Mongolian Lessons by Leon of Leon's Planet

I lived in Mongolia for 5 years!

"Happy New Year!" in Mongolian Шинэ оны мэнд хүргэе!  (Shine Onii Mend Khurgiye!)

Mongolian Alphabet

I should mention that the commonly used Romanization of certain sounds is severely lacking in accuracy, as three different Mongolian sounds/letters are all Romanized as "u".  That sucks!
 ...and therefore I have devised my own Romanization, which is the same (in some cases) to the Korean NEW Romanization (adopted in the year 2000).

Cyrillic Letter	Mongolian Romanization (has problems)	Leon's Romanization (no problems)	APA (American Phonetic Alphabet)	IPA (Int'l Phonetic Alphabet)	Sounds like...	...in this English word	Sounds like This Korean letter	Sounds like this Chinese pinyin
A,a	A,a	A,a	ä	a	a	father	ㅏ	a
Б,б	B,b	B,b	b	b	b	bog	ㅂ	b
Г,г	G,g	G,g	g	g	g	go	ㄱ	g
Д,д	D,d	D,d	d	d	d	do	ㄷ	d
Е,е	Ye, ye	Ye, ye	y	je	ye	yes	ㅖ	ye
Ё,ё	Yo, yo	Y, y	y	jɒ	ya [UK] yu [US]	yacht [UK] yum [US]	ㅕ	-none-
Ж,ж	J	J	j		j	Joe	ㅈ	zh, j
З,з	Z,z	Z,z	z	z	z	zoo	-none-	z
И,и	I,i	I,i	_ e	i:	e	eel	ㅣ	i
K,k	K,k	K,k	k	k	k	kite	ㅋ	k
Л,л	L,l	L,l	l	l	l	Leon	ㄹㄹ	l
М,м	M,m	M,m	m	m	m	mummy	ㅁ	m
Н,н	N,n	N,n	n	n	n	no	ㄴ	n
O,o	O,o			ʌ	o	money	ㅓ	-none-
Ө,ө	U,u	Ø	ü /		u	put	ㅡ	e
П,п	P,p	P,p	p	p	p	poll	ㅍ	p
Р,р	R,r	R,r	r	r	r	run	ㄹ	r
C,c	S,s	S,s	s	s	c	city	ㅅ [ + a,e,o,u]	s
Т,т	T,t	T,t	t	t	t	toe	ㅌ	t
У,у	U,u		_ o		o	go	ㅗ	o
Ү,ү	U,u	U,u or V,v	_ u	u:	u	flu	ㅜ	u
Ф,ф	F,f	F,f	f	f	f	fog	-none-	f
X,x	Kh, kh	Kh, kh	harsh "h"	?	harsh "h"	Khan	ㅎ	h
Ц,ц	Ts, ts	Ts, ts	ts	ts	ts	tsunami	-none-	c
Ч,ч	Ch, ch	Ch, ch	ch		ch	chick	ㅊ	ch, q
Ш,ш	Sh, sh	Sh, sh	sh		sh	shame	ㅅ (+ ㅣ)	sh, x
Э,э	E,e	E,e		e	e	bed	ㅔ	e
Ю,ю	Yu, yu	Yu, yu	_ yu	ju:	you U	you Utah	ㅠ	yu
Я,я	Ya, ya	Ya, ya	yä	ja	ya	yahoo!	ㅑ	ya
В,в	W,w	W,w	w/v	w/v	It's more generally pronounced like a "w".	win	ㅘ, ㅙ,ㅝ	w

Please Notice the Big Problem
The Mongolian way of Romanizing their language leaves much to be desired.  My only gripe is that 3 different Mongolian vowels (ө, у, ү) are Romanized the exact same way (i.e., with the Roman letter "U,u").

They are very different sounds, but English IS a crazy language and those exact sounds can be written as "u" in English.  For instance....

ө = u in "put";

 у = ou in "though";

ү = u in "flute".

Solution
Many Mongolians attempt to solve the problem by Romanizing thusly:

ө = u;  у = u; ү = v

It is insufficient.  So, I shall Romanize thusly:

ө = Ø;  у = ; ү = v

Mongolian Diphthongs 

What is a "diphthong"?  Well Collins online dictionary defines it thusly:

"a vowel sound, occupying a single syllable, during the articulation of which the tongue moves from one position to another, causing a continual change in vowel quality, as in the pronunciation of "a" in English "late", during which the tongue moves from the position of (e) towards (ɪ)."

The Mongolian language has diphthongs as well.  For instance:

"aй" is pronounced like the short "a" in colloquial speech.

"эй" is always pronounced /ei/ (long a).

"oй" can be pronounced /oi/ (as in "toilet"),
but is commonly pronounced /ei/ (long a)

 GOOGLE TRANSLATE...

