In the article, the authors conducted a sociological analysis of the categories «comic» and «tragic» in Kazakh literature. Despite the thorough study of these categories in the Kazakh literature, their social aspect is a little-studied problem. The manifestation of the comic and tragic in Kazakh fiction has its own ethnic specificity, which led to the presence of specific types and shades of the comic and tragic, which have been transformed and modified over time. The social aspect of the “comic” is revealed through an analysis of the genres of humor and satire in Kazakh literature. Studies of the category «comic» are typical for Kazakh oral poetry and fiction and are associated with the development of comic problems in: 1) epic, fairy tales, aitys; 2) akyn poetry, the work of classical writers and modern non-satirical writers, as well as satirical writers; 3) in the genre of literary comedy in Kazakh classical and modern fiction. The category of «tragic» is most developed in the Kazakh folk poetry and fiction, being associated with the following areas: 1) tragic love between two lovers in feudal society; 2) the tragic fate of Kazakh women who became victims of feudal customs; 3) social and personal tragedy associated with the concept of a person’s discord with society and self-alienation.