. -dan and -lik are two separate ways to say where you are from: Samarqanddanman or samarqandlikman, never both in one word.

  • Capitalizing the -lik word in the middle of a sentence.

    Mening Toshkentlik doʻstim bor.
    Mening toshkentlik doʻstim bor.

    Only the place name itself is capitalized. The word made with -lik is written with a small letter.

How It Connects

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

-lik (kelib chiqish)Level 3Where Someone Is from: -lik

Learn This First

Builds on Abstract Nouns With -lik and Where, Where To, Where From.