Kabardian grammar

Kabardian is a Northwest Caucasian language with an ergative verb-final clause structure.

Noun

Noun cases

In addition to distinguishing between singular and plural nouns by marking the latter with the suffix '-хэ' /-xa/

• щӏалэ [ɕʼaːɮa] ('boy') becomes щӏалэхэ [ɕʼaːɮaxa] ('boys').
• шы [ʃə] ('horse') becomes шыхэ [ʃəxa] ('horses').

Kabardian also declines nouns into four different cases, each with corresponding suffixes: absolutive, ergative, instrumental, and invertive.

Case	Suffix		example
	Cyrillic	IPA
Absolutive	р	/r/	щӏалэр [ɕʼaːlar] ('the boy')
Ergative	м	/m/	щӏалэм [ɕʼaːlam] ('the boy's')
Instrumental	(м)кӏэ	/(m)t͡ʃʼa/	щӏалэмкӏэ [ɕʼaːɮamt͡ʃʼa] ('using the boy')
Invertive	ыу	/əw/	щӏалу [ɕʼaɮəw] ('boy')

Absolutive case

Has the suffix - р /r/ (e.g. щӏалэр [ɕʼaːɮar] 'the boy', щӏалэхэр [ɕʼaːɮaxar] ('the boys'), шыр [ʃər] 'the horse'). This case has two main functions:

• Marking the subject of intransitive verbs

щIалэр	йоджэ
щӏалэ-р	йо-джэ
[ɕʼaːɮar	jawd͡ʒa]
the boy (abs.)	(s)he is reading
"the boy is reading"

• Marking the direct object of transitive verbs

сэ	тхылъыр	къэсщтащ
сэ	тхылъы-р	къэ-с-щта-щ
[sa	txəɬər	qasɕtaːɕ]
I	the book (abs.)	I picked it up
"I picked the book up"

Ergative case

Has the suffix -м /-m/ (e.g. щӏалэм [ɕʼaːɮam] 'the boy's', щӏалэхэмэ [ɕʼaːɮaxama] 'the

boys'', шым [ʃəm] 'the horse's). When it's plural it has the suffix -мэ (-ma). This case has several functions:

• Marking the subject of transitive verbs

сэ	егъэджакӏуэм	упщӏэ	естащ
сэ	егъэджакӏуэ-м	упщӏэ	естащ
[sa	jaʁad͡ʒaːkʷʼam	wəpɕʼa	jastaːɕ]
I	the teacher (eng.)	a question	I gave to
"I gave the teacher a question"

• Marking the direct object of intransitive verbs

щӏалэр	тхылъым	йоджэ
щӏалэ-р	тхылъ-ым	йоджэ
[ɕʼaːɮar	txəɬəm	jawd͡ʒa]
the boy (abs.)	the book (erg.)	(s)he reads
"the boy reads the book"

• Marking circumstance of action, e.g. feature of place, time of action
  • жылэ /ʒəɮa/ village → жылэм /ʒəɮam/ in the village
  • жэщ /ʒaɕə/ night → жэщым /ʒaɕəm/ in the night.
  • зэман /zamaːn/ distant past → зэманым /zamaːnəm/ in the distant past.

сэ	къалэм	сыщыӏащ
сэ	къалэ-м	сыщыӏащ
[sa	qaːɮam	səɕəʔaːɕ]
I	the city (erg.)	I was there
"I was in the village"

Instrumental-Directional Case

Has the suffix -мкӏэ /mt͡ʃʼa/ or -кӏэ /t͡ʃʼa/ (e.g. кӏэлэмкӏэ [t͡ʃʼaːɮamt͡ʃʼa] 'using the boy', щӏэлэкӏэ [ɕʼaːɮat͡ʃʼa] 'using a boy', кӏалэхэмкӏэ [t͡ʃaːɮaxamt͡ʃʼa] 'using the boys', щӏалэхэкӏэ [ɕʼaːɮaxat͡ʃʼa] 'using boys', псыкӏэ [psət͡ʃʼa] 'using water', псымкӏэ [psəmt͡ʃʼa] 'using the water').

• Marking the instrument or tool of action:
  • къэлэм /qalam/ pencil → къэлэмкӏэ /qalamt͡ʃʼa/ using a pencil.
  • къэлэм /qalam/ pencil → къэлэмымкӏэ /qalaməmt͡ʃʼa/ using the pencil.
  • уадэ /waːda/ hammer → уадэкӏэ /waːdat͡ʃʼa/ using a hammer.
  • уадэ /waːda/ hammer → уадэмкӏэ /waːdamt͡ʃʼa/ using the hammer.

сэ	къэрэндащкӏэ	сотхэ
сэ	къэрэндащ-кӏэ	сотхэ
[sa	qarandaːɕt͡ʃʼa	sawtxa]
I	pencil (ins.)	I write
"I write using a pencil"

щӏалэр	адыгэбзэкӏэ	мэпсалъэ
щӏалэ-р	адыгэбзэ-кӏэ	мэпсалъэ
[ɕʼaːɮar	aːdəɣabzat͡ʃʼa	mapsaːɬa]
boy (arg.)	using Circassian language (ins.)	(s)he is speaking
"The boy is speaking (using) Circassian language."

• Marking the direction of action:
  • гъуэгу /ʁʷaɡʷ/ road → гъуэгумкӏэ /ʁʷaɡʷəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the road (direction).
  • унэ /wəna/ house → унэмкӏэ /wənamt͡ʃʼa/ from the house.
  • хы /xə/ sea → хымкӏэ /xəmt͡ʃʼa/ from the sea (direction).

дэ	къуажэмкӏэ	докӏуэ
дэ	къуажэ-мкӏэ	докӏуэ
[da	qʷaːʒamt͡ʃʼa	dawkʷʼa]
we	village (ins.)	we go
"we are going in the direction of the village"

Том,	нобэди	еджапӏэмкӏэ	ныщӏыхьэ
Том,	нобэди	еджапӏэ-мкӏэ	ныщӏыхьэ
[tom	nawbadi	jad͡ʒaːpʼamt͡ʃʼa	nəɕʼəħa]
Tom (name)	today	school (ins.)	stop by
"Tom, come to our school today"

Invertive

Has the suffix -уэ /wa/, or -у /əw/ (e.g. щӏалу [ɕʼaːɮəw] 'boy'). This case has a number of functions:

• Marking the reception of another quality by the subject:

фошыгъуу	зы	килограмм	къэсщэхуащ
фошыгъу-у	зы	килограмм	къэсщэхуащ
[fawʃəʁʷəw	zə	kilogrami	qasɕaxʷaːɕ]
suger (inv.)	one	kilogram	I bought
"I bought one kilogram of sugar"

Lack of subject and object

Colloquially, the subject or object may both be dropped if clear from context.

• Both subject and object are mentioned :

щӏалэм	пщащэр	елъэгъу
щӏалэ-м	пщащэ-р	елъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam	pɕaːɕar	jaɬaʁʷə]
the boy (erg.)	the girl (abs.)	(s)he is seeing
"the boy is seeing the girl"

• If the direct object is not mentioned :

щӏалэм	елъэгъу
щӏалэ-м	елъэгъу
[ɕʼaːɮam	jaɬaʁʷə]
the boy (erg.)	(s)he is seeing
"the boy is seeing him/her/it"

• If the subject is not mentioned :

пщащэр	елъэгъу
пщащэ-р	елъэгъу
[pɕaːɕar	jaɬaʁʷə]
the girl (abs.)	(s)he is seeing
"(s)he is seeing the girl"

• If both subject and object are not mentioned :

елъэгъу

елъэгъу

[jaɬaʁʷə]

(s)he is seeing

"(s)he is seeing him/her/it"

Noun and adjective

In Adyghe, if a noun is accompanied by an adjective, the adjective always placed right after the noun

and also gets the suffixes that indicate the noun case.

