#tt_newbie
Asking for the time

⏳ Basic time expressions:

yıl – year
ay – month
atna – week
kön – day
səğət – hour, watch
minut – minute
sekund – second
mizgel – moment

💡 In Tatar, we use the same logic as “today” (bu + kön = bügen) for “this year” (bu + yıl = bıyıl). For “last year,” uzğan yıl and bıltır are both used.

💡Don’t confuse yıl (year) with yəş (age, years old). Bıyıl 27 yəşne tutıram. – This year I’m turning 27 years old.

In Tatar, the hours of the day and night are primarily expressed using cardinal numbers. However, half-hours are expressed using ordinal numbers.

Səğət niçə? - What time is it?
Səğət ber. - It is one o'clock.
Səğət ike. - It is two o'clock.

You can add following words to specify if you’re talking about AM or PM:
irtənge səğət tuğızda (at 9 AM / 9:00) – kiçke səğət tuğızda (at 9 PM / 21:00)
köndezge səğət öçtə (at 3 PM / 15:00) – tönge səğət öçtә (at 3 AM / 3:00)

⏳ Daily time expressions in Tatar are:

irtə – morning
kön – day
kön urtası – midday
töş, öylə – noon
kiç – evening
tön – night
tön urtası – midnight

💡 To indicate minutes past the hour:

12:17 – Unike tulıp uncide minut. / Səğət unike də uncide. / Səğət berençe uncide minut.
09:15 – Tuğız tulıp unbiş minut. / Səğət tuğız da unbiş minut / Səğət unınçı unbiş minut.

💡 Half-hours are expressed using ordinals:

16:30 – Səğət bişençe yartı

💡 To indicate minutes to the next hour, use the cardinal number of the next hour preceded by the minutes:

16:50 – Biş tulırğa un minut. / Un minuttan biş tula. / Bişkə un minut qaldı.

💡 To indicate that it is almost a certain time:

Səğət öç tulıp kilə. - It is nearly three o'clock.
Səğət öçkə yaqınlaşa. - It's getting close to three o'clock.

💡 When indicating the time, the cardinals are placed after "səğət" (clock, hour). When indicating the number of hours, cardinals precede "səğət".

səğət ber (one o'clock) – ber səğət (one hour)
səğət ike (two o'clock) – ike səğət (two hours)


⏳ Dates are expressed by the cardinals if the month is mentioned and by ordinals if the month is omitted:

Kürgəzmə undürtençe iyüldə açıla. – The exhibition opens on July 14th.
Kürgəzmə undürtendə açıla. – The exhibition opens on the 14th.

Yegerme berençe dekabr ide. – It was December 21st.
Kiçə yegerme berese ide. – Yesterday was the 21st.

Martnıñ 10ınnan 20senə çaqlı. – From the 10th to the 20th of March.

#tt_beginner
Unstable Vowels

In Tatar, there are vowel phonemes ı and e that are unstable. These vowels are fully articulated in the basic form of a word but are often reduced or ejected when suffixes are added. There are no fixed rules for their behavior, but generally, they are pronounced when the accent is on them. When the accent shifts due to suffixes, these vowels tend to be reduced or ejected.

🔻 Vowel ejection in bisyllabic verbs

Some bisyllabic verbs eject the vowel ı or e from the stem when a suffix starting with a vowel is added:

qurıq! (be afraid), qurıqma! (don’t be afraid), bez qurıqmadıq (we were not afraid)
BUT: alar qurqalar (they are afraid), ul qurqaçaq (he will be afraid), qurqu (to be afraid), qurqaq (coward)

qalıq! (rise), qalıqma! (do not rise!), min qalıqmadım (I did not rise)
BUT: sez qalqasız (you are rising), min qalqaçaqmın (I will rise), qalqıp (rising), qalqu (to rise), qalqıtu (to raise)

🔻 Dual-stem verbs

Some bisyllabic verbs have two stems with an unstable vowel in the second syllable. These verbs also eject the vowel ı or e when a suffix with an initial vowel is added:

selkü (to shake), selki (he shakes), selkep (shaking)
BUT: selekkən or selkegən (he shook)

