Goal: Express a wish politely.
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Now hear it and say it
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Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keepLimba asks Bat about a trip
After dinner I find Bat in the living room with the news on. I have prepared my sentence all afternoon, in the polite form Oyuunaa taught me for asking something of an older person.
Bat listens, smiles and turns the television down. The trip, it seems, is already a family matter: Nomin wants to come, and Temuulen wants to come even more.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| хүсэх | to wish, to want |
| ах | older brother; a friendly, respectful way to address a man older than you |
| санаа | idea |
| хонох | to spend the night |
| баярлах | to be glad, to be happy |
| ажилтай | having work, busy at work |
| хүргэх | to take (someone) somewhere, to drive (someone) |
| ирэх долоо хоног | next week |
| сургуультай | having school |
| дараагийн удаа | next time |
| наадам | Naadam, the summer festival |
хүсэх means "to wish, to want". With another verb, Mongolian does something English never does: the wanted action becomes a noun, the –х form, and takes the object ending of lesson 46, the accusative –ыг / –ийг. Then comes хүсэж байна.
The accusative has only two vowel forms (lesson 46): –ыг after back-vowel verbs, –ийг after front-vowel verbs. The –х form always ends in a consonant, so these are the only two endings you need.
| Verb | Object form |
|---|---|
| явах (go) | явахыг |
| хонох (spend the night) | хонохыг |
| унах (ride) | унахыг |
| үзэх (see) | үзэхийг |
| идэх (eat) | идэхийг |
| өгөх (give) | өгөхийг |
In the kitchen, with a friend, Би цай уумаар байна is perfect; Би цай уухыг хүсэж байна sounds like "I should like some tea".
Say хүсэж байсан or хүссэн: Тэмүүлэн бас явахыг хүсэж байсан. "Temuulen wanted to go too."
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Wanting and needing · The accusative case
Mongolians rarely call an older person by the bare name. A man a little older than you is ах "elder brother", a woman эгч "elder sister": Бат ах, Сараа эгч. Family friends and guests use these words too. For a much older man or woman you will hear the respectful гуай, as in Дорж гуай.
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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