Mongolian language
- About Mongolian language
- Mongolian Alphabet
- Basic Mongolian phrases with pronunciation
- Mongolian song with english translation
- Mongolian sentences with word by word translation
Firstly, I do not want to make a complete overview of Mongolian grammar or a fully-fledged Mongolian textbook. I want to try to make a simple overview of Mongolian with an emphasis on practicality. Details can be found in some quality Mongolian textbooks and other expert works about this language.
The Mongolian language (Монгол хэл) is the official language of Mongolia. Mongolian language belongs to Altaic language family together with Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, and Japonic language families and the Korean language isolate. Outside of Mongolia is Mongolian language used in Inner Mongolia in China, there are over five million speakers. In Inner Mongolia is still used the Classical Mongolian Script. In Mongolia, since 1941, is used a modified Cyrillic alphabet.
1. About Mongolian language
Mongolian language has two typical features - agglutination and vowel harmony.
Agglutination means that the word stems are invariable and inflection is achieved by the addition of single or multiple suffixes to the word stem - for example: хий - do, make, хийх - to do, to make, хйсэн - did, made, хийдэг - is doing, is making, хийгээд - do it and then, etc.
Vowel harmony means that all the vowels in a word stem, and any suffixes attached to it, belongs to one class of either "back - masculine - strong" or "front - feminine - weak" vowels, which are not mixed. Masculine vowels (эр эгшиг in Mongolian) are а, о, у (for example гудамж - street, гудамжаас - from street) and feminine ( эм эгшиг in Mongolian) are э, ө, ү (for example хөвсгөл - lake Hövsgöl, хөвсгөлөөс - from Hövsgöl).
2. Mongolian Alphabet
There are several systems of transliteration Mongolian Cyrillic into Latin characters. I decided to use a transliteration from the book MODERN MONGOLIAN: A COURSE-BOOK, John Gaunt and L.Bayarmandakh, London 2004.
| Cyrillic | Latin | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Aa | a | As in the exclamation "ha!" |
| Бб | b | The first letter of English "box" |
| Bв | v | Between English "v" and "w" |
| Гг | g | As English "k" when final or "g" in word "egg" |
| Дд | d | As English "d" - "Dalailama" |
| Ee | ye/yö | As the first sounds of English "yes" or "yearn" |
| Ëë | yö | As the first two letters of "yomp" |
| Жж | j | As English "j" in "joke" |
| Зз | z | As the last two letters of "beds" |
| Ии | i | As the vowel sound in English ‘peak’ |
| Йй | i | Used in diphthongs and long ‘ii’ sounds |
| Кк | k | As English "k" |
| Лл | l | As English "l" but with the tongue further back |
| Mм | m | As English "m" |
| Hн | n | When final, as the "ng" of "song", otherwise "n" |
| Oo | o | As in English "box" |
| Өө | ö | Approximately the "u" in English "fur", but shore |
| Пп | p | As English "p" |
| Pp | r | Rolled, as in Russian or Italian, or Scottish |
| Cc | s | As English "s" in "song" |
| Tт | t | As the "t" in English "tool" |
| Уy | u | As the vowel sound in English "fall", but short |
| Yү | ü | As the vowel sound in English ‘fool’, but short |
| Фф | f | As English "f" in "first" |
| Xx | h | Like "ch" in "loch", sometimes spelled as kh, h in the Latin script |
| Цц | ts | As the last two letters in English "pots" |
| Чч | ch | The first and last sounds in English "church" |
| Шш | sh | The "sh" of "English" |
| Ьь | ’(soft sign) | Adds a hint of an "i" to the preceding vowel |
| Ыы | i | As "i" in "in" |
| Ъъ | "(hard sign) | Rare. Occurs only in certain verb endings. Will be dealt with then. |
| Ээ | e | As the "e" in English "fell" |
| Юю | yu/yü | As the English "yaw" or "you", but both short |
| Яя | ya | As in the English "yah" |
3. Basic Mongolian phrases with pronunciation
| Mongolian | Approximate pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Сайн байна уу? | Sain bainuu? | Hallo. |
| Сонин сайхан юу байна? | Sonin saihan yu bain? | How are you? (what is new?) |
| Баяртай | Bayartai. | Goodbye. |
| Таны нэрийг хэн гэдэг вэ? | Tany neriig hen gedeg ve? | What is your name? |
