This article should specify the language of its non-English content using {{lang}} or {{langx}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used- notably ady for Adyghe.See why.(October 2025)
The distinction between syntactic cases is crucial for understanding who is doing the action and to whom. Nouns in Adyghe take the following case roles in a sentence depending on the verb's transitivity:
Absolutive case: Marked with the suffix -р /-r/. It indicates the subject of an intransitive verb or the direct object of a transitive verb.
Ergative case: Marked with the suffix -м /-m/. It indicates the subject (agent) of a transitive verb.
Oblique case: Also marked with the suffix -м /-m/. It marks the target of the action in bivalent intransitive verbs, functions as the indirect object (dative) in ditransitive verbs, and acts as a locative argument in transitive verbs with prepositional prefixes.
The following basic example demonstrates this ergative–absolutive case marking system:
Sentence:
ӏанэр мэкъутэ.
Лӏым ӏанэр екъутэ.
Word:
ӏанэ-р
мэкъутэ
Лӏым
ӏанэр
екъутэ
Gloss:
The table-ABS
breaks
The man-ERG
the table-ABS
breaks
Function:
S
VERBintrans
A
O
VERBtrans
Translation:
"The table breaks."
"The man breaks the table."
Here, "table" has the absolutive case mark -р /-r/ while "man" has the ergative case mark -м /-m/. We also have the verb "break" in intransitive form "мэкъутэ" and transitive form "екъутэ". In the example above, we specifically used SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) order, but Circassian allows any word order.
Alignment Comparison: Passives and Antipassives
To understand the mirror-image nature of these alignments, it helps to look at how each system reduces a transitive sentence.
In a Nominative-Accusative language like English, the default focus is on the agent. To drop the object, an intransitive verb is used. To drop the agent, the language must use a passive construction.
Active Transitive: The boy cleans the house.
Active Intransitive: The boy cleans. (Object dropped)
Passive Intransitive: The house is being cleaned. (Agent dropped)
In an Ergative-Absolutive language like Adyghe, the focus shifts depending on whether the action involves an object. See the following table comparing transitive, intransitive, and antipassive structures:
The "Clean" Root
Voice
Circassian Example
Gloss
Translation
Active Transitive
Кӏалэм унэр еукъэбзы.
Boy-ERG house-ABS cleans
"The boy cleans the house."
Active Intransitive
Унэр мэукъэбзы.
House-ABS cleans
"The house becomes clean." (Agent dropped)
Antipassive Intransitive
Кӏалэр мэукъабзэ.
Boy-ABS cleans
"The boy cleans." (Object dropped)
This structural symmetry can also be seen with the verb "to write" (тхын). In this case, the antipassive is heavily used, even though the monovalent intransitive form "мэтхы" is never used in speech:
Because Adyghe verbs are highly inflected, a verb's transitivity dictates the grammatical cases of its arguments. Verbs can fall into strictly monovalent, bivalent, or trivalent categories, or shift between them.
Monovalent Verbs
Monovalent verbs take only a single core argument. Depending on their semantics and morphology, they fall into the following types:
Active Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
Antipassive Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
Active Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
Active monovalent verbs are usually strictly monovalent, meaning they do not have transitive variants. Examples include: лӏэн "to die", тӏысын "to sit", гущыӏэн "to talk", etc. These verbs are always strictly intransitive, and their single argument is in the absolutive case.
Sentence:
Мыжъор мэджыджэ.
Word:
Мыжъо-р
мэджыджэ
Gloss:
The rock-ABS
is rolling
Function:
S
VERBintrans
Translation:
"The rock is rolling."
In these verbs, morphologically, the present tense pattern is characterized by the prefix vowel э and the root ending in ы.
Active Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
3rd Person
1st Person
Present
Past
Translation
Present
Past
Translation
ар мэсты
ар стыгъэ
"(s)he burns"
сэ сэсты
сэ сыстыгъ
"I burn"
ар мэуцу
ар уцугъэ
"(s)he stands still"
сэ сэуцу
сэ сыуцугъ
"I stand still"
ар мэгъы
ар гъыгъэ
"(s)he cries"
сэ сэгъы
сэ сыгъыгъ
"I cry"
ар мэшъу
ар шъугъэ
"(s)he dries"
сэ сэшъу
сэ сышъугъ
"I dry"
ар мэлыджы
ар лыджыгъэ
"(s)he tickles"
сэ сэлыджы
сэ сылыджыгъ
"I tickle"
Antipassive Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
Unlike active monovalent verbs, antipassive monovalent verbs usually have a bivalent intransitive or transitive variant. In these antipassive verbs, where the default object has been dropped, morphologically, they are marked by a pattern containing a long vowel а and ending in a short э.
Antipassive Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
3rd Person
1st Person
Present
Past
Translation
Present
Past
Translation
ар матхэ
ар тхагъэ
"(s)he writes"
сэ сэтхэ
сэ сытхагъ
"I write"
ар мадэ
ар дагъэ
"(s)he sews"
сэ сэдэ
сэ сыдагъ
"I sew"
ар машхэ
ар шхагъэ
"(s)he eats"
сэ сэшхэ
сэ сышхагъ
"I eat"
ар мажъо
ар жъуагъэ
"(s)he plows"
сэ сэжъо
сэ сыжъуагъ
"I plow"
ар мэлъаӏо
ар лъэӏуагъэ
"(s)he begs"
сэ сэлъаӏо
сэ сылъэӏуагъ
"I beg"
ар мао
ар уагъэ
"(s)he strikes"
сэ сэо
сэ сыуагъ
"I strike"
To demonstrate how these antipassive verbs adapt when the target of the action is reintroduced, observe the following valency shifts:
Shift to Bivalent Intransitive: When an oblique target is introduced, the absolutive subject remains the actor, but the verb shifts to its bivalent intransitive form.
Sentence:
Ар мао.
Ар ащ ео.
Word:
Ар
мао
Ар
ащ
ео
Gloss:
(s)he-ABS
strikes
(s)he-ABS
him/her/it-OBL
strikes
Function:
S
VERBintrans
S
IO
VERBintrans
Translation:
"(s)he strikes."
"(s)he strikes him/her/it."
Shift to Bivalent Transitive: When a direct object is introduced, the alignment flips. The actor takes the ergative case, the object takes the absolutive case, and the verb takes its transitive form.
