Дорообо!
“Hello!” in Sakha
Learn Sakha, the language of the Yakut people. For free.
Aiyyna Grigoreva is Sakha. She teaches her mother tongue to anyone who wants to learn it, through short lessons, real pronunciation and the stories behind the words.
- Real courses, chapter by chapter
- In English and Russian
- Levels A1 to B1
Five letters you will only meet in Sakha
Sakha is written in Cyrillic, with 40 letters. Most will look familiar if you know Russian, but these five carry sounds of their own.
- Ҕ ҕ
a soft, throaty “g”, like a gentle gargle
аҕа father
- Ҥ ҥ
“ng”, as at the end of “sing”
саҥа voice, speech
- Ө ө
like German “ö”: say “e” with rounded lips
өй mind
- Һ һ
a breathy “h”, as in “hello”
сэһэн story, tale
- Ү ү
like French “u”: say “i” with rounded lips
үөрэх learning
A Turkic language from the coldest inhabited land on Earth
Sakha is spoken across the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), in north-eastern Siberia, a territory nearly the size of India. It is the language of olonkho epics, of the khomus jaw harp and of the Ysyakh summer festival.
Words follow vowel harmony: endings change their vowels to match the root, which gives the language its flowing, musical sound.
- ~450k
- native speakers
- 40
- letters in the alphabet
- Turkic
- family, related to Turkish and Kazakh
- Olonkho
- heroic epic, UNESCO heritage
The land behind the language
Every Sakha word carries a piece of this land: its rivers, its horses, the long winter and the summer Ysyakh. Here are a few to start with.
Өрүс river Buotama river valley 
Сылгы horse Young Yakut horses 
Ыһыах summer festival Ysyakh in Sangar 
Кыһын winter Winter over the taiga 
Тымныы cold Oymyakon, the pole of cold
Aiyyna Grigoreva
Aiyyna is Sakha. She started Aiyy School so that anyone, anywhere, can learn the language from someone who carries it at home.
Every lesson is free, because a language belongs to everyone who wants to carry it forward.
Махтал! Thank you for being here.
A real course, level by level
Each level is a full course: chapters, lessons with vocabulary and grammar, exercises, and printable vocabulary and grammar sheets. Start at A1 and climb.
- A1
Beginner
Read Sakha, greet people, introduce yourself and talk about family.
- Chapter 1 Alphabet & sounds
- Chapter 2 Greetings
- Chapter 3 Numbers
- Chapter 4 Family
- Chapter 5 Nature & seasons
- Chapter 6 Ysyakh & culture
4 lessons ready
- A2Coming soon
Elementary
Everyday life: home, food, time and the seasons.
- B1Coming soon
Intermediate
Tell stories, follow conversations and discover olonkho.
A few words to start with
Read them out loud. Long vowels are written twice: hold them a little longer.
- Дорообо [doroobo] hello
- Махтал [makhtal] thank you
- Ийэ [iye] mother
- Аҕа [agha] father
- Күн [kün] sun, day
- Дьиэ [jiye] house, home
Be there for the first lesson
Follow Aiyyna to know when new lessons are published, ask questions and practise with other learners.
