Mongolian (монгол хэл) is a Mongolic language and the most widely spoken member of the Mongolic language family. Mongolian is the first language for the vast majority of residents in Mongolia, and most of the ethnic Mongols in the Inner Mongolia region of China. Modern Mongolian has two writing systems: The traditional Mongolian script (the official script in China) and the Cyrillic alphabet (the official script in Mongolia). For the sake of simplicity, this article covers Mongolian used in Mongolia. Whether or not travellers need to learn Mongolian is doubtful, as many Mongolians can "get by" in Russian, the most widely taught foreign language in the country, while in China, most ethnic Mongols are bilingual in Mongolian and Mandarin. This said, you're guaranteed to get some delighted reactions and a lot of respect from the locals if you make any attempts to speak Mongolian. The Mongolian language is somewhat challenging to pronounce. There are a few sounds that are unknown to native speakers of English, and the language employs vowel harmony. English does make similar distinctions – consider the "a" sounds of father (back) and cat (front), or the difference in the "i" sound for bit (short) and beat (long) – but you will need to pay extra attention to it in Mongolian. А like "a" in father Э like "e" in met И like "ee" in seen О like "o" in pond Ө like the German ö, similar to e in her (transcribed eu ) У like "oo" in cartoon Ү like the German ü, similar to ew in few but with lips rounded (transcribed uu ) In Mongolian, the stress always falls on the first syllable of a word, unless a word has long vowels or diphthongs. Loanwords are also exceptions to this rule. If the first syllable of a word contains a short vowel, the vowel will be pronounced as it is written. Short vowels in other syllables of a word will be dropped from pronunciation. Let us take a look at the phrase Сайн байна уу. The first word of the phrase "Сайн" will be pronounced as (sain), whereas the second word of the phrase "байна" won't be pronounced as (bai-nah). It will be pronounced as (bain) instead. Here are a few other examples: Амархан: This word is pronounced as (Amr-Khn). The short vowels in the second and third syllables will not be pronounced. Үндэстэн: This word is pronounced as (Un-ds-tn). The short vowels in the second and third syllables will not be pronounced. These pronunciation rules can be challenging to grasp at first, but with time and practice, you will gradually get the hang of it. ch the "ch" in chat j the "j" in jewel kh/h the "h" in hug sh the "sh" in shoe ts the "zz" in pizza z If an "n" is followed by a vowel, the vowel is silent and the "n" is pronounced like the English "n". For example: Baina is actually pronounced "Bain". If an "n" is followed by a consanent or comes at the end of a word, then it is pronounced "ng". For example: Ulaanbaatar is pronounced "Ulangbatar". Mongolian is written using the Cyrillic alphabet in Mongolia and written using the traditional Mongolian script in Inner Mongolia. Cyrillic characters: the following presents the upper case and lower case Cyrillic character, followed by the English transliteration, example word and the English transliteration of the word. The Latin character transliteration used here is what is used locally in Mongolia. Linguists have a complete set of characters to transliterate Mongolian to English, but those characters are not useful for the traveler. The following are the most common transliterations. А а Б б - B b - Баянхонгор - Bayankhongor (a province in Southern Mongolia.) В в - V v - Хөвсгөл - Khovsgol (a province in Northern Mongolia.) Д д - D d - Дорнод - Dornod (a province in Eastern Mongolia.) Г г - G g - Говь - Govi (The Gobi desert. see below for the "ь" below.) Е е - Ye ye - Еэвэн - Yeeven (Means round cake with filling) Ё ё - Yo yo - Ёотон - Yoton (Means lump sugar) Ж ж - J j - Жаргалант - Jargalant (Common sum name. A Sum, similar to a US county.) З з - Z z - Завхан - Zavkhan (a province in Northwest Mongolia). И и - I i - Нийслэл - Niislel (Means Capital, in the sense Ulaanbaatar is the capital.) й й - I i - Аймаг - Aimag (Means Province) К к - K k - Кино - Kino (Means movie) Л л - L l - Лам - Lam (Buddhist monk, Lama) М м - M m - Мах - Mah (Means meat) Н н - N n - Наадам - Naadam (Mid-Summer Holiday, festival, games. First part of July) О о - O o - Орхон - Orkhon (a province in Northcentral Mongolia, also a River) Ө ө - O o - Өмнөговь - Omnogovi (a province in Southern Mongolia) П п - P p - Перс - Persia (The "П" is mostly used for loan words) Р р - R r - Рашаан - Rashaan (Mineral Spring) С с - S s - Сүхбаатар - Sukhbaatar (Mongolian Hero, Main Square in UB, Province, city) Т т - T t - Төв - Tov (center, Province in Central Mongolia surrounding UB) У у - U u - Улаан - Ulaan (red, Ulaanbaatar Red Hero) Ү ү - U u - Түүх - Tuuh (Means history) ф Ф Х х - Kh kh - Хархорин - Kharkhorin (Sum which contains the ancient capital of the Mongolian Empire) Note 1. Х х - H h - Хаан - Haan (Emperor) Note 2. Ц ц - Ts ts - Цэцэрлэг - Tsetserleg (Capital of Arkhangai Province) Ч ч - Ch ch - Чихэр - Chiher (Means candy) Ш ш - Sh sh - Шивээс - Shivees (Means tattoo) Щ щ Э э - E e - Эрдэнэт - Erdenet (City in North Central Mongolia, Orkhon Province, Copper mine) Ю ю - Yu yu - Оюутан - Oyutan (Student at a University). Я я - Ya ya - Япон - Yapon (Japan) ь ь - i i - Говь - Govi (Acts like a silent e, changes the sound of the preceding vowel) Note 3. Note 1. These transliterations are from course material from the Language and Culture Department of the Mongolian National University. Dr. Б. Сарантуяа. Note 2. These transliterations come from the Mongolian Government Website "www.pmis.gov.mn", this site is not consistent. Note 3. There are two other signs not seen often in place names, "ы" and "ъ". "ъ" generally modifies verbs and "ы" is used to make possessives. The place names are from "Монгол улс Авто замын Атлас" (Mongol national Auto Highway['s] Atlas) Much of the difficulty comes from the two sets of vowels. Back  : А, О, У, Я, Ё, ы Front : Э, Ө, Ү, Е, ю Neutral: И Generally words should have only back or front vowels plus the "И" but some words are combined from two words, such as Өмнөговь. Hello. Сайн байна уу. (Sain bain oo) Hello. Сайн уу. (informal) (Sain oo) How are you? Yuu baina? (Юу байна?) Sain sain. (Сайн сайн) What is your name? Chinii/Tany* neriig hen gedeg ve? (Чиний/Таны нэрийг хэн гэдэг вэ?) Who are you / Who is it? Chi/ta* khen be? (Чи/Та хэн бэ?) Mini neriig ______ gedeg. (Миний нэрийг _____ гэдэг.) Taniltsahad taatai baina. (Танилцахад таатай байна.) Please. Guij baina . (Гуйж байна.) Thank you. Bayarlalaa . (Баярлалаа.) Zuuger zugeer . (Зүгээр зүгээр.) Yes. Tiim . (Тийм.) No. Ugui . (Үгүй) Sorry. Uuchlaarai : . (Уучлаарай.) Goodbye Bayartai . (Баяртай.) I can't speak Mongolian Bi Mongoloor yarij chadahgui[ ]. (Би Монголоор ярьж чадахгүй[ ].) Chi angliar yaridaguu? (Чи Англиар ярьдаг уу?) Help! Tuslaarai! (Туслаарай!) Look out! Eniig/teriig hardaa! (Энийг/Тэрийг хардаа!) Good