• Absolutive case

пщэщэ	дахэр	макӏуэ
[pɕaɕa	daːxar	maːkʷʼa]
girl	the pretty (abs.)	(s)he is going
"the pretty girl is going"

• Ergative case

щӏалэ	кӏыхьэм	ешхы	мыӏэрысэ
[ɕʼaːɮa	t͡ʃʼəħam	jaʃxə	məʔarəsa]
boy	the long (erg.)	he is eating a/the	the apple (abs.)
"the long boy is eating the apple"

• Instrumental case

къэрэндащ	папцӏэмкӏэ	сотхэ
[qarandaːɕ	papt͡sʼamt͡ʃʼa	sawtxa]
pencil	sharp (ins.)	I am writing
"I am writing with (using) the sharp pencil"

In case the whole sentence consists of only a noun and an adjective, the adjective can also be placed before the noun. In this case the adjective does not get the suffix either when placed after the noun or before it.

дахэ	пщащэр
[daːxa	pʂaːʂa]
pretty	the girl (abs.)
"The girl is pretty"

Creating nouns from verbs

In Kabardian someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that does a specific verb (or something happened to him/it) can be represented with the verb word with the additional suffix -э (a) (for present tense -рэ (-ra)). For example:

• макӏуэ /maːkʷ'a/ - he is going → макӏуэрэ /maːkʷ'ara/ - the person that's going
• машхэх /maːʃxax/ - they are eating → машхэхэрэ /maːʃxaxara/ - the people that are eating.
• мэлэжьащ /malaʑaːɕ/ - he worked → мэлэжьащэ /malaʑaːɕa/ - the person that worked.

макӏуэрэр	сикъуэш
макӏуэ-рэр	си-къуэш
[maːkʷʼarar	səjʃ]
the person that is going (abs.)	my brother
"the person that is going is my brother"

Creating nouns from adjective

In Kabardian someone (person) or something (animal, plant, object) that have a specific adjective can be presented with the adjective word with the additional noun case suffix (absolutive, ergative, etc.) For example:

• дахэ /daːxa/ - pretty → дахэр /daːxar/ - the pretty person (absolutive case).
• ӏэфӏ /ʔafʼə/ - tasty → ӏэфӏэр /ʔafʼar / - the tasty ones (absolutive case).
• щӏыӏэ /ɕʼəʔa/ - cold → щӏыӏэм /ɕʼəʔam/ - in the cold (ergative case).

щӏалэр	хуабэм	хэт
щӏалэ-р	хуабэ-м	хэт
[ɕʼaːɮar	xʷaːbam	xat]
the boy (abs.)	the heat (erg.)	(s)he is standing in
"The boy is standing in the heat"

Pronouns

Personal and personal-demonstrative pronouns

Case	Singular						Plural
	First-person		Second-person		Third-person		First-person		Second-person		Third-person
	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA
Absolutive	сэ	sa	уэ	wa	ар	aːr	дэ	da	фэ	fa	ахэр	aːxar
Ergative	сэ	sa	уэ	wa	абы	aːbə	дэ	da	фэ	fa	абыхэм	aːbəxam
Instrumental	сэркӏэ	sart͡ʃʼa	уэркӏэ	wart͡ʃʼa	абыкӏэ	aːbət͡ʃʼa	дэркӏэ	dart͡ʃʼa	фэркӏэ	fart͡ʃʼa	абыхэмкӏэ	aːbəxamt͡ʃʼa
Invertive	сэру	sarəw	уэру	warəw	ару	aːrəw	дэру	darəw	фэру	farəw	ахэру	aːxarəw

сэ	тхылъым	седжащ
сэ	тхылъы-м	се-дж-ащ
[sa	txəɬəm	sajd͡ʒaːɕ]
I	the book (erg.)	(s)he read
"I read the book"

дэркӏэ	мы	шхыныр	лъапӏэ
дэр-кӏэ	мы	шхыны-р	лъапӏэ
[dart͡ʃʼa	mə	ʃxənər	ɬaːpʼa]
For us (ins.)	this	the food (abs.)	expensive
"This food is expensive for us"

Demonstrative Pronouns

Case	Singular		Plural
	Cyrillic	IPA	Cyrillic	IPA
Absolutive	мы, мор	mə, mawr	мыхэр, мохэр	məxar, mawxar
Ergative	мыбы, мобы	məbə, mawbə	мыбыхэм, мобыхэм	məbəxam, mawbəxam
Instrumental	мыбыкIэ, мобыкIэ	məbət͡ʃʼa, mawbət͡ʃʼa	мыбыхэмкIэ, мобыхэмкIэ	məbəxamt͡ʃʼa, mawbəxamt͡ʃʼa
Invertive	мыру, мору	mərəw, mawrəw	мыхэру, мохэру	məxarəw, mawxarəw

мыбы	хьэлэгъу	ешхы
мыбы	хьэлэгъу	е-шхы
[məbə	ħaɮaʁʷ	haʃxə]
This (erg.)	a bread	(s)he eats
"This person/animal eats bread"

мыбыкӏэ	щӏалэр	къакӏуэ
мыбы0кӏэ	щӏалэ0р	къа-кӏуэ
[məbət͡ʼa	ɕʼaːɮar	qaːkʷʼa]
This way (ins.)	the boy (abs.)	(s)he is coming
"The boy is coming from this way"

Possessive Pronouns

Plurality	Person	Prefix		meaning	example
		Cyrillic	IPA
Singular	1st person	си-	/səj-/	"my"	сиунэ /səjwəna/ - my house; ситхылъ /səjtxəɬ/ - my book
	2nd person	уи-	/wəj-/	"your"	уиунэ /wəjwəna/ - your house; уитхылъ /wəjtxəɬ/ - your book
	3rd person	и-	/jə-/	"his"	иунэ /jəwəna/ - his house; итхылъ /jətxəɬ/ - his book
Plural	1st person	ди-	/dəj-/	"our"	диунэ /dəjwəna/ - our house; дитхылъ /dəjtxəɬ/ - our book
	2nd person	фи-	/fəj-/	"your"	фиунэ /fəjwəna/ - your house; фитхылъ /fəjtxəɬ/ - your book
	3rd person	я-	/jaː-/	"their"	яунэ /jaːwəna/ - their house; ятхылъ /jaːtxəɬ/ - their book

си	унэ	фыкъакӏуэ
си	унэ	фы-къа-кӏуэ
[səj	wəna	fəqaːkʷʼa]
my	house	come (plural)
"Come to my house"

ди	машинэкӏэ	къалэм	докӏуэ
ди	машинэ-кӏэ	къалэм	до-кӏуэ
[dəj	maːʃinat͡ʃʼa	qaːɮam	dawkʷʼa]
Our	using the car (ins.)	the city (erg.)	we are going
"we are going to the city with our car"

Verbs

The verbal system of Kabardian is very complex. The verb usually goes at the end of the sentence.