Mongolian language is now on Google Translate (as of December 2013); however, it is severely flawed, as it is with most Asian languages (to and from English).  The reason for this is because different languages have different ways of saying things.  For instance, Mongolians do not say, "How are you?"  They say, "Good are?"

Some Basic, Useful,
Every-day Phrases
(greetings, shopping, ordering food)

PREFACE: Remember that in typically Romanized Mongolian "u" = ө, у, ү . (That means that 3 Mongolian letters/sounds are represented (typically) by ONE Roman letter "u") To deal with this HUGE problem, I (Leon) will Romanize differently; thusly: ө = Ø     y =     ү = v Also, instead of Romanizing "x" as "kh", I will Romanize "x" as "x" Also, instead of Romanizing "c" as "s", I will Romanize "c" as "c" (Let's refer to that/this style of Romanizing Mongolian "Leon's Romanization").
Mongolian	English (free translation)	English (exact translation)	Romanized Mongolian (Leon's style)	Sounds like...
Сайн байна уу?	Hello, How are you?	Good are?	Cain bain-?	San Ban Oh?
Notice:   "yy" (in Mongolian Cyrillic) at the end indicates that the sentence is an interrogative.
Сайн	I'm fine.	Good.	Cain.	San
Таны нэр хэн бэ?	What's your name? (to older or unfamiliar person of same age)	Your name who are?	Tani ner xen be?	Tahny neer heen beh?
чиний нэр хэн бэ?	What's thy name? (to younger or familiar person of same age)	Thy name who are?	Chinii ner xen be?	Chiny neer heen beh?
Миний нэр бол....	My name is....	My name is....	Minii ner bol....	Minii neer bol...
Таныг хэн гэдгуу?	What do you call yourself?	Yourself who called?	Tanaig xen gedg?	Tah-nik heen gitgo?
Чамайг хэн гэдгуу?	What dost thou call thyself?	Thyself who called?	Chamaig xen gedguu?	Chamack heen gitgo?
Намайг _______ гэдэг.	They call me ________.	Me, ______, am named.	Namaig _______ gedeg.	Namack _______ gidk.
Миний нэрийг ______ гэдэг.	My name is ________.	My name, ______, is called.	Minii Neriig ______ gedeg.	Mini neerick ______gidk.
Та хаанаас ирсэн бэ?	Where are you from?  (to elder)	You where-from came?	Ta xanas ircen (be)?	Tah hahnas eersn (beh)?
чи хаанаас ирсэн бэ?	Where art thou from?  (to younger)	Thou where-from came?	Chi xanas ircen (be)?	Chee hahnas eersn (beh)?
Note:   the suffix "~aac" ("~ooc,~ØØc, ~ээc") means "from".
Би ____~аас/ээс ирсэн.	I am from ________.	I, ________-from came.	Bi _______-aas irsen.	Bee _______-ahs eersn.
Та хэдэн настай вэ?	How old are you?  (to elder)	You, how many age(wtih) are?	Ta xeden nastai-ve?	Ta heedn nahsteh-veh?
Чи хэдэн настай вэ?	How old are you?  (to younger)	Thou, how many age(with) art?	Chi xeden nastai-ve?	Chee heedn nahsteh-veh?
-	I am ____ years old.	I ____ aged-[am].	Bi ____ nastai.	Bee ____ nahsteh.
-	Where's the toilet?	Zero, where is?	Neol, xaana bain-ve?	Nl, hahn ban-veh?
зөөгч (+ өө)	Waiter/Waitress/Server	Server! Waiter! Waitress!	ZØgchØØ	Zkch
Note:  When calling a person, you must add an ending that agrees with the vowels.
Уучлаарай (commonly used)	Excuse me / I'm sorry	Forgive, please	Uuchlaarai	OHch-lah-ray
Өршөөгөөрэй (not used much)	Excuse me / Pardon me	Excuse, please	ØrshØØrØØrei	rshrray
Note:  The suffix ~aarai, (~ooroi, ~ØØrØi, ~eerei)   means "please".  See next "Note" for more details.
Би монгол хэл сурмаар байна.	I want to learn Mongolian language.	I Mongolian language learn-want + be.	Bi mongol xel curmaar baina.	Bee mongol hill sor-mar ban.
_____ дуртай уу?	Do you like _________?	________ like?	________ dortai-?	_________ dorteh-oh?
Нэг пиво өгөөрөй.	One beer, please.	One beer, give please.	Nig pivo ØgØØrei.	Nick peevoh  greh.
Important Note: I'm told by many Mongolians, that in the case of ordering food or drink, "ØgØØch" is actually more polite.  (Go figure) However, even more polite speech would be to use "awii", which is akin to "I'll take a...." or "I'll have a...." And if you are somebody's home and you would like to ultra polite, you should use "awch bolho?" which is to say, "May I take a....?" or "May I have a....?" See below for more details:
(I would only use this to familiar server with gentle intonation)	One beer, please.	One beer, give.	Nig pivo, ØgØØch.	Nick peevoh, gch.
(This is more polite)	I'll have a beer.	One beer, I'll take.	Nig pivo, awii.	Nick peevoh, owie.
(This is ultra polite)	May I have a beer?	One beer take-may?	Nig pivo, awch bolox ?	Nick peevoh, ouch bolho?
Тооцоо өгөөрөй.	Bill, please.	Bill, give please.	Tootsoo  ØgØØrei.	Tuh-Tsuh  greh. [APA] T-Ts    greh. [IPA]
(This is more polite)	Will you do/make the bill?	Bill, will do/make?	Tootsoo  xiine-?	Tuh-Tsuh hee-neh oh?
ямар үнэтэй вэ?	How much does it cost?	How much pricey is it?	Yamar  vnetei we?	yah-mar un-tey-veh?
хэдий үнэтэй вэ?	How much does it cost?	How much pricey is it?	Xedii vnetei we?	Heedee Un-tey-veh?
хэд вэ?  (Written. short form)	How much does it cost?	How much?	Xed we?	Heed veh?
хэд уу?  (Colloq. Short form)	How much does it cost?	How much?	Xed uu?	Heed oh?
-	May I take your order?		Tani zaxialgiig awch bolox uu?
-	Would you like to order?		Ta zahialgaa ØgØx uu?
-	What time is it?		Xeden tsag bolj bain we?
-	How much time [will it take]?		Xer ix xugatsaa zartcuulax we?
-	How long have you been in Mongolia?	Mongolia-in come-since how long have you been tarrying?	Mongold ireed xer udaj baina?	Mongold ired here ohdaj ban?
-	I have been here for 3 years.	Mongolia-in come-since 3 years became and exists.	Mongold ireed 3 jil bolj baina.	Mongolid ired gorawn jil bolj ban.
хэдэн? хэр их?	How many? How much?	How many? How much?	Xeden? Xer ix?	Heeden? Heer ikh?
цаг хэд вэ?	What time is it?	Time how many?	Tsag xed we?	Tsak heed veh?
хэдэн удаа?	How many times?	How many times?	Xeden udaa?	Heeden ohdah?

