Learn Turkish
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Introduction Grammar Turkish grammar is simplistic once you get used to the style. However, it can seem to be very difficult since the grammatical structure is totally different from the Indo-European languages. This is because Turkish is from a different language family called Ural-Altaic languages. Some languages similar to Turkish are ´Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Kazak, Uzbek, Tatar, Manchu´. Compared to English, the most fundamental differences in Turkish grammar can be listed as:
Ordering of sentence parts o A typical Turkish sentence is ordered as (subject + object + verb) ArkadaĢım [My friend --> subject] araba [car -->object] aldı [bought->verb]. No gender o There are no articles in Turkish, and no gender associated with words o No gender in personal pronouns (the Turkish word for he, she and it is o) Vowel harmony o Harmony of vowels is a very fundamental property of Turkish. The rules concerning vowel harmony need to be learned as one of the first steps because they affect the way almost all the other rules are applied. Use of suffixes o Suffixes are very widely used in Turkish. The meaning of prepositions, personal pronouns and tenses are all countered by adding suffixes to word roots. Kalbimdesin [You are in my heart]
Once you get to these differences and learn the basic harmony rules, the rest of the grammar is quite simple. Almost everything follows well defined, simple rules.
Sounds Another important point is the way you read a written text. There is exactly one sound for each character in Turkish. A character always represents the same sound, regardless of its position in a word or the characters next to it. Therefore, it is straightforward to pronounce a word that you see for the first time once you are familiar with the characters in the Turkish alphabet.
Vocabulary Once you are comfortable or at least familiar with the harmony rules, the main challenge will be the vocabulary. Turkish vocabulary can be very challenging since the words have no resemblance to the European languages except the few words adapted directlyfrom these languages.
Alphabet Turkish alphabet consists of 29 letters - 8 vowels and 21 consonants.Each letter has exactly one associated sound which never changes. There are seven additional characters not found in the English alphabet. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
(Ç-ç) (Ğ-ğ) (I-ı) (Ġ-i) (Ö-ö) (ġ-Ģ) (Ü-ü)
The letters of Turkish alphabet and the sounds associated with these are in the following table... Lette r
Pronunciation
Letter
Pronunciation
A, a
like the a in car
M, m
like the m in man
B, b
like the b in bet
N, n
like the n in neighbor
C, c
like the g in gender
O, o
like the a in ball
Ç, ç
like the ch in chance
Ö, ö
like the u in urge
D, d
like the d in debt
P, p
like the p in pen
E, e
like the e in less
R, r
like the r in rent
F, f
like the f in felony
S, s
like the s in send
G, g
like the g in game
ġ, Ģ
like the sh in shed
Ğ, ğ
weak sound,not pronouncing at all will be ok
T, t
like the t in tennis
H, h
like the h in hello
U, u
like the oo in good
I, ı
like the e in halted
Ü, ü
like the u in nude
Ġ, i
like the ee in keen
V, v
like the v in vent
J, j
like the s in leisure
Y, y
like the y in yes
K, k
like the k in kelly
Z, z
like the z in zen
L, l
like the l in lamb
Numbers Constructing numbers in Turkish is simple and straightforward. The rule is to line up the parts in decreasing magnitude like in English, but without putting any conjunctive words in between. For example, direct translation of 1256 from Turkish would be ´thousand two hundred fifty six´. Let´s continue to construct numbers after you take a look at the table below. The numbers from 0 to 10 definitely need to be learned without any rule, as well as 10, 20, ..., 100 and 1,000-1,000,0001,000,000,000.... After that, it´s all about applying the simple-straightforward rules and practicing. 0
sıfır
21
yirmi bir
1
bir
22
yirmi iki
2
iki
30
otuz
3
üç
40
kırk
4
dört
50
elli
5
beş
60
altmış
6
altı
70
yetmiş
7
yedi
80
seksen
8
sekiz
90
doksan
9
dokuz
100
yüz
10
on
137
yüz otuz yedi
11
on bir
200
iki yüz
12
on iki
300
üç yüz
13
on üç
1,000
bin
14
on dört
2,000
iki bin
15
on beş
10,000
on bin
16
on altı
25,000
yirmi beş bin
17
on yedi
1,000,000
bir milyon
18
on sekiz
1,000,000,000
bir milyar
19
on dokuz
20
yirmi
Looking at the table above, let us see how some numbers are read in different cases: 58 --> elli sekiz
63 --> altmış üç
97 --> doksan yedi
104 --> yüz dört
148 --> yüz kırk sekiz
752 --> yedi yüz elli iki
1,765 --> bin yedi yüz altmış beş
48,392 --> kırk sekiz bin üç yüz doksan iki
305,018 --> üç yüz beş bin on sekiz
4,762,345,258 --> dört milyar yedi yüz altmış iki milyon üç yüz kırk beş bin iki yüz elli sekiz Now, practice time. Try tofigure out the number correspondin to thefollowing (answers are below the list) Turkish spelling
Number
dört
?
on dört
?
kırk dört
?
yüz yetmiş dört
?
altı yüz yirmi dokuz
?
yedi yüz yirmi dört
?
bin yedi yüz seksen beş
?
bir milyon üç
?