Tense

Present

Intransitive verbs :

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	солажьэ	sawɮaːʑa	I work, I am working
	Second-person	уолажьэ	wawɮaːʑa	You work, You are working
	Third-person	мэлажьэ	maɮaːʑa	He work, He is working
Plural	First-person	долажьэ	dawɮaːʑa	We work, We are working
	Second-person	фолажьэ	fawɮaːʑa	You (pl.) work, You are working
	Third-person	мэлажьэх	maɮaːʑax	They work, They are working

Transitive verbs :

Plurality	Person	Positive			Negative
		Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	соджэ	sawd͡ʒa	I read, I am reading	седжэркъым	sajd͡ʒarqəm	I don’t read, I am not reading
	Second-person	уоджэ	wawd͡ʒa	You read, You are reading	уеджэркъым	wajd͡ʒarqəm	You don’t read, You are not reading
	Third-person	йоджэ	jawd͡ʒa	He read, He is reading	еджэркъым	jad͡ʒarqəm	He doesn't read, He is not reading
Plural	First-person	доджэ	dawd͡ʒa	We read, We are reading	деджэркъым	dajd͡ʒarqəm	We don’t read, We are not reading
	Second-person	фоджэ	fawd͡ʒa	You (pl.) read, You are reading	феджэркъым	fajd͡ʒarqəm	You don’t read, You are not reading
	Third-person	йоджэх	jawd͡ʒax	They study, They are studying	еджэхэркъым	jad͡ʒaxarqəm	They don’t read, They are not reading

Transitive verb examples :

Сэ адыгэбзэ грамматикэр содж (I study Circassian grammar)

Уэ адыгэбзэ грамматикэр уодж (You study Circassian grammar)

Абы адыгэбзэ грамматикэр едж (He/she studies Circassian grammar)

Дэ адыгэбзэ грамматикэр додж (We study Circassian grammar)

Фэ адыгэбзэ грамматикэр фодж (You (pl.) study Circassian grammar)

Абыхэм адыгэбзэ грамматикэр ядж or Адыгэбзэ грамматикэр яджхэр (They study Circassian grammar)

Intransitive poly-personal verb examples :

Сэ тхылъым соджэ (I read the book, I am reading the book)

Уэ тхылъым уоджэ (You read the book, you are reading the book)

Абы тхылъым йоджэ (He/she reads the book, he/she is reading the book)

Дэ тхылъым доджэ (We read the book, we are reading the book)

Фэ тхылъым фоджэ (You (pl.) read the book, you are reading the book)

Абыхэм тхылъым йоджэ or Тхылъым йоджэхэр (They read the book, they are reading the book)

Future

Indicating certainty :

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сылэжьэнущ	səɮaʑanawɕ	I will [definitely] work
	Second-person	улэжьэнущ	wəɮaʑanawɕ	You will [definitely] work
	Third-person	лэжьэнущ	ɮaʑanawɕ	He will [definitely] work
Plural	First-person	дылэжьэнущ	dəɮaʑanawɕ	We will [definitely] work
	Second-person	фылэжьэнущ	fəɮaʑanawɕ	You will [definitely] work
	Third-person	лэжьэнущ	ɮaʑanawɕ	They will [definitely] work

Indicating some uncertainty :

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сылэжьэнщ	səɮaʑanawɕ	I will/may work
	Second-person	улэжьэнщ	wəɮaʑanawɕ	You will/may work
	Third-person	лэжьэнщ	ɮaʑanawɕ	He will/may work
Plural	First-person	дылэжьэнщ	dəɮaʑanawɕ	We will/may work
	Second-person	фылэжьэнщ	fəɮaʑanawɕ	You will/may work
	Third-person	лэжьэнщхэщ	ɮaʑanɕxaɕ	They will/may work

Negative :

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сылэжьэнкъым	səɮaʑanqəm	I won’t work
	Second-person	улэжьэнкъым	wəɮaʑanqəm	You won’t work
	Third-person	лэжьэнкъым	ɮaʑanqəm	He won’t work
Plural	First-person	длэжьэнкъым	dəɮaʑanqəm	We won’t work
	Second-person	флэжьэнкъым	fəɮaʑanqəm	You (pl.) won’t work
	Third-person	лэжьэнхэкъым	ɮaʑanxaqəm	They won’t work

Past

Type 1 :

The past tense of verbs of type 1 are formed by adding -aщ /-aːɕ/. In intransitive verbs it indicate that the action took place, but with no indication as to the duration, instant nor completeness of the action.

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	седжащ	sajd͡ʒaːɕ	I [have] read
	Second-person	уеджащ	wajd͡ʒaːɕ	You [have] read
	Third-person	еджащ	jad͡ʒaːɕ	He [has] read
Plural	First-person	деджащ	dajd͡ʒaːɕ	We [have] read
	Second-person	феджащ	fajd͡ʒaːɕ	You [have] read
	Third-person	еджащ	jad͡ʒaːɕ	They [have] read

In transitive verbs it convey more specific information as regards to completeness of the action, and therefore they indicate some certainty as to the outcome of the action.

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	зджащ	zd͡ʒaːɕ	I [have] read
	Second-person	уджащ	wd͡ʒaːɕ	You [have] read
	Third-person	иджащ	jəd͡ʒaːɕ	He [has] read
Plural	First-person	дджащ	dd͡ʒaːɕ	We [have] read
	Second-person	вджащ	vd͡ʒaːɕ	You [have] read
	Third-person	яджащ	jaːd͡ʒaːɕ	They [have] read

Negative :

Plurality	Person	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	седжакъым	sajd͡ʒaːqəm	I didn’t read
	Second-person	уеджакъым	wajd͡ʒaːqəm	You didn’t read
	Third-person	еджакъым	jad͡ʒaːqəm	He didn’t read
Plural	First-person	деджакъым	dajd͡ʒaːqəm	We didn’t read
	Second-person	феджакъым	fajd͡ʒaːqəm	You (pl.) didn’t read
	Third-person	еджахэкъым	jad͡ʒaːxaqəm	They didn’t read

Type 2 :

This is the past perfect tense. It is formed by adding ~гъащ. It indicates that the action took place formerly at some certain time.

Plurality	Person	Positive			Negative
		Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning	Cyrillic	IPA	Meaning
Singular	First-person	сытхагъащ	sətxaːʁaːɕ	I wrote	сытхагъакъым	sətxaːʁaːqəm	I didn’t write
	Second-person	утхагъащ	wətxaːʁaːɕ	You wrote	утхагъакъым	wətxaːʁaːqəm	You didn’t write
	Third-person	тхагъащ	txaːʁaːɕ	He wrote	тхагъакъым	txaːʁaːqəm	He didn’t write
Plural	First-person	дытхагъащ	dətxaːʁaːɕ	We wrote	дытхагъакъым	dətxaːʁaːqəm	We didn’t write
	Second-person	фытхагъащ	fətxaːʁaːɕ	You wrote	фытхагъакъым	fətxaːʁaːqəm	You didn’t write
	Third-person	тхагъащэх	txaːʁaːɕax	They wrote	тхагъакъым	txaːʁaːqəm	They didn’t write

Type 3 :

Verbs of this group designate repetition of action in a vividly expressed manner. They are formed by adding the suffix –т.

