Tajik phrasebook Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Tajik (забо́ни тоҷикӣ́ / zaboni tojikī) is the main language of Tajikistan, and is closely related to Farsi, Dari and Kurdish. It is also used by Tajik speakers in Uzbekistan, especially in the areas around Samarkand and Bukhara. Since the late 1930s, it is written using a variant of the Cyrillic script (also used by many languages spoken in the former Soviet Union, including Russian). Whether or not travellers need to learn Tajik is a matter of debate as most citizens of Tajikistan are also able to speak Russian. Nevertheless, attempting to communicate in Tajik will most certainly please the locals. The "Tajik" language in China is not mutually intelligible with the Tajik language of Tajikistan, but is at least two distinct languages in the same family, namely Sarikoli and Wakhi.

The modern Tajik alphabet was designed by the Soviets and is a modified version of the Russian alphabet. Travellers already familiar with Russian (or with other Cyrillic alphabets) will recognize most of the characters. Tajiks living in Afghanistan and in western China do not use the Cyrillic alphabet, and instead continue to use the Perso-Arabic script.

Tajik Vowels

Cyrillic Letter	Sound	Usage Notes
А/а	A as in "father"
Я/я	Ya as in "Maryam"
Е/е	E as in "egg"	Ye when initial.
Э/э	E as in "egg"	Used to replace the æ sound (as in "cat") in foreign words or when a word starts with an "Eh" sound.
И/и	Ee as in "leaf"
Ӣ/ӣ	Ee as in "frisbee"	Only ever used at the end of words and used to indicate that the И at the end of a word is pronounced slightly longer.
О/о	O as in "or"
Ё/ё	Yo as in "fjord"
У/у	Oo as in "food"
Ӯ/ӯ	Ü as in the German "über"	In southern dialects of Tajiki, like around Dushanbe, Ӯ and У are pronounced the same. In the north, they are distinct sounds.
Ю/ю	Yu as in "yule"

Tajik Consonants

Cyrillic Letter	Sound	Usage Notes
Б/б	B as in "boy"
В/в	V as in "vase"	Some Tajiks will say this letter with a sound somewhere between a "V" and a "W".
Г/г	G as in "cougar"
Ғ/ғ	Gh as in the French "Paris"	Pronounced the same way as the French or German "R" sound, but romanized as a "gh".
Д/д	D as in "dog"	When written, lowercase Д is usually written like a lowercase English "g".
Ж/ж	Zh as in "Treasure"	Rare in native Tajik words. Usually found in foreign loanwords.
З/з	Z as in "zero"
Й/й	Y consonant as in "New York"	This represents the Y consonant, as opposed to the Y vowel. Uncommon in Tajik except in foreign words.
К/к	K as in "car"
Қ/қ	Q as in the Arabic "Qatar"	This is the qāf sound represented in Arabic and Persian as ق‎.
Л/л	L as in "lollipop"
М/м	M as in "mama"
Н/н	N as in "No"
П/п	P as in "Persia"
Р/р	R as in "red"
С/с	S as in "start"
Т/т	T as in "teal"	When written, lowercase "Т" is written a lot like a cursive "m" in English.
Ф/ф	F as in "Farsi"
Х/х	Kh as in the Scottish "loch"	This is the same sound as the German "ch".
Ҳ/ҳ	H as in "Harry"
Ч/ч	Ch as in "Charlie"
Ҷ/ҷ	J as in "janitor"
Ш/ш	Sh as in "machine"
Ъ/ъ	' as in "Uh-oh"	This is the glottal stop (ʔ), which is represented in English as the first "h" sound in "uh-oh" and as the "t" sound in some dialects.

The Tajik alphabet is generally phonetic, so what you see written is what you pronounce. To make diphthongs with vowels, simply attach the letter Й to the end of the vowel and it will raise it (e.g. the ой in пойафзол is pronounced like in the English word "boy"). The most common exception to the 'what you see is what you say' rule is when you attach the plural marker (Ҳо) to a word ending with a consonant. When that happens, the "h" sound is not pronounced (so Тухмҳо "eggs" would be pronounced Tukhmo, and not Tukhmho).

