bilan

With

Level 1

bilan means with, and it comes after its word: doʻstim bilan (with my friend).

How It Works

bilan is a separate word that comes after a noun or pronoun. English puts with first, but Uzbek puts bilan second: doʻstim bilan (with my friend), word for word "my friend with".

Three main uses:

  • Together with someone: Doʻstim bilan kinoga bordim. (I went to the cinema with my friend.)
  • Using a tool: Qalam bilan yozing. (Write with a pen.)
  • Joining two nouns, like and: Anvar bilan Dilnoza keldi. (Anvar and Dilnoza came.) Here you could also say va: Anvar va Dilnoza keldi.

No case ending before bilan. The word before bilan stays in its basic form. This is true for pronouns too: men bilan (with me), siz bilan (with you), ular bilan (with them). Compare menga and meni, which do take endings. A possessive ending is fine, because it is not a case ending: onam bilan (with my mother).

Nouns only. As and, bilan joins nouns and pronouns, never verbs or whole sentences. To join two actions, use va.

Verbs that like bilan. Some verbs take a partner with bilan: gaplashmoq (to talk with) and tanishmoq (to meet, get to know): Siz bilan tanishganimdan xursandman. (Nice to meet you.)

Examples (6)

  1. Doʻstim bilan kinoga bordim.

    I went to the cinema with my friend.

    Word by Word: My-friend with cinema-to I-went.

    bilan comes after doʻstim, not before it.

  2. Qalam bilan yozing.

    Write with a pen.

    Word by Word: Pen with write.

    Here bilan names the tool you use.

  3. Men bilan borasizmi?

    Will you go with me?

    Word by Word: Me with will-you-go?

    The pronoun stays men, with no ending before bilan.

  4. Anvar bilan Dilnoza keldi.

    Anvar and Dilnoza came.

    Word by Word: Anvar with Dilnoza came.

    Between two names, bilan works like va (and).

  5. Onam bilan telefonda gaplashdim.

    I talked with my mother on the phone.

    Word by Word: My-mother with phone-on I-talked.

    gaplashmoq (to talk) takes its partner with bilan.

  6. Siz bilan tanishganimdan xursandman.

    Nice to meet you.

    Word by Word: You with from-my-having-met I-am-glad.

    A fixed polite phrase. Learn it as a whole for now.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting bilan before the noun, as in English.

    Bilan qalam yozing.
    Qalam bilan yozing.

    bilan is a postposition: it always follows its word. Say the thing first, then bilan.

  • Adding a case ending such as -ni to the word before bilan.

    Doʻstimni bilan gaplashdim.
    Doʻstim bilan gaplashdim.

    The word before bilan takes no case ending. The possessive -im is fine, but -ni is not.

  • Using bilan to join two actions.

    Men non oldim bilan choy ichdim.
    Men non oldim va choy ichdim.

    bilan only joins nouns and pronouns. To join two verbs or sentences, use va.

How It Connects

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

bilanLevel 1With

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Builds on And and The Basic Case Without an Ending.

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Words in This Pattern

bilan