Сэ жысIэрт (I kept saying)

Дэ дылажьэрт (We worked repeatedly)

Ар еджэрт (He read many times)

Negative forms:

Сэ жысIэртэкъым (I did not kept saying)

Дэ дылажьэртэкъым (We did not work repeatedly)

Ар еджэртэкъым (He did not read many times)

Positional conjugation

Here is the positional conjugation of some verbs, showing how the root changes indicate position:

	stands	sits	lies
Body position/Pose	щыт (ɕət)	щыс (ɕəs)	щылъ (ɕəɬ)
On	тет (tajt)	тес (tajs)	телъ (tajɬ)
Under	щIэт (ɕ’at)	щIэс (ɕ’as)	щIэлъ (ɕ’aɬ)
Among	хэт (xat)	хэс (xas)	хэлъ (xaɬ)
Within some area	дэт (dat)	дэс (das)	дэлъ (daɬ)
Behind	ӏут (ʔʷət)	ӏyc (ʔʷəs)	ӏулъ (ʔʷəɬ)
Inside	ит (jət)	иc (jəs)	илъ (jəɬ)
Hanged or attached	пыт (pət)	пыc (pəs)	пылъ (pəɬ)
Corner or behind	къуэт (qʷat)	къуэc (qʷas)	къуэлъ (qʷaɬ)
Side	гуэт (gʷat)	гуэc (gʷas)	гуэлъ (gʷaɬ)
In front of	пэӏут (paʔʷət)	пэӏуc (paʔʷəs)	пэӏулъ (paʔʷəɬ)
Inside within	кӏуэцӏыт (kʷʼat͡sʼət)	кӏуэцӏыс (kʷʼat͡sʼəs)	кӏуэцӏылъ (kʷʼat͡sʼəɬ)
Slope	кӏэрыт (kʲʼarət)	кӏэрыс (kʲʼarəs)	кӏэрылъ (kʲʼarəɬ)
Over	щхьэпырыт (ʂħapərət)	щхьэпырыс (ʂħapərəs)	щхьэпырылъ (ʂħapərəɬ)
On the neck	фӏэхэт (fʼaxat)	фӏэхэс (fʼaxas)	фӏэхэлъ (fʼaxaɬ)
Directly	жьэхэт (ʑaxat)	жьэхэс (ʑaxas)	жьэхэлъ (ʑaxaɬ)

Examples:

щыт - [someone or something] stands (as a pose);

Iут - [someone or something] stands (behind);

щIэт - [someone or something] stands (under)

тет - [someone or something] stands (above)

дэт - [someone or something] stands (between), etc.

Body position/Pose

• щ(ы)~ /ɕə-/ designates abode/residence somewhere. For example :
• сэ мыбы сыщеджащ: I studied here
• ар къалэм щыпсэуащ: he lived in the city

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw	щыдзын	ɕəd͡zən	to throw an object somewhere
to fit	щыхьэн	ɕəħan	to fit clothes and foot-wears
to look	щыплъэн	ɕəpɬan	to look somewhere
to take off	щыхын	ɕəxəx	to take off clothes and foot-wears
to wear off	щыкӏын	ɕət͡ʃʼən	to wear off clothes or foot-wears
to stand in	щыувын	ɕəwvən	to stand somewhere
to wear off	щызын	ɕəzən	to wear off clothes or foot-wears
to drop off	щытӏэрын	ɕətʼarən	to wear off clothes or foot-wears
to tear off	щытхъын	ɕətχən	to tear off clothes or foot-wears

On

• те~ /taj-/ designates location/being on something. For example :
• тхылъыр Iэнэм телъщ: the book is on the table.

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throws at	тедзэн	tajd͡zan	to throw an object on something
to go on	техьэн	tajħan	to go on something, to assault somewhere
to look on	теплъэн	tajpɬan	to look on something
to take from	техын	tajxən	to take an object from something
to go away from	текӏын	tajt͡ʃʼən	to come down from something
to put on	телъхьэн	tajɬħan	to put an object on something or someone
to stand on	теувэн	tajwvan	to stand on something
to fall from on	тезын	tajzən	to fall from above something
to be dropped on	тетӏэрэн	tajtʼaran	to be dropped above something
to be dropped from above	тетӏэрын	tajtʼarən	to be dropped from above something
to tear from on	тетхъын	tajtχən	to tear something from above something

Under

• щӏэ~ /ɕʼa-/ designates being under something. For example :
• уэсыр жыг лъабжьэм кӏэщӏэтхъуэн: to rake up the snow under the tree.

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw under	щӏэдзэн	ɕʼad͡zan	to throw an object under something
to go under	щӏэхьэн	ɕʼaħan	to go under something
to look under	щӏэплъэн	ɕʼapɬan	to look under something
to take from	щӏэхын	ɕʼaxən	to take an object under something
to go away from	щӏэкӏын	ɕʼat͡ʃʼən	to come out under something
to put under	щӏэлъхьэн	ɕʼaɬħan	to put an object under something or someone
to stand under	щӏэувэн	ɕʼawvan	to stand under something
to fall from under	щӏэзын	ɕʼazən	to fall from under something
to be dropped under	щӏэтӏэрэн	ɕʼatʼaran	to be dropped under something
to be dropped from under	щӏэтӏэрын	ɕʼatʼarən	to be dropped from under something
to tear from under	щӏэтхъын	ɕʼatχən	to tear something from under something

Among

• хэ~ /xa-/ designates being among people, plants, animals or objects. For example :
• партием хэтын: to be in a party
• партием хыхьэн: to join the party.

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw among	хэдзэн	xad͡zan	to throw an object among some objects or people
to go among	хэхьэн	xaħan	to go to an area with a lot people or plants
to look among	хэплъэн	xapɬan	to look among some people or objects
to take from	хэхын	xaxən	to take an object among objects
to go away among	хэкӏын	xat͡ʃʼən	to get away from people or objects
to put among	хэлъхьэн	xaɬħan	to put an object among other objects
to stand among	хэувэн	xawvan	to stand among objects or other people
to fall among	хэзын	xazən	to be dropped from a group of objects or people
to be dropped among	хэтӏэрэн	xatʼaran	to be dropped into a group of objects or people
to be dropped from among	хэтӏэрын	xatʼarən	to be dropped from a group of objects or people
to tear among	хэтхъын	xatχən	to tear something from a group of objects or people

• хэ~ /xa-/ also designates being in some mass like for example in a liquid, fire, solid, gas and etc. For example :
• псым хэтын: to be in water.
• псым хыхьэн: to go into water

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw into	хэдзэн	xad͡zan	to throw an object into some mass
to go into	хэхьэн	xaħan	to enter an area with some mass
to look into	хэплъэн	xapɬan	to look into an area with some mass
to take from	хэхын	xaxən	to take an object form an area with some mass
to get out from	хэкӏын	xat͡ʃʼən	to get out from an area with some mass
to put into	хэлъхьэн	xaɬħan	to put an object into an area with some mass
to stand in	хэувэн	xawvan	to stand in an area with some mass to stand on a surface with some mass (like dirt or liquid)
to fall from	хэзын	xazən	to fall from an area with some mass
to be dropped among	хэтӏэрэн	xatʼaran	to be dropped to an area with some mass
to be dropped from among	хэтӏэрын	xatʼarən	to be dropped from an area with some mass
to tear from	хэтхъын	xatχən	to tear a small part from a solid object

Within some area

• дэ~ /da-/ designates being of an object on a definite territory. For example :
• машинэр уэрамым дэтщ: the car is on the street
• пщІантІэм дэтын: to be in the yard
• пхъэр пщІантІэм дэшэн: to drop off the firewood in the yard

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw into	дэдзэн	dad͡zan	to throw an object on a definite territory
to go into	дэхьэн	daħan	to enter a definite territory
to look into	дэплъэн	dapɬan	to look at a definite territory
to take from	дэхын	daxən	to take an object from a definite territory
to get out from	дэкӏын	dat͡ʃʼən	to get our from a definite territory
to put inside	дэлъхьэн	daɬħan	to put an object into a definite territory
to stand in	дэувэн	dawvan	to stand in a definite territory
to be dropped into	дэтӏэрэн	datʼaran	to be dropped into a definite territory
to be dropped from	дэтӏэрын	datʼarən	to be dropped from a definite territory
to fall from	дэзын	dazən	to fall from a definite territory

• дэ~ /da-/ also designates being of an object inside another object. For example :
• тхылъыр шкафым дэлъщ: the book is in the bookcase
• щхьэгъубжэм дэплъын: to look out of the window.

