Lesson 21: Family words | Learn Mongolian A1

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1Limba’s diary

Nomin shows the family photo album

Sunday afternoon. Nomin takes out a thick family photo album, and we turn the pages together on the sofa.

I discover that Mongolian family words are very precise. There is no word for just "brother" or "sister": you always say whether the person is older or younger. Temuulen is Nomin's дүү, her younger brother, and Nomin is his эгч, his elder sister.

Saraa sits down with us and points at her children in a photo: her daughter, her son. Then she points at me and says something that makes Nomin smile.

2Dialogue

НоминЭнэ манай гэр бүл.This is our family.
LimbaЭнэ хэн бэ? Чиний ээж үү?Who is this? Your mother?
НоминТийм, миний ээж. Энэ миний аав.Yes, my mother. And this is my father.
LimbaЭнэ хүү хэн бэ? Тэмүүлэн үү?Who is this boy? Temuulen?
НоминТийм. Тэмүүлэн миний дүү. Би түүний эгч.Yes. Temuulen is my younger brother. I'm his elder sister.
LimbaТэд хэн бэ?Who are they?
НоминЭнэ миний аав, энэ Ганбаатар. Аав түүний ах.This is my dad, and this is Ganbaatar. Dad is his elder brother.
LimbaЧиний эмээ, өвөө юү?Your grandmother and grandfather?
НоминТийм, миний эмээ, өвөө. Хуучин зураг.Yes, my grandmother and grandfather. An old photo.
СарааНомин миний охин, Тэмүүлэн миний хүү. Чи бас манай хүүхэд!Nomin is my daughter, Temuulen is my son. And you are our child too!

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	Letters	English
гэр бүл	ger bül	family
аав	aav	father
ээж	eej	mother
ах	akh	elder brother
эгч	egch	elder sister
дүү	düü	younger brother or sister
эрэгтэй дүү	eregtei düü	younger brother
эмэгтэй дүү	emegtei düü	younger sister
хүү	khüü	son; boy
охин	okhin	daughter; girl
эмээ	emee	grandmother
өвөө	övöö	grandfather
аав ээж	aav eej	parents

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

The family words

Mongolian	English
аав	father
ээж	mother
ах	elder brother
эгч	elder sister
дүү	younger brother or younger sister
хүү	son; also boy
охин	daughter; also girl
эмээ	grandmother
өвөө	grandfather

Older or younger: always

English says "brother" and "sister" without saying who is older. Mongolian cannot do that. An older brother is ах and an older sister is эгч, while дүү is any younger brother or sister. When you need to say which, add эрэгтэй (man) or эмэгтэй (woman) in front: эрэгтэй дүү is a younger brother, эмэгтэй дүү a younger sister.

Тэмүүлэн миний дүү.Temuulen my younger-sibling"Temuulen is my younger brother."

Би түүний эгч.I his elder-sister"I am his elder sister."

Аав түүний ах.Dad his elder-brother"Dad is his elder brother."

With the possessives of lesson 19

Family words follow the possessive, which never changes: миний ээж, чиний аав, түүний эгч. To talk about your own family, Mongolians often say манай (our) where English says "my": манай ээж, манай гэр бүл.

Энэ чиний ээж үү?this your mother Q"Is this your mother?"

Чиний өвөө юү?your grandfather Q"Is it your grandfather?"

Remember the particle: ээж takes үү, but өвөө, which ends in a long vowel, takes юү.

Two words, one idea

Put аав and ээж side by side and you get аав ээж, "parents", word for word "father mother". Mongolian likes these pairs. In the same way, ах дүү means brothers, or brothers and sisters, and эгч дүү means sisters. With these words, the possessives and the question particles, you can already talk about any family photo.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: Personal pronouns and possessives · Mongolian names and forms of address

5Good to know

Parents often call their children миний хүү (my boy) and миний охин (my girl), even when the children are grown up. Children, in turn, call any elderly woman эмээ and any elderly man өвөө, out of respect. So do not be surprised if Temuulen's friends call Dulmaa эмээ too.

6Exercises

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

What does эгч mean?
Which word means "elder brother"?
What does дүү mean?
How do you say "younger sister"?
Which word means "daughter"?
What does аав ээж mean?
Nomin is older than Temuulen. What is she for him?
Complete: Энэ чиний өвөө ___?
Bat is older than Ganbaatar. What is Bat for him?
In the dialogue, what does Saraa say to Limba at the end?

Well done! Lesson 21 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

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

Say "This is my mother."
Show answer
Энэ миний ээж.
As Nomin, say "Temuulen is my younger brother."
Show answer
Тэмүүлэн миний дүү.
Ask a friend: "Is this your elder sister?"
Show answer
Энэ чиний эгч үү?
As Saraa, say "Nomin is my daughter."
Show answer
Номин миний охин.
Write the Mongolian for "grandmother" and "grandfather".
Show answer
эмээ, өвөө

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