Goal: Know what to do and not to do in a ger.
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Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keepEntering Dulmaa's ger the right way
This morning Dulmaa caught me making three mistakes in one minute. I knocked on the door of her ger, I stepped on the threshold, and once inside I started to whistle.
She laughed, but she also taught me the rules, one by one. You do not knock: you call out and come in. You step over the threshold, never on it. You move round the ger the way the sun moves. And you never whistle inside.
I have written them all in my notebook, with a big star next to each one.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| хаалга | door |
| тогших | to knock |
| хэрэггүй | not needed; after a verb in –х: there is no need to |
| битгий | don't (in front of a verb) |
| босго | threshold, doorsill |
| гишгэх | to step on |
| ойлгох | to understand |
| нар зөв | clockwise (literally: the sun's way) |
| исгэрэх | to whistle |
| яагаад | why |
| ёс | custom, the proper way |
| санаа зовох | to worry |
| дахиад | again |
| зүгээр | all right, fine |
You met the imperatives in lesson 66. The bare stem is the short, direct form (Ор! "Come in!"), the doubled stem is warm and welcoming (Ор, ор!), and –аарай / –оорой / –ээрэй / –өөрэй is the polite form for anyone, above all for advice: Нар зөв яваарай. "Go round clockwise."
Mongolian has no negative imperative ending. You simply put битгий in front of the verb, and the verb keeps the form it had:
The register stays the same. Битгий исгэр! is blunt, for a child or a close friend; Битгий исгэрээрэй! is polite and safe with anyone. битгий stands right in front of the verb, so other words come before it: Гэрт битгий исгэрээрэй. "Don't whistle in the ger."
In lesson 63 you learnt –х хэрэгтэй, "need to". Its opposite is –х хэрэггүй: the verb in –х, then хэрэггүй. It means "there is no need to", and it is also a gentle way of saying "don't".
| Need to | No need to |
|---|---|
| Тогших хэрэгтэй. (You need to knock.) | Тогших хэрэггүй. (No need to knock.) |
| Яарах хэрэгтэй. (We must hurry.) | Яарах хэрэггүй. (No need to hurry.) |
Use битгий for a real prohibition, something that must not happen: Босго битгий гишгээрэй! Use –х хэрэггүй when something is simply unnecessary, or to reassure: Санаа зовох хэрэггүй. And remember –ж болохгүй from lesson 65 for a rule: Босго гишгэж болохгүй. "You must not step on the threshold."
| Rule | In Mongolian |
|---|---|
| no need to knock | Хаалга тогших хэрэггүй. |
| don't step on the threshold | Босго битгий гишгээрэй. |
| go round clockwise | Нар зөв яваарай. |
| don't whistle inside | Гэрт битгий исгэрээрэй. |
| take things with the right hand | Баруун гараар аваарай. |
Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian imperatives · Mongolian etiquette and gestures · Wanting and needing
нар зөв means "the sun's way". The door of a ger faces south, so the sun travels round the ger from east to west, clockwise, and people inside move the same way.
The back of the ger, opposite the door, is the place of honour, the хоймор of lesson 73, kept for elders and honoured guests. A visitor does not choose a seat: wait until your host shows you where to sit.
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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