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw into	дэдзэн	dad͡zan	to throw an object inside another object
to go into	дэхьэн	daħan	to enter inside another object
to look into	дэплъэн	dapɬan	to look inside another object
to take from	дэхын	daxən	to take an object from inside another object
to get out from	дэкӏын	dat͡ʃʼən	to get our from inside another object
to put inside	дэлъхьэн	daɬħan	to put an object inside another object
to stand on	дэувэн	dawvan	to stand inside another object
to fall from inside	дэзын	dazən	to fall from inside another object
to be dropped inside	дэтӏэрэн	datʼaran	to be dropped inside another object
to be dropped outside	дэтӏэрын	datʼarən	to be dropped outside another object
to tear from inside	дэтхъын	datχən	to tear something from inside another object

Near or around

• ӏу~ /ʔʷə-/ designates drawing near, approaching somebody or something, being of an object around or near something or someone else. For example :
• кІэлындорым Іухьэн: to approach the corridor
• мывэр бжэм Іулъщ: the stone lies near the door
• блэкІым Іуплъэн: to cast a glance at the passer-by.

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw around	ӏудзэн	ʔʷəd͡zan	to throw an object around or near something
to go around	ӏухьэн	ʔʷəħan	to approach something or someone
to look around	ӏуплъэн	ʔʷəpɬan	to look around or near something or someone
to take from	ӏухын	ʔʷəxən	to take an object from around something
to go away from	ӏукӏын	ʔʷət͡ʃʼən	to get away from
to put around	ӏулъхьэн	ʔʷəɬħan	to put an object around or near something
to stand near	ӏуувэн	ʔʷəwvan	to stand near or around something
to fall from near	ӏузын	ʔʷəzən	to fall from near or around something
to be dropped near	ӏутӏэрэн	ʔʷətʼaran	to be dropped near or around something
to be dropped near	ӏутӏэрын	ʔʷətʼarən	to be dropped from near or around something
to tear from near	ӏутхъын	ʔʷətχən	to tear something from near or around something

Inside

• и~ /jə-/ designates being inside/in something. For example :
• игуэн: to push, shove (smb., smth., into smth.)
• вагоным исын: to sit in the coach
• игъэхун: to drop, let fall (from pocket, etc.)
• пэгуным псыр ижащ: the water ran out of the bucket

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw inside	идзэн	jəd͡zan	to throw an object inside something
to enter	ихьэн	jəħan	to enter somewhere
to look inside	иплъэн	jəpɬan	to look inside something
to take from	ихын	jəxən	to take an object from inside something
to exit	икӏын	jət͡ʃʼən	to exit from somewhere
to put inside	илъхьэн	jəɬħan	to put an object inside something
to stand inside	иувэн	jəwvan	to stand inside something
to fall from inside	изын	jəzən	to fall from inside something
to be dropped inside	итӏэрэн	jətʼaran	to be dropped into inside something
to be dropped outside	итӏэрын	jətʼarən	to be dropped outside something
to pull out	итхъын	jətχən	to pull a plant from the ground

Hanged or attached

• пы~ /pə-/ designates addition or joining, adherence, attached, hanged (like fruits on a tree or clothes on a hanger). For example :

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw at	пыдзэн	pəd͡zan	to throw an object on a hanger
to attache to	пыхьэн	pəħan	to attache to somewhere
to look at	пыплъэн	pəpɬan	to look inside a tree
to take from	пыхын	pəxən	to take an object from a hanger or tree to unplug
to come down from	пыкӏын	pət͡ʃʼən	to get off a hanger or tree to pick a fruit from a tree to separate from
to put at	пылъхьэн	pəɬħan	to put an object on a hanger or tree
to stand on	пыувэн	pəwvan	to stand on a tree
to fall from	пызын	pəzən	to fall from a hanger or tree
to be dropped from	пытӏэрын	pətʼarən	to be dropped from a hanger or tree
to tear from	пытхъын	pətχən	to pick something from a hanger or tree

Corner or behind

• къуэ~ /qʷa-/ designates an object behind something or in the corner. it also designates motion directed to the back of something or someone. For example :
• бгым къуэсын: to sit behind the mountain
• къуэлъэдэн: to run behind
• дыгъэр бгым къыкъуэкІащ: the sun rose from behind the mountain
• къуэплъын: to look out from behind

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw to behind	къуэдзэн	qʷad͡zan	to throw an object behind something or to the corner
to approach behind	къуэхьэн	qʷaħan	to approach behind something or to the corner
to look behind a	къуэплъэн	qʷapɬan	to look behind something or to the corner
to take from behind a	къуэхын	qʷaxən	to take an object behind something or from the corner
to come out behind	къуэкӏын	qʷat͡ʃʼən	to come out behind something or to get away from the corner
to put behind	къуэлъхьэн	qʷaɬħan	to put an object behind something or to the corner
to stand behind	къуэувэн	qʷawvan	to stand on behind something or to the corner
to be dropped behind	къуэтӏэрэн	qʷatʼarən	to be dropped behind something or to the corner
to be dropped from behind	къуэтӏэрын	qʷatʼarən	to be dropped from behind something or to the corner
to fall from behind	къуэзын	qʷazən	to fall from behind something or to the corner

Side

• гуэ~ /gʷa-/ designates an action directed towards the side of something or someone. Examples :
• гъунэгъум гуэсын: to sit next to the neighbour

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw aside	гуэдзэн	gʷad͡zan	to throw an object on the side of something or someone
to approach aside	гуэхьэн	gʷaħan	to approach by the side of something or someone
to look aside	гуэплъэн	gʷapɬan	to look aside something or someone
to take from	гуэхын	gʷaxən	to take an object from aside something or someone
to move away	гуэкӏын	gʷat͡ʃʼən	to go away from aside something or someone
to put aside	гуэлъхьэн	gʷaɬħan	to put an object aside something or someone
to stand aside	гуэувэн	gʷawvan	to stand aside someone or something
to drop from aside	гуэзын	gʷazən	to fall aside someone or something
to drop aside	гуэтӏэрэн	gʷatʼaran	to be dropped aside someone or something
to drop from aside	гуэтӏэрын	gʷatʼarən	to be dropped from aside someone or something

In front of

• пэӏу~ /paʔʷə-/ designates being in front of someone or something usually for the purpose of opposition. for example :

