You will probably never need this page, and it is still the one worth learning before you travel. A few short sentences, said slowly, are enough to get help, and they use two endings you can reuse everywhere: -ing for a polite urgent request and -im for “my”.
This page is part of Uzbek for travellers, the guide for a one- or two-week trip.
Asking for help
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Yordam bering! | yor-DAM be-RING | Help! |
| Menga yordam kerak. | men-GA yor-DAM ke-RAK | I need help. |
| Tez yordam chaqiring! | TEZ yor-DAM cha-qi-RING | Call an ambulance! |
| Politsiyani chaqiring! | po-li-tsi-ya-NI cha-qi-RING | Call the police! |
| Shifokor chaqiring! | shi-fo-KOR cha-qi-RING | Call a doctor! |
| Menga shifokor kerak. | men-GA shi-fo-KOR ke-RAK | I need a doctor. |
| Adashib qoldim. | a-da-SHIB qol-DIM | I am lost. |
| Politsiya boʻlimi qayerda? | po-li-tsi-YA boʻ-li-MI qa-yer-DA | Where is the police station? |
| Elchixona qayerda? | el-chi-kho-NA qa-yer-DA | Where is the embassy? |
| Telefoningizdan qoʻngʻiroq qilsam boʻladimi? | te-le-fo-nin-giz-DAN qoʻn-gʻi-ROQ qil-SAM boʻ-la-di-MI | May I make a call from your phone? |
Lost or stolen
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Pasportimni yoʻqotdim. | pas-por-tim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my passport. |
| Telefonimni yoʻqotdim. | te-le-fo-nim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my phone. |
| Sumkamni yoʻqotdim. | sum-kam-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my bag. |
| Hamyonimni yoʻqotdim. | ham-yo-nim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my wallet. |
| Kalitimni yoʻqotdim. | ka-li-tim-NI yoʻ-qot-DIM | I lost my key. |
| Sumkamni oʻgʻirlashdi. | sum-kam-NI oʻ-gʻir-lash-DI | My bag was stolen. |
| Telefonimni oʻgʻirlashdi. | te-le-fo-nim-NI oʻ-gʻir-lash-DI | My phone was stolen. |
| Qayerda yoʻqotdingiz? | qa-yer-DA yoʻ-qot-din-GIZ | Where did you lose it? (what they ask you) |
| Bozorda edim. | bo-zor-DA e-DIM | I was at the bazaar. |
Feeling ill, and being understood
| Uzbek | Sounds like | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Oʻzimni yomon his qilyapman. | oʻ-zim-NI yo-MON HIS qil-yap-MAN | I feel ill. |
| Shu yerim ogʻriyapti. | shu ye-RIM ogʻ-ri-yap-TI | It hurts here. |
| Penitsillinga allergiyam bor. | pe-nit-sil-lin-GA al-ler-gi-YAM BOR | I am allergic to penicillin. |
| …ga allergiyam bor. | …-GA al-ler-gi-YAM BOR | I am allergic to … |
| Dorixona qayerda? | do-ri-kho-NA qa-yer-DA | Where is the pharmacy? |
| Kasalxona qayerda? | ka-sal-kho-NA qa-yer-DA | Where is the hospital? |
| Sekinroq gapiring, iltimos. | se-kin-ROQ ga-pi-RING, il-ti-MOS | Please speak more slowly. |
| Yozib bering, iltimos. | yo-ZIB be-RING, il-ti-MOS | Please write it down. |
| Tushunmadim. | tu-shun-ma-DIM | I did not understand. |
| Inglizcha bilasizmi? | in-gliz-CHA bi-la-siz-MI | Do you speak English? |
For symptoms, the pharmacy and what a doctor asks back, see Uzbek phrases for the doctor and the pharmacy. The single phrase has its own page too: how to say help in Uzbek, and so does I don’t understand.
-ing for “please do it” and -im for “my”
- -ing after a verb stem is the polite command, the one to use with strangers: ber- (give) → bering, chaqir- (call) → chaqiring, gapir- (speak) → gapiring. Yordam bering! is literally “give help!”, and Yozib bering is “write it down for me”.
- -im after a noun is “my”: pasport → pasportim, telefon → telefonim, kalit → kalitim. After a vowel it is -m: sumka → sumkam, oila → oilam.
- -ni after “my + noun” shows what was lost: pasportimni yoʻqotdim, sumkamni yoʻqotdim. Same pattern, any noun.
- -shdi (-ishdi after a consonant) means “they did it” when nobody is named, the everyday way to say something was done to you: Sumkamni oʻgʻirlashdi is literally “they stole my bag”, that is, my bag was stolen.
- -dim at the end means “I did it” in the past: yoʻqotdim (I lost), tushunmadim (I did not understand), qoldim (I stayed, I ended up).
Losing a passport
A: Kechirasiz, yordam bering! Pasportimni yoʻqotdim.
Excuse me, help me! I lost my passport.
B: Xavotir olmang. Qayerda yoʻqotdingiz?
Don’t worry. Where did you lose it?
A: Bilmayman. Bozorda edim.
I don’t know. I was at the bazaar.
B: Politsiyani chaqiramiz.
We will call the police.
A: Elchixona qayerda?
Where is the embassy?
B: Manzilini hozir yozib beraman.
I will write down the address for you now.
A: Rahmat, katta rahmat.
Thank you, thank you very much.
Uzbekcha is an app for learning Uzbek, with lessons in English and audio on every word. It is on Android now and coming soon to iPhone. Get the app.
