Goal: Give and accept gifts politely.
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Download the Mongolian audio course24 audio lessons · MP3 · yours to keepLimba offers a gift
I had kept my present for Dulmaa since the autumn: warm Canadian mittens. Nomin made me buy a khadag at the market to go with them, and she gave me a lesson on the way home: never hand anything over with your left hand alone.
Of course I forgot, and held out the parcel with one hand. Nomin coughed. I started again with both hands. Dulmaa laughed, thanked me, and gave me a present of her own: the yellow guest bowl, which she had brought all the way from Arkhangai.
| Mongolian | English |
|---|---|
| бэлэг | present, gift |
| өгөх | to give |
| авах | to take; to receive; to buy |
| бээлий | mitten, glove |
| хоёр гараараа | with both hands (one's own) |
| баруун | right (also: west) |
| зүүн | left (also: east) |
| тохой | elbow |
| хадаг | ceremonial silk scarf |
| жинхэнэ | real, true |
With өгөх (to give), the person who receives goes in the dative-locative, the case of lesson 35. The thing given is the object, often with no ending.
The receivers you will use most: надад (to me), чамд (to you, familiar), танд (to you, polite), түүнд (to him, to her), and names: Батад, Номинд, Сараад, эмээд.
With авах (to take, to receive, to buy), the giver is the source, so it goes in the ablative, the "from" case of lesson 36:
So the same present travels from a dative-locative to an ablative: Бат надад ном өгсөн (Bat gave me a book) and Би Батаас ном авсан (I got a book from Bat) tell the same story.
"With the hand" is the instrumental of гар, and because it is your own hand, the reflexive of lesson 82 follows: гар + аар + аа.
In the same way: баруун гараараа (with your right hand), хоёр гараараа (with both hands). The words for the gesture are баруун гар (the right hand), зүүн гар (the left hand) and тохой (the elbow).
| Giving | Receiving |
|---|---|
| Энэ таны бэлэг. (This is your present.) | Баярлалаа. (Thank you.) |
| Аваарай. (Please take it.) | Их баярлалаа! (Thank you so much!) |
| Би чамд бэлэг өгье. (Let me give you a present.) | Ямар сайхан бэ! (How lovely!) |
өгье is the "let me" form of lesson 68: өг– + –ье. It announces what you are about to do: "let me give you…".
Канадынх is the genitive Канадын with the –х of lesson 89: "the one from Canada", "Canadian". It saves repeating the noun: Энэ бэлэг Канадынх. "This present is from Canada."
Go deeper in the grammar guide: The dative-locative case · The ablative case · Mongolian etiquette and gestures
Give and receive with the right hand, the left hand touching your right elbow or forearm from below. Both hands together are also correct and show particular respect. The left hand alone is avoided for everything: a bowl, a present, money, a phone. A хадаг is always offered with both hands. If you are left-handed, use the right hand anyway: the rule is about respect, not skill.
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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