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to throw in front of	пэӏудзэн	paʔʷəd͡zan	to throw an object in front of something or someone
to approach in front of	пэӏухьэн	paʔʷəħan	to approach in front of something or someone
to look in front of	пэӏуплъэн	paʔʷəpɬan	to look in front of something or someone
to take in front of	пэӏухын	paʔʷəxən	to take an object from front of something or someone
to move away in front of	пэӏукӏын	paʔʷət͡ʃʼən	to go away from the front of something or someone
to put in front of	пэӏулъхьэн	paʔʷəɬħan	to put an object in front of something or someone
to stand on	пэӏуувэн	paʔʷəwt͡sʷan	to stand against someone
to fall from on	пэӏузын	paʔʷəzən	to fall in front of someone or something

Inside within

The prefix кӏоцӏы~ (kʷʼat͡sʼə) designates motion directed inside something, or from within something, through something; for example :

Meaning	Adyghe		Notes
	Cyrillic	IPA
to enter within	кӏоцӏыхьан	t͡ʂʼaħan	to enter inside within something; to consume; to penetrate
to go away from within	кӏоцӏыкӏын	t͡ʂʼat͡ʃʼən	to come out within something; to emit
to put within	кӏоцӏылъхьэн	t͡ʂʼaɬħan	to put an object within something

Slope

The verbal prefix кӏэры~ (kʲʼarə~) designates action on surface of object which is in vertical position; ex.: * блыным лозунг кІэрытхэн: to write a slogan on the wall.

It also designates stay/sojourn on slope, on surface, of object; ex.:

• мэлхэр бгым кІэрытщ: the sheep are on the slope of the mountain;
• Іэм ятІэ кІэрылъщ: there is mud on the hand

It can also be used to designates separation from smb., smth.; ex.

• ар сэ скІэрыкІащ: he left/let me alone;
• кІэрыдзэн: to throw (smth.) away from (smth.).

Over

The verbal prefix щхьэ~ (щхьэщы~; щхьэпыры~) designates being or movement of object over surface of smth.; ex.: * пшэр бгым щхьэщытщ: the cloud hangs over the mountain.

• бгым щхьэщылъэтын: to fly over the mountain

It also designates movement of object over smth., transference of object over/across smth.; ex.:

• бгым хьэлъэр щхьэпырыхын: to carry the load over/across the mountain.

On the neck

The verbal prefix фӏэхэ~ /fʼaxa~/ designates action directed to the neck for example :

• фӏэхэлъын: to be wore on one's neck.
• фӏэхэзын: to fall from one's neck.
• фӏэхэлъхьэн: to wear on one's neck.
• дзын: to throw → фӏэхэдзэн: to throw on one's neck.
• плъэн: to look → фӏэхэплъэн: to look on one's neck.
• пкӏэн: to jump → фӏэхэпкӏын: to jump on one's neck.

Directly

The verbal suffix жьэхэ~ (ʑaxa~) designates action directed at something.; for example :

• жьэхэплъэн: to look steadily (at), to stare (at).
• жьэхэуэн: to hit someone, to strike someone.
• жьэхэхьэн: to collide with.

Morphology

The Kabardian language has an especially complex morphology. A verb by its set of morphemes can express subject's and object's person, place, time, manner of action, negative, and other types of grammatical categories. A verb can have some combinations of different affixes to describe a specific verbs in a different situations.

Verbal Prefixes

Causative (гъэ~)

The verbal suffix гъэ~ (ʁa~) designates causation; rendered by the verbs: to force, compel, make; to order, tell; to allow, permit; to give the opportunity to do something.; also forms transitive verbs; for example :

• псэлъэн: to talk → гъэпсэлъэн: to make (somebody.) talk.
• мэжэлІэн: to become hungry → гъэмэжэлІэн: to make (somebody.) go hungry.
• шхэн: to eat → гъэшхэн: to feed (somebody.)
• бзэхын: ещ disappear → гъэбзэхын: to hide/conceal (somebody., something.) quickly.

Comitative (дэ~)

The verbal suffix дэ~ (da~) designates action performed jointly with somebody.

• шхэн: to eat → дэшхэн: to eat with somebody.
• кӏуэн : to go → дэкӏуэн : to go with somebody.

Reciprocal (зэ~)

The verbal prefix зэ~ is used in formation of reciprocal verbs; for example :

• зэзэуэн: to fight each other.

зэдэ~ is used in formation of reciprocal verbs; for example :

• зэдэгушыIэн: to joke with one another.

Reflexive (з~)

The verbal prefix з~ designates reflexive action; for example :

• зылъэщІын: to wipe oneself.
• зыплъыхьын: to look about oneself.
• зэгъэжьэн: to force oneself to wait;
• зэлъэфэлӏэн: to drag to oneself.

Destination (здэ~)

The verbal suffix здэ~ designates destination of action; for example :

• сыздэкIуэнур сощӏэ: I know where I am going to.

Directional (къэ~)

The verbal prefix къэ~ designates arrival, approach, movement directed to the speaker; for example :

• мафӏэгур къэсащ: the train has arrived.

It also designates approach of some season, time; for example :

• щӏымахуэр къэсащ: winter has arrived.

It also adds a tinge of definiteness to the verb; for example :

• къэпсэлъэн: to deliver a speech; to begin to speak.

Involuntative (ӏэщӏэ~)

The verbal prefix ӏэщӏэ~ (ʔaɕʼa~) designates an action which was done unintentionally. for example :

• хьэм бaжэр ӏэщӏэтхьэлыхьaщ - "The dog slaughtered the fox (unintentionally)"
• хьэр бaжэм ӏэщӏэтхьэлыхьaщ - "The fox (unintentionally) slaughtered the dog"
• щIaлэм дыгъур ӏэщӏэyкӏaщ - "The young man (unintentionally) killed the thief"
• yэ yсӏэщӏэyкӏaщ - "I accidentally killed you"
• щӏaлэм лӏыжьым дыгъур ӏэщӏигъэyкӏaщ - "The boy made the old man accidentally kill the thief"

Direction of motion (нэ~)

The veral prefix нэ~ (ны~) designates direction of motion from speaker to second person; for example :

• ар уи деж нэкӏуащ: he went to you.
• ар уи деж ныщӏыхьащ: he went to visit you.

It also forms verbs that convey a sense of completion of an action; for example :

• нэдысын: to finish (sewing); нэвысын: to finish ploughing/tilling.
• нэджысын: to finish (reading), to read to the end.

Against (фӏэ~)

The verbal prefix фӏэ~ (фӏы~) designates action done against somebody's will or interest. This verbal prefix can also be used indicate that the action was done to took an object or an opportunity away from somebody else.; for example :

• кӏуэн: to go → фӏэкӏуэн: to go against somebody’s wish.

Benefactive (ху~)

The verbal prefix хуэ~ (xʷa~) designates action performed to please somebody, for somebody’s sake, in somebody's interests; for example :

• анэм ӏуэху хуэщІэн: to do work for one's mother

Bypass (блэ~)

The verbal suffix блэ~ (bɮa~) designates movement bypass somebody or something; for example :

• унэм блэжын: to run by/past the house.

Through (пхы~)

The verbal prefix пхы~ (пхыры~) designates action, motion directed through some obstacle, object; ex.: * пхырыжын: to run through smth.;

• шэр nхъэбгъум пхыкІащ: the bullet went through the board;
• пхивыкІын: to get wet/soaked through.

