Goal: Thank in formal and warm ways.
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Now hear it and say it
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Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keepThank-you speech for the family
Ten days before my flight, the whole family gathered for Sunday lunch, and I asked for a moment to speak. I had written my speech three times and learnt it by heart, and I held a blue khadag across both hands.
I managed the first sentences. Then I looked at Saraa, and Nomin, and Temuulen, and my voice began to shake. Nobody seemed to mind, and Bat said I had done everything right, khadag included.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| талархах | to be grateful, to thank (-д талархах) |
| талархал | gratitude |
| илэрхийлэх | to express |
| чин сэтгэлээсээ | from the bottom of one's heart |
| та бүхэн | all of you (formal and warm) |
| харж хандах | to look after, to treat (someone) |
| гэр бүлийн гишүүн | member of the family |
| ач | kindness, what someone has done for you |
| ачаар | thanks to |
| хадаг барих | to present a khadag |
| хоёр дахь | second |
| аз жаргал | happiness |
| туслах | to help |
| Level | Formula | When |
|---|---|---|
| everyday | Баярлалаа. ; Их баярлалаа. | any small favour |
| warm | Танд маш их баярлалаа. | someone who has done a lot for you |
| for a deed | Ирсэнд баярлалаа. | "thank you for coming" |
| formal | Танд талархаж байна. | letters, official thanks |
| solemn | Та бүхэнд талархал илэрхийлье. | a speech, a ceremony |
Whoever receives the thanks stands in the dative-locative: танд, чамд, та хоёрт, та бүхэнд. That is true of баярлалаа, of талархах and of талархал илэрхийлэх.
Put what the person did in the past participle –сан, add the dative-locative –д, and finish with баярлалаа: literally "I am glad at your having done it".
The first-person form –ъя / –ъё / –ье (lesson 68) does not only mean "let's". In a speech it announces what the speaker is about to do, like English "I would like to…".
ач is the good that someone has done you, the debt of kindness that a Mongolian never forgets to mention.
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Politeness and address · Mongolian imperatives
A khadag is held across both hands, palms up, and offered with a slight bow; the person who receives it takes it with both hands too (lesson 92). It belongs to the moments that matter: a welcome, a farewell, thanks to people you honour.
Blue is the most common colour, the colour of the eternal sky. Do not worry if your voice shakes during the speech: in Mongolia, emotion at a farewell is a compliment to the hosts.
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Lesson done? Train your ear
This written course teaches you to read and write. The LIMBA audio course makes you speak: 24 lessons of 12 to 15 minutes, recorded with a native speaker. You listen, you repeat, you answer — the perfect partner for these pages.
Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keep