Daqiqaga

Daqiqaga is a grammatical form in Uzbek that results from combining the noun daqiqa, meaning minute, with the postpositional suffix -ga. This form is used to express time references or directions toward a specific moment in time, similar to the English phrases “in X minutes” or “within X minutes.” It is part of Uzbek’s agglutinative system, where nouns take suffixes to indicate case, time, or direction.

Etymology and background: The base word daqiqa comes from Arabic daqiqah, meaning minute or moment, and entered Uzbek through historical contact with Persian and Turkic linguistic developments. The suffix -ga marks a directional or temporal reference, allowing speakers to specify how far into the future a given moment lies.

Usage: Daqiqaga is commonly employed in numerical time expressions. It appears in both formal and colloquial contexts to indicate that an action will occur after a certain number of minutes or within that time frame. It is often paired with numerals to form phrases such as bir daqiqaga, besh daqiqaga, etc., to convey approximate deadlines or time until an event.

Examples:

- Bir daqiqaga kuting. Translation: Please wait for one minute.

- Ishni besh daqiqaga tugatamiz. Translation: We will finish the work in five minutes.

- U yo‘lga chiqdi besh daqiqaga daqiqa–yaqin bo‘lgan muddatda. Translation: He departed within about five minutes.

Notes: While daqiqa is the base noun for minute, the daqiqaga form is a postpositional construction rather than a separate lexical item. Usage can vary slightly by dialect and register, but the form consistently serves to anchor actions to a future time expressed in minutes. See also: daqiqa, Uzbek time expressions.