Imagine you've taken your car to a mechanic and say: "I fixed the car." If you use the plain verb (Мен машинаны оңдодум), it sounds like you personally grabbed a wrench and rebuilt the engine.
To say "I had the car fixed" (arranged for someone else to fix it), you need Аркылуу мамиле (the causative voice).
💡 English analogy: Similar to make someone do (to compel) and have something done (to delegate): "I had my car fixed" = «Мен машинамды оңдоттум».
🧠 The Logic
The causative voice shows that the subject does not perform the action themselves, but instead causes, asks, or allows someone else to do it.
Three meanings:
- Compulsion: making someone do something → жаздыр (to make someone write)
- Delegation: handing work to someone → оңдот (to have something repaired)
- Permission/allowing: letting something be done to oneself → сайдыр (to let someone give you an injection)
When to use:
- You're paying for a service: Мен чачымды кыскарттырдым — I got a haircut (at the salon)
- You're making someone do something: Мен ага кат жаздырдым — I had him write a letter
- Something was done to you: Дарыгерге укол сайдырдым — I got an injection (I let the doctor do it)
🧮 The Formula
The causative voice has several suffixes. The choice depends on the last letter of the stem.
Suffix 1: -дыр/-тир (the most common)
Follows vowel harmony and assimilation.
8 variants: -дыр-дир-дур-дүр (after voiced consonants) and -тыр-тир-тур-түр (after voiceless consonants)
| Stem | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| күл- (to laugh) | күлдүр- (to make laugh) | Ал мени күлдүрдү — He made me laugh |
| жаз- (to write) | жаздыр- (to dictate / make write) | Мен ага кат жаздырдым — I had him write a letter |
| бил- (to know) | билдир- (to inform) | Мага билдирди — They informed me |
| түшүн- (to understand) | түшүндүр- (to explain) | Мугалим түшүндүрдү — The teacher explained |
жаздырдымжазroot (to write)дырcausative voiceдыpast tenseмI→ I had someone write
⚠️ Important: Stems ending in «л»! If the stem ends in л, instead of -дыр a т-based variant is used: кел → келтир (to bring), өл → өлтүр (to kill), кал → калтыр (to leave behind). This is not the separate -т suffix — it is a special variant of -тир!
Suffix 2: -т (after vowels and р, л, й)
When the stem ends in a vowel or the consonants р, л, й:
| Stem | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| оку- (to study) | окут- (to teach) | Мен баламды окутам — I'm educating my child |
| тазала- (to clean) | тазалат- (to have cleaned) | Машинамды тазалаттым — I had my car washed |
| укта- (to sleep) | уктат- (to put to sleep) | Баланы уктаттым — I put the child to bed |
| ойно- (to play) | ойнот- (to let play) | Баланы ойноттум — I let the child play |
Suffix 3: -гуз/-каз (spatial verbs)
Most often used with verbs of position in space (to stand, sit, lie):
| Stem | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| отур- (to sit) | отургуз- (to seat) | Дарак отургуздум — I planted a tree |
| тур- (to stand) | тургуз- (to raise/build) | Жаңы үй тургузушту — They built a new house |
| жат- (to lie) | жаткыз- (to lay down) | Баланы жаткыздым — I laid the child down |
Other suffixes (less productive)
Kyrgyz has additional historically-formed causative suffixes:
| Suffix | Examples |
|---|---|
| -ар/-ыр | чыгар (to take out), кайтар (to return) |
| -ыз | агыз (to make flow) |
| -сөт | көрсөт (to show — literally "make see") |
💡 Tip: Many of these forms have become standalone words. But knowing their origin helps you remember them: көрсөт = көр (to see) + causative = "make someone see" = to show.
⚠️ Important details
1. How new words are born
In English, the process and its result often require different words. In Kyrgyz, you simply add a voice suffix:
| Base verb | Causative form | The logic |
|---|---|---|
| өлүү (to die) | өлтүрүү (to kill) | make die |
| көрүү (to see) | көрсөтүү (to show) | make see |
| билүү (to know) | билдирүү (to inform) | make know |
| ичүү (to drink) | ичирүү (to give to drink) | make drink |
| угуу (to hear) | уктуруу (to broadcast) | make listen |
2. Double causative
Suffixes can be stacked — this gives the meaning "cause someone to cause":
- эмиз (breastfeed) → эмиздир (tell someone to breastfeed)
💡 Examples
Delegating services
When you're paying someone for work, use the causative voice:
| Situation | ❌ Did it yourself | ✅ Had it done |
|---|---|---|
| Haircut | Мен чачымды кыскарттым | Мен чачымды кыскарттырдым |
| Repair | Мен телефонумду оңдодум | Мен телефонумду оңдоттум |
| Dentist | Мен тишимди жулдум | Мен тишимди жулдурдум |
Real-life examples
| Kyrgyz | Translation |
|---|---|
| Мен баланы мектепке окутам. | I'm sending my child to school to be educated. |
| Ал мени абдан күлдүрдү. | He had me in stitches. |
| Мугалим бизге түшүндүрдү. | The teacher explained it to us. |
| Баланы уктаттым. | I put the child to bed. |
| Дарак отургуздук. | We planted a tree. |
— Машинаңды оңдодуңбу? — Did you fix the car yourself? — Жок, оңдоттум. — No, I had it repaired.
— Чачыңды кыскартып алдыңбы? — Did you get a haircut? — Ооба, кыскарттырдым. — Yes, I had it cut (at the salon).
See also:
- Introduction to verbs — the foundation for understanding voices
- Passive voice (-ыл) — unknown agent
- Reflexive voice (-ын) — action on oneself
- Cooperative voice (-ыш) — doing something together
- Vowel harmony — choosing the right vowel in the suffix
- Sound assimilation — choosing д or т in the suffix