üç yüz yirmi sekiz
?
bin dokuz yüz on dokuz
?
iki bin dört
?
bin yedi yüz seksen dokuz
?
Correct answers in sequence are: 4, 14, 44, 174, 629, 724, 1785, 1000003, 328, 1919, 2004, 1789
Fractions Another point to note here is how to read fractions. The most commonly used form, x.5, is read as the whole part of the number followed by buçuk. The only exception to this is the 0.5 case, which is read like the other fractions. For the other fractions, the whole part of the number is read first, and then the fractional part is read as if it is a seperate number after saying virgül . Acually virgül means comma, and this word is used for separating the whole part and the fractional part of a number. Comma is used instead of point or dot because in Turkish convention fractions are separated by comma. Here are some examples:
2.5 --> iki buçuk
274.5 --> iki yüz yetmiĢ dört buçuk
0.5 --> sıfır virgül beĢ
104.25 --> yüz dört virgül yirmi beĢ
14.8 --> on dört virgül sekiz
7.52 --> yedi virgül elli iki
1.705 --> bir virgül yedi yüz beĢ
48.012 --> kırk sekiz virgül sıfır on iki
305.008 --> üç yüz beĢ virgül sıfır sıfır sekiz
We should also look at the translations of fraction denoting adjectives. These are: Half --> Yarım (Be careful that this is used only as an adjective, the word buçuk is used instead when you are reading numbers -half a bread is yarım ekmek, one and a half is bir buçuk) Quarter --> Çeyrek Some sentences and prases using these adjectives would be: Half an hour --> yarım saat Buy half a bread. --> Yarım ekmek al. Joe made a foul in the last quarter. --> Joe son çeyrekte bir faul yaptı.
Sequence Numbers Now, let us take a look at how order is indicated using the numbers. The suffix used for order is -inci. Adding this at the and of any number will give the meaning of order. An important point to pay attention here, as always, is that this suffix changes according to vowel harmony.
1st --> birinci
2nd --> ikinci (not ikiinci, one vowel falls when there is two next to each other)
3rd --> üçüncü
4th --> dördüncü
5th --> beĢinci
6th --> altıncı (again, not altııncı because one of the double ı´s falls)
7th --> yedinci
10th --> onuncu
25th --> yirmi beĢinci
50th --> ellinci (note the same vowel fall here)
Pronouns 1 Personal Pronouns Here are the Turkish translations of the personal pronouns. However, these pronouns are generally omitted in sentences since person is implied in the adjectives or the verbs in sentences. They are often used to stress the person. i
ben
i am adjective
ben adjective-im
you
sen
you are adjective
sen adjective-sin
he she it
o
he she | is adjective it /
o adjective
we
biz
we are adjective
biz adjective-iz
you
siz
you are adjective
siz adjective-siniz
they
onlar
they are adjective
onlar adjective-ler
güzel --> beautiful I am beautiful. --> Ben güzel-im. --> Güzelim. (Personal pronoun is implied) You are beautiful. --> Sen güzel-sin. --> Güzelsin. He/she/it is beautiful. --> O güzel. --> Güzel. We are beautiful. --> Biz güzel-iz. --> Güzeliz. You are beautiful. --> Siz güzel-siniz. --> Güzelsiniz. They are beautiful. --> Onlar güzel-ler. --> Güzeller. kötü --> bad I am bad. --> Ben kötü-y-üm. --> Kötüyüm. (Note how kötü and -üm are connected with the fusion consonant ´y´.) You are bad. --> Sen kötü-sün. --> Kötüsün. He/she/it is bad. --> O kötü. --> Kötü. We are bad. --> Biz kötü-y-üz. --> Kötüyüz. You are bad. --> Siz kötü-siniz. --> Kötüsünüz. They are bad. --> Onlar kötü-ler. --> Kötüler.
geliyor --> coming (present continuous tense) I am coming. --> Ben geliyor-um. --> Geliyorum. You are coming. --> Sen geliyor-sun. --> Geliyorsun. He/she/it is coming. --> O geliyor. --> Geliyor. We are coming. --> Biz geliyor-uz. --> Geliyoruz. You are coming. --> Siz geliyor-sunuz. --> Geliyorsunuz. They are coming. --> Onlar geliyor-lar. --> Geliyorlar. For nouns other than these pronouns, you must use the third person case. Marzena is beautiful. --> Marzena güzel. Marzena is very beautiful. --> Marzena çok güzel. Joe is bad. --> Joe kötü. Joe is coming. --> Joe geliyor.
Demonstrative pronouns These are the pronouns used for obects instead of people. this
bu
that (between this and that)
Ģu
that
o
these
bunlar
those (between these and those)
Ģunlar
those
onlar
kitap --> book Bu bir kitap. --> This is a book. ġu bir kitap. --> That is a book. O bir kitap. --> That is a book. Bunlar kitaplar. --> These are books. ġunlar kitaplar. --> Those are books. Onlar kitaplar. --> Those are books.
