How do you say colours in Kyrgyz?

Ак is white, кара black, кызыл red, сары yellow, жашыл green, көк blue. They sit in front of the noun, exactly as in English: кызыл алма, a red apple.

How do you ask what colour something is in Kyrgyz?

Ask кандай түс — literally \'what colour\'. Nothing else in the sentence has to change: Kyrgyz has no gender, so the colour word stays as it is whatever it describes.

What is the difference between көк and жашыл?

Both can come out as green in translation. Жашыл is the everyday modern green. Көк is older and wider: it covers blue, and it covers the green of growing things — grass, leaves, young shoots. Sky and spring meadow can share one word.

Colors in Kyrgyz: names, examples, and grammar

Core colors in Kyrgyz

ак: akwhite
кара: karablack
кызыл: kyzylred
сары: saryyellow
жашыл: jashylgreen
көк: kökblue; also sky-colored
боз: bozgray
күрөң: küröngbrown

More shades and color words

ачык көк: achyk köklight blue
кочкул көк: kochkul kökdark blue
кызгылт сары: kyzgylt saryorange
кызгылт: kyzgyltpink
сыя көк: syya kökpurple / violet
күлгүн: külgünlilac / purple
алтын түстүү: altyn tüstüügold-colored
күмүш түстүү: kümüsh tüstüüsilver-colored
аппак: appaksnow-white, intensely white
ала: alamulticolored / piebald

How colors work in a sentence

A color normally comes before the noun and does not change for gender or number. After the noun, it can form a complete description without a present-tense word for “is.”

кызыл алма: kyzyl almaa red apple
Бул алма жашыл.: Bul alma jashyl.This apple is green.
Асман көк.: Asman kök.The sky is blue.
Кар ак.: Kar ak.Snow is white.

Ask about a color

Бул кандай түс?: Bul kanday tüs?What color is this?
Сүйүктүү түсүң кайсы?: Süyüktüü tüsüng kaysy?What is your favorite color?Informal singular.
Мага жашыл түс жагат.: Maga jashyl tüs jagat.I like green.
Карасы барбы?: Karasy barby?Do you have it in black?

A useful cultural note

Color words can carry meanings beyond a paint swatch. Ак often suggests purity or good intention, while кара can mean black, dark, or ordinary depending on the phrase. Place names such as Ак-Суу (“white water”) and Каракол preserve this descriptive tradition. Learn color words inside phrases as well as one by one.

FAQ

Common questions

How do you say colours in Kyrgyz?: Ак is white, кара black, кызыл red, сары yellow, жашыл green, көк blue. They sit in front of the noun, exactly as in English: кызыл алма, a red apple.
How do you ask what colour something is in Kyrgyz?: Ask кандай түс — literally \'what colour\'. Nothing else in the sentence has to change: Kyrgyz has no gender, so the colour word stays as it is whatever it describes.
What is the difference between көк and жашыл?: Both can come out as green in translation. Жашыл is the everyday modern green. Көк is older and wider: it covers blue, and it covers the green of growing things — grass, leaves, young shoots. Sky and spring meadow can share one word.

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