member of the Turkic subfamily of Altaic languages. It is spoken in Kyrgyzstan and in the Pamir Mountains on the border between Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and China. The language belongs to the northwestern, or Kipchak, division of the Turkic languages and is closely related to Kazak, Karakalpak, and Nogay.

Kyrgyz is also the name of the Old Turkic language found in inscriptions of the Yenisey River valley in Russia. The relationship between the speakers of Old Kyrgyz and the speakers of Central Asian Kyrgyz is unclear. See also Turkic languages.