Mongolian/Before You Begin

Vowel Harmony -- Эгшиг зохицох ёс

There are three kinds of vowels in Mongolian. They are back vowels, front vowels, and neutral vowels. When these vowels are used in Mongolian words, all of the vowels must be of the same form except for the neuter vowels which may be found in either back or front compositions. If there are only neuter vowels in a word, the word is considered front in vowel harmony.

Back Vowels: Аа, Оо, Уу, (Ыы, Яя, Ёё)

Front Vowels: Ээ, Өө, Үү, (Ее)

Neutral Vowels: Ии, Йй, Юю

Examples: Эрдэнэт, Эгшиг, Арван, Аавыгаа, Хүрэх

Sentence Structure -- Өгүүлбэрийн бүтэц

There are a few things about Mongolian sentences that you should know. First of all, the verb always comes last in the sentence. The subject is first, if it is said at all (most times the subject is understood and thus omitted), followed by the direct and indirect objects and prepositional phrases.

Question Sentences-- Асуулт хариулт

Also there are two kinds of question sentences. The first is a yes or no question. This sentence ends with a particle that denotes that it requires only a yes or no response. The second sentence is a question that requires a longer answer. The response to this sentence requires an actual explanation. This sentence also ends in a particle that denotes such.

Question particles

For yes/no question sentences ending in a front vowel word the particle is: үү

For yes/no question sentences ending in a back vowel word the particle is: уу

For yes/no question sentences ending in a front vowel word with a final long vowel the particle is: юү

For yes/no question sentences ending in a back vowel word with a final long vowel the particle is: юу

For questions requiring more than a yes or no answer, questions ending in a word with a final consonant of в, л, м, & н the particle is: бэ

For such questions ending in a word with a final consonant other than в, л, м, & н the particle is: вэ.

• Basic sentence structure
  • I to my older brother the book gave.(I gave the book to my older brother)
  • Би ахдаа номыг өгөв.
• Yes/No questions
  • Did you to your older brother the book give?. (Did you give the book to your brother)
  • Чи ахдаа номыг өгөв үү?
  • Did he the book take? (Did he take the book)
  • Тэр номыг авсан уу?
  • Is this a table?
  • Энэ ширээ юү?
  • Is that a pencil?
  • Тэр харандаа юу?
• Questions needing longer answers
  • Where did you go?
  • Хаана явсан бэ?
  • Where are you going?
  • Чи хааша явах вэ?