Sentence:
Ар машхэ.
Ащ ар ешхы.
Word:
Ар
машхэ
Ащ
ар
ешхы
Gloss:
(s)he-ABS
eats
(s)he-ERG
it-ABS
eats
Function:
S
VERBintrans
A
O
VERBtrans
Translation:
"(s)he eats."
"(s)he eats it."
Bivalent Verbs
Bivalent verbs take exactly two core arguments. They are categorized based on how the action is transferred and which grammatical cases they assign:
Bivalent Intransitive Verbs
Bivalent Transitive Verbs
Bivalent Intransitive Verbs
There is a group of Circassian verbs that take two arguments but remain grammatically intransitive. Bivalent Intransitive Verbs have the components Absolutive and Oblique. Examples include: еон "to hit", ебэун "to kiss", езэон "to fight", etc. In this category, the actor takes the absolutive case (-р), while the target of the action takes the oblique case (-м), rather than being treated as a direct object.
Sentence:
Кӏалэр мэлъаӏо.
Кӏалэр тхьэматэм елъэӏу.
Word:
Кӏалэ-р
мэлъаӏо
Кӏалэр
тхьэматэм
елъэӏу
Gloss:
The boy-ABS
begs
The boy-ABS
the boss-OBL
the boy begs the boss
Function:
S
VERBintrans
S
IO
VERBintrans
Translation:
"The boy begs."
"The boy begs the boss."
Bivalent Transitive Verbs
Standard transitive verbs take two core arguments where the action is directly transferred to an object. Bivalent Transitive Verbs have the components Ergative and Absolutive. In this case, there is a direct object receiving the action. The subject (agent) takes the ergative case (-м), and the direct object takes the absolutive case (-р).
Sentence:
Кӏалэр матхэ.
Кӏалэм тхылъэр етхы.
Word:
Кӏалэ-р
матхэ
Кӏалэм
тхылъэр
етхы
Gloss:
The boy-ABS
writes
The boy-ERG
the book-ABS
writes
Function:
S
VERBintrans
A
DO
VERBtrans
Translation:
"The boy writes."
"The boy writes the book."
Intransitive to Transitive Shifts
Some Circassian monovalent intransitive verbs can be transformed into bivalent transitive verbs. The roles of the original arguments shift depending on the semantic nature of the verb:
Subject becomes Object: In verbs indicating state or a change of condition, the subject of the intransitive verb becomes the object of the transitive verb. This acts similarly to a causative, where an external agent is causing the state to happen to the object. Other verbs that behave this way are: ухын "to finish", шъыбын "to seal", убэтэн "to break", къутэн "to destroy", etc.
ар мэшъыбы→ащ ар ешъыбы ("it is being sealed" → "(s)he seals it")
ар мэубатэ→ащ ар еубатэ ("it breaks" → "(s)he breaks it")
Sentence:
Кӏалэр мэтхьалэ.
ӏугъом кӏалэр етхьалэ.
Word:
Кӏалэ-р
мэтхьалэ
ӏугъом
кӏалэр
етхьалэ
Gloss:
The boy-ABS
suffocates
The smoke-ERG
the boy-ABS
suffocates
Function:
S
VERBintrans
A
O
VERBtrans
Translation:
"The boy is suffocating."
"The smoke suffocates the boy."
Subject becomes Agent (Antipassive): In inherently agentive verbs, the subject of the intransitive verb acts as the agent of the transitive verb. This intransitive form functions as an antipassive construction, where the object is dropped and the agent takes the absolutive case. Other verbs that behave this way are: шхэн "to eat", дэн "to sew", жъон "to plow", гыкӏэн "to do laundry", тхьакӏэн "to wash", etc.
Sentence:
Кӏалэр матхэ.
Кӏалэм гущыӏэр етхы.
Word:
Кӏалэ-р
матхэ
Кӏалэм
гущыӏэр
етхы
Gloss:
The boy-ABS
writes
The boy-ERG
the word-ABS
writes
Function:
S
VERBintrans
A
O
VERBtrans
Translation:
"The boy is writing."
"The boy writes the word."
Trivalent Ditransitive Verbs
Trivalent verbs take three core arguments, involving an agent, a direct object, and an indirect recipient or target. This category consists of:
Trivalent Ditransitive Verbs
These verbs require all three components: the Absolutive, the Ergative, and the Oblique. They convey actions where a subject transfers a direct object to an indirect object/recipient. Examples include: тын "to give/pay", etc.
A Circassian noun can be in one of two states: singular or plural.
Singular nouns carry a zero morpheme (no prefixes or suffixes), while plural nouns use the suffix -хэ (-xa), which is attached to the stem. For example:
Singular: унэ "house", тхылъ "book".
Plural: унэ-хэ "houses", тхылъ-хэ "books".
Circassian verbs also mark plurality, but they use different morphemes compared to nouns. Verbs use the prefix -а- (before the root) or the suffix -х- (after the root) to indicate plural arguments. For example: ар макӏо "he is going" vs. ахэр макӏо-х "they are going"; ащ ыӏуагъ "he said" vs. ахэмэ а-ӏуагъ "they said".
Definite and indefinite forms
Adyghe nouns differentiate between definite and indefinite forms, similar to the function of articles (the vs. a/an) in English.
Indefinite: The noun usually has no case suffix (zero marking) or strictly the indefinite suffix. This form is used for generalizations or when the object is unknown to the listener.
Example: кӏалэ "a boy" (undefined).
Definite: The noun takes a specific case marker, usually -р (absolutive) or -м (ergative/oblique). This form is used when the referent is specific or known to the context.
The absolutive case is marked by the suffix -р/-r/. It is used for definite nouns in singular and plural forms (e.g., кӏалэр[t͡ʃʼaːɮar] 'the boy', кӏалэхэр[t͡ʃʼaːɮaxar] 'the boys', шыр[ʃər] 'the horse').
The suffix -м/-m/ is used for both the Ergative and Oblique cases (e.g., кӏалэм[t͡ʃʼaːɮam], кӏалэхэм[t͡ʃʼaːɮaxam], шым[ʃəm]). Its function depends on the transitivity of the verb.
Ergative role: Marks the Subject (agent) of a transitive verb.
Oblique role: Marks the Indirect Object or the target of action for both transitive and intransitive verbs.
