Uzbek, a Turkic language spoken primarily in Uzbekistan, shares linguistic roots and similarities with several other languages within the Turkic family. According to the eLinguistics.net analysis using specific software modules to assess linguistic relationships, the five languages most similar to Uzbek are Uyghur, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, Tatar, and Turkmen.
- Uyghur (96.6)
In the Xinjiang region of China, the Uyghur people speak a language that is another close relative of Uzbek. Uyghur shares many lexical and grammatical similarities with Uzbek. Both languages have been influenced by Arabic, Persian, and Russian due to historical and cultural interactions. - Kyrgyz (91.8)
Uzbekistan borders Kyrgyzstan. Its language Uzbek is also quite similar to Kyrgyz. While there are notable differences in phonology and vocabulary due to various historical influences, Uzbek shares a considerable amount of linguistic features with Kyrgyz. However, Kyrgyz retains a larger proportion of Turkic-rooted vocabulary and has fewer borrowings from Persian, Arabic, or Russian. - Kazakh (89.3)
Uzbekistan also borders Kazakhstan. Uzbek is also similar to Kazakh. While there are notable differences in phonology and vocabulary due to various historical influences, Uzbek shares a considerable amount of linguistic features with Kazakh. Both Turkic languages have also absorbed words from Persian and Arabic. - Tatar (88.9)
Spoken by the Tatar people in Russia, this language belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic language family. Tatar and Uzbek share similar grammatical structures, vocabulary, and phonological characteristics. This is because there have been many interactions between the Tatars and Uzbeks in the past. - Turkmen (88.3)
Turkmenistan is another Central Asian country. Its official language, Turkmen, is also a Turkic language. Despite belonging to a different branch, Turkmen and Uzbek share significant similarities in vocabulary, syntax, and phonology. There have been many cultural exchanges among Turkic-speaking peoples.
(to be considered for the list, the language must be spoken by at least one million people)