| Намайг Martin гэдэг. | Namaig martin gedeg. | My name is Martin. |
| Та аль улсаас ирсэн вэ? | Ta ali ulsaas irsen be? | Where are you from? (From which country did you came?) |
| Би Чэх улсаас ирсэн. | Bi cheh ulsaas irsen. | I am from Czech. (I came from Czech.) |
| Та хэдэн настай вэ? | Ta hedn nastei ve? | How old are you? |
| Би хорин таван настай. | Bi horin tavan nastei. | I am 25 years old. |
| Энэ юу вэ? | En yu ve? | What is it? |
| Энэ апарат байна. | En aparat bain. | This is camera. |
| Энэ яамар үнэтэй вэ? | En yamar untei ve? | How much is it? |
| Энд зураг авч болох уу? | End zurag avj bolhu? | Can I take a photo here? |
| Би таны эургийг авч болох уу? | Bi tany zurgiig avj bolhu? | Can I take a photo of you? |
| Болно. - Болохгүй. | Boln. - Bolohgui. | You can. - You can not. |
| Та завтай юу? | Ta zavtei yu? | Do you have free time? |
| Хөвсгөл руу яаж очих вэ? | Hövsgöl ruu yaaj ochih ve? | How can I reach Hövsgöl? |
| Бид явган явж болох уу? | Bid yavgan yavj bolhu? | Can we go on foot? |
| Тэнд хүрэхэд хир удах вэ? | Tend hurhed hir udah ve? | How long we need to go there? |
| Миний бие өвдөж байна. | Minii bii övdöj bain. | I am ill. |
| Та надад туслах уу? | Ta nadad tuslahuu? | Help me please. |
| Би төөрчихлөө. | Bi töörchihlöö. | I got lost. |
| Бие засах газар хаана байдаг вэ? | Bii zasah gazar haan baidag ve? | Where is toilet/bathroom? |
| Би ойлгохгүй байна. | Bi oilgohgui bain. | I don´t understand. |
| Та англиар ярьдаг уу? | Ta angliar yardguu? | Do you speak English? |
| Хэзээ онгойх/хаах вэ? | hezee ongoih/haah ve? | When you opens/closes? |
| Автобусны буудал хаана байдаг вэ? | Avtusny buudal haan baidag ve? | Where is the bus station? |
| Улаанбаатар хүрэхэд ямар үнэтэй вэ? | Ulaanbaatar hurhed, yamar untei ve? | How much is to go to UB? |
4. Mongolian song with translation
Mongolian song Yu-we / юу вэ? - What is..?
| Mongolian text | English text | Words |
| Аав аа! | Father! | аав - father; аа - vocative case |
| Ай. | Oh. | |
| Нар сар одон гурав юу вэ? | What is the sun, moon and stars? | нар - sun; сар - moon; одон - star; гурав - three; юу вэ? - what is? |
| О чандмань эрдэнэ. | Oh, jewel. | чандмань (эрдэнэ) - precious stone, jewel, Chintamani - the wishing jewel |
| Навч цэцэг жимсэн гурав юу вэ? | What is the leaf, flower and fruit? | навч - leaf; цэцэг - flower; жимс - fuit |
| О чандмань эрдэнэ. | Oh, jewel. | |
| Аав ээж бидэн гурав юу вэ? | What is father, mother and me? | аав - father; ээж - mother; бидэн - we (oblique stem of бид) |
| О чандмань эрдэнэ. | Oh, jewel. | |
| Гурван гурвын есөн хүсэл биелтүгэй! | Three times three is nine fulfilled wishes! (Let your nine wishes fulfill!) | ес/есөн - nine; биелэх - to be fulfilled; -түгэй - this suffix express good wishes and blessing (may, let) |
| Мөөм өө! | Mama! | мөөм - breast, mom; өө - vocative case |
| Ай. | Oh. | |
| Нар сар одон гурав юу вэ? | What is the sun, moon and stars? | |
| О чандмань эрдэнэ. | Oh, jewel. | |
| Навч цэцэг жимсэн гурав юу вэ? | What is the leaf, flower and fruit? | |
| О чандмань эрдэнэ. | Oh, jewel. | |
| Аав ээж бидэн гурав юу вэ? | What is father, mother and me? | |
| О чандмань эрдэнэ. | Oh, jewel. | |
| Гурван гурвын есөн хүсэл биелтүгэй! | Three times three is nine fulfilled wishes! (Let your nine wishes fulfill!) | |
| Нурмаа аа! | Nurma? | Нурмаа - name; аа - vocative case |
| Аа? | Yes? | |
| Нар сар одон гурав юу вэ? | What is the sun, moon and stars? | |
| Мэдэхгүй. | I don't know. | мэдэхгүй - do not know (мэдэх - to know + -гүй - negative |
| Навч цэцэг жимсэн гурав юу вэ? | What is the leaf, flower and fruit? | |
| Юу вэ? | What is? | |
| Аав нь ээж нь бидэн гурав юу вэ? | Who is the father, the mother and me? | нь - a possessive form of an obsolete third person pronoun |
| О тийм ээ дээ. | That's how it is! | тийм дээ - That's how it is!, Yes, you're right! |
| Гурван гурвын есөн хүсэл биелтүгэй! | Three times three is nine fulfilled wishes! (Let your nine wishes fulfill!) |
5. Mongolian sentences with word by word translation
“Монгол хэлний унших бичиг”/ Гадаадынханд зориулав, Д.Нямаагийн хамт/, УБ., 2003 он. 10 х.х.
