Word banks

Themed reference lists, from the words you'll need first to the ones you'll grow into.

• Pronouns

  The personal pronouns, one small table per case — with notes on when each case is used. The full reference table is at the bottom. (6 cases)

• Question words

  The interrogatives. A question built around one of these does not take the question particle -mı — the word itself carries the question. (11 entries)

• Greetings & courtesy

  What to say when you meet, thank, and leave — the glue of every conversation. (11 entries)

• The little words

  Connectors, particles, yes and no — tiny words that hold whole sentences together. (12 entries)

• Pointing words

  This, that, here, there — the words that point, with hand and chin. (10 entries)

• Numbers

  Counting words — and how to stack them into any number you need. (27 entries)

• Time words

  Days, parts of the day, and the little words that anchor a sentence in time. (25 entries)

• Days of the week

  The seven days, each built on kün (day) — name the first word and you've named the day. (7 entries)

• Opposite pairs

  Everyday describing words, learned two at a time — each one pins down the other. (20 entries)

• Family

  Kin words. You will almost always hear them wearing an owner: atam — my father, atang — your father, atası — his or her father. (23 entries)

• Body parts

  Head to foot — the words you point at yourself with. (29 entries)

• Food & drink

  What's on the table — including the dishes the Karachay are famous for. (29 entries)

• Animals

  Herd, yard, and mountain — the animals the culture was built around. (27 entries)

• Nature & weather

  Mountains, weather, and the outdoors — the landscape the language grew up in. (26 entries)

• Colors

  Ten basic colors, all ordinary adjectives — they sit in front of the noun and never change shape. (10 entries)

• Parts of a house

  The house itself, and the things you open, close and lock. (16 entries)

• The face, in detail

  Past the eyes and nose of the body bank — the smaller parts of a face. (8 entries)

• Hand tools

  Things with a handle — what you pick up to do a job. (12 entries)

• Small creatures

  The insects and crawling things — smaller than anything in the animals bank. (9 entries)

• Birds

  Birds of the field and the sky, and the two words every bird needs. (13 entries)

• The four seasons

  The complete yearly cycle: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. (4 entries)

• Directions & orientation

  The compass points and the everyday words for moving up, down, left, right, in, and out. (14 entries)

• Islamic terminology

  Core words of Islamic faith, prayer, scripture, fasting, charity, pilgrimage, and the hereafter. (40 entries)

• Plants & plant parts

  The basic words for plants, from root and seed to leaf, flower, and fruit. (8 entries)

• Furniture

  The things that make a room usable: a table, seats, beds, storage, and cupboards. (7 entries)

• Kitchen & tableware

  The vessels and utensils used to cook, serve, and eat a meal. (12 entries)

• Clothing & accessories

  Everyday clothes, footwear, headwear, and the small things that hold an outfit together. (13 entries)

• Preparing food

  The practical verbs that take food from raw ingredients to the table. (12 entries)

• Work & occupations

  Traditional crafts, practical trades, and the people whose work holds a community together. (13 entries)

• Community & hospitality

  Guests and hosts, neighbours and elders, shared meals, gatherings, and community custom. (14 entries)

• Feelings, character & values

  Words for how people feel, how they relate to one another, and the qualities admired in a person. (18 entries)

• Health & feeling unwell

  Practical words for health, illness, medicine, symptoms, breathing, and treatment. (14 entries)

• Learning, science & inquiry

  The native and established vocabulary of study, teaching, research, measurement, and branches of knowledge. (19 entries)

• 100 common verbs

  A practical core of actions for everyday conversation, movement, work, and life. (100 entries)

• 100 everyday nouns

  One hundred useful things, people, places, and parts of the world to name first. (100 entries)