Words of edification "or" Book of words "(kaz. Kara sөz, literally: Black word, prose, Kara creators) is a fundamental work of the Kazakh akyn and educator Abai Kunanbaev, which consists of 45 short parables and philosophical treatises. This prose poem raises the problems of national education and worldview, morality and law, the history of Kazakhs.

Abai wrote "Words of edification" in his declining years, having already learned the temptations of power and hardships of earthly affairs, the recognition of the people and the loss of loved ones. They were disseminated by including them in each new handwritten book. Some of the "Admonitions" were first published after the death of akyn (1904) on the pages of the "Abai" magazine in 1918.

Many conclusions and instructive conclusions from the book are still relevant today, they accurately describe the old, unrooted problems of the people.

Abai's work has been translated into many languages ​​of the world, including Russian, Chinese, French and others.

Most of the translations have been made into Russian. Back in 1945, on the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abai, the publishing house "Khudozhestvennaya literatura" published a collection of selected translations of his works into Russian, containing a translation of Viktor Shklovsky under the title "Edification". Later this translation was published in 1954 and 1979. Also known are the translations of the Kazakh writer Satimzhan Sanbayev under the title “Words of edification” (1970) and the writer Rolan Seisenbayev, called “The Book of Words” (1992-1993). In addition, there is an arrangement in verse in Russian by Archimandrite Gennady.

The words of edification were translated into German in 2001 by Larisa Zakharova. The book was originally published in Kazakhstan, and in 2010 it was decided to publish it in Germany.

In 2010, Abai's book was first translated and published in the Tajik language under the title "Pandnoma". Speaking at the presentation, translator, publicist and Abaeologist Fatkhullo Azizov noted the high life status of the book, calling it a school of humanity.