| Mongolian text | English text | Words |
| Энэ юу вэ? Энэ ном байна. | What is it? It is a book. | энэ – this; юу – what; вэ – interrogative particle; ном – book; байна – to be |
| Тэр юу вэ? Тэр хаалга. | What is that? That is a door. | тэр – that; хаалга - door |
| Тэр түлхүүр үү? Үгүй, тэр түлхүүр биш, цоож. | Is that a key? No, that is not key, it is lock. | түлхүүр – key; үү – interrogative particle; үгүй – no; биш – is not; цоож – lock |
| Энэ харандаа юу? Тийм, энэ харандаа. | Is this a pencil? Yes, this is pencil. | харандаа – pencil; тийм – like that, yes |
| Энэ эгшиг үү, гийгүүлэгч үү? Энэ эгшиг. | Is this vowel or consonant? This is vowel. | эгшиг – vowel; гийгүүлэгч - consonant |
| Энэ нохой юу, муур уу? Энэ нохой биш, муур биш, хулгана. | Is this dog or cat? This is neither dog, nor cat, it is mouse. | нохой – dog; муур – cat; хулгана – mouse |
| ХАЛИМ БОЛ ХАМГИЙН ТОМ АМЬТАН | WHALE – THE BIGGEST ANIMAL | халим – whale; бол – conditional particle; хамгийн – most; том – big; амьтан - animal |
| Дэлхийн хамгийн том амьтан бол цэнхэр халим юм. | The world´s biggest animal is blue whale. | дэлхий – world; цэнхэр – light blue; юм – is, are, thing |
| Цэнхэр халим 20 м урт, 190 тони хүртэл жинтэй байдаг. | Blue whale is 20m long and as much 190 tons weight. | урт – long; тони – ton; хүртэл – until; жинтэй – weighing; байдаг – to be (continuing state) |
| Харин хуурай газрын амьтдаас хамгийн том нь заан юм. | But from the overland animals, elephant is the biggest. | харин – but; хуурай – dry; газар – land, grand; амьтдаас – from animals; нь – third person agent; заан - elephant |
| Африкийн заан 4 м өндөр, 7 тони жинтэй байдаг. | African elephant is 4m tall and 7 tons weight. | Африкийн – African; өндөр – high, tall |
| Заан насан туршдаа өсдөг. Африкт 12 тони жинтэй аврага заан амьдарч байжээ. | The elephant grows during all his life. There lived champion in Africa with 12 tons of weight. | нас(-ан) – age, years, lifetime; туршдаа – for, during; өсдөг – grows; аврага – champion; амьдарч байжээ - lived |
| Энэ заанаар хийсэн чихмэл музэйд байдаг гэнэ. | They says that stuffed body of this elephant is in museum. | заанаар – by elephant; хийсэн – made; чихмэл – stuff; музэйд – in museum; гэнэ - says |
| Азийн заанууд 5 тони орчим жинтэй. | Asian elephants has around 5 tons. | Азийн – Asian; заанууд – elephants; орчим - approximately |
Sources:
MODERN MONGOLIAN: A COURSE-BOOK, John Gaunt and L.Bayarmandakh, London 2004
MONGOLIAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY, Charles Bawden, London 1997
MONGOLSKO-ČESKÝ A ČESKO-MONGOLSKÝ KAPESNÍ SLOVNÍK, Praha
“МОНГОЛ ХЭЛНИЙ УНШИХ БИЧИГ”/ ГАДААДЫНХАНД ЗОРИУЛАВ, Д.Нямаагийн хамт/, УБ., 2003 он. 10 х.х.
COLLOQUIAL MONGOLIAN - AN INTRODUCTORY INTENSIVE COURSE, Jugderiin Lubsandorji, Jaroslav Vacek, Praha 2004
MONGOLIAN GRAMMAR, D. Tserenpil, R. Kullmann, Ulaanbaatar 2005