An example with an intransitive verb еджэ "reads" (bivalent):
кӏалэр
кӏалэ-р
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar
the boy.ABS
тхылъым
тхылъ-ым
txəɬəm
the book.OBL
еджэ
еджэ
jad͡ʒa]
(s)he reads
кӏалэр тхылъым еджэ
кӏалэ-р тхылъ-ым еджэ
[t͡ʃʼaːɮar txəɬəm jad͡ʒa]
{the boy.ABS} {the book.OBL} {(s)he reads}
"the boy reads the book"
An example with a transitive verb реты "gives":
кӏалэм
кӏалэ-м
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
мыӏэрысэр
мыӏэрыс-р
məʔarəsər
the apple.ABS
пшъашъэм
пшъашъэ-м
pʂaːʂam
the girl.OBL
реты
реты
rajtə]
(s)he gives it to
кӏалэм мыӏэрысэр пшъашъэм реты
кӏалэ-м мыӏэрыс-р пшъашъэ-м реты
[t͡ʃʼaːɮam məʔarəsər pʂaːʂam rajtə]
{the boy.ERG} {the apple.ABS} {the girl.OBL} {(s)he gives it to}
"the boy gives the apple to the girl"
The Oblique case is also used for Adverbial Modifiers of time and place.
Time: Студентхэм мафэм ӏоф ашӏагъ "The students worked during the day."
Place: Кӏалэхэр мэзым кӏуагъэх "The boys went to the forest."
Instrumental case
The instrumental case expresses instruments (tools/means), direction, or purpose.
Indefinite nouns take the suffix -кӏэ/-t͡ʃʼa/ (e.g., тхылъ-кӏэ "with a book").
Definite nouns combine the oblique suffix -м with the instrumental -кӏэ, forming -мкӏэ (e.g., тхылъы-м-кӏэ "with the book").
Instrument (Tool):
ыцӏэр
ы-цӀэ-эр
[ət͡sʼar
his name.ABS
къэлэмымкӏэ
къэлэм-ымкӀэ
qalaməmt͡ʃʼa
pencil.INS
къытхыгъ
къы-тхы-ыгъ
qətxəʁ]
he wrote
ыцӏэр къэлэмымкӏэ къытхыгъ
ы-цӀэ-эр къэлэм-ымкӀэ къы-тхы-ыгъ
[ət͡sʼar qalaməmt͡ʃʼa qətxəʁ]
{his name.ABS} {pencil.INS} {he wrote}
"he wrote his name with the pencil"
Purpose/Referral:
тыгъужъыр
тыгъужъы-р
[təʁʷəʐər
the wolf.ABS
бжыхьэм
бжыхьэ-м
bʒəħam
autumn.ERG
былымхэмкӏэ
былымхэ-мкӏэ
bəɮəmxamt͡ʃʼa
for the cattle.INS
дэи
дэи
dajə]
bad
тыгъужъыр бжыхьэм былымхэмкӏэ дэи
тыгъужъы-р бжыхьэ-м былымхэ-мкӏэ дэи
[təʁʷəʐər bʒəħam bəɮəmxamt͡ʃʼa dajə]
{the wolf.ABS} autumn.ERG {for the cattle.INS} bad
"The wolf during autumn is bad for the cattle."
Direction:
хымкӏэ
хы-мкӏэ
[xəmt͡ʃʼa
from the sea.INS
жьыбгъэр
жьыбгъэ-р
ʑəbʁar
the wind.ABS
къэкӏыщтыгъэ
къэкӏыщтыгъэ
qat͡ʃʼəɕtəʁa]
it was coming
хымкӏэ жьыбгъэр къэкӏыщтыгъэ
хы-мкӏэ жьыбгъэ-р къэкӏыщтыгъэ
[xəmt͡ʃʼa ʑəbʁar qat͡ʃʼəɕtəʁa]
{from the sea.INS} {the wind.ABS} {it was coming}
"the wind was blowing from the sea"
Adverbial case
The adverbial case is marked by the suffix -эу/-aw/ (e.g., кӏалэу[t͡ʃʼaːɮaw], шэу[ʃaw]). It acts as a predicative complement, often translating to "as X" or indicating a transformation "into X".
лӏыр
лӏы-р
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
профессорэу
профессор-эу
profesoraw
professor.ADV
хъугъэ
хъу-гъэ
χʷəʁa]
(s)he became
лӏыр профессорэу хъугъэ
лӏы-р профессор-эу хъу-гъэ
[ɬʼər profesoraw χʷəʁa]
man.ABS professor.ADV {(s)he became}
"The man became a professor."
лӏыжъэу
лӏыжъ-эу
[ɬʼəʐaw
old man.ADV
щысыгъэр
щысыгъэ-р
ɕəsəʁar
the one that sat
кӏожьыгъэ
кӏожьыгъэ
kʷʼaʑəʁa]
(s)he returned
лӏыжъэу щысыгъэр кӏожьыгъэ
лӏыжъ-эу щысыгъэ-р кӏожьыгъэ
[ɬʼəʐaw ɕəsəʁar kʷʼaʑəʁa]
{old man.ADV} {the one that sat} {(s)he returned}
"The old man who had sat there, left."
лӏыр
лӏы-р
[ɬʼər
man.ABS
тхьэматэу
тхьэматэ-у
tħamaːtaw
leader.ADV
дзэм
дзэ-м
d͡zam
army.OBL
къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
qəxat͡ʃʼəʑəʁ]
(s)he returned
лӏыр тхьэматэу дзэм къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
лӏы-р тхьэматэ-у дзэ-м къыхэкӏыжьыгъ
[ɬʼər tħamaːtaw d͡zam qəxat͡ʃʼəʑəʁ]
man.ABS leader.ADV army.OBL {(s)he returned}
"The man has returned from the army as an officer."
Possession is a key grammatical feature in Adyghe. Nouns are divided into two distinct categories based on the relationship between the possessor and the possessed:
Inalienable (Organic) possession: Used for things that cannot be separated from the possessor (body parts, family, intrinsic positions).
Alienable (Proprietary) possession: Used for transferable property, objects, and concepts.
Inalienable possession
Inalienable possession is marked by a specific set of prefixes attached directly to the noun stem. This category strictly includes:
Body parts: e.g., head, heart, leg, soul.
