“My sun, my moon and all my stars” — these and other Kazakh words about love

Valentine’s Day season got everyone excited and really put me in the mood for writing more about love in the Kazakh language.

Artwork by @art_aika

Kazakh might not sound as romantic as French or poetic as English, but it conveys strong and deep meanings when it comes to talking about your loved ones. The meaning depends on the person you’re talking to and on the level of relationship you have. I’d like to explore some of the ways you, as a Kazakh speaker, could call someone you love.

• Suyiktim /Сүйіктім — my love/beloved; the most commonly used word.
• Ayaulym / Аяулым — the person you care about and protect.
• Inkarim / Іңкәрім — someone you share strong sensual feelings with.
• Ardaktym / Ардақтым— that you’d call a person you respect, perhaps someone who’s older than you or higher in rank/title.
• Kimasym /Қимасым — you love this person so much that you don’t want to leave them
• Ansaganym / Аңсағаным — a person you miss a lot and can’t wait to meet.
• It is also common to call your loved ones names from nature like Ayim (my moon), Gulim (my flower), Saulem (my sunshine), etc.
• Kalkam / Қалқам— someone you can rely on and trust.
• Zholdasym / Жолдасым — a life companion; usually used to describe a partner.
• Kosak / Қосақ — this is one of the peculiar love words as it apparently took inspiration from the Kazakh nomadic past. “Kosak” is a row of sheep who are tied together. You can figuratively call your husband or wife like that — “someone you’re tied with for a lifetime”.

There are also 4 different stages of love:

1. Gashyktyk / Ғашықтық — affection, attachment.
2. Mahabbat / Махаббат — a romantic, poetic love.
3. Yntizar / Ынтызар — a desirable love.
4. Kumarlyk / Құмарлық — passion, lust.

And if you want to express love to a Kazakh man or woman, make sure to know these 3 phrases:

1. Men seni unatamyn / Мен сені ұнатамын — I like you (shows light affection)
2. Men seni zhaksy koremin / Мен сені жақсы көремін — I love you (something in-between like and love)
3. Men seni suyemin / Мен сені сүйемін — I love/adore you (shows pure and unconditional feelings)

And with that, I wish you all a happy Valentine’s Day. No matter whether you’re spending it with a partner or not, I think as long as you have people whom you could call any of the words above, you should consider yourself a lucky person.

Post inspired by Qantars