A dictionary and grammar of

Karachay

8,941 entries· 966,156 forms· 24 lessons· updated 30 August 2026

Try at or atlarıbızdan — Cyrillic or Latin, any inflected form finds its word.
New here? Start with lesson 1 →

The analyzer coming soon

barğanlarıbızdan

  1. barstem
  2. ğanpst.ptcp
  3. larpl
  4. ıbız1pl.poss
  5. danabl

“from those of us that went”

from barırğa — to go

Every segment below is the engine's own answer for this word. Typing your own is coming.

One engine builds every table on this site — and the search reads its output, so any of these forms typed above leads back to its word.

Entry of the day

taw / taw / noun

mountain

taw · tawnu · tawğa · tawda

mingi taw — mount Elbrus (literally: the eternal mountain)

at / at / noun

horse

at · atnı · atha · atda

atnı semirtseng, jayaw jürümezse — fatten your horse and you will not go on foot — a proverb

ayran / ajran / noun

salted yoghurt drink

ayran · ayrannı · ayranga · ayranda

çayqağan ayran — churned ayran, buttermilk

jürek / dʒyrek / noun

heart

jürek · jürekni · jürekge · jürekde

jürekni tebiwü — the beating of the heart

barırğa / barɯrʁa / verb

to go

barama · bardım · barırma

sen qayrı barasa? — where are you going?

kök / køk / noun

sky

kök · köknü · kökge · kökde

kökge deri — up to the sky

ariw / ariw / adjective

beautiful

ariw · ariwraq · em ariw

ariw keçe — a beautiful night

börü / børy / noun

wolf

börü · börünü · börüge · börüde

bölüngenni börü aşar — the wolf eats the one that has separated off

gırjın / ɡɯrdʒɯn / noun

bread

gırjın · gırjınnı · gırjınga · gırjında

buday gırjın — wheat bread

bilirge / bilirɡe / verb

to know

bileme · bildim · bilirme

men anı bileme — I know him

jangur / dʒaŋur / noun

rain

jangur · jangurnu · jangurğa · jangurda

jangur jawadı — it is raining

teng / teŋ / noun

friend

teng · tengni · tengge · tengde

jan tengim — my dearest friend

hıçın / xɯtʃɯn / noun

filled flatbread

hıçın · hıçınnı · hıçınga · hıçında

bışlaq hıçın — a cheese-filled flatbread

tülkü / tylky / noun

fox

tülkü · tülkünü · tülküge · tülküde

aq tülkü — an arctic fox

süyerge / syjerɡe / verb

to love

süyeme · süydüm · süyerme

süygenibiz süyünsün! — may the one we love rejoice!

