-mi yoʻqmi

Whether or Not

Level 4

Predicate + -mi + yoʻqmi = ... or not?: Kelasizmi yoʻqmi? (Are you coming or not?). Before another verb, it means whether: U keladimi yoʻqmi, bilmayman.

How It Works

English uses whether or if to report a yes-or-no question. Uzbek keeps the question itself and adds yoʻqmi.

1. The direct question
Add -mi to the verb or noun that ends the sentence, then yoʻqmi: Xatni oldingizmi yoʻqmi? (Did you get the letter or not?). This sounds more insistent than a plain -mi question: the speaker wants a clear yes or no.

2. A whether-clause
Put the same question before a verb such as bilmayman (I do not know), soʻra (ask), tekshir (check) or ayt (tell). A comma usually separates it: U keladimi yoʻqmi, bilmayman (I do not know whether he will come).

3. It works with any predicate
Here yoʻqmi is simply or not, so it follows verbs, nouns and adjectives alike:

  • Bu toʻgʻrimi yoʻqmi? (Is this right or not?)
  • Non bormi yoʻqmi? (Is there bread or not?), with bor

4. The full alternative
You can also repeat the verb in the negative: Keladimi, kelmaydimi, bilmayman (I do not know if he will come or not). This says the same thing a little more fully. To wonder softly instead, use -mikan: U kelarmikan?

Examples (6)

  1. Kelasizmi yoʻqmi?

    Are you coming or not?

    Word by Word: You-come-? not-?

  2. U keladimi yoʻqmi, bilmayman.

    I do not know whether he will come.

    Word by Word: He comes-? not-?, I-don't-know.

  3. Xatni oldingizmi yoʻqmi?

    Did you get the letter or not?

    Word by Word: Letter-(obj.) you-got-? not-?

  4. Bu gap toʻgʻrimi yoʻqmi, tekshirib koʻraylik.

    Let’s check whether this is true or not.

    Word by Word: This talk right-? not-?, checking let's-see.

    yoʻqmi also follows a noun or adjective predicate.

  5. Doʻkonda non bormi yoʻqmi, soʻrab kel.

    Go and ask whether the shop has bread or not.

    Word by Word: Shop-in bread there-is-? not-?, asking come.

  6. Keladimi, kelmaydimi, hali aytmadi.

    He has not said yet whether he will come or not.

    Word by Word: Comes-?, doesn't-come-?, yet didn't-say.

    The full alternative repeats the verb in the negative.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving -mi off the first part.

    U keladi yoʻqmi, bilmayman.
    U keladimi yoʻqmi, bilmayman.

    Both halves are questions. The predicate needs -mi before yoʻqmi is added: keladimi yoʻqmi.

  • Translating English if with agar in a whether-clause.

    Agar u kelsa, bilmayman.
    U keladimi yoʻqmi, bilmayman.

    The speaker means I do not know whether he will come. agar ... -sa sets a condition (if he comes, ...), so an embedded yes-or-no question uses -mi (yoʻqmi) instead.

How It Connects

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

-mi yoʻqmiLevel 4Whether or Not

Learn This First

Builds on Or and There Is Not, and No.

Words in This Pattern

yoʻq