Tuvan phrasebook

Tuvan or Tyvan (тыва дыл) is a Turkic language spoken by more than 210,000 people worldwide. Most Tuvan speakers live in the Tuva region of Russia, where the language holds official status. There are also some Tuvan ethnic groups in China and Mongolia.

Pronunciation guide

The Tuvan alphabet is based on the extended Cyrillic alphabet, like Russian.

Like the Russia cursive alphabet, the cursive Tuvan alphabet looks very different from the printed alphabet. As with other languages written in Cyrillic letters, the Tuvan printed alphabet is rarely used when writing by hand.

Vowels

; a ah : like f__a__ther if stressed; if not, pronounced like 'u' as in h__u__t ; e yeh : like __ye__sterday if stressed, before a stressed syllable pronounced as "ee" as in __ee__l, or if after a stressed syllable and in only one syllable, pronounced like "eh" as in "t__e__ll" ; ё yoh : like __yo__re; always stressed; pronounced "o" only after ч, ш, щ and ж. ; и ee : like s__ee__n or the i in Mach__i__ne ; o oh : like sc__o__re when stressed; when unstressed, it is a hard a in H__a__keem (syllable before stress) or the o in Gibs__o__n (elsewhere). ; ө ö : sounds like b__i__rd ; у oo : like cart__oo__n, lips rounded as with French ou ; ү ü : like French f__u__t ; ы yh : like s__i__t, h__i__t, but pronounced far further down the throat, as if being punched in the stomach ; э eh : like __e__nd (also pronounced further down the throat, as if being punched in the stomach) ; ю yoo : like you or __Yu__goslavia if stressed; if not, pronounced "oo" like cart__oo__n ; я yah : like __Ya__cht when stressed; before a stressed syllable pronounced as "ee" as in __ee__l, or if after a stressed syllable and in only one syllable, pronounced like "eh" as in "t__e__ll"

The vowels are listed in alphabetical order. Please notice that these vowels also occur in hard/soft pairs: a/я, э/e, o/ё, ы/и, y/ю.

Unfortunately, vowel ё is very often written as е, which can cause problems for non-native speakers, since some Tuvan/Russian words have a different meaning depending on е or ё usage. Fortunately special books (like dictionaries, grammar books, literature for foreigners, etc.) always include ё.

Consonants

; б b : like __b__oy ; в v : like __v__ery ; г g : like __g__o; e.g., "have fun" = хөглээр ; д d : like __d__o ; ж zh : like mea__s__ure; always hard ; з z : like z__oo ; й y : like bo__y ; к k : like __k__eep ; л l : like __l__eak or l__ook ; м m : like see__m ; н n : like n__oodle; pronounced ny (palatalized, like a Spanish ñ) before ь, и, e, я, and ю. ; ң  ng : like si__ng ; п p : like s__p__igot ; р r : heavily rolled as in Spanish rr in pe__rr__o ; с s : like s__eem ; т t : like t__attoo ; ф f : like F__rench ; х kh : voiceless velar fricative as in the Scottish lo__ch or German Ba__ch ; ц ts : like boo__ts; always hard ; ч ch : like __ch__eap; always soft ; ш sh : like __sh__ot; always hard (pronounced with the tip of the tongue further back in the mouth, almost a retroflex) ; щ sh : similar to __sh__eet; always soft: unlike ш, щ is palatalized, meaning that the tip of the tongue rests on the back of the lower teeth, and the sh sound is pronounced with the middle of the tongue. Don't worry about this too much, as you'll be understood in context. (Note that though щ is often transliterated as shch, it is not pronounced similar to "har__sh ch__oice"—there is no ch sound in this Tuvan consonant)

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs

; OPEN : Ажык / Ажылдап турар ; CLOSED : Хааглыг / Ажылдавайн турар ; ENTRANCE : Кирер тала ; EXIT : Үнер тала ; PUSH : Бодундан ; PULL : Бодунче / Тырттар ; TOILET : Арыгланыр чер ; MEN : М / Эр ; WOMEN : Ж / Кыс / Херээжен ; NO ENTRANCE : Кирбес / Кирим чок ; [ENTRY] FORBIDDEN : Эртип болбас / Эртпес ; PLEASE KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING : Соктап, кириңер ; NO SMOKING : Таакпылавас ; DANGER - NO ENTRY! : Үнмес - өлүмге чедер!

How many names!