Now, Let's Learn Our Numbers!

(Please know that a double vowel signifies a slight stress on that syllable and a slight bit lengthier pronunciation)

More numbers...

English	Mongolian Cyrillic	Leon's Style Romanized...	Sounds like...
twenty	хорин	horin	huh-rn
thirty	гучин	guchin	guh-chin
forty	дөчин	dØchin	deu-chin
fifty	тавин	tawin	tævn
sixty	жаран	jaran	jarn
seventy	далан	dalan	daln
eighty	наян	nayan	nine (yes!  sounds like the number 9)
ninety	ерэн	yeren	yeh-rn
hundred	зуу зуун~	zoo zoon~	zoh (z + oh) zone~
thousand	мянг мянган~	myang myangan~	mynk myngn~
million	сая	caya	sai (sigh)
billion	тэрбум	terbum	teer-bohm

Mongolian Pronouns
Preface: I have included the linguistic terms, because most grammar books prefer to use those terms.  I, however, prefer to use the common grammar words (below the linguistic terms), for I find that they are completely satisfactory in describing the language.

Please Note:  Mongolian (as all Altaic languages) uses Post-Positions (instead of Pre-positions).

Thou = familiar form of you.

Some random Mongolian sentences
 (hopefully useful to you)

Some Mongolian Vocab...

Mongolian animals:

Mongolian Colors:

Mongolian Nature Words:

Mongolian Grammar Section

First, lets start with basic syntax.

Intro to Mongolian Syntax.
English is a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language.  Mongolian (as with all Altaic languages) is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language.

I have studied Korean (another Altaic language) for ten years and I understand Korean grammar perfectly; however, Mongolian is proving to be a much more difficult language than Korean.  Hopefully, "we" (you and I) will be able to work through the intricacies of the Mongolian language, in time.  Please contact me if you have insights or questions.

One problem with learning the Mongolian language is that the Mongolians do not use the copula (verb "be") to couple two nouns/subjects.
English example:  I am a teacher.  "I" is the subject, and "teacher" is the subject complement.  It's two nouns/subjects coupled together by the copula (verb "be").  See Mongolian example below:

See????  No copula.

That's doesn't mean that there isn't a copula.  There is (so I'm told).  It just isn't used.  See example below.