Possessive Pronouns Personal posessive pronouns:
my
ben-im
my noun
ben-im noun-im
your
sen-in
your noun
sen-in noun-in
his her its
o-n-un
his her | noun its /
o-n-un noun-i
our
biz-im
our noun
biz-im noun-imiz
your
siz-in
your noun
siz-in noun-iniz
their
onlar-ın
their noun
onlar-ın noun-leri
Notice his/her/its is o-n-un instead of o-un. Since two vowels don´t come together in Turkish, one fusion consonant is added in between. It is ´n´ in this case. Either a fusion consonant is added in between, or one of the vowels is dropped whenever a vowel is followed by another vowel. Which technique must be used changes among different rules, but it is consistent in a single rule. This will be mentioned in different lessons when necessary. ev --> house my house --> ben-im ev-im --> evim (personal pronoun is implied) your house --> sen-in ev-in --> evin his/her/its house --> o-n-in ev-i --> onun evi --> evi our house --> biz-im ev-imiz --> evimiz your house --> siz-in ev-iniz --> eviniz their house --> onlar-ın ev-leri --> evleri araba --> car my car --> ben-im araba-m --> arabam (the suffix -im becomes -m when added after a vowel, since two vowels don´t come together in Turkish) your car --> sen-in araba-n --> araban his/her/its car --> o-n-in araba-s-ı --> onun arabası --> arabası (Instead of dropping one vowel, here the fusion consonant ´s´ is added between vowels since the suffix is only a single vowel.) our car --> biz-im araba-mız --> arabamız your car --> siz-in araba-nız --> arabanız their car --> onlar-ın araba-ları --> arabaları -
For nouns other than these pronouns, always the third person form is used.
Gizem´s house --> Gizem´in evi Gizem´s car --> Gizem´in arabası
My mother´s house --> Annemin evi
Demonstrative posessive pronouns: of this
bu-n-un
of that (between this and that)
Ģu-n-un
of that
o-n-un
of these
bunlar-ın
of those (between these and those)
Ģunlar-ın
of those
onlar-ın
Bunun evi --> The house of this ġunun evi --> The house of that Onun evi --> The house of that Bunların evleri --> The house of these. ġunların evleri --> The house of those. Onların evleri --> The house of those. -
For nouns other than these pronouns, always the third person form is used.
The room of the house --> Evin odası Cat´s food --> Kedinin yemeği
Reflexive Pronouns The way reflexive pronouns are constructed in Turkish is very similar to the way we do it in English. The Turkish word for self iskendi. The reflexive pronouns hence are as follows: myself
kendi-im
kendim
yourself
kendi-in
kendin
herself itself
kendi-si
kendisi
ourselves
kendi-imiz
kendimiz
yourselves
kendi-iniz
kendiniz
themselves
kendi-leri
kendileri
himself
Pronouns 2 In the previous lesson on pronouns, we covered the basic pronouns. The topics covered were:
Personal pronouns (ben, sen, o, biz, siz, onlar) Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o, bunlar, şunlar, onlar) Possessive pronouns o Personal possessive pronouns (benim, senin, onun, bizim, sizin, onların) o Demonstrative possessive pronouns (bunun, şunun, onun, bunların, şunların, onların) Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin, kendisi, kendimiz, kendiniz, kendileri)
There are also other pronouns used for many different situations, like everybody, nothing... Let's now see the Turkish meanings for these pronouns.
every thing none any one, a some all everything something nothing anything everybody somebody nobody anybody all of these all of those all of us all of you none of these none of those none of us none of you some of these some of those some of us some of you
English Turkish Basic components of these pronouns her Ģey hiç herhangibir bir bazı bütün Pronouns everything something nothing anything everybody somebody nobody anybody all of these all of those all of us all of you none of these none of those none of us none of you some of these some of those some of us some of you
In English, some of these pronouns that have negative meanings are used in positive sentences. For example, There is nobody here. (Instead of there isn't nobody here) In Turkish, you never do this. If the meaning of a pronoun is negative, it must always be used in a negative sentence. Similarly, pronouns with positive meanings must always be used in positive sentences. There is nobody here. --> Burada hiçkimse yok. Now, let's use some of these pronouns in sentences: Every flower does not smell. --> Her çiçek kokmaz. What is this thing? --> Bu Ģey ne? There is none left. --> Hiç kalmadı. Some students are here. --> Bazı öğrenciler burada. All students are here. --> Bütün öğrenciler burada. Everything's ok. --> HerĢey yolunda. Everything is here. --> HerĢey burada. Ask something. --> BirĢey sor. I saw nothing. --> Hiçbir Ģey görmedim. Is there anything? --> Herhangibir Ģey var mı? Is everybody here? --> Herkes burada mı? Somebody came. --> Birisi geldi. Nobody came. --> Hiç kimse gelmedi. Anybody can come. --> Herhangi birisi gelebilir. All of these are mine. --> Bunların hepsi benim.
Date and Time 1. Time Let´s start with simple dialogue sentences about time, the question and different answers. Time - English
Turkish (Parantheses for explanation only)
What time is it?
Saat kaç?
It is ten o´clock.
Saat on (10).
It is five past ten.