Tajik is, for the most part, an end-stressed language. Most words will have their stress on the final syllable of the root word (i.e. before you add any markers or endings).

Some phrases in this phrasebook still need to be translated. If you know anything about this language, you can help by plunging forward and translating a phrase.

Tajik is a very dialectical language. What you may use/hear in one part of the country may be unintelligible in another part. The standard form of the language (adabi) is a hybrid where the written standard is based on the Samarkandi-Khujandi dialect while the spoken standard is based on the Dushanbe dialect.

Common signs OPEN кушода CLOSED пӯшида ENTRANCE дохл EXIT харч/баромадгоҳ PUSH от себя PULL на себя TOILET ҳочатхона MEN мардон WOMEN занон/заъифон FORBIDDEN манъ аст

Some of the basics of everyday Tajik vocabulary are below. For words with two or more translations, the most common is listed first. When two translations vary due to having formal and informal variants, the markers formal and informal will be added.

Some words and phrases are directly taken from Russian, due to Tajikistan's close history with Russia.

Hello.

ассалому алейкум (asah-lomu ah-lay-koom)

Hello. (informal)

салом (sah-lohm), ассалом (a-sah-lohm)

How are you?

Шумо чи хел? (shoo-moh-chee-khel), чи хел Шумо? (chee-khel-shoo-moh)

Fine, Well.

Нағз (naghz), Соз (sohz),

Fine, thank you.

Нағз, рахмат (naghz, rah-mat )

What is your name?

Номатон чист? (No-ma-ton chist?), Номи Шумо чист? (No-mi shoo-mo chist?), Номи Шумо аст? (No-mi shoo-mo ast?)

My name is ______ .

Номи ман ______ (аст). (No-mi man _____ (ast) .)

Nice to meet you.

Аз вохуриамон шод ҳастам. (Az vo-khu-ri-amon shod has-tam )

Please.

Лутфан, Илтимос (Loot-fan/Il-ti-mos )

Thank you.

Рахмат (rah-mat)

You're welcome.

Саломат бошед (Salomat boshed)

Yes.

Ҳа (Ha) (informal), Бале (ba-le) (formal)

No.

Не (Ne)

Excuse me. (getting attention)

Meбaxшeд (mebakhshed)

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

Meбaxшeд (mebakhshed)

I'm sorry.

Мебахшед (mebakhshed)

Goodbye (informal, colloquial)

Хайр. (khayr) pronounced like the English word 'hire' but with a KH sound at the beginning

Goodbye

Сихату саломат боши (Sikhatu salomat boshi)

I can't speak Russian [well].

Ман русӣ [хуб] намедонам (Man rus-si [khub] na-me-do-nam)

Do you speak English?

Шумо англиси гап мезанед? (Shumo ang-li-si gap me-za-nad)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

Оё касе дар инчо англиси гап мезанад ? (Oyo kase dar injo anglisi gap mezanad?)

Help!

Ёри диҳед! (Yori dihed!)

Look out!

Эҳтиёт шавед! (Eh-ti-yot shaved!)

Good morning.

Субҳ ба xaйр. (Soobh-ba-khayr )

Good evening.

шаб ба хайр (Shab-ba-khayr)

Good night.

шаб ба хайр (Shab-ba-khayr)

Good night (to sleep)

Хоби ширин/Шаби хуш . (Khobi shirin/Shabi khoosh )

I don't understand.

Ман немефаҳмам (Man na-me-fah-mam), ман нафаҳмидостам (Man na-fah-mi-dos-tam)

Where is the toilet?

Ҳочатхона кани? (Ho-jat-kho-na kani?)