Across (пыры~)

The verbal prefix пыры~ designates action of transference over object that is of comparatively small height; ex.:

• жыхьым пырыплъын: to look over the fence

It also designates action, motion directed across some obstacle; ex.:

• псым пырышын (е зэпырышын): to take/lead across the river;
• лъэмыжым пырышын: to take/lead across the bridge

After (кӏэлъ~)

The verbal prefix кӏэлъ~ (kʲʼaɬ) indicates action that happened towards after something or somebody; for example.:

• мыщэм кІэлъыкІуэн: to go after the bear;
• кІэлъежьэн: to set off/ out after, to start after, to leave after (smb., smth.);
• кІэлъесын: to swim after (smb., smth.).
• кІэлъытхэн: to write after (smb., smth.).

Toward the mouth (жьэдэ~)

The verbal suffix жьэдэ~ designates action performed in or towards the mouth; for example :

• жьэдэдзэн: to throw (something.) in the mouth of somebody.
• жьэдэплъэн: to look into somebody’s mouth.

Verbal Infixes

Negative (~мы~)

~мы~ negatory infix; for example :

• жыӏэ: say → жумыӏэ: do not say.
• къакӏуэ: come → укъэмыкӏуэ: do not come.

Verbal Suffixes

Completion (~гъах)

The verbal suffix ~гъэхэ designates absolute accomplishment/realization of the action; for example :

• кӏуагъэхэщ: he’s already gone.

Frequentative (~ж)

The verbal suffix ~ж designates recurrence/repetition of action; for example :

• къэсын: to arrive → къэсыжын: to arrive again.
• къэшэн: to bring → къэшэжын: to bring again.

Connective (~и)

~и (connective suffix) and, also; for example :

• къакӏуи еплъ: come and have a look.

Negative (~къым)

~къым (verbal suffix) negatory suffix; for example :

• хьэщӏэр иджыри къэс къэсакъым: the guest hasn’t arrived yet.
• сэ еджапӏэм сыкӏуакъым: I didn’t go to school.

Conditional mood (~мэ)

The conditional suffix is indicated by ~м(э); for example :

• ар къакIуэмэ, сэ бэзэрым сыкIуэнущ: If he comes, I will go to the market.

Concessive mood (~ми)

The verbal suffix ~ми designates concessive mood; for example :

• укIуами: even if you had gone.

Infinitive (~н)

~н infinitive forming suffix; for example :

• тхэн: to write.
• кIуэн: to go.

Upwards (~еи)

The verbal suffix ~еи designates action in an upward direction; ex.:

• дэкІуеин: to go upwards.
• дэлъеин: to jump/leap up.

Downwards (~хы)

The verbal suffix ~х designates downward direction of action; ex.:

• ежэхын: to roll down; to run down.
• джабэм ежэхын: to roll down the mountain's slope.
• псыр джабэм хуабжьу йожэх: the river is streaming down the mountain' slope.
• ехьэхын: to lower, sink somebody or something.
• щхьэр ехьэхын: to hang one’s head.
• рабочэхэр шахтэм ехьэхын: to get the workers down to the mine.

Recurrence (~рей)

The verbal suffix ~рей (~raj) designates recurrence, presence of a characteristic; for example :

• мэпсэлъэрей: he is fond of talking; he is garrulous.
• мэдауэрей: he is given to brawling; he is a brawler.

Repetition (~рт)

The verbal suffix ~рт designates repetition/recurrence of action; ex.:

• тхэрт: he wrote repeatedly.

Imperative mood (~т)

The verbal suffix ~т designates the imperative mood; for example :

• жыӏэт: do say; just say.
• тхэт: just write.

Subjunctive mood (~тэмэ)

The verbal suffix ~тэмэ designates subjunctive mood; for example :

• укӏуатэмэ: if you had gone.

Concessive mood (~тэми)

The verbal suffix ~тэми designates concessive mood; for example :

• укӏуатэми: even if you had gone.

Capability (~фы)

The verbal suffix ~ф designates the ability to perform the indicated action; for example :

• жыӏэфын: to be able to speak/talk; to speak eloquently/articulately;to manage to say (something.)
• хьыфын: to manage, be able, to take/carry (away) (something. somewhere.).

Ccompleteness (~пэ)

the verbal suffix ~пэ designates completeness and fulfilment of the action; ex.:

• илэжьыпащ: accomplished, realized, carried into effect;
• шхыпэн: vt to eat (up) (smth.) entirely.

Absolute completeness (~хэ)

The verbal suffix ~кӏэ designates absolute completeness of action; ex.:

• сщIакIэщ: I have already done it.

Directed towards (~лӏ)

The verbal suffix ~лӏ designates action directed towards, or applied to smb., smth.; ex.:

• ежэлІэн: vi to run up (to smb., smth.), to come running up (to smb., smth.);
• ехьэлІэн: vt 1. to take, carry (smb., smth. to smb., smth.);
• хьэпшыпхэр автобусым ~: to carry the articles to the bus.
• къекIуэлIащ: he appeared; he presented himself.

Slight excessiveness (~ӏуэ)

The verbal suffix ~ӏуэ designates slight excessiveness; ex.:

• тхэӏуэн: to write more than is necessary.

Excessiveness (~къуэ)

The verbal suffix ~къуэ designates excessiveness; ex.:

• псэлъэкъуэн: to out-talk somebody; to talk too much; to have a long talk with somebody, to get carried away by a conversation with somebody.

Plural (~хэ)

The pluralizing suffix is indicated by ~хэ; for example :

• къэкIуахэщ: they came.

Preliminary condition (~хэ)

The verbal suffix ~хэ designates preliminary condition; for example :

• зытхьэщIыхэн: wash yourself first.
• зытхьэщIыхи шхэ: first wash yourself, and then eat.

Absolute negation (~ххэ)

~ххэ (verbal suffix) designates absolute negation; for example :

• сыкIуэххэнкъым: I will definitely not go.

Around (~хь)

The verbal suffix ~хь designates action performed on a definite location or repetition of the action;

• къэжыхьын: to run about;
• къэкIухьын: to go/walk about;

It also designates movement round an object :

• Іуащхьэм къэкIухьын: to walk/go round the hill;
• жыгым къэкIухьын: to walk/go round the tree.

Optative mood (~щэрэ)

The verbal suffix ~щэрэ (~щэрэт) designates optative mood; ex.:

• Налшык сыкIуащэрэ: if only I could go to Nalchik; I wish I could go to Nalchik.

Numbers

• Numbers from zero to ten are specific words

1 зы

2 тӀу

3 щы

4 плӀы

5 тху <phonos file="Kbd-txho.oga">[txʷə]</phonos>

6 хы <phonos file="Ady-6.oga">[xə]</phonos>

7 блы <phonos file="Lh2.ogg">[bɮə]</phonos>

8 и

9 бгъу <phonos file="Ady-9.oga">[bʁʷə]</phonos>

10 пщӏы <phonos file="Pshaa.ogg">[pɕʼə]</phonos>

• Numbers from eleven to nineteen are built with the word for ten, followed by кӏу ([kʷʼə]) and the unit digit:

11 пщӏыкӀуз [pɕʼəkʷʼəz]

12 пщӏыкӀутIу [pɕʼəkʷʼətʷʼ]

13 пщӏыкӀущ [pɕʼəkʷʼəɕ]

14 пщӏыкӀуплI [pɕʼəkʷʼəpɬʼ]

15 пщӏыкӀутху [pɕʼəkʷʼətxʷ]

16 пщӏыкӀух [pɕʼəkʷʼəx]

17 пщӏыкӀубл [pɕʼəkʷʼəbɮ]

18 пщӏыкӀуй [pɕʼəkʷʼəj]

19 пщӏыкӀубгъу [pɕʼəkʷʼəbʁʷ]}

• The tens follow a vigesimal system from forty up, with the exception of fifty:

20 тӀощӏ [tʷʼaɕʼə] (20)

21 тӀощӏэ зырэ [tʷʼaɕʼəra zəra] (20 and 1)

22 тӀощӏэ тIурэ [tʷʼaɕʼəra tʷʼəra] (20 and 2)

23 тӀощӏэ щырэ [tʷʼaɕʼəra ɕəra] (20 and 3)

...