Saat onu (10-i) beĢ (5) geçiyor.
It is five past five.
Saat beĢi (5-i) beĢ (5) geçiyor.
It is five past six.
Saat altıyı (6-[y]-i) beĢ (5) geçiyor.
It is five past three.
Saat üçü (3-i) beĢ (5) geçiyor.
It is quarter past ten.
Saat onu (10-i) çeyrek (quarter) geçiyor.
It is ten twenty.
Saat onu (10-i) yirmi (20) geçiyor.
It is half past ten.
Saat on (10) buçuk (half).
It is ten thirty five.
Saat on bire (11-e) yirmi beĢ (25) var.
It is ten forty.
Saat on bire (11-e) yirmi (20) var.
It is quarter to eleven.
Saat on bire (11-e) çeyrek (quarter) var.
It is ten to eleven.
Saat on bire (11-e) on (10) var.
It is eleven.
Saat on bir (11).
Now, time to explain the words and phrases used in this table. Let´s start with the question, ´Saat kaç?´. Word by word: Saat --> Hour Kaç --> How many It is not perfectly logical, but the question sentence used for asking the time is ´Saat kaç?´. Then, you may say, how do you ask how many hours? To say ´How many hours?´ you would say ´Kaç saat?´. ´Saat kaç?´ is a special phrase for asking the time which otherwise would not be very meaningful. More or less the same is true for the answer. The best thing is to try to learn the main phrase instead of trying to learn the logic, because the logic used here does not apply to other cases in the language. You basically say "Saat xxx.".
From the exact hour to half past, you say the time as minutes past hour. From half past to the next hour, convention is to sat the time as minutes to hour.
The word for past is ´geçiyor´. The word for to is ´var´. The word for half is ´buçuk´. The word for quarter is ´çeyrek´.
The general phrase for "It is minutes past hours" is: Saat hours-i minutes geçiyor. (Note the vowel harmony rules for the suffix -i) And the general phrase for "It is minutes to hours" is: Saat hours-e minutes var. (Note the vowel harmony rules for the suffix -e)
2. Date Let´s start with the days of the week and months: English
Turkish Days of the week Pazar Pazartesi Salı ÇarĢamba PerĢembe Cuma Cumartesi
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Months Ocak ġubat Mart Nisan Mayıs Haziran Temmuz Ağustos Eylül Ekim Kasım Aralık
January February March April May June July August September October November December
2.1. Day of the week A simple conversation about the day of the week would be like the following: English
Turkish
A. What´s the day?
A. Bugün günlerden ne?
B1. Today is Monday.
B1. Bugün günlerden pazartesi.
B2. Monday.
B2. Pazartesi.
Let´s examine the parts of the question sentence first: bu --> this gün --> day bugün --> today günler --> days günlerden --> from the days (also means among the days) ne --> what Putting all these words together, the direct translation of ´Bugün günlerden ne?´ would be ´Today among the days what?´. Funny? That´s the way you ask the day of the week. After these explanations and translations, the answer sentence should be clear. 2.2. Whole Date To ask the date, you say: -Bugünün tarihi ne? -14 Temmuz 2004. Vocabulary: bugün --> today tarih --> date bugünün tarihi --> today´s date ne --> what Using these, the direct translation of the question sentence would be: ´Today´s date what? ´. Actually, this is how you form a regular question sentence in Turkish. You shouldn´t worry about this yet, we´ll cover it later in another lesson. The answer doesn´t need much explanation. The day number, followed by month´s name, and finally the year. The day number and the year are both read as a regular numbers.For reading years, it is always read as a whole as a single number. Years are never read as two parts like it is done in English in the case of 1996 (nineteen ninety six). The way you read this year in Turkish would be ´bin dokuz yüz doksan altı´ (one thousand nine hundred ninety six).
3. Seasons Let´s see the words used for seasons in Turkish: English
spring summer fall, autumn winter
Turkish bahar or ilkbahar yaz sonbahar or güz kış
Love In this lesson, we will cover the love words and expressions in Turkish. Let's start with a list of love words used to call the person you love in Turkish. A general point here is that you always use these words with possession in Turkish. Instead of saying 'honey', the word you use in Turkish means 'my honey'. I will also give the direct translations of these words to English. Turkish
English
aĢkım
my love
canım
my life
bi tanem
my only one
hayatım
my life
sevgilim
my darling
balım
my honey
tatlım
my sweety (used for girls)
güzelim
my beautiful (used for girls)
çiçeğim
my flower (used for girls)
gülüm
my rose (used for girls)
meleğim
my angel (used for girls)
Now, let's see some common love phrases in Turkish and their meanings: Turkish
English
Seni seviyorum.
I love you.
Seni çok seviyorum.
I love you very much.
Senden çok hoĢlanıyorum.
I like you very much.
Benimle çıkar mısın?
Would you like to go out with me?
Benimle dans eder misin?
Would you like to dance with me?
Benimle evlenir misin?
Will you marry me?
Evlenme teklifi.
Marriage proposal.
NiĢanlı
Fiancee
Rüyalarımın erkeğisin/kadınısın.
You are the man/woman of my dreams.
