қайырлы түн
qayırlı tün
қайырлы түн (qayırlı tün) is the Kazakh way to say goodnight.
This phrase is used as a greeting to wish someone a good night's sleep or as a way to say goodbye during the nighttime.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the adjective қайырлы (good/blessed) and the noun түн (night).
How do you pronounce it?
qayırlı tün
Did you know?
- The word түн shares its ancient roots with the concept of 'yesterday' in Proto-Turkic, reflecting a time when the night was the boundary between days.
- The word қайырлы is used in almost every time-based greeting in Kazakh, such as 'good morning' and 'good afternoon'. It creates a linguistic pattern of wishing 'blessings' for every new segment of the day.
- The word қайыр inside қайырлы is related to the concept of 'benefit' or 'good fortune'. This means the phrase is an active wish for the person to gain something positive from their sleep.
Examples in context
- Қайырлы түн!Goodnight!This example shows how to use қайырлы түн as a standalone greeting.Tatoeba #5262179 by abylay, translation #1068125 by erik21889
- Қайырлы түн, достарым.Qayyrly tün, dostarym.Goodnight, my friends.
Example conversation
Two housemates are going to bed.
- Даурен DaurenМен ұйықтаймын, Айгуль.Men uyktaimyn, Aigul.I'm going to sleep, Aigul.
- Айгуль AigulЖақсы, қайырлы түн, Даурен!Zhaqsy, qayyrly tün, Dauren!Okay, goodnight, Dauren!
- Даурен DaurenСаған да қайырлы түн!Saghan da qayyrly tün!Goodnight to you too!
- Айгуль AigulЕртеңді күтемін.Erteñdi kütemin.I'll see you tomorrow.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry қайырлы түн, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries түн, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