30 щэщӏ [ɕaɕʼ] (30)

31 щэщӏрэ зырэ [ɕaɕʼra zəra] (30 and 1)

32 щэщӏрэ тIурэ [ɕaɕʼra tʷʼəra] (30 and 2)

...

40 плIыщI [pɬʼəɕʼ] (20 × 2)

50 тхущI,[txʷəɕʼ] (half-hundred)

60 хыщI,[xəɕʼ] (20 × 3)

70 блыщI [bɮəɕʼ] (20 × 3 and 10)

80 ищI [jəɕʼ] (20 × 4)

90 бгъущI [bʁʷəɕʼ] (20 × 4 and 10)

• One hundred is щэ (ɕa). The hundreds are formed by the hundred word root (щ (ɕ)) followed by -и-

(-i-) and the multiplier digit root.

100 щэ (ɕa)

101 щэрэ зырэ (ɕara zəra) (100 and 1)

110 щэрэ пщӏырэ (ɕara pʃʼəra) (100 and 10)

200 щитӀу (ɕitʷʼ) (100 × 2)

201 щитӀурэ зырэ (ɕitʷʼəra zəra) (200 × 2 and 1)

300 щищ (ɕiɕ) (100 × 3)

400 щиплӀ (ɕipɬʼ) (100 × 4)

500 щитху (ɕitxʷ) (100 × 5)

600 щих (ɕix) (100 × 6)

700 щибл (ɕibɮ) (100 × 7)

800 щий (ɕij) (100 × 8)

900 щибгъу (ɕibʁʷ) (100 × 9)

• One thousand is мин (min). The thousands are formed by the thousand word root (мин (məjn))

followed by -и- (-i-) and the multiplier digit root.

1000 мин (min)

1001 минрэ зырэ (minra zəra) (1000 and 1)

1010 минрэ пщӏырэ (minra pʃʼəra) (1000 and 10)

1100 минрэ щэрэ (minra ɕara) (1000 and 100)

2000 минитӀу (minitʷʼ) (1000 × 2)

3000 минищ (miniɕ) (1000 × 3)

4000 миниплӀ (minipɬʼ) (1000 × 4)

5000 минитху (minitxʷ) (1000 × 5)

6000 миних (minix) (1000 × 6)

7000 минибл (minibɮ) (1000 × 7)

8000 миний (minij) (1000 × 8)

9000 минибгъу (minibʁʷ) (1000 × 9)

10000 минипщӏ (minipʃʼ) (1000 × 10)

11000 минипщӀыкӀуз (minipʃʼəkʷʼəz) (1000 × 11)

12000 минипщӀыкӀутIу (minipʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼ) (1000 × 12)

20000 минитӀощӏ (minitʷʼaɕʼə) (1000 × 20)

100000 минищэ (miniɕa) (1000 × 100)

200000 минищитӀу (miniɕitʷʼ) (1000 × 200)

When composed, the hundred word takes the -рэ (-ra) suffix, as well as the ten and the unit if any (e.g.: щэрэ зырэ (ʂara zəra) [101], щэрэ тIурэ (ʂara tʷʼəra) [102], щэрэ пщӀыкӀузырэ (pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼəra) [111], щитӀурэ щэщӀырэ плIырэ (ʂitʷʼəra ɕat͡ʃəra pɬʼəra) [234]).

Ordinal numbers

• Except апэрэ/япэрэ - first (aːpara/jaːpara) are formed by prefix я- (jaː-) and suffix – нэрэ (- nara). For

example: ятIунэрэ - second (jaːtʷʼənara), ящынэрэ - third (jaːɕənara), яплIынэрэ - fourth (jaːpɬʼənara).

first - Япэ [jaːpa]

second - ЕтIуанэ [jatʼaːna]

third - Ещанэ [jaɕaːna]

firth - Еянэ [jajaːna]

tenth - ЕпщIанэ [japɕʼaːna]

eleventh - ЕпщыкIузанэ [japɕʼəkʷʼəzaːna]

sixteenth. - ЕпщыкIуханэ [japɕʼəkʷʼəxaːna]

Discrete numbers

Зырыз - in ones, one by one

ТIурытI - in twos, two by two

Щырыщ - in threes, three by three

ПлIырыплI - in fours, four by four

Тхурытху - in fives, five by five

Хырых - in sixes, six by six

Блырыбл - in sevens, seven by seven

Ири - in eights, eight by eight

Бгъурыбгъу - in nines, nine by nine

ПщIырыпщI - in tens, ten by ten

Fractional numbers

half (1÷2) - Ныкъуэ [nəqʷa]

one third (1÷3) - щанэ [ɕaːna]

two thirds (2÷3) - щанитӏу [ɕaːnitʷʼ] (1÷3 × 2)

one fourth (1÷4) - плӀанэ [pɬʼaːna]

two fourths (2÷4) - плӀанитӏу [pɬʼaːnitʷʼ] (1÷4 × 2)

three fourths (3÷4) - плӀанищ [pɬʼaːniɕ] (1÷4 × 3)

one fifth (1÷5) - тфанэ [tfaːna]

one sixth (1÷6) - ханэ [xaːna]

one seventh (1÷7) - бланэ [blaːna]

one eighth (1÷8) - янэ [jaːna]

one ninth (1÷9) - бгъуанэ [bʁʷaːna]

one tenth (1÷10) - пщӀанэ [pʃʼaːna]

one eleventh (1÷11) - пщӀыкӏузанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼəzaːna]

one twelfth (1÷12) - пщӀыкӏутӏуанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼaːna]

one twentieth (1÷20) - тӏощӏанэ [tʷʼaɕʼaːna]

one hundredth (1÷100) - щанэ [ɕaːna]

References

Bibliography

• Аркадьев, П. М.; Ландер, Ю. А.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. Введение. Основные

сведения об адыгейском языке в кн.: "Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике

адыгейского языка" под ред.: П. М. Аркадьев, А. Б. Летучий, Н. Р. Сумбатова, Я. Г. Тестелец. Москва:

РГГУ, 2009 (Arkadiev, P. M.; Lander, Yu. A.; Letuchiy, A. B.; Sumbatova, N. R.; Testelets, Ya. G.

Introduction. Basic information about Adyghe language in "Aspects of polysyntheticity: studies on

Adyghe grammar" edited by: P. M. Arkadiev, A. B. Letuchiy, N. R. Sumbatova, Ya. G. Testelets. Moscow,

RGGU, 2009) (in Russian) ISBN 978-5-7281-1075-0

• Kabardian Verbal Affixes: Collected, arranged and edited by Amjad Jaimoukha : [1].
• Ranko Matasović, A short grammar of east Circassian (Kabardian) : [2].