Seninle olmak istiyorum.
I want to be with you.
Seninle kalmak istiyorum.
I want to stay with you.
Seni çok özlüyorum.
I am missing you very much.
Seni çok özledim.
I missed you very much.
Biraz daha kalabilir misin?
Can you stay a little longer?
Seni bir daha ne zaman göreceğim?
When will I see you next?
Bir yerlerde buluĢalım.
Let's meet somewhere.
Seni görmek istiyorum.
I want to see you.
Çok güzelsin.
You are very beautiful.
Antonyms A set of important antonyms you need to know... English big-small fast-slow quick-slow full-empty easy-difficult heavy-light open-shut right-wrong old-new old-young first-last beautiful-ugly free-busy good-bad better-worse the best-the worst early-late cheap-expensive near-far here-there right-left tall-short dark-light high-low open-closed thin-thick slim-fat
Turkish büyük-küçük hızlı-yavaĢ çabuk-yavaĢ dolu-boĢ kolay-zor ağır-hafif açık-kapalı doğru-yanlıĢ eski-yeni yaĢlı-genç ilk-son güzel-çirkin serbest-meĢgul iyi-kötü daha iyi-daha kötü en iyi-en kötü erken-geç ucuz-pahalı yakın-uzak burada-orada sağ-sol uzun-kısa koyu-açık yüksek-alçak açık-kapalı ince-kalın zayıf-ĢiĢman
Quantity words English a little, some very, much, many enough any, no, none few too much, too many too more less
Turkish biraz çok yeterli hiç az çok fazla fazla daha fazla, daha çok daha az
a few
birkaç (tane)
Colors English Black White Red Blue Orange Green Purple Pink Brown Yellow Grey Color Light Dark
Turkish Siyah Beyaz Kırmızı Mavi Turuncu YeĢil Mor Pembe Kahverengi Sarı Gri Renk Açık Koyu
The question for asking colors is constructed similar to the way it´s done in English: Eng: What color is XXX? Tr: XXX ne renk? (Here, ne is what and renk is color) The answer is also simple: Eng: XXX is red. Tr: XXX kırmızı. However, note the difference in word ordering when you want to add a color (or any adjective) to an indefinite noun. Eng: A red XXX. Tr: Kırmızı bir XXX. (Not ´Bir kırmızı XXX´) Now, try to understand the following sentences. English translations are below the Turkish sentences. 1. Bu araba açık mavi. 2. Evim koyu kırmızı. 3. Gözlerin ne renk? 4. Beyaz bir gömlek aldım. 1. This car is light blue. 2. My house is dark red. 3. What color are your eyes? 4. I bought a white shirt.
Family English father mother brother sister elder brother elder sister son daughter aunt (mother side) aunt (father side) grandfather grandmother grandmother (mother side) grandmother (father side) nephew, niece uncle (father side) uncle (mother side) cousin father-in-law mother-in-law sister-in-law sister-in-law's husband son-in-law daughter-in-law sister's husband grandson, granddaughter, grandchild twin twin brother, twin sister wife husband step mother step father
Turkish baba anne (erkek) kardeĢ (kız) kardeĢ abi abla oğul - erkek çocuk kız - kız çocuk teyze hala dede - büyükbaba nine - büyükanne anneanne babaanne yeğen amca dayı kuzen kayınbaba - kayınpeder kaynana - kayınvalide baldız bacanak damat gelin eniĢte torun ikiz ikiz kardeĢ eĢ, hanım, karı koca üvey anne üvey baba
Fruits and vegetables Weight is measured with kilograms in Turkey like in Europe, unlike pounds used in America. Some sentences useful for buying fruits and vegetables would be: Sentences for request: A. Bir kilo domates alabilir miyim? (Can I get one kilogram tomatoes?) A. Ġki kilo elma verir misiniz? (Can you give me two kilograms of apple?)
A. Yarım kilo çilek alacaktım. (Something like "I would like to buy half a kilogram of English banana apple orange grape cherry tangerine sour cherry pear avocado pineapple strawberry currant grapefruit fig watermelon melon apricot kiwi mulberry raspberry blackberry plum lettuce eggplant zucchini cucumber parsley potato onion tomato pepper cabbage cauliflower lemon
Turkish Fruits --- Meyveler muz elma portakal üzüm kiraz mandalina viĢne armut avokado ananas çilek kuĢüzümü greyfurt incir karpuz kavun kayısı kivi dut ahududu böğürtlen erik Vegetables --- Sebzeler marul patlıcan kabak salatalık - hıyar maydanoz patates soğan domates biber lahana karnıbahar limon
strawberries.")
Possible response of the seller: B. Tabi, buyrun.(Sure, here you are) B. Hemen. (Immediately) B. Buyrun, afiyet olsun. (Here you are, good appetite) Reply to the seller before leaving: A. TeĢekkürler. (Thank you) A. Hayırlı iĢler. (Something like "Have a fruitful work day") A. Ġyi günler. (Have a nice day)
Another point worth noting if you are in Turkey is that bargaining is very common :) You can buy many things under the display price with some bargaining.
