be- / no-

Without and Not: Be- and No-

Level 4

be- + noun = without: bemaza (tasteless). no- + adjective = not: notoʻgʻri (incorrect).

How It Works

1. be- = without
be- goes before a noun. The new word describes someone or something without that thing:

  • maza (taste) → bemaza (tasteless)
  • adab (manners) → beadab (rude)
  • xabar (news) → bexabar (unaware)
  • gunoh (sin, guilt) → begunoh (innocent)

2. no- = not
no- gives the opposite of an adjective or noun:

  • toʻgʻri (right) → notoʻgʻri (wrong, incorrect)
  • maʼlum (known) → nomaʼlum (unknown)
  • qulay (convenient) → noqulay (inconvenient, uncomfortable)
  • tanish (familiar) → notanish (unfamiliar, a stranger)
  • aniq (clear) → noaniq (unclear)

3. Written as one word
The prefix and the base are written together, with no hyphen or space: beadab, notoʻgʻri. The apostrophe sign in nomaʼlum belongs to the base word and stays.

4. Not every word takes them
These prefixes came from Persian and mostly appear on words from Persian and Arabic, though a few Turkic words take them too, like notoʻgʻri and notanish. You cannot add them freely. To say not big, use Saying Something Is Not: katta emas. To say without something, the everyday choice is With and Without: -li and -siz: tuzsiz (without salt).

5. Pairs with -siz
Some be- words have a -siz partner with nearly the same meaning: bemaza and mazasiz (tasteless). Uzbek has other Persian prefixes that work the same way, such as ba- in badavlat (wealthy) and ser- in serhosil (fruitful). See also Fellow: ham-.

Examples (6)

  1. Bu ovqat bemaza, tuz qoʻshish kerak.

    This food is tasteless; it needs salt.

    Word by Word: this food tasteless salt adding needed

  2. Beadab boʻlma, salom ber!

    Don't be rude, say hello!

  3. Javobingiz notoʻgʻri, yana bir marta oʻylab koʻring.

    Your answer is wrong. Think about it once more.

  4. Koʻchada notanish odam mendan yoʻl soʻradi.

    A stranger in the street asked me for directions.

  5. Bu stul juda noqulay.

    This chair is very uncomfortable.

  6. Men bu voqeadan bexabar edim.

    I was unaware of this event.

    Bexabar takes -dan for the thing you do not know about.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding no- to any adjective.

    Bu uy nokatta.
    Bu uy katta emas.

    No- only appears in fixed words like notoʻgʻri and noqulay. For a plain not, use emas.

  • Using be- where the word takes no-.

    Javobingiz betoʻgʻri.
    Javobingiz notoʻgʻri.

    Each word has its own fixed prefix. Toʻgʻri takes no-: notoʻgʻri.

  • Writing the prefix with a hyphen.

    U juda be-adab.
    U juda beadab.

    Prefixes are written together with the base word: beadab, nomaʼlum.

How It Connects

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

be- / no-Level 4Without and Not: Be- and No-

Learn This First

Builds on With and Without: -li and -siz and Saying Something Is Not.