Kinship terms: e.g., mother, brother, daughter.
Name:ыцӏэ
Part-whole and Spatial relations: Positional words are treated as "body parts" of an object.
Alienable possession is used for separable items, such as property, animals, concepts, and material objects. These prefixes differ from the inalienable ones, typically involving the additional vowel -и- (-i-).
In Adyghe, pronouns are categorized into the following groups: personal, demonstrative, possessive, interrogative, determinative/reflexive, and indefinite.
Personal pronouns
Strictly speaking, personal pronouns exist only for the first and second persons.
To express the third person ("he", "she", "it", "they"), Adyghe uses demonstrative pronouns (see below).
Unlike nouns, 1st and 2nd person pronouns do not distinguish between the Absolutive and Ergative cases. These two cases merge into a common form.
Case
First-person
Second-person
Singular (I)
Plural (We)
Singular (You)
Plural (You)
Absolutive / Ergative
сэ[sa]
тэ[ta]
о[wa]
шъо[ʃʷa]
Instrumental
сэркӏэ[sart͡ʃʼa]
тэркӏэ[tart͡ʃʼa]
оркӏэ[wart͡ʃʼa]
шъоркӏэ[ʃʷart͡ʃʼa]
Adverbial
сэрэу[saraw]
тэрэу[taraw]
орэу[waraw]
шъорэу[ʃʷaraw]
Examples of usage:
Subject:Сэ седжэ "I read / I am studying."
Subject (Transitive):О уеджэ тхылъым "You are reading the book."
Subject (Intransitive):Тэ тэкӏо еджапӏэм "We are going to school."
Subject (Plural):Шъо ӏоф шъошӏэ "You (plural) are working."
Indirect Object/Beneficiary:Сэркӏэ мы ӏофы́р къины "This job is hard for me."
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to objects and also function as 3rd person pronouns. They are distinguished by distance:
Proximal (This):мы — Used for objects close to the speaker.
Distal (That):мо — Used for objects far from the speaker.
Neutral (That):а — Used for objects regardless of distance (or invisible/abstract).
Examples:
Мы унэм нахьи мо унакӏэу къашӏырэр нахь дах "This house (close) is more beautiful than that house (far) which is being built."
А тхылъэ́у пщэфыгъэм сегъэплъыба "Show me that book you bought."
Unlike personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns do distinguish cases.
Case
Proximal (This)
Distal (That)
Neutral (That/He/She)
Absolutive
мыр
мор
ар
Ergative / Oblique
мыщ
мощ
ащ
Instrumental
мыщкӏэ
мощкӏэ
ащкӏэ
Adverbial
мырэу
морэу
арэу
The plural forms are created using the -хэ- suffix:
Absolutive:мыхэр (These), ахэр (Those/They).
Ergative/Oblique:мыхэм, ахэм.
Possessive pronouns
Independent possessive pronouns express ownership ("Mine", "Yours", "Theirs"). These differ from the possessive prefixes (си-, уи-, etc.) attached to nouns.
сэсый "mine"
оуий "yours"
ий "his / hers / its"
тэтый "ours"
шъошъуй "yours" (plural)
яй "theirs"
Usage examples:
Мы унэр сэсый "This house is mine."
Мы чъыгхэр тэтыех "These trees are ours."
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.
хэт (or хэта) "who?" — Used for humans.
сыд (or сыда) "what?" — Used for non-humans/things.
тхьапш "how much / how many?"
тары "which?"
сыдигъу "when?"
тыдэ "where?"
сыд фэд "what kind of?"
Examples:
Хэт зыӏуагъэр? "Who said that?"
Хэт унэм къихьагъэр? "Who entered the house?"
Сыд плъэгъугъа? — Хьэ слъэгъугъэ. "What did you see? — I saw a dog."
Сыд къэпхьыгъэр? "What did you bring?"
Determinative and reflexive pronouns
This group includes reflexive pronouns ("self") and quantifiers ("all", "every").
ежь "self"
зэкӏэ "all"
шъхьадж "every / each"
ышъхьэкӏэ "personally / himself"
хэти, хэтрэ́ "everyone", "any (person)"
сыди, сыдрэ́ "everything", "any (thing)"
Examples:
Хэти зышъхьамысыжьэу ӏоф ышӏэн фае "Everyone must work without pitying himself."
Сыдрэ ӏофри дэгъу, угу къыбдеӏэу бгъэцакӏэмэ "Any job is good if done with a full heart."
Indefinite pronouns
The primary indefinite pronoun in Adyghe is зыгорэ, which corresponds to "someone", "something", "some", or "one". It declines like a noun.
Case
Singular
Plural
Absolutive
зыгорэ[zəɡʷara]
зыгорэхэр[zəɡʷaraxar]
Ergative / Oblique
зыгорэм[zəɡʷaram]
зыгорэхэмэ[zəɡʷaraxama]
Instrumental
зыгорэ(м)кӏэ[zəɡʷara(m)t͡ʃʼa]
зыгорэхэ(м)кӏэ[zəɡʷaraxa(m)t͡ʃʼa]
Adverbial
зыгорэу[zəɡʷaraw]
зыгорэхэу[zəɡʷaraxaw]
Usage examples:
Зыгорэ пчъэм къытеуагъ "Someone knocked on the door."
А тхылъ гъэшӏэгъоным зыгорэ къытегущыӏэгъагъ "Someone spoke about this interesting book."
From a morphological perspective, adjectives in the Circassian language share many characteristics with nouns. A key feature of Circassian grammar is phrase-final affixation: when an adjective modifies a noun, the noun itself remains in its bare stem form. The grammatical markers for number (plurality) and case (role in the sentence) attach to the end of the entire noun phrase—which usually means they attach to the adjective.
Adjectives are categorized into two main types:
Qualitative adjectives: Describe qualities (e.g., "good", "white", "tall"). These usually follow the noun.
Relative (Material) adjectives: Describe material or relation (e.g., "wood", "iron"). These usually precede the noun and do not change form.
Phrase-Final Affixation
Unlike in languages like Spanish or Russian where both the noun and adjective agree (change form), in Adyghe, only the last word in the phrase takes the suffix.
Example 1: Qualitative Adjective (Follows Noun) Here, the noun is пшъэшъэ (girl) and the adjective is дахэ (beautiful).