Body parts English
Turkish
English
Vücudumuz --- Our Body
Turkish Vücudumuz --- Our Body
head
kafa - baĢ
lip
dudak
body
vücut - gövde
moustache
bıyık
arm
kol
beard
sakal
leg
bacak
shoulder
omuz
hand
el
waist
bel
foot
ayak
toe
ayak baĢparmağı
finger
parmak
abdomen
karın
index finger
iĢaret parmağı
lip
dudak
thumb
baĢ parmak
eye
göz
heart
heart
ear
kulak
lung
lung
hair
saç
liver
liver
nail
tırnak
kidney
kidney
nose
burun
stomach
stomach
mouth
ağız
vein
vein
tooth
diĢ
blood
blood
tongue
dil
brain
brain
cheek
yanak
chin
çene
throat
boğaz
neck
boyun
eyelash
kirpik
eyelid
göz kapağı
eyebrow
kaĢ
forehead
alın
temple
Ģakak
wrist
bilek - kol bileği
ankle
ayak bileği
heel
topuk
Organs --- Organlar
elbow
dirsek
knee
diz
Animals English
Turkish
English
Animals --- Hayvanlar
Turkish
Animals - Hayvanlar
animal
hayvan
beaver
kunduz
lion
aslan
gull
martı
tiger
kaplan
hawk
Ģahin
sheep
koyun
hedgehog
kirpi
cow
inek
squirrel
sincap
bull
boğa
stork
leylek
ox
öküz
vulture
akbaba
hen
tavuk
worm
kurt - solucan
rooster
horoz
wasp
eĢek arısı
pig
domuz
millipede
kırkayak
horse
at
hyena
sırtlan
donkey
eĢek
grasshopper
çekirge
turkey
hindi
zebra
zebra
dog
köpek
fox
tilki
cat
kedi
snake
yılan
mouse
fare
elephant
fil
fish
balık
bear
ayı
whale
balina
giraffe
zürafa
dolphin
yunus
penguin
penguen
shark
köpek balığı
spider
örümcek
octopus
ahtapot
crocodile
timsah
insect, bug
böcek
lizard
kertenkele
butterfly
kelebek
turtle
kaplumbağa
bee
arı
rabbĢt
tavĢan
ant
karınca
bird
kuĢ
wolf
kurt
fish
balık
deer
geyik
frog
kurbağa
bat
yarasa
monkey
maymun
Character English
Turkish Character --- Karakter
English
Turkish
Character --- Karakter
behavior
davranıĢ
clumsy
sakar
honest
dürüst
tidy
düzenli
patient
sabırlı
untidy
düzensiz
impatient
sabırsız
friendly
cana yakın
kind
kibar
glad
memnun
proud
gururlu
hardworking
çalıĢkan
polite
kibar
lazy
tembel
impolite
kaba
joyful
neĢeli
decent
terbiyeli - nazik
happy
mutlu
skilful
yetenekli
unhappy
mutsuz
witty, clever
zeki - akıllı
sad
üzgün
quite
suskun - sessiz
surprising
ĢaĢırtıcı
curious
meraklı
serious
ciddi
funny
komik
charming
çekici
boring
sıkıcı
angry
sinirli - kızgın
cruel
zalim
stupid
aptal
talkative
konuĢkan
arrogant
küstah
good
iyi
jealous
kıskanç
bad
kötü
understanding
anlayıĢlı
naive
saf
excuse
özür
optimistic
iyimser
obedient
itaatkar
pessimistic
kötümser
active
aktif
shy
utangaç
nice
hoĢ
strange
garip
amusing
eğlenceli
sensitive
duygusal
joyful
neĢeli
crazy
çılgın
arrogant
kibirli
tolerant
toleranslı
modest
alçak gönüllü
English
Turkish
English
Turkish Furniture --- Eşyalar
House --- Ev door
kapı
table
masa
room
oda
bookcase
kitaplık
front door
ön kapı
chair
sandalye
back door
arka kapı
wardrobe
gardrop
window
pencere
shelf
raf
kitchen
mutfak
armchair
koltuk
bedroom
yatak odası
sofa
koltuk - kanepe
dining room
yemek odası
shower
duĢ
living room
oturma odası
trash bin
çöp kutusu
chıldren's room
çocuk odası
ashtray
kül tablası
bathroom
banyo
bathtub
küvet
toilet
tuvalet
door mat
paspas
balcony
balkon
tap
musluk
corridor
koridor
heating
kalorifer
garden
bahçe
candle
mum
basement
bodrum
key
anahtar
ground floor
zemin kat
lamp
lamba
garage
garaj
frame
çerçeve
terrace
teras
socket
priz
yard
avlu
plug
fiĢ
upper floor/story
üst kat
mirror
ayna
loft
tavan arası
door bell
kapı zili
cellar
kiler
radio
radyo
stairs
merdiven
television
televizyon
step
basamak
computer
bilgisayar
lift, elevator
asansör
pan
tava
wall
duvar
glass
bardak
roof
çatı
bottle
ĢiĢe
fireplace
Ģömine
plate
tabak
spoon
kaĢık
fork
çatal
House and Furniture
Illness English
Turkish
Sicknesses sick
hasta, rahatsız
headache
baĢ ağrısı
to catch a cold
soğuk almak
flu
grip
measles
nezle
tootache
diĢ ağrısı
stomach ache
karın ağrısı
contagious
bulaĢıcı
ulcer
ülser
cancer
kanser
to faint
bayılmak
hiccups
hıçkırık
migraine
migren
heart attack
kalp krizi
itch
kaĢıtı
to itch
kaĢınmak
angina
anjin
bronchitis
bronĢit
Now, some sentences for telling you or somebody is sick. - I am sick. (Hastayım.) - I am very sick. (Çok hastayım.) - I have a toothache. (Dişim ağrıyor.) - I have a cold. (Nezleyim. or Nezle oldum.) - I got sick. (Hasta oldum. or Hastalandım.) - I don´t feel well. (İyi hissetmiyorum. ) - My foot is itching. (Ayağım kaşınıyor.) If somebody tells you that he is sick or somebody close to him is sick, you say:
- GeçmiĢ olsun. (This is like wishing for recovery.)
