Language in Kazakhstan

Kazakh and Russian, useful travel phrases, and how to get by without being fluent

Last reviewed on 24 April 2026

Kazakhstan is officially bilingual: Kazakh is the state language, and Russian has the status of an official language used in government, business, and daily life. In practice, most people in cities switch between the two, often within a single sentence. As a visitor you can travel successfully with only English plus a few polite phrases, but learning even a handful of words will change how you are received.

Kazakh (Қазақ тілі / Qazaq tili)

Kazakh is a Turkic language, closely related to Kyrgyz, more distantly to Turkish and Uzbek. It uses vowel harmony — vowels within a word agree as front/back and rounded/unrounded — so words often have a musical, balanced feel. Grammar is agglutinative: meaning is added by stacking suffixes, so a single Kazakh word can carry what English would express in a short phrase.

Kazakh has historically been written in three scripts. The Arabic script was used until the 1920s. A Latin script was used briefly in the 1930s, replaced by a Cyrillic alphabet during the Soviet era. Since 2017, Kazakhstan has been gradually transitioning to a new Latin-based alphabet. For now, both Cyrillic and Latin Kazakh are in public view; maps, road signs, and menus may use either.

Russian (Русский язык)

Russian is spoken by the majority of the urban population and is the default language in many workplaces, universities, and older media. It is written in Cyrillic. For travelers, Russian is often the more immediately useful of the two because of the range of available resources — apps, phrasebooks, taxi-driver vocabulary — and because many signs in train stations and airports are in Cyrillic.

In the south (Turkestan, Shymkent, Taraz) and in rural areas, Kazakh is more dominant; in Almaty, Astana, and the north and west, Russian is more common. Younger people increasingly learn English at school, but a patient smile plus a translation app will carry you further than assuming English will be spoken.

Useful Phrases

The table below gives a few phrases in Kazakh and Russian with rough English pronunciations. Exact pronunciation varies by region and speaker; locals will appreciate the attempt regardless.

Greetings and politeness

  • Hello: Сәлеметсіз бе (Salemetsiz be, Kazakh) / Здравствуйте (Zdrastvuyte, Russian)
  • Hi (informal): Сәлем (Salem, Kazakh) / Привет (Privyet, Russian)
  • Thank you: Рахмет (Rakhmet, Kazakh) / Спасибо (Spasibo, Russian)
  • Please / You're welcome: Өтінемін / Оқасы жоқ (Otinemin / Oqasy joq, Kazakh) / Пожалуйста (Pozhaluysta, Russian)
  • Yes / No: Иә / Жоқ (Iä / Joq, Kazakh) / Да / Нет (Da / Nyet, Russian)
  • Excuse me / Sorry: Кешіріңіз (Keshirinız, Kazakh) / Извините (Izvinite, Russian)
  • Goodbye: Сау болыңыз (Sau bolynız, Kazakh) / До свидания (Do svidaniya, Russian)

Getting around

  • How much?: Қанша тұрады? (Qansha turady?, Kazakh) / Сколько стоит? (Skolko stoit?, Russian)
  • Where is…?: … қайда? (… qaida?, Kazakh) / Где …? (Gde …?, Russian)
  • Do you have Wi-Fi?: Wi-Fi бар ма? (Wi-Fi bar ma?, Kazakh) / У вас есть Wi-Fi? (U vas yest Wi-Fi?, Russian)
  • Water / Tea / Coffee: Су / Шай / Кофе (Su / Shai / Kofe, Kazakh) / Вода / Чай / Кофе (Voda / Chai / Kofe, Russian)
  • Help!: Көмектесіңіз! (Kömektesinız!, Kazakh) / Помогите! (Pomogite!, Russian)

Food and drink

  • The bill, please: Есепшотты беріңіз (Yesepshotty berinız, Kazakh) / Счёт, пожалуйста (Schyot, pozhaluysta, Russian)
  • I'm vegetarian: Мен вегетарианмын (Men vegetarianmyn, Kazakh) / Я вегетарианец / вегетарианка (Ya vegetarianets / vegetarianka, Russian)
  • Delicious: Дәмді (Dämdi, Kazakh) / Вкусно (Vkusno, Russian)

Reading the Scripts

Even without studying either language, it is worth spending fifteen minutes recognizing the Cyrillic alphabet. Many words — restaurant (ресторан), taxi (такси), metro (метро), bank (банк) — are loans from other languages and become instantly readable. Signage on public transport in Almaty and Astana is often bilingual Kazakh/Russian or trilingual Kazakh/Russian/English, but smaller towns may give only Cyrillic.

For maps and taxi apps, 2GIS and Yandex Maps are useful locally. Google Translate offers a camera mode that can read signs, menus, and bus schedules in real time; downloading the Russian and Kazakh packs for offline use before your trip is worthwhile.

Getting By Without Fluency

  • Lead with a greeting in Kazakh. Starting with Salemetsiz be or Rakhmet opens doors.
  • Write things down. When pronunciation fails, showing a word or address on your phone almost always works.
  • Use images. Photos of your hotel, your dish from a previous meal, or a landmark are universally readable.
  • Younger staff often speak some English. In cafés and hotels in Almaty and Astana you will often find at least one English speaker.
  • Do not assume everyone prefers Russian. In some regions and for some people, Kazakh is the preferred first language; following the speaker's lead is the courteous approach.

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