But, the word "bol" is NOT in the dictionary.  And I've never heard a Mongolian use it in normal, everyday speech.  So,....

Mongolian language has the existential verb "байх" which literally means: "to exist", but also functions as a "helping verb" in the present-continuous tense.  See examples below.

Note:  Mongolian is a a pro-drop language.  That means that the subject (and sometimes object) can be dropped!

So, instead of saying "As for me, a book exists", Mongolians would normally just say, "A book exists." And, "As for me" would be completely understood by the interlocutor.

Also, instead of saying, "I book reading am", Mongolians would just say, "...book reading am."

Now, for another Subject-Object-Verb sentence.  See examples below.

See the problem with the Romanization of Mongolian????

It should be like this:  "Bi dr bur makh idekh."

Anyways, you can see the Subject-Object-Verb syntax.

If only it were that easy, though.  Mongolians have to complicate things.  See examples below.

You CAN say, "I-you-love" in Mongolian, thusly, "Bi chamaik xairdag"; BUT, nobody says it that way.

It's just a matter of 'That's the way it is done!'  Get used to it.

Likewise, you can say, "As for me, a son exists" in Mongolian, thusly, "Nadad khuu baigaa"; BUT, nobody says it that way.

See below for correct way to say, "I have a son."

Noun/Verb Suffixes

Thankfully, Mongolian doesn't have as many verb suffixes as Korean does, but they still can be confusing to English speakers, because English doesn't have them.

Let's explore Mongolian noun/verb suffixes:

Shuu & Dee
(the emphatic particles)

"Goodbye" in Mongolian is always written: "баяртай;" However, anyone who has been in Mongolia for any length of time, will tell you that they hear, "Baishdee" quite a lot.

That is a contraction of "Bayar shuu dee".

"Shuu" and "Dee" are emphatic particles, which in English would be expressed as " ! "
In Korean, it would be: (~찬아)

When "shuu" and "dee" are used together, it would be like this " ! ! " in English (double the emphasis).

Let's look at some more examples:

Adjective suffix:

Yumaa (юмaa)

Yumaa (as far as I can tell) is different (from "shuu" and "dee"), in that it actually functions as a noun-verb combination:
 "~thing, it is!" (with emphasis).

It is ALWAYS at the end of the sentence, and seems to follow an adjective.

If you look in the Chingis Khaan Mongolian-English Dictionary (2012), it translates "yumaa" as "thing".

However, I think that it functions as "~thing, it is!" (because the VERB is ALWAYS last in Altaic languages).

In Korean, it would be like "~geoshine." (~것이네)

Let's look at some examples.

See!  The adjective precedes the "yumaa", which means "thing is" or "things are".

HOWEVER, there are exceptions to the "rule" (that I just made).

It appears that Mongolians use "Yumaa" after nouns as well !

See example below:

But, that FIRST example was from a Mongolian repat on Facebook, and he may have been affected by L2 interference.

L2 interference (in this case) means:  he let his English language learning affect his Mongolian language production.

Or is it a mistake?????

In another example, taken from a text about Jesus Christ (I'm not a Christian by the way), we see that the word "yum" is preceded by the word "bolokh" which is a to-infinitive noun, which can mean: "to come" or "to become" or "to happen".

The last example, my Mongolian teacher gave me.

Let's take a short break and look at this comic that I found on facebook:

At the bottom it says: "Ene bol bidnii niigem." = "This is our society."

So, there you have the copula: bol.  I guess it is used from time to time.

BE CAREFUL, though, "bol" has other meanings/usages (click here to see).

~bish (биш)
(a noun suffix)

"~bish" means not (but not with a verb)

Conjunctions / Connectives

(Please note that there is no "or", because it is not used).

AH!   NO WONDER WHY THE MONGOLIANS GET CONFUSED BETWEEN "BECAUSE" AND "SO"!!!!!!

The 3 Becauses

Mongolians also have trouble with the word "because", because they don't understand that the English "because" has 3 different usages.

See table below for details:

And the above is only ONE of the reasons that Google translate sucks!

The Conditional
(~бол, ~вал, ~вэл, etc.)

Can (~ж чадах)
(to be able)

The 2 Wants

Verb Tenses

Mongolian Active and Passive Voice

Preface:  Not all Mongolian verbs have a passive voice, so here's what I could find:

Please note that the Mongolian language has active voice for being born (while English doesn't).

In fact, the funny thing is that Mongolian uses active voice for being born and passive for giving birth.
It really is funny, because mom does all the work (mom is very active) and the baby is passive (when it is birthed).

TØrØx = To come into this world (to be born; to be birthed)
TØrvvlex = To bring into this world (to birth; to give birth)

...for...    ~ing....

The 3 "Likes"

Contact me.  (for comments and questions)

Compare Mongolian to Other Languages