Lesson 10: Review: reading Ulaanbaatar

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1Limba’s diary

Limba reads shop signs on Peace Avenue

Our taxi turns onto Peace Avenue, the long main street of Ulaanbaatar, and stops. A traffic jam. Bat sighs; I am delighted: twenty minutes of shop signs!

ДЭЛГҮҮР, ЭМИЙН САН, НОМЫН ДЭЛГҮҮР, БАНК, ЦАЙНЫ ГАЗАР. I read them aloud one by one, and Nomin translates: shop, pharmacy, bookshop, bank, tea house. On a glass door: НЭЭЛТТЭЙ, "open".

This morning I could not read a single Mongolian word. This evening I can read every sign in the street, slowly. I still do not understand most of them, but that is the next step.

2Dialogue

БатЭнхтайваны өргөн чөлөө.Peace Avenue.
LimbaДэлгүүр… Банк… Эмийн сан!Shop… Bank… Pharmacy!
НоминТийм! Сайн байна!Yes! Well done!
LimbaНомын дэлгүүр!A bookshop!
НоминНээлттэй. Маргааш, за?It's open. Tomorrow, OK?
LimbaЗа!OK!

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	Letters	English
Энхтайваны өргөн чөлөө	Enkhtaivany örgön chölöö	Peace Avenue, the main street of Ulaanbaatar
эмийн сан	emiin san	pharmacy
номын дэлгүүр	nomyn delgüür	bookshop
хүнсний дэлгүүр	khünsnii delgüür	grocery shop
цайны газар	tsainy gazar	tea house, small eatery
гуанз	guanz	canteen, cheap restaurant
зоогийн газар	zoogiin gazar	restaurant
шуудан	shuudan	post office
нээлттэй	neelttei	open
хаалттай	khaalttai	closed
Улсын их дэлгүүр	Ulsyn ikh delgüür	the State Department Store

The “Letters” column is a letter-by-letter guide to the Cyrillic, not exact pronunciation. It disappears after level A1: by then you read Cyrillic directly.

4Grammar and explanations

What you can read now

In nine lessons you have met all 35 letters. Here is the whole unit on one table:

What	Letters	Examples
the а о у family	а, о, у; long аа, оо, уу	хот, улаан, одоо
the э ө ү family	э, ө, ү; long ээ, өө, үү	гэр, өрөө, сүү
the neutral vowel	и; long ий (written ы in а о у words)	бид, тийм, таны
diphthongs	ай, ой, эй, уй, үй	сайн, нохой, эмэгтэй
false friends	В, Н, Р, С, У, Х	read v, n, r, s, u, kh
sounds to practise	х, ц, з, р	хоол, цай, зам, хуушуур
signs	ь (soft), ъ (hard)	тавь, явъя
borrowed letters	к, ф, щ	банк, фото

Twenty everyday words

Word	Written	Meaning
ус	us	water
цай	tsai	tea
сүү	süü	milk
талх	talkh	bread
мах	makh	meat
хоол	khool	food
гэр	ger	ger, home
байр	bair	flat
өрөө	öröö	room
хот	khot	city
зам	zam	road
дэлгүүр	delgüür	shop
банк	bank	bank
такси	taksi	taxi
автобус	avtobus	bus
мөнгө	möngö	money
аав	aav	father
ээж	eej	mother
тийм	tiim	yes
үгүй	ügüi	no

A street sign, step by step

Read the sign of Peace Avenue slowly, using everything you know:

ЭНХТАЙВАНЫ ӨРГӨН ЧӨЛӨӨ[Enkhtaivany örgön chölöö] Peace Avenue

ЭМИЙН САН[emiin san] pharmacy

НЭЭЛТТЭЙ[neelttei] open

ХААЛТТАЙ[khaalttai] closed

In the first line, ай is a diphthong, ы is a long i, ө is not о, and өө at the end is long. In эмийн, ий is a long i. НЭЭЛТТЭЙ has a long ээ, a double тт and the diphthong эй at the end. Read ХААЛТТАЙ the same way, with х in the throat.

Spelling first, speed later

Mongolian spelling is regular: once you know the letters, you can read any word aloud. But at normal speed, Mongolians shorten the vowels after the first syllable and swallow some final ones, so the street does not always sound like the sign. That is normal: your ear will get used to it as the course goes on.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: The Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet · Why spoken Mongolian does not sound like the spelling

5Good to know

Энхтайваны өргөн чөлөө, Peace Avenue, crosses Ulaanbaatar from west to east and runs along the south side of Sükhbaatar Square. The State Department Store, Улсын их дэлгүүр, stands on it. Энх тайван means peace, өргөн means wide, and өргөн чөлөө is an avenue. With its hundreds of shop signs, it is the best street in town for reading practice.

6Exercises

Choose the right answer, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.

Which letter is read v?
On a shop, ЭМИЙН САН means…
Which word has a long vowel?
On a door, НЭЭЛТТЭЙ means…
Which word is in the э ө ү family?
Which word means "bread"?
How is цай written in Latin letters?
тав is five. тавь is…
In Монгол, the н sounds like…
Which of these letters is a consonant?
ус means water. What is үс?
Which word is borrowed from another language?
What does аав mean?
What is a цайны газар?
Which word goes with the э ө ү family although its only vowel is и?

Well done! Lesson 10 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

Write your answer on paper or in your head first, then reveal the model answer.

Write ДЭЛГҮҮР in Latin letters and give its meaning.
Show answer
[delgüür]: shop
Write "pharmacy" as it appears on the sign.
Show answer
ЭМИЙН САН
Which family do маргааш and өнөөдөр belong to?
Show answer
маргааш: а о у; өнөөдөр: э ө ү
Find the long vowels in Улаанбаатар.
Show answer
аа twice: Улаан + баатар, [Ulaanbaatar]
Write "open" and "closed", as on a shop door.
Show answer
нээлттэй, хаалттай
How are the false friends В, Н, Р, С, У, Х read?
Show answer
v, n, r, s, u, kh
What is the difference between ам and амь?
Show answer
ам [am] is a mouth; амь [am'] is life. The soft sign changes the word.
Write in Mongolian: tea, milk, bread.
Show answer
цай, сүү, талх

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