Word Pairs

Level 4

Word + hyphen + related word = one broader idea: ota-ona (parents), kecha-kunduz (day and night), kiyim-kechak (clothes of all kinds).

How It Works

Uzbek often names a whole group by putting two words side by side. English does something similar with salt and pepper or young and old, but in Uzbek the two words become one word with a hyphen.

1. Three kinds of pairs

  • Words that belong together: ota-ona (father and mother: parents), aka-uka (older and younger brother: brothers), opa-singil (sisters), qovun-tarvuz (melons and watermelons)
  • Words close in meaning: el-yurt (the people, the nation), mehr-shafqat (kindness and mercy), asta-sekin (slowly, gradually), omon-eson (safe and sound)
  • Opposites: katta-kichik (big and small, young and old), kecha-kunduz (night and day: all the time), bordi-keldi (going and coming: visiting each other), oldi-berdi (taking and giving: trade)

2. One part may not stand alone
In some fixed pairs, one half is rarely or never used by itself: kiyim-kechak (clothes and the like), mayda-chuyda (odds and ends), ikir-chikir (little details). Learn these as whole words.

3. Endings go on the second word
The pair works like one word, so -lar, possessive endings and case endings are added once, at the end:

  • ota-onam (my parents), ota-onamga (to my parents)
  • ota-onalar (parents, as a group of many families)
  • kiyim-kechaklaringiz (your clothes)

4. Spelling
The official spelling rules write every word pair with a hyphen: ota-ona, not ota ona. When the two words are linked by -u / -yu (and), put a hyphen before -u and keep the two words apart: doʻst-u dushman (friend and foe), kecha-yu kunduz (night and day).

5. Pairs, repeats and echoes
A word pair joins two different words. Saying the same word twice is a repeated word (tez-tez, often), and a repeat that starts with p or m is an echo word (choy-poy, tea and so on).

Examples (6)

  1. Ota-onam Samarqandda yashaydi.

    My parents live in Samarkand.

    Word by Word: Father-mother-my Samarkand-in live.

    The possessive ending -m goes only on the second word: ota-onam.

  2. Toʻyga katta-kichik hamma keldi.

    Everyone, young and old, came to the wedding.

    Word by Word: Wedding-to big-small all came.

  3. Biz uch aka-ukamiz.

    We are three brothers.

    Word by Word: We three older-younger-brother-we-are.

    aka-uka covers brothers of any age, and the speaker counts himself in.

  4. Bayram kunlari bordi-keldi koʻpayadi.

    During the holidays there is more visiting back and forth.

    Word by Word: Holiday days-its went-came increases.

    Two past verb forms joined into a noun: bordi-keldi means visiting each other.

  5. Kiyim-kechaklaringizni shkafga joylang.

    Put your clothes away in the wardrobe.

    Word by Word: Clothes-and-such-your-(obj.) wardrobe-to place.

  6. U kecha-kunduz ishlaydi.

    He works day and night.

    Word by Word: He night-day works.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing a word pair as two separate words.

    Mening ota onam shu yerda yashaydi.
    Mening ota-onam shu yerda yashaydi.

    A word pair is one word, so it always takes a hyphen: ota-ona, aka-uka, kecha-kunduz.

  • Putting the ending on the first word of the pair.

    Otamga-ona sovgʻa oldim.
    Ota-onamga sovgʻa oldim.

    The pair takes its endings once, at the end. To my parents is ota-onamga.

  • Joining -u to the first word without a hyphen.

    Uni doʻstu dushman hurmat qiladi.
    Uni doʻst-u dushman hurmat qiladi.

    In the Latin alphabet, -u (and) inside a pair is written after a hyphen, and the two words stay apart: doʻst-u dushman.

How It Connects

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

Word PairsLevel 4

Learn This First

Builds on And and The Plural Suffix -lar.