From *nečük (“how, in what manner”), from Proto-Turkic *nē- (“interrogative archetype”).
Cognate with Old Uyghur [script needed] (nečük, “how?”); Tatar ничек (niçek, “how?”), Bashkir нисек (nisek, “how?”), Kumyk нечик (neçik, “how?”), Uzbek nechik (“how?”), Turkmen niçik (“how?”).