Uzbek Translation and Localization Services

Uzbek sits in our Turkic group next to Kazakh and Turkmen. Native linguists translate, localize and test content for Uzbekistan in the script your audience reads. Our teams also build Uzbek datasets for AI teams.

Get a Uzbek QuoteAll Languages
Languages
19
Languages
Vetted Native Linguists
700+
Vetted Native Linguists
Localization Tasks / Year
100K+
Localization Tasks / Year
Founded
2016
Founded

El Turco delivers Uzbek translation and localization services to enterprises, language service providers and AI teams. Our native Uzbek linguists follow ISO 17100 for translation and ISO 18587 for machine translation post-editing. Projects are managed by our production office in Istanbul, and our headquarters are in London.

Uzbek is a Turkic language, but it is not a dialect of Turkish and it does not behave like Turkish inside software. The official alphabet is Latin. Cyrillic is still read every day. The vocabulary carries many Russian, Persian and Arabic loanwords. Our linguists confirm the script first, then work in RWS Trados, memoQ, Phrase and XTM and run every delivery through What's Wrong?, our own QA tool.

Dialects and variants

Which Uzbek do we translate into?

Standard literary Uzbek is based on the central dialects around Tashkent and the Fergana Valley. It is the written norm for business, media and government in Uzbekistan. The main decision on an Uzbek project is the script, not the dialect.

  • Uzbek in Latin script (uz-Latn-UZ)

    The official alphabet and the default target for software, e-commerce, finance and government-facing content, written with the current oʻ and gʻ letters.

  • Uzbek in Cyrillic script (uz-Cyrl-UZ)

    Still common in print, older media and signage and among older readers. A Cyrillic version is produced and checked by a linguist, because automatic transliteration breaks loanwords and proper names.

  • Southern Uzbek (Afghanistan)

    Written right to left in Arabic script. Content for this audience is a separate target, scoped case by case.

  • Karakalpak

    A separate Turkic language of Karakalpakstan, closer to Kazakh. Projects for that region should confirm which language the audience expects.

Script and layout

Writing system and layout notes

Uzbek Latin is written left to right. It uses the basic Latin letters except c and w, adds the letters oʻ and gʻ, writes the sounds sh, ch and ng as digraphs and marks the glottal stop with a separate apostrophe. Uzbek Cyrillic adds the letters ў, қ, ғ and ҳ.

  • The oʻ and gʻ mark: the correct character is the modifier letter turned comma (ʻ), and the glottal stop uses the modifier letter apostrophe (ʼ). Source files and user input often contain a plain apostrophe, a backtick or a curly quote instead. Pick one convention per product and make search match all of them.
  • Case conversion: Uzbek uses the ordinary i and I, unlike Turkish and Azerbaijani. Turkish locale rules applied to Uzbek text produce wrong capitals. Title-case functions that treat the apostrophe as a word break produce errors such as "OʻZbek".
  • Alphabet order: the official alphabet lists oʻ, gʻ, sh, ch and ng after z. English collation puts Uzbek lists in the wrong order.
  • Numbers and prices: comma as decimal separator and a space for thousands. The soʻm (UZS) is written after the amount. Dates are usually written day.month.year with a 24-hour clock.
  • Text expansion: suffixes stack on word stems and digraphs add characters, so Uzbek strings often run longer than English. Buttons, tabs and push notifications need room or agreed short forms.

Localization pitfalls

What makes Uzbek localization different?

Concrete issues our Uzbek linguists and engineers check for on every project.

  • Script choice and mixed sources

    Briefs often say "Uzbek" without naming a script, and reference files may mix Latin and Cyrillic. We confirm the script, locale code and font support before translation.

  • Suffixes on variables

    Case endings attach to names, numbers and product names. The dative ending alone changes between -ga, -ka and -qa depending on the last sound of the word, so "Sent to {name}" cannot take one fixed suffix. We rewrite such strings so the variable stands alone, or request per-case keys.

  • Formality: siz versus sen

    Banking, telecom, public services and B2B software address users with formal "siz". Some games and youth apps use informal "sen". Uzbek also uses plural verb forms to show respect, so the register is fixed in the style guide and checked in LQA.

  • Plurals and counters

    Nouns stay singular after a number. Counts often add the counter word "ta", as in "3 ta xabar" (three messages). ICU "one" and "other" forms usually hold the same text, and QA profiles need to accept that.

  • Word order and UI fragments

    Uzbek is subject-object-verb and puts the verb last. English verb-first labels such as "Delete account" need an Uzbek phrase that reads naturally on its own, with one verb form used across the interface.