morning. ugluunii mend . (Өглөөний Мэнд.) Good afternoon. udriin mend . (Өдрийн мэнд.) Good evening. oroin mend. (Оройн мэнд.) Good night (to sleep) saikhan amraarai . (Сайхан амраарай.) bi oilgokhgui baina . (Би ойлгохгүй байна.) Biy zasah gazar haana ve? (Бие засах газар хаана байдаг вэ?) *Ta or Tany - it's like deference form. Nadad buu khur! (Надад бүү хүр!) Bi tsagdaa duudlaa (Би цагдаа дуудна.) Police! Tsagdaa! (Цагдаа!) Stop! Thief! Zogsoogooroi! Khulgaich! (Зогсоогоорои! Кhулгаич!) Please help / I need your help. Tuslaach/nadad ööriin chini tuslamj kheregtei baina (Туслаач/надад өөрийн чинь тусламж хэрэгтэй байнаz!) I'm lost. Bi toorchihloo. (Би төөрчихлөө.) I lost my bag. Bi tsunkhee geechihlee. (Би цүнхээ алдчихлаа.) Bi turuivchee geechihlee. (Би түрийвчээ алдчихлаа.) I'm sick. Bi uvchtei baina. (Би өвчтэй байна.) Bi gemtsen. (Би гэмтсэн.) Nadad emch kheregtei. (Надад эмч хэрэгтэй.) Bi tanii utsiig hereglej boloh uu? (Би таны утсыг ашиглаж болох уу?) 0 teg 1 neg 2 hoyor 3 gurav 4 doruv 5 tav 6 zurgaa 7 doloo 8 naim 9 yus 10 arav 11 arvan neg 12 arvan hoyor 20 hori 21 horin neg 30 guch 31 guchin neg 40 duch 41 duchin neg 50 tavi 60 jar 70 dal 80 naya 90 yer 100 zuu 200 hoyor zuu 1000 myanga 3451 gurvan myanga dorvon zuun tavin neg 20000 horinmyanga 1,000,000 saya number ____ (train, bus, etc.) nomer/dugaar ____ half tal a lot ih a little baga now odoo later daraa before umnu after daraa morning ugluu afternoon udur evening oroi night shono one o'clock AM shoniin neg tsag noon udriin arvan hoyor tsag one o'clock PM udriin neg tsag midnight shoniin arvan hoyor tsag ___ minute(s) ___ minut ___ hour(s) ___ tsag ___ day(s) ___ udur ___ week(s) ___ doloo honog ___ month(s) ___ sar ___ year(s) ___ jil today unuudur tomorrow margaash yesterday uchigdur this week ene doloo honog last week ungursun doloo honog next week daraagiin doloo honog Monday davaa Tuesday myagmar Wednesday lkhavga Thursday purev Friday baasan Saturday byamba Sunday nyam January neg dugaar sar February hoyor dugaar sar (etc. The number of the month (1-12), followed by "dugaar sar") When writing the date with digits, 14/11/08. The 24 hour clock is used, rather than the 12 hour clock. black har white tsagaan gray saaral red ulaan blue tsenkher yellow shar green nogoon orange ulbar shar purple chirnelen yagaan brown bor pink yagaan How much is a ticket to ___? ___ yavah biletnii une hed ve? One ticket to ___, please. ___ yavah neg bilet avya. Ene galt tereg/avtobus haashaa yavah ve? Where is the bus/train to ___? ___ yavah avtobus/galt teregnii zogsool haana baina ve? Does this train/bus stop in ___? Ene galt tereg/avtobus ___-d zosgoh uu? When does the train/bus to ___ leave? ___ yavah galt tereg/avtobus hodloh ve? When will the train/bus arrive in ___? ___-t galt tereg/avtobus hezee ochih ve? How do I get to ___? Bi yaj ___-d ochih ve? ... the train station galt teregnii buudal ... the bus station avtobusnii buudal ... the airport ongotsnii buudal ... downtown hotiin tuv ... the hotel zochid buudal ... the American/British/Canadian/Australian embassy Amerik/Angli/Kanad/Avstir elchin saidiin yam street gudamj Turn left zuun tiishee erge Turn right baruun tiishee erge straight ahead chigeeree towards the ___ ___ tiishee north hoid south urd east zuun west baruun Taxi! Taxi! Take me to ___, please. namaig ___ ruu hurgej ogooch. How much does it cost to get to ___? ___ ruu yavhad hed ve? Do you have rooms available? Uruu baina uu? Neg/hoyor hunii uruu hed ve? Does the room come with ___? Uruund ___ bii uu? ...bedsheets