Number
Phrase
Breakdown
Gloss
Translation
Singular
Пшъэшъэ дахэр
пшъэшъэ дахэ-р
girl beautiful-ABS
"The beautiful girl"
Plural
Пшъэшъэ дахэхэр
пшъэшъэ дахэ-хэ-р
girl beautiful-PL-ABS
"The beautiful girls"
Example 2: Suffixal Adjective (Augmentative) Some adjectives function as suffixes themselves, like ~шхо (large/big). The case and number markers still attach to the very end.
Number
Phrase
Breakdown
Gloss
Translation
Singular
Унэшхо
унэ-шхо
house-large
"A large house"
Plural
Унэшхохэр
унэ-шхо-хэ-р
house-large-PL-ABS
"The large houses"
Declension
When an adjective is used substantively (as a noun, e.g., "the white one"), it takes the standard noun case markers directly.
Adjectives have comparative and superlative forms used to express degrees of quality.
Comparative Degree Formed using the auxiliary word нахь (more).
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Ар ощ нахь лъагэ.
He you-than more high
"He is higher than you."
Нахь ины хъугъэ.
More big became
"He became bigger."
Нахь лӀэблан охъун фай.
More brave become must
"You must be braver."
Superlative Degree Formed using the auxiliary word анахь (most/more than all).
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Ар пшъашъэмэ анахь дахэ.
She girls-among most beautiful
"She is the most beautiful among the girls."
Ар зэкӏэмэ анахь лъагэ.
It all-among most high
"It is the highest."
Ар заужмэ анахь лъэшы.
He everyone-among most strong
"He is the strongest."
Affixes
Various suffixes can be added to nouns and adjectives to modify their meaning (diminutives, augmentatives, intensifiers).
Suffixes for Nouns
Suffix
Meaning
Example
~кӏэ (~t͡ʃʼa)
new
унакӏэ (new house)
~жъы (~ʐə)
old
унэжъы (old house)
~шхо (~ʃxʷa)
large/big
унэшхо (large house)
~цӏыкӏу (~t͡sʼəkʷʼ)
small
унэцӏыкӏу (small house)
~жъый (~ʐəj)
small/tiny
унэжъый (tiny house)
Suffixes for Adjectives
Suffix
Meaning
Example
~ӏо (~ʔʷa)
slightly
дыджыӏо (slightly bitter)
~щэ (~ɕa)
too much/excessively
дыджыщэ (too bitter)
~дэд (~dad)
very
дэгъудэд (very good)
~бз (~bz)
absolutely/completely
дэгъуабз (absolutely good)
~шъыпкъ (~ʂəpq)
truly/really
дэгъушъыпкъ (really good)
~ашъу (~aːʃʷ)
kind of/ish
дэгъуашъу (kind of good/good-ish)
~кӏай (~t͡ʃʼaːj)
quite/pretty
дэгъукӏай (quite good)
~нчъэ (~nt͡ʂa)
lacking/less
акъылынчъэ (mindless)
Examples
Sentence
Breakdown
Translation
Мы джанэр оркӏэ иныӏо.
big-slightly
"This shirt is slightly big for you."
Мы джанэр иныщэ.
big-too.much
"This shirt is too large."
Мы сурэтыр дэхэдэд.
beautiful-very
"This painting is very beautiful."
Opinion (Psychological Predicates)
To indicate that a quality is perceived by someone (an opinion or feeling), the prefix шӏо~ (ʃʷʼa~) is added to the adjective. This transforms the adjective into a verbal construction meaning "X is [ADJ] to Y".
дахэ "pretty" → шӏодах "it is pretty to him/her"
ӏэшӏу "tasty" → шӏоӏэшӀу "it is tasty to him/her"
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Кӏалэхэмэ ашӏодахэп сиджанэ.
Boys.ERG3PL-OPINION-pretty-NEG my-shirt
"My shirt was not beautiful to the boys."
Мы мыӏэрысэм иуасэ пшӏолъапӏа?
... its-cost 2SG-OPINION-expensive-Q
"Is this apple expensive to you?"
Scaliness (Abstract Nouns)
The suffix ~гъэ (~ʁa) is appended to adjectives to turn them into abstract nouns representing the measure or quality itself (e.g., "length" from "long").
кӏыхьэ (long) → кӏыхьагъэ (length)
псынкӏэ (fast) → псынкӏагъэ (speed)
фабэ (hot) → фэбагъэ (heat)
кӏуачӏэ (strong) → кӏочӏагъэ (strength)
дахэ (beautiful) → дэхагъэ (beauty)
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Пхъэм иӏужъугъэ 65 сантиметр.
Wood-OBL its-width 65 cm
"The wood's width is 65 centimeters."
Кӏалэм кӏочӏагъэ хэлъ.
Boy-OBL strength lies-in
"The boy has strength in him."
State of the Adjective
The suffix ~гъакӏэ (~ʁaːt͡ʃʼa) forms nouns meaning "the state/essence of being X", which is distinct from the measurable scale marked by ~гъэ.
кӏыхьэ (long) → кӏыхьэгъакӏэ (lengthiness/state of being long)
дахэ (pretty) → дэхэгъакӏэ (prettiness/state of beauty)
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Лӏыжъым ишӏугъакӏэ пае...
Old-man-OBL his-goodness-state due-to...
"Due to the old man's (inherent) goodness..."
Сэ мыӏэрысэм иӏэшӏугъакӏэ сыкъегъатхъэ.
... apple-OBL its-tastiness-state ...
"I enjoy the apple's tastiness."
Adverbs
In the Adyghe language, adverbs are categorized into four main groups: adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of quality (manner), and adverbs of amount (quantity).
Adverbs of Place
These adverbs indicate location or direction.
Adverb
Meaning
Nuance
мыдэ
"here"
Near the speaker.
модэ
"there"
Visible to the speaker.
адэ
"there"
Invisible or far from the speaker.
Examples
Sentence
Gloss
Function
Translation
Модэкӏэ тучаныр ӏут.
there-INS shop-ABS stands
S VERB
"The shop is standing over there."
Адэ кӏалэр кӏуагъэ.
there boy-ABS went
S VERB
"The boy went there."
Adverbs of Time
These adverbs indicate when an action takes place.