qar / qar / noun

snow

qar · qarnı · qarğa · qarda

teren qar — deep snow

süt / syt / noun

milk

süt · sütnü · sütge · sütde

jangı sawulğan süt — freshly milked milk

üydegi / yjdeɡi / noun

family

üydegi · üydegini · üydegige · üydegide

tolu üydegi — a whole family, one with father, mother and children

terek / terek / noun

tree

terek · terekni · terekge · terekde

alma terek — an apple tree

aşarğa / aʃarʁa / verb

to eat

aşayma · aşadım · aşarma

et aşarğa — to eat meat

jel / dʒel / noun

wind

jel · jelni · jelge · jelde

bulbul / bulbul / noun

nightingale

bulbul · bulbulnu · bulbulğa · bulbulda

bulbul tawuşla — nightingale trills

igi / iɡi / adjective

good

igi · igirek · em igi

igi adam — a good person

köl / køl / noun

lake

köl · kölnü · kölge · kölde

köl qorqaq da qol batır — the heart is timid but the hand is brave

bışlaq / bɯʃlaq / noun

cheese

bışlaq · bışlaqnı · bışlaqğa · bışlaqda

jangı bışlaq — fresh cheese

kiştik / kiʃtik / noun

cat

kiştik · kiştikni · kiştikge · kiştikde

it bla kiştikça — like cat and dog — a proverb

kelin / kelin / noun

bride

kelin · kelinni · kelinge · kelinde

jangı kelin — a new bride

jer / dʒer / noun

earth

jer · jerni · jerge · jerde

jerni sibirirge — to sweep the floor

tuqum / tuqum / noun

family name

tuqum · tuqumnu · tuqumğa · tuqumda

sizni tuqumuğuz qalaydı — what is your family name

iynanırğa / ijnanɯrʁa / verb

to believe

iynanama · iynandım · iynanırma

süyseng iynan, süyseng qoy — believe it if you like, or do not

tübeşirge / tybeʃirɡe / verb

to meet one another

tübeşeme · tübeşdim · tübeşirme

tambla tübeşirbiz — we shall meet tomorrow

About

A dictionary and grammar of Karachay, the Turkic language of the Karachay people of the Caucasus. The language is normally written in Cyrillic; every word here is stored in one canonical spelling and shown in the script you choose — Cyrillic, Karachay Latin, or the spelling of one of the printed sources.

The tables are generated, not typed in. One engine builds every conjugation, case and possessive on the site — 966,156 forms from 8,941 entries — and the search answers from the same forms, so a word met in a real text leads back to its entry. Where a printed source attests a form, the data says so; where a paradigm is unverified, the data marks that too.

Sources

Where the definitions come from.

  • Суюнчев & Тенишев 1989Карачаево-балкарско-русский словарь. Moscow. 29,738 entries drawn on — the largest single source.
  • ТСКБЯ 1996–2005Толковый словарь карачаево-балкарского языка, 3 vols. Nalchik. 24,499 entries — the explanatory dictionary, and the only one that defines in Karachay rather than translating.
  • Nevruz 1991Karaçay-Malkar Türkçe Sözlük. 11,504 entries, and the Turkish side of every triangulation.
  • Суюнчев & Урусбиев 1965Русско-карачаево-балкарский словарь. Moscow. Consulted Russian-first.

And for the spelling and the grammar.

  • Seegmiller 1996Karachay. Lincom. The reference grammar.
  • Sipos & Tavkul 2015Karachay-Balkar Folksongs. Song texts — real connected Karachay.

The three scholars' own Latin spellings are available as display scripts, from the gear in the corner. Definitions are our own English, written from these sources and checked against a corpus of 19.6 million words; the sources' own wording is not reproduced.

The lessons

  1. 1 Reading Karachay
  2. 2 Pronouns and the simple past
  3. 3 The present
  4. 4 The two futures
  5. 5 Saying no
  6. 6 Asking questions
  7. 7 The little past helper
  8. 8 The two pasts
  9. 9 If, would, and would have
  10. 10 Can, can't, must
  11. 11 The six shapes of a noun
  12. 12 Whose it is
  13. 13 Words that grow
  14. 14 Describing things
  15. 15 Joining two actions
  16. 16 How an action unfolds
  17. 17 What Karachay doesn't have
  18. 18 Making new words
  19. 19 Sentences with no verb
  20. 20 What you are saying about it comes last
  21. 21 Pointing and naming
  22. 22 Saying no
  23. 23 Asking
  24. 24 Describing things

The dictionary

Part of speech Among them Entries
Verbs barırğa to go · kelirge to come · bilirge to know 2,360
Nouns taw mountain · at horse · ana mother 4,619
Adjectives ariw beautiful · igi good · ullu big 1,433
Adverbs qayda where · açhasız having no money · açı bitter 402
Participles abınıwçu one who stumbles · açıqlangan modified, qualified · açıqlawçu one who clarifies 329
Interjections aferim well done, bravo · ah ah!, oh!, alas! · aha aha!, ah!, well then 126
Numerals altaw six of them · altawlan six people, the six of them · altı six 71
Particles ho yes · aha aha!, ah!, well then · alaydı that is so, it is like that, indeed, precisely so 57
Postpositions alğa forward, ahead · allı front · allına to meet, towards 54
Pronouns men I · ala they; those · alar they 43
Conjunctions alese if so, then · amma but, however, nevertheless, yet · ansı otherwise, or else, if not, lest 14
Determiners barı all · bıla these · bu this 9
All entries 8,941

Word banks

Cite as

Karachay — a dictionary and grammar. karachay.com, 2026. Data revision b0684c87, 30 August 2026.