Kazakh verb conjugation follows a very logical and predictable pattern.

Once you learn the basic rules, you can easily form sentences in different tenses.

There are no irregular verbs to memorize like you find in English or Spanish.

You simply add specific endings to the root of the verb based on who’s doing the action.

This guide shows you exactly how to conjugate Kazakh verbs in the most common tenses.

Finding the verb stem

Every Kazakh verb you find in the dictionary ends with the letter “у”.

This is the infinitive form of the verb.

To start conjugating, you must first find the verb stem.

You do this by simply dropping the “у” from the end of the word.

For example, the verb “жазу” means “to write”.

When you remove the “у”, you’re left with the stem “жаз”.

The verb “келу” means “to come”.

Removing the “у” gives you the stem “кел”.

All conjugation endings attach directly to this specific stem.

It’s also important to remember that Kazakh uses vowel harmony.

This means words are categorized as either “hard” or “soft” depending on their vowels.

Hard stems like “жаз” take hard conjugation endings.

Soft stems like “кел” always take soft conjugation endings.

The present continuous tense

The present continuous tense describes an action happening right now.

You form this tense using your main verb stem and a special helper verb.

The most common helper verb used for this tense is “жатыр”.

First, you add the suffix “-ып”, “-іп”, or “-п” to your main verb stem.

Then, you add the helper verb “жатыр” as a separate word.

Finally, you attach a personal ending to “жатыр” to show who’s doing the action.

Here’s how you conjugate “жазу” (to write) in the present continuous tense.

Here are some examples of this tense in a real conversation.

The present habitual and future tense

Kazakh uses the same tense for daily habits and simple future actions.

This means a single phrase can translate to “I write” or “I’ll write” depending entirely on the context.

You form this tense by adding “-а”, “-е”, or “-й” directly to the verb stem.

Then, you add the standard personal endings to the end of the word.

Because “жазу” has hard vowels, it takes the hard connecting vowel “-а”.

Here’s the full conjugation for “жазу” (to write / will write).

Here’s how this tense looks in everyday context.

The simple past tense

The simple past tense is used for completed actions.

You form it by adding “-ды”, “-ді”, “-ты”, or “-ті” to the verb stem.

The personal endings for the past tense are slightly shorter than the present tense endings.

Here’s how you conjugate “жазу” in the past tense.

Here’s a quick dialogue using the past tense to ask a question.