Category
Adverb
Meaning
Days
непэ
"today"
тыгъуасэ
"yesterday"
тыгъуасэнахьыпэ
"the day before yesterday"
неущы
"tomorrow"
неущмыкӏэ
"the day after tomorrow"
непенэу
"all day long"
Years
гъэрекӏо
"last year"
мыгъэ
"this year"
къакӏорэгъэ
"next year"
Present / Now
джы
"now"
джырэкӏэ
"for now"
джыкӏэ
"so far"
джыдэдэм
"right now"
джынэс
"until now"
джыри
"still" / "again"
Times of Day
пчэдыжьым
"in the morning"
щэджагъом
"at noon"
щэджэгъоужым
"in the afternoon"
пчыхьэм
"in the evening"
чэщым
"in the night"
Relative Time
зэманым
"in the past"
тӏэкӏушӏэмэ
"soon" (lit: in a little while)
бэшӏэмэ
"later" (lit: in a long while)
тӏэкӏушӏагъэу
"recently"
бэшӏагъэу
"long time ago"
Sequence / Frequency
пэтырэу
"while"
етӏанэ (етӏуанэ)
"afterwards"
пасэу
"early"
кӏасэу
"lately / late"
ренэу
"always"
Examples
Sentence
Gloss
Function
Translation
Тӏэкӏушӏэмэ тышхэнэу тыкӏощт.
soon we-eat-PURP we-go-FUT
S VERB
"Soon we will go to eat."
Непэ пасэу еджапӏэм тынэсышъугъ.
today early school-OBL we-reach-POT-PST
SIO VERB
"Today we managed to reach school early."
Adverbs of Amount (Quantity)
These adverbs indicate the degree or quantity of the action or quality.
Adverb
Meaning
макӏэ
"few"
тӏэкӏу
"a bit"
тӏэкӏурэ
"few times / for a short period"
бэ
"a lot"
бэрэ
"a lot of times / for a long period"
ӏаджэ
"many"
хъои
"plenty"
апӏэ
"load of"
заулэ
"several"
сыдэу
"so / how (intensifier)"
Examples
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Шхыныр сыдэу фабэ.
food-ABSso hot
"The food is so hot."
Кӏалэм ахъщэ бэ иӏ.
boy-OBL money much has
"The boy has a lot of money."
Чэщым лӏыр тӏэкӏурэ макӏо.
night-OBL man-ABSlittle-time goes
"In the night, the man goes for a short while."
Adverbs of Quality (Manner)
Adverbs of manner describe how an action is performed. They are productively formed from qualitative adjectives using the adverbial case suffix ~эу (/~aw/).
Adjective
Meaning
Adverb (Suffix -эу)
Meaning
къабзэ
clean
къабзэу
cleanly
чыжьэ
far
чыжьэу
far
псынкӏэ
fast/quick
псынкӏэу
quickly
дахэ
beautiful
дахэу
beautifully
благъэ
near
благъэу
nearly/close
лъэш
strong
лъэшэу
strongly/powerfully
шъабэ
soft
шъабэу
softly
пытэ
firm
пытэу
firmly
Examples
Sentence
Gloss
Function
Translation
Кӏалэр чыжьэу чъагъэ.
boy-ABSfar-ADV ran
S VERB
"The boy ran far."
Кӏалэм шхыныр дэгъоу ышӏэгъ.
boy-ERG food-ABSgood-ADV made
AO VERB
"The boy made the food excellently."
Пшъашъэр дахэу матхэ.
girl-ABSbeautiful-ADV writes
S VERB
"The girl writes beautifully."
Formation of Adverbs
Adverbs can be derived from other parts of speech through several methods:
Suffixing (Adverbial Case): Adding ~эу to adjectives.
Conversion (Fossilized Cases): Nouns fixed in a specific case functioning as adverbs.
пчыхьэм (evening-ERG/OBL) → "in the evening"
лӏыгъэкӏэ (courage-INS) → "forcibly/bravely"
Usage Examples
Sentence
Translation
Сэ дэгъоу сэ́джэ.
"I study well."
Лэжьакӏохэр пчэдыжьым жьэ́у къэтэджых.
"Workers get up early in the morning."
Contradiction (Rather/Actually)
The word нахь (/naːħ/) functions as an adversative adverb meaning "rather" or "actually." It is used to correct a statement or introduce a contrast to what the listener might believe.
кӏуагъэ (he went) → кӏуагъэ нахь (rather, he went)
къины (hard) → къины нахь (rather, it is hard)
кӏалэ (boy) → кӏалэ нахь (rather, it is a boy)
Examples
Sentence
Gloss
Translation
Кӏалэр кӏуагъэп, чъагъэ нахь.
boy-ABS went-NEG, ran rather
"The boy didn't walk, rather he ran."
Фылымым теплъыгъэ нахь.
film-OBL we-watched rather
"We actually watched the film."
Conjunctions
In English, the word "and" is used to connect various parts of speech. In Adyghe, there are different ways (suffixes) to connect words depending on their part of speech and definiteness.
Category
Suffix
Example
Indefinite nouns
-рэ /ra/
Кӏалэ-рэ пшъашъэ-рэ къэкӏуагъэх. "A boy and a girl came."
Definite nouns
-мрэ /mra/
Кӏалэ-мрэ пшъашъэ-мрэ кӏуагъэх. "The boy and the girl came."
Pronouns
-рэ /ra/
Сэ-рэ о-рэ тыкӏуагъ. "You and I went."
Indefinite adjectives
-рэ /ra/
Кӏэлэ кӏыхьэ-рэ пшъашъэ дахэ-рэ къэкӏуагъэх. "A tall boy and a pretty girl came."
Definite adjectives
-мрэ /mra/
Кӏэлэ кӏыхьэ-мрэ пшъашъэ дахэ-мрэ къэкӏуагъэх. "The tall boy and the pretty girl came."
Numbers
-рэ /ra/
Кӏэлэ тӏу-рэ пшъашъэ щы-рэ къэкӏуагъэх. "Two boys and three girls came."
Universal nouns
-и /i/
Кӏал-и пшъашъ-и къэкӏуагъэх. "Boys and girls came."
Adverbs
-мкӏи /mt͡ʃʼi/
Мафэ-мкӏи чэщы-мкӏи къэкӏуагъэх. "They came in the day and in the night."
