Lesson 9. Where is he/she/it from? The Uzbek pronoun “u”, with audio

How to ask “Where is he?” or “Where is she from?” in Uzbek? In this lesson, we explore the colloquial use of the pronoun u (“he, she, it”) and learn how to correctly use the affixes -da and -dan.

We will listen, speak, and write — with audio support from native Uzbek speakers. You will learn how to create dialogues, ask where someone is from, and where a particular city is located.

Where is she from? Is he good?

Exercise 1. Listen to the conversation and fill in the names of the countries in Uzbek.

A: Voybo’y! Aishvarya Rai Bachchan!
B: U qayerdan?
A: U ¹_________dan.
B: Burak Oʻzchivit ham ²__________danmi?
A: Yo’q, u ³_________dan.
B: U (Burak Oʻzchivit) yaxshimi?
A: Ha, juda yaxshi.

ham – also/ too
yaxshi – good
juda – very

Exercise 2. Listen again and repeat the conversation (you will be given time to say the phrases aloud). Memorize the dialogue.

Exercise 3. Practise the dialogue in pairs.

He / She / It in Uzbek, or the pronoun “u”

Exercise 4. Write “u” under the pictures.

Exercise 5. Memorize.

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Exercise 6. Listen and repeat the examples.

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U — he / she / it
No predicate affix is added for the 3rd person singular.
The pronoun u is often retained.
Negation is formed using the word emas.
Yes/no questions are formed by adding the particle -mi.

The particle -mi is not used when there is a question word, such as nima (what) or qayerda (where).
Ismingiz nima? — What’s your name?
U qayerdan? — Where’s he/she/it from?

By doing the following exercises, you will fully master this topic. They include working with the affixes -da and -dan, and translating the structures learned in previous lessons from English into Uzbek.

Did you understand the difference between the suffixes -da and -dan?

Exercise 7. Insert “U” and the correct affix -da (in) or -dan (from) in the answers.
A: Abu Dabi qayerda?
B: U Birlashgan Arab Amirliklarida.
1 A: Anna qayerdan?
B: ___ Germaniya___.
2 A: Ankara qayerda?
B: ___Turkiya___.
3 A: Tim qayerdan?
B: ___ AQSh___.
4 A: Kiyev qayerda?
B: ___Ukraina___.
5 A: Charles qayerdan?
B: ___ Buyuk Britaniya___.
6 A: Abdulaziz qayerdan?
B: ___ Saudiya Arabistoni___.
7 A: Seul qayerda?
B: ___ Janubiy Koreya___.
8 A: Jean qayerdan?
B: ___ Fransiya___.

Exercise 8. Translate the affirmative, negative, and question sentences into Uzbek.
A: Is Emmanuel from Russia (Rossiya)?
B: No, he isn’t from Russia. He’s from France (Fransiya).
A: Emmanuel Rossiyadanmi?
B: Yo’q, (u) Rossiyadan emas. (U) Fransiyadan.
1 A: Where’s Cairo (Qohira)? Is it in Egypt (Misr)?
B: Yes, it’s in Egypt.
2 A: Is Anvar from Uzbekistan (O’zbekiston)?
B: No, he’s from Germany (Germaniya).
3 A: Where’s she from?
B: She’s from South Korea (Janubiy Koreya).
4 A: Is Vladimir from India (Hindiston)?
B: No, he’s not from India. He’s from Ukraine (Ukraina).
5 A: Is Beijing (Pekin) in Japan (Yaponiya)?
B: No, it’s not in Japan. It’s in China (Xitoy).

Exercise 9. Translate a few more dialogues. If possible (stylistically), use the short form.

shahar – city

buyuk – great

A: Are you from the the United Arab Emirates (Birlashgan Arab Amirliklari)?
B: No, I’m not from the the United Arab Emirates. I’m from Saudi Arabia (Saudiya Arabistoni).
A: (Siz) Birlashgan Arab Amirliklaridanmisiz?
B: Yo’q, (men) BAAdan emasman. (Men) Saudiya Arabistonidanman.
1 A: Where’s Ankara (Ankara)? Is it in Turkey (Turkiya)?
B: Yes, it’s in Turkey.
2 A: Where’s Mark from? Is he from the USA (AQSh)?
B: No, he isn’t from the USA. He’s from England (Angliya).
3 A: Where are you from?
B: I’m from Tashkent (Toshkent).
4 A: What’s your name?
B: My name’s Lola (Lola). I’m from Samarqand (Samarqand).
A: You’re from Samarqand! I’m from Samarqand too. It’s a great city.

Now you can confidently use the Uzbek pronoun u, distinguish and apply the suffixes -da and -dan, and ask questions like “Where is he?” and “Where is she from?” in Uzbek.

Share in the comments which countries and cities you used in your own sentences — and keep practicing! The more you repeat, the faster you’ll start speaking Uzbek.

• Previous lesson: Lesson 8. Countries, “where” and “from where” in Uzbek
• Next lesson: Lesson 10. “I don’t know” and other essential phrases in Uzbek
• All lessons

Answers to exercises

Show answers

Exercise 1. 1 Hindiston 2 Hindiston 3 Turkiya

Exercise 7. 1 U, -dan 2 U, -da 3 U, -dan 4 U, -da 5 U, -dan 6 U, -dan 7 U, -da 8 U, -dan

Exercise 8. 1 1 A Qohira qayerda? U Misrdami? B Ha, u Misrda.
2 A Anvar O’zbekistondanmi? B Yo’q, u Germaniyadan.
3 A U qayerdan? B Janubiy Koreyadan.
4 A Vladimir Hindistondanmi? B Yo’q, u Hindistondan emas. U Ukrainadan.
5 A Pekin Yaponiyadami? B Yo’q, u Yaponiyada emas. U Xitoyda.

Exercise 9. 1 1 A Ankara qayerda? U Turkiyadami? B Ha, u Turkiyada.
2 A Mark qayerdan? AQShdanmi? B Yo’q, u AQShdan emas. U Angliyadan.
3 A Sen qayerdansan? B Men Toshkentdanman.
4 A Ismingiz nima? B Ismim Lola. Samarqanddanman. A Sen ham Samarqanddansanmi? (Are you also from Samarqand?) Men ham Samarqanddanman. U buyuk shahar.