City

Шаҳр (Shahr)

Street

Кӯча (Kücha)

House

Хона (Khona)

Hotel

Меҳмонхона (Meh-mon-khona) (Literally "guest house". In Farsi this means "living room")

Pharmacy/Drugstore/Apothecary

Дорухона (Doru-khona), Аптека (Ap-tye-ka)

Hospital

Беморхона (Beh-mor-khona) (literally "sick house")

Toilet (room)

Хоҷатхона (Khojat-khona)

Store

Маркази савдо (Markaz-i sav-doh)

Bazaar

Бозор (Bozor)

Mosque

Масҷид (Mas-jeed)

Fortress

Қала (Qala)

Bus Stop

Истгоҳ (Eest-goh), Остановка (Ah-stan-nov-ka)

Station (train, bus)

Вокзал (Vok-zal), Автовокзал (Avto-vok-zal)

Airport

Фурудгоҳ (Furud-goh), Аэропорт (A-er-o-port)

Restaurant

Тарабхона (Tarab-khona), Ошхона (Osh-khona) (also used for "kitchen")

University

Донишгоҳ (Doneesh-goh)

Library

Китобхона (Kee-tob-khona)

Place (in general)

Ҷой (Joy)

Place of _____

-истон (ee-ston)

With

Бо (bo)

Without

Бе (bey)

And

-у/ю (-u/yu) *Attached to the end of a word, native Tajik/Persian.

ва (va) *Standalone word, borrowed from Arabic.

But

аммо (ahm-mo)

Or

ё (yo)

Friend

Дуст (doost)

What time is it?

Соати чанд? (So-at-i chand?)

Ҳозир соати _____. (Ho-zeer so-at-i ______).

Minute

Дақиқа (Da-qee-qa, formal), Минут (Mee-noot, colloquial)

Hour

Соат (So-at)

Now

Ҳозир (Ho-zeer)

Рӯз (Rüz)

Today

Имрӯз (Eem-rüz)

Yesterday

Дируз (Dee-ruz)

Tomorrow

Пагоҳ (Pa-goh)

The Tajik work week is Monday to Friday, like most of the world, but due to the country's Islamic history, the naming of the week starts with Saturday and ends with Friday.

Saturday

Шанбе (Shan-be)

Sunday

Якшанбе (Yak-shan-be) (literally "one-Saturday")

Monday

Душанбе (Du-shan-be) (literally "two-Saturday")

Tuesday

Сешанбе (Sey-shan-be) (literally "three-Saturday")

Wednesday

Чоршанбе (Chor-shan-be) (literally "four-Saturday")

Thursday

Панҷшанбе (Panj-shan-be) (literally "five-Saturday")

Friday

Ҷумъа (Joom-ʔah)

On Monday

Дар рӯзи Душанбе (Dar rüz-i Doo-shan-be) (Note: to avoid confusion between "on Monday" and "in Dushanbe (the city)", Tajiks will say the word "day". They may omit the word "day" with all other days.)

Tajik uses the same month names and spelling as in Russian, minus any soft signs (ь). They are as follows:

Моҳҳо (Mohho)

January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
Январ (Yan-var)	Феврал (Fev-ral)	Март (Mart)	Апрел (Ah-pryel)	Май (Mai)	Июн (Ee-yoon)	Июл (Ee-yool)	Август (Av-goost)	Сентябр (Sen-tyabr)	Октябр (Ok-tyabr)	Ноябр (No-yabr)	Декабр (De-kabr)

Today is January 1, 2000

Имрӯз 1-уми январи соли 2000 (аст). (Eem-rüz yak-um-i yan-var-i, sol-i bist hazor (ast).)

Рақамҳо (Raqamho)