The independent conjunction ыкӏи /ət͡ʃəj/ ("and") can also be used to connect different parts of speech.
Verbs:Кӏалэр еджэ ыкӏи матхэ. ("The boy reads and writes.")
Adjectives:Кӏалэр дахэ ыкӏи кӏыхьэ. ("The boy is handsome and tall.")
Conjunctions in the Circassian language play the same role like in English, they are used to connect together, in different ways, words or parts of a difficult sentence. According to structure of Circassian conjunctions they can be separated into two groups: simple and complex.
{if that so} tomorrow {starting from} studying.ADV {I will start} exam.ERG for
"If that so, I will start studying for the exam starting from tomorrow."
Particles
Particles in the Circassian language vary in both meaning and structure. Semantically, they are categorized into groups such as affirmative, negative, interrogative, intensive, indicatory, and stimulating.
Category
Particle
Meaning
Affirmative
ары
"yes"
хъун, хъущт
"fine", "OK"
адэ
"of course" (expresses confidence)
Negative
хьау
"no"
Interrogative
шӏуа
"perhaps", "I wonder"
Intensive
адэ
"well"
кӏо
"well", "so"
Indicatory
мары
"this is it"
моры
"that is it"
Stimulating
еу
"come on"
Usage Examples
Affirmative
— Непэ тадэжь къакӏоба. — Хъун. ("— Come to us today. — OK.")
— Къэсӏуагъэр къыбгурыӏуагъа? — Ары. ("— Have you understood what I have said? — Yes.")
Адэ, непэ тыдэкӏыни тыкъэшхэщт. ("Certainly, we will go out today and eat.")
Negative
Хьау, хьау, зыми сэ сыфаеп. ("No, no, I don't want a thing.")
Interrogative
Сыдигъо шӏуа автобусыр къызыкӏощтыр? ("When perhaps will the bus come?")
Intensive
Адэ, Пщымаф, гущыӏэу птыгъэр пгъэцэкӏэжьын фай. ("Well, Pshimaf, you must keep your word.")
Кӏо, кӏалэр еджэн фаи къытдэкӏышъугъэп. ("Well, because the boy needs to study he couldn't come out with us.")
Indicatory
Мары машинэу зигугъу къыпфэсшӏыгъагъэр. ("This is the car which I have told you about.")
Stimulating
Еу, псынкӏэу зегъахь! ("Come on, get out of here quickly!")
Other Interjections and Fillers
Particle
Function / Meaning
Example
ашъыу
Self-correction ("er", "I mean")
Уатэр къэсфэхь, Ашъыу, отычэр къэсфэхь. ("Bring me the hammer, er, I mean, bring me the axe.")
ашъыу
Annoyance ("argh", "ugh")
Ашъыу!, зэ щыгъэт. ("Ugh!, shut up for a moment.")
In the Circassian language, as well as in other Ibero-Caucasian languages, role of prepositions belongs to postpositions. It is difficult to define the exact count of postpositions in the Circassian language, because even such major parts of speech as nouns (from the point of view of their functionality) sometimes can be included into the group, together with some verb prefixes. For example, in the sentence Тхылъыр столым телъ "The book is lying on the table" the noun has no preposition, but the meaning remains clear because in the verb те-лъ "is lying" the prefix те- expresses something's being on a surface, so this form of the verb literally means "on the surface is lying".
Nouns and adverbs sometimes play role of postpositions. For example, nous that describe different parts of human body (head, nose, side and so on) sometimes function as postpositions. For example: Шъузыр лӏым ыпэ итэу кӏощтыгъэ "The wife was going in front of the husband" (the preposition "in front of" in the Circassian sentence is expressed by the phrase ыпэ итэу "being in front of his nose").
Nouns and pronouns combine with a postposition in the ergative grammatical case only. For example, the postposition дэжь "near, beside" requires a word in the ergative case:
чъыгы-м дэжь "near the tree";
ныбджэгъу-м пае "for the friend".
Postpositions can attach possessive prefixes to themselves. For example, in singular:
сэ с-а-дэжь "near me",
о у-а-дэжь "near you",
ащ ы-дэжь "near him";
in plural:
тэ т-а-дэжь "near us",
шъо шъу-а-дэжь "near you",
ахэмэ а-дэжь "near them".
The following words are used as postpositions in the Circassian language:
The suffix ~a /aː/ initials the interrogative particle that indicates a yes-or-no question. For example:
макӏо "(s)he is going" → макӏуа? "is (s)he going?"
кӏалэ "boy" → кӏала? "is it a boy?"
дахэ "beautiful" → даха? "is (s)he beautiful?"
Кӏала ӏаным тесыр? – Is it a boy that sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏаным теса? – Is the boy sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏана зытесыр? – Is it a table the boy is sits on?
If question is posited to word having the negative suffix ~п (~p), it is converted to suffix ~ба (~baː)[clarification needed]. The suffix ~ба /baː/ initials the negative interrogative particle. For example:
макӏо "(s)he is going" → макӏо-ба? "isn't (s)he is going?"
кӏалэ "boy" → кӏалэ-ба? "isn't it is a boy?"
дахэ "beautiful" → дахэ-ба? "isn't (s)he is beautiful?"
Кӏалэба ӏаным тесыр? – Isn't it a boy that sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏаным тесыба? – Isn't the boy sits on the table?
Кӏалэр ӏанэба зытесыр? – Isn't it a table the boy is sits on?
If question is posited by auxiliary interrogative words:
хэт (хэта) "who".
сыд (шъыд) "what/which".
сыда (шъыда) "why".
тыдэ "where".
тхьэпш "how much".
сыд фэдиз "how much".
тэущтэу (сыдэущтэу) "how".
тары "which".
сыдигъу (шъыдгъо) "when".
сыдкӏэ (шъыдкӏэ) "with what".
сыд фэд? "what kind of?".
хэт
[xat
who
къэкӏуагъэ?
qakʷʼaːʁa]
the person that came
хэт къэкӏуагъэ?
[xat qakʷʼaːʁa]
who {the person that came}
"Who came?"
сыд
[səd
what
кӏалэм
t͡ʃʼaːɮam
the boy.ERG
ыцӏэ?
ət͡sʼa]
his name
сыд кӏалэм ыцӏэ?