Tuvan (as Russians names) take three names, a first name (ат), patronymic (адазының ады), and last name (фамилиязы азы аймаа). Here are some of the most common ones that might give you trouble:<br><br>

Male names

• Azhykai (Ажыкай)
• Aleksei (Алексей) → Alyosha (Алёша), Lyosha (Лёша), Lyokha (Лёха)
• Saryg (Сарыг) → Sarygbai (Сарыгбай)
• Alash (Алаш) → Alashpai (Алашпай) <br><br> Female names
• Cheinesh (Чейнеш) → Neshka (Нешка)
• Chinchi (Чинчи) → Chinchikei (Чинчикей)
• Shonchalai (Шончалай) → Shonya (Шоня)

; Hello. (formal) : Амыр-менди. ; Hello. (informal) : Экии. ; Hi. : Экии, Кээ-эки. ; How are you? : Кайы хире тур сен? Кандыг-дыр че? Чүү-дүр че? ; Fine, thank you. : Эки, четтирдим. Ажырбас. ; What is your name? : Адыңар кымыл? ; My name is ______ . : Мээң адым ______ . ; Nice to meet you. : Өөрүнчүг-дүр. Амыранчыг-дыр. ; Please. : Ажырбас. ; Thank you. : Четтирдим. ; You're welcome. : Ажырбас. ; Yes. : Ийе. ; No. : Чок. ; Excuse me. (getting attention) : Буруулуг болдум. ; Excuse me. (begging pardon) : Буруулуг болдум. ; I'm sorry. : Буруулуг болдум. ; Goodbye : Байырлыг. ; Goodbye (informal) : Байырлыг. Чаа. ; I can't speak Tuvan [well]. : (Шоолуг) тывалап билбес мен. ; Do you speak English? : Англилеп чугаалажыыр силер бе? ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Мында англилеп кым билир ирги? ; Help! : Дузалаңарам! ; Look out! : Оваарымчалыг бол! ; Good morning. : Эртенгиниң мендизи-биле! ; Good evening. : Кежээкиниң мендизи-биле! ; Good night (to sleep) : Эки хонар силер. ; I don't understand. : Билбейн тур мен. ; I don't know. : Билбес мен. ; I can't. : Шыдавас мен. ; Where is the toilet? : Туалет кайдал? Арыгланыр чер кайдал? ; Good : Эки. ; Bad : Багай. ; Big : Улуг. ; Small : Бичии. ; Hot : Изиг. ; Cold : Соок. ; Fast : Дүрген. ; Slow : Оожум. ; Expensive : Өртээ аар. Аар өртектиг. ; Cheap : Чиик өртектиг. Өртээ чиик. ; Rich : Бай. Байлак. Бай-шыырак. ; Poor : Ядыы. Ядаңгы. Чединмес.

Problems

Emergency numbers

In most areas, emergency telephone numbers are as follows:

• 101 : Fire department
• 102 : Police
• 103 : Ambulance
• 104 : Gas leaks It is essential to be able to provide emergency responders with your correct street address. Depending on how busy they are, and how serious the medical emergency appears, it may take from a few minutes to an hour for an ambulance to arrive.

; Leave me alone. : Анчыын. ; Don't touch me! : Меңээ дегбеңер. ; I'll call the police! : Полиция долгаптар мен. ; Police!: Шагдаа! Полиция! ; Stop! Thief! : Ооржуну тудуңар! ; I need your help. : Меңээ силерниң дузаңар херек. ; It's an emergency. : Дүрген херек. ; I'm lost. : Азып калдым. In the examples below, the extra suffix (а) is for the feminine gender: ; I lost my bag. : Барбам чидирип алдым. Сумкам чидирип алдым. ; I lost my wallet. : Акшам чидирип алдым. ; My things have been stolen. : Оорладып алдым. Мени оорлап каапты. ; I'm sick. : Аарый бердим. ; I've been injured. : Балыгланы бердим. ; I've been bitten by a dog. : Мени ыт ызырыпты. ; I need a doctor. : Меңээ эмчи херек. ; Please call an ambulance. : Дүрген дузадан долгаптыңарам. "Скорая помощьтан" кыйгыртыптыңарам. ; Can I use your phone? : Силерден долгаптайн бе?

(this can be used only for stationary phone, not for mobile. Asking a mobile phone from unknown person is generally not polite, as this is commonly done by con artists. In some cases a person may allow you to make a call from his cell phone to another cell phone number in the same province, but not to a landline phone number or to a non-local cell phone number.)

Related: Russia

Related: Tyva