Ones		Teens		Tens		Hundreds		Thousands +
0	Сифр (Sifr)	10	Даҳ (Dah)	20	Бист (Beest)	100	Сад (Sahd)	1,000	Ҳазор (Hazor)
1	Як (Yak)	11	Ёздаҳ (Yoz-dah)	21	Бисту як (Beest-u yak)	101	(Як) Саду як ((Yak) Sahd-u yak)	1,111	(Як) Ҳазору як саду ёздаҳ ((Yak) Hazor-u yak cahd-u yoz-dah)
2	Ду (Du)	12	Дувоздаҳ (Du-voz-dah)	30	Сӣ (Cee)	111	(Як) Саду ёздаҳ ((Yak) Sahd-u yoz-dah)	2,000	Ду ҳазор (Du hazor)
3	Се (Sey)	13	Сенздаҳ (Senz-dah)	33	Сию се (See-yu sey)	200	Дусад (Du-sahd)	10,000	Даҳ ҳазор (Dah hazor)
4	Чор (Chor)	14	Чордаҳ (Chor-dah)	40	Чил (Cheel)	300	Сесад (Sey-sahd)	25,000	Бисту панҷ ҳазор (Beest-u panj hazor)
5	Панҷ (Panj)	15	Понздаҳ (Ponz-dah)	50	Панҷоҳ (Panj-oh)	400	Чорсад (Chor-sahd)	100,000	Сад ҳазор (Sahd hazor)
6	Шаш (Shash)	16	Шонздаҳ (Shonz-dah)	60	Шаст (Shast)	500	Панҷсад (Panj-sahd)	1,000,000	Милён (Mil-yohn)
7	Ҳафт (Haft)	17	Ҳабдаҳ (Hab-dah)	70	Ҳафтод (Haft-ohd)			1,000,000,000	Миллиард (Mill-ee-yard)
8	Ҳашт (Hasht)	18	Ҳаждаҳ (Hazh-dah)	80	Ҳаштод (Hasht-ohd)
9	Нуҳ (Nuh)	19	Нуздаҳ (Nuz-dah)	90	Навад (Nav-ahd)

To make ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.), simply add -ум/-юм (use -юм if the last letter is a vowel, like Сӣ → Сиюм) to the end of the last numeral stated.

Usage note: When stating items with a number, you do not add the plural marker -ҳо. The inclusion of the number tells us the item is plural.

black

сиёҳ (see-yoh)

white

сафед (sah-fed)

gray

хокистарранг (kho-kee-star-rang)

red

сурх (soorkh)

blue

кабуд (ka-bood)

yellow

зард (zard)

green

сабз (sah-bz)

orange

норанҷӣ (no-ran-jee)

purple

бунафш (boo-nafsh)

pink

гулобӣ (goo-loh-bee)

brown

қаҳваранг (qah-vah-rang)

такси (taksi)

money

пул (pul)

Tajik somoni (national currency)

сомонӣ (somoni)

Free

бепул (Bey-pul) (literally "without money")

I don't have any money.

Ман пул нист. (Man pul neest)

How much does this cost?

Ин чанд пул аст? (Een chand pul ast?)

Can you lower the price?/That's too expensive.

Арзон кунед. (Arzon kuned) (literally "cheap make")

I need _____.

Ба ман _____ лозим аст. (Ba man _____ lo-zeem ast.)

Water

об (ob)

Milk

молоко (mo-lo-ko), шир (shir)

Yogurt

йогурт (yo-gurt)

Honey

асал (a-sal)

Fruit

мева (me-va)

Apple

себ (seb)

Grapes

ангур (ang-oor)

Watermelon

тарбуз (tar-booz)

Bread

нон (non)

Sliced Bread

хлеб (klep)

Fish

моҳӣ (mo-hi)

Meat

гӯшт (gusht)

Beef

гӯшти гов (gusht-i-gov) (literally "meat of the cow")

Vegetables

сабзавот (sabz-a-vot)

тухм/тухмҳо (tukhm/tukhmo)

Tea

чой (choy)

Green tea

чойи кабуд (choy-i kabud) (literally "blue tea")

Black tea

чойи сиёҳ (choy-i cee-yoh)

Tajik is a dialect of Persian, and - because it uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which does denote vowels - is a good way to dip your feet in the water before transitioning to the Perso-Arabic script, which doesn't use vowels.

There is a sizeable population of Tajik speakers in Uzbekistan, especially around Samarkand and Bukhara. There are also large ethnic Tajik communities in northern Afghanistan.

The people living in the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan (the Pamirs) do not speak Tajik/Persian, but do speak related Indo-Iranian languages (Pamiri, Wakhani). A small community deep in the Yaghnob Valley still speaks Yaghnobi, the last surviving remnant of the Sogdian language, another Indo-Iranian relative.