[səd t͡ʃʼaːɮam ət͡sʼa]
what {the boy.ERG} {his name}
"What is the boy's name?"
непэ
[najpa
today
тыдэ
təda
where
ущыӏэщт?
wɕəʔaɕt]
you will be there
непэ тыдэ ущыӏэщт?
[najpa təda wɕəʔaɕt]
today where {you will be there}
"Today where will you be?"
Syntax
Order of words in a Circassian sentence is, generally, free, but the situation where verb goes at the end is the most typical.
Трактористыр пасэу къэтэджыгъ "The tractor-driver got up early".
Structure of a full sentence is, usually, defined by its form of verb. In the Circassian language there are the following types of sentences:
Nominative sentence, where subject is in the absolutive grammatical case, verb is intransitive, and there is no direct object:
Гъатхэ́р къэсыгъ, чъыгхэр къызэӏуихыхэу ригъэжъагъ "Spring has come, the trees have started to bloom";
Ergative sentence, where subject is in ergative case, direct object is in absolutive case, and the verb is transitive:
Агрономым губгъохэ́р къыплъахьыгъэх "The agronomist has reviewed the fields";
Sentence, where subject is in zero form. In this type of sentences both transitive and intransitive verbs can be used:
Нанэ тхъу къыситыгъ "Mother gave me some butter";
Кӏэлэ тэрэз ащ фэдэу псэурэ́п "A good guy does not behave like that".
This type of Circassian sentences is rarer than the first two. In the Circassian language there are compound sentences that can consist both of independent parts only, and of the main part in combination with dependent subparts.
Compound sentences with independent parts:
Нэф къэшъыгъ, ау цӏыфхэр джыри урамхэм къатехьагъэхэ́п "The morning has already come, but the people have not appeared on the streets yet";
Зэкӏэ́ къалэ́м къикӏыжьыгъэх, ау ежь Ибрахьимэ ӏофхэр иӏэу къэуцугъ "Everybody has returned from the city, but Ibrahim has stayed because of his affairs."
Compound sentences with dependent parts are structurally different. The most typical Circassian compound sentence with a dependent part is the sentence where its dependent part expresses some sort of circumstances explaining the main part:
Мэзэ́ псау́м ащ ӏоф ышӏагъэ́п, сыда пӏомэ дэсыгъэпы́шъ ары́ "He has not worked for the whole month, because he has been away".
When there is a certain amount of the noun, the noun is followed by -и (-i) and the multiplier digit root.
for example:
Зы кӀалэ – One boy (zə t͡ʃaːla), КӀалитӀу – two boys (t͡ʃaːlitʷʼ), КӀалиплӏ – four boys (t͡ʃaːlipɬʼ), КӀалишъэ – 100 boys (t͡ʃaːliʂa), Зы мафэ – one day (zə maːfa), МафитӀу – two days (maːfitʷʼ), Мафищы (мафищ) – three days (maːfiɕ).
Except апэрэ/япэрэ – first (aːpara/jaːpara) are formed by prefix я- (jaː-) and suffix – нэрэ (- nara). For example:
ятӀунэрэ – second (jaːtʷʼənara), ящынэрэ – third (jaːɕənara), яплӀынэрэ – fourth (jaːpɬʼənara).
first – япэрэ [jːpara]
second – ятӀунэрэ [jaːtʷʼənara]
third – ящынэрэ [jaːɕənara]
fourth – яплӀынэрэ [jaːpɬʼənara]
firth – ятфынэрэ [jaːtfənara]
sixth – яхынэрэ [jaːxənara]
seventh – яблынэрэ [jaːblənara]
eighth – яинэрэ [jaːjənara]
ninth – ябгъунэрэ [jaːbʁʷənara]
tenth – япшӀынэрэ [jaːpʃʼənara]
eleventh – япшӀыкӏузынэрэ [jaːpʃʼəkʷʼəzənara]
twelfth – япшӀыкӏутӏунэрэ [jaːpʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼənara]
twenty th – ятӏокӏынэрэ [jaːtʷʼat͡ʃənara]
hundredth – яшъэнэрэ [jaːʂanara]
Япэрэ мафэ – First day (jaːpara maːfa), ЯтӀонэрэ мафэ – second day (jaːtʷʼənara maːfa), ЯтӀонэрэ цуакъо – second shoe (jaːpara t͡ʃʷaːqʷa), Яхэнэрэ классым щегъэжьагъэу тутын сешъо~I have been smoking since the sixth class.
Are formed by changing the last vowel ~ы (~ə) of number to ~эрэ (~ara):
о плӀэрэ къыосӀогъах – I have told you four times already.
Number can also define measure of a share: Numbers "one" and "two" are formed by words псау (psaw) (whole, whole), ренэ (rena) (whole, whole about length of time), ныкъо (nəqʷa) (the half).
Fractional numerals are formed from cardinal numerals with the help of the -(а)нэ /aːna/ morpheme:
щы /ɕə/ "three" – щанэ /ɕaːna/ "third", плӏы /pɬʼə/ "four" – плӏанэ /pɬʼaːna/ "fourth", хы "six" – ханэ /xaːna/ "sixth" and so on.
In a sentence: Чӏыгоу къытатыгъэм изыщанэ картоф хэдгъэтӏысхьа́гъ "On one third of the allocated land we have planted potatoes", Хатэм изыщанэ помидор хэдгъэтӀысхагъ- third part of vegetable garden we used for the tomatoes, Ахъщэ къыратыгъэм ыпӏланэ чыфэ ритыгъ – The quarter of the money he received, he lent.
half (1÷2) – ныкъо [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) – пшӀанэ [pʃʼaːna]
one eleventh (1÷11) – пшӀыкӏузанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼəzaːna]
one twelfth (1÷12) – пшӀыкӏутӏуанэ [pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼaːna]
Approximate numerals are formed as a combination of three cardinal numerals where the main constructive numeral is, usually, the numeral зы "one". for example
зыхыбл /zəxəbl/ зы-хы-бл "about six or seven", зытӏущ /zətʷʼəɕ/ зы-тӏу-щ "about two or three".
In a sentence: Непэ садэжь нэбгырэ зытӀущ къыӀухьагъ "About two or three people have approached me today".
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) ISBN978-5-7281-1075-0
Ranko Matasović, A Short Grammar of East Circassian (Kabardian): .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
