My name is Pavel Khegay. I am a Kazakhstani, I live and work in Almaty. This site grew out of my own Kazakh studies, and it is made for people like me.
Like many of us, I grew up with Russian and for years promised myself to learn Kazakh properly: not just to understand, but to speak. Textbooks gave rules, courses gave timetables, and what I lacked was simple: short living phrases for real situations, audio within reach, and a check I could pass in fifteen minutes between things. That is how Khegay Sabaqtary appeared.
The project is for adults in Kazakhstan who want to raise their level of the state language: to start speaking at work, in a shop, with neighbours, with friends’ parents. Not for an exam, but out of respect for the language and the people around us. I believe that if each of us takes a step forward, together we will raise the level of Kazakh in the country — one phrase a day.
Free on principle
The site is free and will stay free: no ads, no paid tiers, no selling of data. It is not free for me, though. The subscriptions to the AI tools I use to prepare the materials and the code (Claude Fable 5.1 at 200 dollars a month, GPT Astra Pro), the domain and the hosting in Kazakhstan — I pay for all of it myself. To me it is a contribution to a cause that matters, and it makes me truly glad that people use the site and learn.
What is inside
72 lessons from A1 to B2: useful phrases, a dialogue, a check, phrase building, writing and speaking practice. A dictionary with audio, spaced repetition, stories and trainers, listening and reading, letters and sounds, and a reference on grammar, numbers, time and money. The interface and explanations are in Russian and English; progress can be synced between your phone and computer by signing in with an email.
How it is made — honestly
I prepare the materials with AI tools. I am neither a philologist nor a native speaker, so I check everything myself and welcome corrections from anyone who knows the language better. The audio is synthesised with Kazakh voices: good for recognising words by ear, not a replacement for live speech. Inaccuracies are possible, and I fix each one as soon as I learn about it. If you are a native speaker or a teacher and notice a mistake, please write: it is the most valuable help the project can get. I would be especially glad to find a native speaker willing to record the first-level phrases with a live voice.
How to help
Learn, and tell people who need it about the site. Report mistakes: every phrase has a “Spotted a mistake?” button. Send ideas about the situations and topics that are missing. Share the link freely, and use the materials for learning — your own or your students’.
What is next
The near-term priorities, in order. First: fixes based on your messages — they always come before new sections. Second: a native speaker’s live voice for the first-level phrases. Third: a short placement test at the start, so that those who already know something do not begin from zero. Fourth: new everyday situations — the pharmacy, a doctor’s appointment, a taxi, the kindergarten. Offline use is already here: lessons can be saved to your phone and studied on the go.
You set the order: I watch which sections are opened most and read every message.
Data
The site runs no advertising trackers and passes nothing to third parties. Progress is kept in your browser and, if you sign in with an email, also on a server in Kazakhstan as an irreversible hash of the address plus the progress itself. See the Privacy page for details.
Write to the author: khegay.pavel@gmail.com · Privacy
Pavel Khegay, Almaty. Bırge üireneiık — let’s learn together.