  • Russian terminology in the market

    Business and tech vocabulary in Uzbekistan mixes Uzbek terms, Russian loanwords and English product words. We agree per product which terms stay, which are translated and how each is spelled.

  • State language and consumer rules

    Uzbek is the state language of Uzbekistan, and consumer labels, contracts and public notices are expected to carry Uzbek text. Privacy notices under the personal data law, terms of service and financial disclosures go to a legal-domain linguist with a second reviewer.

Industries

Which industries do we serve in Uzbek?

Industry pages describe the workflows; each one applies to Uzbek as summarized here.

Services

Uzbek services we offer

Every service below is available in Uzbek. Pricing is per-word, hourly or project-based, quoted after scoping.

AI training data

Uzbek AI training data

Uzbek has little public training data, and much of it mixes Latin and Cyrillic text or uses inconsistent apostrophe characters. Models trained on it confuse scripts, drop the oʻ and gʻ marks and borrow Turkish or Kazakh forms. El Turco builds Uzbek datasets to close that gap: speech collection across ages, regions and recording conditions, transcription with one agreed spelling convention, text annotation for intent, sentiment and named entities, RLHF ranking of model responses, moderation data covering slang and code-switching with Russian and parallel corpora for custom MT or LLM fine-tuning. Guidelines are written with the client, gold tasks run before production and inter-annotator agreement is reported with each delivery. A free pilot batch is available.

AI Data SolutionsRequest a Free Pilot Batch

Related languages

Often paired with Uzbek

Languages that regularly appear in the same project plan.

All languages we cover

FAQ

Uzbek translation FAQ

Which script should we use for Uzbek content?

Latin script is the official Uzbek alphabet and the right default for software, e-commerce and government-facing content. Uzbek Cyrillic is still read widely, especially in print and by older audiences, so some companies publish both versions. El Turco confirms the script, locale code and apostrophe convention with the client before translation starts and produces the second script with a linguist rather than automatic transliteration.

Can a Turkish or Kazakh translation be used for Uzbek users?

No. Uzbek, Turkish and Kazakh are related Turkic languages, but vocabulary, suffixes, spelling and alphabets differ enough that Uzbek readers do not accept either as Uzbek. El Turco translates Uzbek with native Uzbek linguists. Turkish source content can be translated into Uzbek directly, which keeps product meaning consistent across Türkiye and Uzbekistan without carrying Turkish wording over.

Do you translate into Uzbek from languages other than English?

Yes. Source files in English, German, French, Chinese, Turkish or Arabic can be translated directly into Uzbek. El Turco also translates Uzbek content into English. Turkish to Uzbek suits companies already active in Türkiye that expand into Central Asia. When a company needs Russian next to Uzbek for the same market, Russian is handled as a separate target language with its own native linguists.

How do you handle Uzbek software strings with variables and plurals?

Uzbek software strings are translated by linguists who check placeholders, plural forms and length limits in context. Variables that would need a case suffix are rewritten so the variable stands alone, or the developer is asked for separate keys. Plural strings follow the Uzbek rule that a noun stays singular after a number. The oʻ and gʻ characters are checked against the agreed convention.

Is machine translation reliable for Uzbek?

Machine translation for Uzbek is usable for some content but often mixes scripts, drops the oʻ and gʻ marks and produces Russian calques or Turkish word forms. El Turco evaluates engine output on a sample of your content, agrees the post-editing level and runs MTPE under ISO 18587 with native Uzbek linguists. Marketing, legal and UI content is best translated by humans.

Who translates Uzbek at El Turco?

Uzbek translation at El Turco is handled by native Uzbek linguists chosen for each subject domain. Every job then gets a second-linguist review under ISO 17100. Project managers in Istanbul run scheduling, terminology and linguist queries. All linguists sign NDAs and work in the client CAT tool or ours, inside our ISO/IEC 27001 information security management system.

How do I start an Uzbek localization project?

An Uzbek localization project starts with the contact form: share the content type, volume, source language, target script and timeline. Enterprises can start with a free pilot, and LSPs can request a free test translation of up to 300 words. Next we agree the glossary, formality, apostrophe convention and delivery rhythm. Pricing is per-word, hourly or project-based, quoted after scoping.

From the blog

Related reading

Planning Uzbek Content?

Tell us what Uzbek content you have, how much of it and when it is due. We reply with a scoped plan and can start with a free pilot or a free 300-word test translation.

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