Setting up website localization for Uzbek language
Uzbek language is the official language of Uzbekistan. Important feature: two writing systems exist — Latin (uz-Latn, official standard since 1993) and Cyrillic (uz-Cyrl, de facto used by majority of population). For commercial website, it's recommended to support both variants or choose based on target audience.
Basic setup
// config/app.php
// Latin — official standard
'locale' => 'uz',
'fallback_locale' => 'ru',
// resources/lang/uz/messages.php — Latin
return [
'welcome' => 'Saytimizga xush kelibsiz',
'catalog' => 'Katalog',
'cart' => 'Savat',
'checkout' => 'Buyurtmani rasmiylashtirish',
'search' => 'Qidirish',
'add_to_cart' => 'Savatga qo\'shish',
'price' => 'Narx',
'in_stock' => 'Mavjud',
'out_of_stock' => 'Mavjud emas',
'order_placed' => 'Buyurtma qabul qilindi',
];
// resources/lang/uz-cyrl/messages.php — Cyrillic
return [
'welcome' => 'Сайтимизга хуш келибсиз',
'catalog' => 'Каталог',
'cart' => 'Сават',
'checkout' => 'Буюртмани расмийлаштириш',
'search' => 'Қидириш',
'add_to_cart' => 'Саватга қўшиш',
'price' => 'Нарх',
'in_stock' => 'Мавжуд',
'out_of_stock' => 'Мавжуд эмас',
];
Numerals and plural
Uzbek is an agglutinative language of Turkic group. Like Kazakh, after numeral, noun stays singular:
// "5 mahsulot" — correct, not "5 mahsulotlar"
function pluralUz(int $n, string $word): string
{
return "$n $word";
}
echo pluralUz(1, 'mahsulot'); // 1 mahsulot
echo pluralUz(5, 'mahsulot'); // 5 mahsulot
// Intl.PluralRules for Uzbek
const rules = new Intl.PluralRules('uz')
// Returns 'one' for 1, 'other' for others
// But semantically in Uzbek, after numeral always the base form
const pluralize = (n: number, word: string) => `${n} ${word}`
Date and currency formatting
// Date (Latin)
const df = new Intl.DateTimeFormat('uz-Latn-UZ', {
day: 'numeric',
month: 'long',
year: 'numeric',
})
df.format(new Date()) // "28-mart, 2026"
// Uzbekistan currency — sum (UZS)
new Intl.NumberFormat('uz-Latn-UZ', {
style: 'currency',
currency: 'UZS',
maximumFractionDigits: 0,
}).format(150000) // "150 000 сўм" or "UZS 150,000"
// Numbers
new Intl.NumberFormat('uz-Latn-UZ').format(1234567.89)
// "1 234 567,89"
// Relative time
const rtf = new Intl.RelativeTimeFormat('uz', { numeric: 'auto' })
rtf.format(-1, 'day') // "kecha"
rtf.format(-3, 'day') // "3 kun oldin"
rtf.format(1, 'hour') // "1 soatdan keyin"
Latin specifics: apostrophe and diacritics
Uzbek Latin uses:
-
oʻ(o with hook, U+02BB) — not regular apostrophe -
gʻ(g with hook) -
sh,ch,ng— digraphs
// Typographically correct spelling
const word = 'qo\u02BBshish' // qoʻshish (to add)
// NOT: qo'shish (ASCII apostrophe)
In practice, most websites use regular apostrophe due to keyboard issues. If audience is business-oriented, use correct Unicode.
Fonts
For Latin, any standard fonts work. For Cyrillic (Uzbek), specific glyphs: Ғ ғ, Қ қ, Ҳ ҳ, Ў ў, Ъ ъ.
body {
font-family: 'Noto Sans', 'PT Sans', Roboto, Arial, sans-serif;
}
Switching between Latin and Cyrillic
type UzScript = 'latn' | 'cyrl'
function LanguageToggle() {
const [script, setScript] = useState<UzScript>('latn')
return (
<div>
<button
onClick={() => setScript('latn')}
aria-pressed={script === 'latn'}
>
O'zbek (lotin)
</button>
<button
onClick={() => setScript('cyrl')}
aria-pressed={script === 'cyrl'}
>
Ўзбек (кирилл)
</button>
</div>
)
}
// In Laravel: store choice in session
Route::get('/locale/uz/{script}', function (string $script) {
$locale = $script === 'cyrl' ? 'uz-Cyrl' : 'uz';
session(['locale' => $locale]);
return back();
});
SEO
<html lang="uz-Latn">
<!-- or lang="uz-Cyrl" for Cyrillic -->
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta property="og:locale" content="uz_UZ">
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="uz" href="https://example.uz/uz/" />
<link rel="alternate" hreflang="ru" href="https://example.uz/" />
</head>
Timeframe
Basic localization with one script — 1 working day. Supporting both variants (Latin + Cyrillic) with switcher — 2 days.