Ñ£ëåìåòñ³ç áå

1. Ñ£ëåìåòñ³ç áå!
A formal greeting which can be used on all occasions.
It can also be pronounced "Ñàëàìàòñûç áà!"
À response to it can be also "Ñ£ëåìåòñ³ç áå!" or "Ñàëàìàòñûç áà!"

Ñ£ëåìåòñèç áå literally asks "Are you healthy?" but functions like English "Hello!"
You do not answer the question (Kazakh has a different way to really ask "How are you?").

2. The Question Particle áà/áå, ìà/ìå, ïà/ïå
The áå in ñ£ëåìåòñ³ç áå is a question particle.
These particles can be used to make a statement into a question:
ñ£ëåìåòñ³ç (you are healthy) + áå? (question particle).

Like a suffix, the question particle can take three forms depending on the last letter of the word that comes directly before it:
ìa/ìå after vowels and ë, ð, é, ó
áà/áe after ç, æ, ì, í, ’
ïà/ïå after voiceless consonants and á, â, ã, ä *

*In Kazakh there are no words ending in á, â, ã, or ä. However, Russian loan words ending in these letters are pronounced as ï, ô, ê, ò. Therefore, the voiceless variant ïà/ïå is added. For example: Êëóá is pronounced [êëóï]-- Á‰ë êëóá ïå? (Is this a club?)

2. Personal Pronouns and Endings
Person in Kazakh can be expressed both with independent pronouns (equivilant to 'I' 'you' 'he,' etc.), and with personal endings (which have no equivalent in English). Instead of 'I am a student,' a Kazakh says "Ìåí ñòóäåíò+ï³í' (I student + I am). In this case, Kazakh does not use the verb 'to be'--the idea of 'I am," 'you are,' etc. is included in the suffix.

Personal Pronouns Personal Endings (added to nouns or verbs)

ìåí I +ìûí/+ì³í; +áûí/+á³í; +ïûí/+ï³í*
ñåí you (familiar) +ñû’/+ñ³’
ñ³ç you (polite) +ñûç/+ñ³ç
îë he, she, it +zero ending
á³ç we +ìûç/+ì³ç; +áûç/+á³ç; +ïûç/+ï³ç*
ñåíäåð you (plural form) +ñû’äàð/+ñ³’äåð
ñiçäåð you (plural polite form) +ñûçäàð/+ñ³çäåð
îëàð they +zero ending


Examples:
Ìåí -- ”àçà”ïûí. I am a Kazakh.
Ñåí --”àçà”ñû’. You are a Kazakh.
ѳç --”àçà”ñûç. You are a Kazakh.
Îë -- ”àçà”. He/she is a Kazakh.
Á³ç -- ”àçà”ïûç. We are Kazakhs.
Ñåíäåð -- ”àçà”ñû’äàð. You are Kazakhs.
Ñiçäåð -- ”àçà”ñûçäàð. You are Kazakhs.
Îëàð -- ”àçà”. They are Kazakhs.


*Rules for consonant changes in personal endings of the 1st person:

(a) singular: ìåí
+ìûí/+ì³í after vowels and ë, ð, é, ó, ì, í, ’
+áûí/+á³í after ç, æ
+ïûí/+ï³í after voiceless consonants and á, â, ã, ä

(b) plural: á³ç
+ìûç/+ì³ç after vowels and ë, ð, é, ó
+áûç/+á³ç after ç, æ, ì, í, ’
+ïûç/+ï³ç after voiceless consonants and á, â, ã, ä

2a. Familiar versus polite "you"
Like many languages, Kazakh has 2 words for 'you.'
Ñåí (plural ñåíäåð) is a familiar 'you,' used mainly for family and close friends.
ѳç (plural ñ³çäåð) is a polite 'you,' used to show politeness and respect (for this reason it is often translated with a 'please' in this text: îòûðû’ûç = 'please sit down').

In a different culture it is always advisable to err on the side of politeness. Always use ñ³ç with strangers and with people who are older than you. Until you have mastered when to use ñåí and when to use ñ³ç, use ñ³ç unless the person you are talking to tells you otherwise.