Major Vowel Harmony Vowel harmony is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of Turkish grammar. Turkish words generally obey two vowel harmony rules, called the major vowel harmony and theminor vowel harmony. More important than the words obeying these rules, there are ways these rules change the vowels in the suffixes added to words. A good understanding of these rules is necessary to be able to use suffixes, hence to be able to make correct and meaningful sentences.
1. Major Vowel Harmony The 8 vowels in the Turkish alphabet are separated into two groups called hard vowels and soft vowels. There are 4 hard vowels and 4 soft vowels. Hard vowels:
a, ı, o, u
Soft vowels:
e, i, ö, ü
Words of Turkish origin generally (not always) have all hard or all soft vowels. This is just a generalization that you won´t use for constructing Turkish words and sentences. Words that have hard and soft vowels together are said to violate the major vowel harmony. A word that violates the major vowel harmony probably has been adopted from another language or has been changed in the lifetime of the Turkish language. Each of the hard vowels are the hard counterparts of one soft vowel (and vice versa). Following this rule, vowels can be paired with their counterparts as follows: Hard
Soft
a
e
ı
i
o
ö
u
ü
A Turkish word is either a hard word or a soft word depending on its last vowel. ev[home] is a soft word since its last and only vowel, e, is a soft vowel. okul[school] is a hard word since its last vowel, u, is a hard vowel. kahve[coffee] is a soft word since its last vowel, e, is a soft vowel.
Now, try to guess if the following words are hard or soft. The correct answers are below the table. Word
Hard or Soft
meslek[job]
?
araba[car]
?
güzel[beautiful]
?
yemek[food]
?
gülümse[smile]
?
çabuk[quick]
?
gül[rose]
?
göl[lake]
?
gidelim[let´s go]
?
telefon[telephone]
?
(Correct answers: soft, hard, soft, soft, soft, hard, soft, soft, soft, hard)
Major vowel harmony states that: Any suffix appended to a hard word must have hard vowels Any suffix appended to a soft word must have soft vowels As an example to this rule let´s consider the suffix -de. When added to a noun, this suffix gives the meaning of "at/in the location expressed by that noun". When added to a soft word like ev[home], this suffix is -de. However, when added to a hard word like okul[school], the soft vowels in this suffix are replaced by their hard counterparts and the suffix becomes -da. Hence: at home --> evde at school --> okulda in the car --> arabada at the lake --> gölde
Minor Vowel Harmony Vowel harmony is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of Turkish grammar. Turkish words generally obey two vowel harmony rules, called the major vowel harmony and theminor vowel harmony. More important than the words obeying these rules, there are ways these rules change the vowels in the suffixes added to words. A good understanding of these rules is necessary to be able to use suffixes, hence to be able to make correct and meaningful sentences.
2. Minor Vowel Harmony We saw that the 8 vowels in the Turkish alphabet are divided into two groups as hard and soft vowels. Besides this grouping, the 8 vowels are divided into two groups as round vowels and flat vowels. There are 4 flat and 4 round vowels. A vowel´s being round or flat is actually determined from the shape of the mouth when pronouncing that vowel, but it can also be seen in the shape of the capital characters. Flat vowels:
A, E, I, Ġ
Round vowels:
O, Ö, U, Ü
A Turkish word is either a round word or a flat word depending on its last vowel. ev[home] is a flat word since its last and only vowel, e, is a flat vowel. okul[school] is a round word since its last vowel, u, is a round vowel. kahve[coffee] is a flat word since its last vowel, e, is a flat vowel.
Now, try to guess if the following words are round or flat. Move the mouse over the right table cell of the word to see the answer. Word
Round or Flat
meslek[job]
?
araba[car]
?
güzel[beautiful]
?
yemek[food]
?
gülümse[smile]
?
çabuk[quick]
?
gül[rose]
?
göl[lake]
?
gidelim[let´s go]
?
telefon[telephone]
?