ornii davuu ...a bathroom bannii uruu ...a telephone utas ...a TV zuragt May I see the room first? Uruug ehleed uzej boloh uu? Chimee bagatai uruu bii uu? ...bigger tomhon ...cleaner tseverhen ...cheaper hyamdhan OK, I'll take it. Za, avya. I will stay for ___ nights. Bi ___ udur honono. Uur zochid buudal haana baidag ve? Safe baigaa uu? Is breakfast included? Ugluunii hool orson uu? Minii uruug tseverlej ugnu uu. Can you wake me at ___? Ta namaig ___ tsagt sereej ugnu uu? Bi buudlaasaa garya. Do you accept American/British/Canadian/Australian currency? Ta Amerik/Angli/Kanad/Avstrali mungu avdag uu? Kredit kart avdag uu? Mungu solij ugnu uu? Bi munguu haana soliulj boloh ve? How much for one ___? Neg ___ hed ve? A table for one/two, please. Neg/hoyor hunii shiree. Can I look at a menu, please? Bi hoolnii zes harj boloh uu? Bi mah iddeggui. Bi gahain mah iddeggui. Bi uhriin mah iddeggui. Breakfast ugluunii hool Lunch udriin hool Dinner oroin hool I want ___ ___-g avya. Chicken tahianii mah Beef uhriin mah Pork gahain mah Fish zagasnii mah Soda undaa Cheese byaslag Eggs ondog Salad salat Vegetable nogoi Fruit jims Bread talh Noodles goimon Rice budaa Corn erdene shish Apple alim Orange mandrin Lemon limon Banana banan May I have a glass of ___? Bi neg ayga ___ avch boloh uu? May I have a bottle of ___? Bi neg lonh ___ avch boloh uu? Coffee coffee Tea tsai Juice shuus Milk suu Water us Beer pivo Alcohol arhi Wine vino Salt davs Pepper pierts Butter maslo I'm finished (full.) Bi tsadchihlaa. Goyo amttai baisan. Bi munguu tolyo. End arhi zardag uu? A beer, please. Neg shil pivo. ___ (liquor) and ___ (mixer), please. ___ arhiig ___-tai. whiskey viski vodka tsagaan arhi orange juice orangenii shuus Coke (soda) koka kola One more, please. Dahiad neg. Hezee haah ve? Minii razmer baigaa uu? How much (is this)? Hed ve? Ih unetei baina. _____ avdag uu? expensive Unetei cheap Hyamdhan I can't afford it. Bi uniig ni diilehgui um baina. Nadad taalagdahgui baina. Chi namaig hulhidaj baina. Bi sonirhohgui baina. Za, bi avya. Bi uut avya. Shuudangaar ilgeej chadah uu? (dalain chandad) I need... Nadad ____ heregtei baina. ...toothpaste. ...shudnii oo ...a toothbrush. ...shudnii soiz ...tampons. ...tampon / ariun tsevriin hereglel ...soap. ...savan ...shampoo. ...shampuuni ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) ...uvchin namdaagch ...cold medicine. ...haniadnii em ...stomach medicine. ...gedesnii em ...a razor. ...sahliin tatuurga ...batteries. ...baterrei ...an umbrella. (rain) ...zoontik ...a postcard. ...otkirit ...postage stamps. ...mark ...writing paper. ...bichgiin tsaas ...a pen. ...uzeg ...English-language books. ...Angli nomnuud ...English-language magazines. ...Angli setguuluud ...an English-language newspaper. ...Angli sonin Driving I want to rent a car. Bi mashin prokatlahiig husej baina. Bi avto daatgal avch boloh uu? stop (on a street sign) Zogs one way neg ursgal yield zam tavij og no parking mashin tavij bolohgui speed limit hurdnii limit gas (petrol) station binzen klonk diesel diesel I haven't done anything wrong. Bi buruu um hiigeegui. Buruu oilgoltschih shig bolloo. Namaig haash ni avch yavj bainaa? Bi barivchlagdaj baigaa um uu? Bi Amerik/Avstrali/Angli/Kanad-iin irgen. Bi Amerik/Avstrali/Angli/Kanad-iin elchin saidiin yamtai/konsultai holboo barih heregtei. Bi huulichtaigaa yarihiig husej baina. Bi odoo zovhon tulbur hiichihej boloh uu? Listen to some basic mongolian at Wikiotics [formerly dead link]
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