Same happens to some other verbs: balqu (to shine), yolqu (to pluck), börkü (to sprinkle, to emit)

🔻 Ejection in bisyllabic words

A large group of bisyllabic words with an open first syllable and ı or e in a closed second syllable sometimes (usually in poems) reduce or eject the ı or e when suffixes with an initial vowel are added:

urın (place) – urınıbız or urnıbız (our place)
borın (nose) – borını or bornı (his nose)
küñel (spirit) – küñele or küñle (his spirit)
burıç (debt) – burıçım or burçım (my debt)
küren! (appear) – kürenə or kürnə (he appears)

Words of Arabic origin that end in two consonants and have become bisyllabic by inserting ı or e between consonants also eject the unstable vowel:

isem (name) – isemem or ismem (my name)
fiker (thought) – fikere or fikre (his thought)
ğömer (life) – ğömere or ğömre (his life)
waqıt (time), waqıtında or waqtında (in its time)
axır (end) – axırına or axrına (to its end)

These words always eject the unstable vowel when the Arabic adjective endings i or ıy are added:
ğilem (science) – ğilmi (scientific)

🔻 Reduction in open first syllables

In the first syllable, if it is open and unaccented, the vowels ı and e are always strongly reduced:

belü (to know) sounds almost like blü
teləw (to wish) sounds almost like tləw
qısu (to press) sounds almost like qsu

#tt_intermediate
Time-related vocabulary

waqıtında – in/on time
waqıt citte – it's about time
təwlek buyı – around the clock


🕐 Frequency

köndəlek, kön sayın – daily
atnalıq, atna sayın – weekly
aylıq, ay sayın – monthly
yıl sayın – annually
atnağa ber – once a week
ike atnağa ber – biweekly, once in two weeks

köndәlek biremnәr – daily tasks
atnalıq eş – weekly work

💡 To form an adjective from the other phrases, -a/ә torğan is added after the verb that follows these phrases:

kön sayın bula torğan oçraşu – daily meeting (lit. “meeting taking place daily”)
atna sayın ütәlә torğan eş – weekly work (lit. “work that’s done weekly”)
atnağa ber kilә torğan keşe – person coming once a week


🕐 Historical time expressions

unyıllıq – decade
ğasır – century
meñyıllıq – millennium
çor – epoch
dəwer – era
məñgelek – eternity


🕐 Past, Present and Future

kiçə – yesterday
bügen – today
irtəgə – tomorrow

ütkən zaman – past
bügenge kön – present
kiləçək – future

baş – beginning
urta – middle
dəwam – continuation
axır – end


🕐 Adjectives

waqıtlıça – temporary
daimi – permanent
kiləse – next
əlege, xəzerge – current, actual
bu – this
bıyılğı – this year’s
uzğan – last
bıltırğı – last year’s


🕐 Time Markers

yaqında – in the near future
bu arada – recently
tizdən – soon
axır çiktə – eventually
ber ük waqıtta – at the same time, simultaneously


🕐 Work-related

eş waqıtı – working time
tənəfes – break
yal – rest
eş köne – weekday
yal könnəre – weekend
buş kön – day-off
buş waqıt – free time
yal(lar) – vacation, leave


Try using these words in a sentence in the comments!

#tt_advanced
Conditionals

⭕️ Formation of the conditional mood

The conditional mood in Tatar is formed by adding the suffix -sa or -sə to the verb stem. The personal endings are then attached to this suffix.

min uqısam / kilsəm
sin uqısañ / kilsəñ
ul uqısa / kilsə
bez uqısaq / kilsək
sez uqısağız / kilsəgez
alar uqısalar / kilsələr

Time reference

The conditional mood can refer to the present, past, or future, depending on the context and the tense of the main clause. Time can be further specified using compound forms with the verb bulu (to be) in the conditional clause.

Although the suffix -sa or -sə already indicates a conditional mood, it is common to use additional markers such as əgər, əgər də (meaning "if" or "in case") at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis.

⭕️ Real conditional

This type of conditional implies nothing about the truth or falsity of the condition. It can refer to the present, past, or future. The conclusion may be in any form that the sense allows.

