Kazakh grammar for beginners · One suffix, six written shapes
Turkish has two plural endings, -lar and -ler. Kazakh has six: the vowel follows harmony as you would expect, but the first consonant also changes to match the sound the root ends in. The underlying suffix is a single unit that grammarians write *LAR (*ЛАР).
Grammars of Kazakh write suffixes in an abstract capitalised form — *LAR (*ЛАР) for the plural — where each capital letter stands for "whichever variant the rules produce here". The L can surface as l (л), d (д) or t (т); the A as a (а) or e (е).
This notation should feel familiar: it is the same idea as writing the Turkish plural as -lAr.
Put two fingers on your throat and say a long sssss, then a long zzzzz. The z buzzes under your fingers; the s does not. That buzz is voicing — your vocal cords vibrating — and every consonant is either voiced or voiceless. The two sounds are otherwise identical: same tongue, same lips, voice on or off.
You already know which is which, because Turkish teaches the voiceless set as a sentence: fıstıkçı şahap — f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p. Kazakh has exactly that set, minus ç (which only turns up in Russian words) and plus q (қ), the k made further back in the throat. Everything else is voiced: j, z, l, m, n, ñ, r (ж, з, л, м, н, ң, р), the glides, and every vowel.
Those eight are the whole voiceless list — Turkish has 21 consonants, 8 voiceless and 13 voiced. Most come in pairs, the same sound with the voice switched on or off: p/b, t/d, k/g, ç/c, f/v, s/z, ş/j, with h the odd one out. So d (д) is just t (т) with the voice on, and z (з) is s (с) with the voice on — which is exactly why each member of a pair pulls a different suffix.
And you already use the distinction daily. It is why Turkish says Ankara'da but Sinop'ta, evde but kitapta — the suffix goes voiceless after a voiceless consonant. Kazakh runs the same logic; it just applies it in more places, the plural among them.
| Root ends in | Back vowel root | Front vowel root |
|---|---|---|
| a vowel — or i (й), u (у), r (р) | -lar (-лар) | -ler (-лер) |
| a voiced consonant: j, z, l, m, n, ñ (ж, з, л, м, н, ң) | -dar (-дар) | -der (-дер) |
| a voiceless consonant: k, q, p, s, t, f, h, ş (к, қ, п, с, т, ф, х, ш) — and also b, v, g, d (б, в, г, д) | -tar (-тар) | -ter (-тер) |
Two independent choices: the consonant comes from the preceding sound, the vowel from harmony. Three consonants × two vowels = six forms. i (й) and u (у) sit with the vowels in the top row even though Latin writes them i and u — they are glides rather than true vowels, and for this rule they behave like the vowels, so tau (тау) "mountain" takes -lar (-лар) and not -dar (-дар). r (р) is the only ordinary consonant in that row. The odd pairing in the bottom row is not a mistake: b (б), v (в), g (г) and d (д) are voiced letters, but Kazakh devoices them at the end of a word, so they select the voiceless form — pedagog (педагог) "teacher" gives pedagogtar (педагогтар).
oquşy → oquşylar оқушы → оқушылар
pupil → pupils · Turkish: öğrenci → öğrenciler
Ends in a vowel → -lar (-лар).
üi → üiler үй → үйлер
house → houses · Turkish: ev → evler
Ends in i (й), which counts with the vowels → -ler (-лер).
qaz → qazdar қаз → қаздар
goose → geese · Turkish: kaz → kazlar
Ends in voiced z (з) → -dar (-дар).
özen → özender өзен → өзендер
river → rivers · Turkish: nehir → nehirler
Ends in voiced n (н), front root → -der (-дер).
qonaq → qonaqtar қонақ → қонақтар
guest → guests · Turkish: konuk → konuklar
Ends in voiceless q (қ) → -tar (-тар).
köilek → köilekter көйлек → көйлектер
dress → dresses · Turkish: gömlek → gömlekler
Ends in voiceless k (к), front root → -ter (-тер).
Turkish assimilates plenty of suffixes to voicing — -de/-da vs -te/-ta in the locative, for instance — but it spares the plural, which stays -lar/-ler after every consonant.
Kazakh applies the voicing rule to the plural too. So the concept is one you already own from the Turkish locative; you are just applying it in one more place.
The table above is really one rule wearing six hats: if an affix's basic form begins with l (л), that consonant assimilates to d (д) or t (т) according to whether the root ends in a voiced or a voiceless consonant.
So this is not a fact about the plural at all — it carries over to every other suffix built on the same L, the adjectival *LY (*ЛЫ) and the verbal *LA (*ЛА) among them: mañyz (маңыз) "meaning" gives mañyzdy (маңызды), and qūrmet (құрмет) "respect" gives qūrmettı (құрметті). Learning it here pays off repeatedly.
One extra wrinkle: after a root already ending in l (л), the affix dissimilates to d (д) rather than doubling the l (л) — which is why äiel (әйел) "woman" gives äielder (әйелдер).