The simple form in -sa, -sə:
Xəzer şularnı uylasam, üzemneñ tüzüwemə ğəcəplənəm. (Ğadel Qutuy, “Tapşırılmağan xatlar”)
If I think about those things now, I am amazed at my patience.

There are also compound forms like -ğan, -gən bulsa, -a, -ə torğan bulsa, -r/-mas bulsa, -açaq, -əçək bulsa, and -ası, -əse bulsa.

Bu yalğan, Cəğfər, əgər siña ber-ber nərsə söyləgən bulsalar, ışanma, – dide. (Ğabdraxman Əpsələmov, “Yəşel Yar”)
“This is a lie, Cəğfər. If they have told you something, don’t believe (them),” she said.

⭕️ Potential conditional

The potential conditional refers to the future. It implies that the supposed case can have a potential for future realization. It may be expressed by the simple form in -sa, -sə and by the compounds -ğan, -gən bulsa, etc. and -ası, -əse, -ıysı, -ise bulsa. The predicate of the consequence clause is most frequently a verb in the future tense I stem -r/-ır/-er followed by idem, ideñ, etc.

Bu süzlərne cıyılışta söyləsəñ, ixtimal, kem bulsa da qolaq salır yəki qul çabar ide. (Ğabdraxman Əpsələmov, "Yəşel Yar")
If you say these words at a meeting, it’s possible that someone might listen or applaud.

⭕️ Unreal conditional

Unreal conditional implies that the condition is not or was not true. It can refer to the present or past and is often used to discuss hypothetical situations. The predicate of the consequence clause may be a verb in -r/-mas, or -açaq, followed by ide, or it may be expressed by the forms:

-ğan bulır ide
-a ide
-ğan bula ide
-ası bulğanmın
-ası bulmas ide, etc.

The simple form in -sa, -sə:
Əgər barır yulnı belsə, adresın xəterləsə, ike də uylap tormas, küptən yulğa çıqqan bulır ide. (Rinat Möxəmmədiev, “Açıq tərəzə”)
If he had known the way to go, if he had remembered her address, he would not have thought twice, he would have been on his way long ago.

The are also compound forms like -ğan/-gən bulsa, -a/-ə torğan bulsa, -ası/-əse bulsa.
Elegrək xat yazıp sorağan bulsañ, min ul kitapnı siña poçta belən də cibərgən bulır idem. (Gölsem Möxəmmədova, “Sikəltəle turı yul”)
If you had written and asked for it earlier, I would have sent you that book by mail.

📝 Try to express real, potential and unreal conditions in Tatar in the comments:

If you do not listen, you will not learn.
If you talked to him, he would understand.
If they had known, they would have helped.

Azat Minnekaev in 2010

#tt_culture
Azat Minnekaev

Today, I invite you to join me on a journey of discovery of a Tatar artist Azat Minnekaev. Born in 1958 in Ufa, Azat's life unfolded through a range of experiences — from serving as a scenographer in the Bashkort Puppet Theater to painting landscapes for a cathedral in Alaska.

Did you know that Early Native Americans are thought to have crossed into the Americas across the Beringia land bridge from modern day Siberia? Certain modern Indigenous Siberians are closely related to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with whom they share a common origin.

Leader's funeral (1993)

Azat Minnekaev’s artistic journey was greatly influenced by his grandmother, who introduced him to the traditional Tatar craft of kəfenlek sewing, leading him to discover shared cultural elements between his own Tatar heritage and other indigenous peoples he encountered, such as the Chukchi and Aleuts.

Minnekaev's fascination with the peoples of Eastern Siberia stems from their detachment from civilization and their close relationship with nature. He appreciates their harmonious coexistence with the environment and the organic integration of religions into shamanism.

His acquaintance with the cultures of Khakassia and Tyva further deepened his understanding of Tatar culture. He found similarities between the Tatars and the Khakass people, pointing out the latter's self-designation "Tadar," reminiscent of "Tatar." Understanding the Tyvans was more challenging due to their Mongolian traits. Overall, his experiences in Siberia helped him comprehend aspects of Tatar culture that he hadn't grasped before. He believed in interconnectedness of all Turkic peoples.

The Heavenly tigers of Kük Tengri (2009)