(Correct answers: flat, flat, flat, flat, flat, round, round, round, flat, round) Minor vowel harmony states that: If a suffix starting with -i is appended to a round word, the -i in the suffix becomes -u or -ü. This depends on whether the word is hard or soft. The major vowel harmony and the minor vowel harmony apply to words simultaneously. This means: o o o o o o
If a suffix starting with -i is added to a hard and round word, the -i in the suffix becomes -u. okul --> school [a hard vowel] suffix we will add is -im (gives the meaning my) my school --> okulum [the suffix -im changes according to vowel harmonies and becomes -um] If a suffix starting with -i is added to a soft and round word, the -i in the suffix becomes -ü. gül --> rose suffix we will add is -im (gives the meaning my) my rose --> gülüm [the suffix -im changes according to vowel harmonies and becomes-üm] my telephone --> telefonum my beautiful --> güzelim my lake --> gölüm
Notes on Vowel Harmony Vowel harmony is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of Turkish grammar. Turkish words generally obey two vowel harmony rules, called the major vowel harmony and theminor vowel harmony. These rules change the vowels in the suffixes added to words. A good understanding of these rules is necessary to be able to use suffixes, hence to be able to make correct and meaningful sentences.
3. Practical notes about vowel harmony rules As far as vowel harmony is concerned, we can separate all the suffixes in Turkish into two main groups. Thinking in terms of these two cases simplifies these seemingly complicated rules. These are: Case 1: The suffixes with first vowel -i (the suffixes -i, -di, -iyor, -im, -in ...) Case 2: suffixes with first vowel -e (the suffixes -e, -de, -den, -erek, ...)
All suffixes with first vowel -i, -ı, -u, -ü fall into the first group, and they are different forms of this case modified according to vowel harmony rules. bal-ım --> balım (my honey) ev-im --> evim (my home) sınıf-im --> sınıfım (my class) dil-im --> dilim (my tongue) sol-im --> solum (my left) göz-im --> gözüm (my eye) okul-im --> okulum (my school) üzüm-im --> üzümüm (my grape) All suffixes with first vowel -e, -a fall into the second group, and they are different forms of this case modified according to vowel harmony rules. araba-den --> arabadan (from the car) ev-den --> evden (from home) kapı-den --> kapıdan (from the door) deniz-den --> denizden (from the sea) sol-den --> soldan (from the left) göz-den --> gözden (from the eye) okul-den --> okuldan (from school) kapı-den --> kapıdan (from the door) Note that no suffix has -o or -ö as the first vowel. Actually, no suffix has the letter -ö in it and there is only one suffix that has the vowel -o (this is the suffix for present continuous tense, iyor and this -o does not change according to any vowel harmony rules). bak-iyor --> bakıyor (he/she/it is looking) gel-iyor --> geliyor (he/she/it is coming) sık-iyor --> sıkıyor (he/she/it is squeezing) bil-iyor --> biliyor (he/she/it knows) koĢ-iyor --> koĢuyor (he/she/it is running) gör-iyor --> görüyor (he/she/it is seeing) bul-uyor --> buluyor (he/she/it is finding) gül-iyor --> gülüyor (he/she/it is laughing) The suffixes in case 1 are affected from both the major vowel harmony and the minor vowel harmony. For example, the suffix -di can become -di, -dı, -du or -dü depending on the word at which it is appended. ara-di --> aradı gel-di --> geldi kır-di --> kırdı bil-di --> bildi sol-di --> soldu gör-di --> gördü bul-du --> buldu üĢü-di --> üĢüdü
The suffixes in case 2 are affected by only the major vowel harmony rule. For example, the suffix -erek can become -erek or -arak depending on the word at which it is appended. bak-erek --> bakarak (with looking) sev-erek --> severek (with loving) sık-erek --> sıkarak (with squeezing) bil-erek --> bilerek (with knowing, knowingly) koĢ-erek --> koĢarak (with running) gör-erek -- görerek (with seeing) vur-erek -- vurarak (with hitting) bük-erek -- bükerek (with bending)
Vowel Rules Besides the vowel harmony rules, there are other basic rules that affect the way suffixes are used. A vowel following another is never allowed in Turkish, and there are rules to avoid these situations when they occur as a result of other rules. There are also rules about consonant harmony, that make some consonants change in certain cases.
1. When two vowels come together In Turkish, two vowels can never come together (note that there are a few exceptions to this rule). So, what do we do when we need to add a suffix that starts with a vowel at the end of a word that ends with a vowel? There are two cases here:
1.1. Dropping a vowel To say my house, you append the suffix meaning my (-im) to the word meaning house (ev). Simple enough, ´my house´ --> evim. You want to say ´my car´. Car is araba and the suffix that gives the meaning my is -im. Change the suffix according to vowel harmony rules so that is can be appended to araba (a hard and flat word) and -im becomes -ım. So, to put it together, my car becomes ´araba-ım = arabaım´. However, two vowels can not come together in Turkish. Trouble... To avoid this, we drop one of the vowels in this case. i. If both of the vowels are in the group "-i, -ı, -u, -ü" than these two vowels have to be the same (look at the vowel harmony rules to understand why). Since the two vowels are the same, it does not matter which one we drop in this case. ii. However, if one of the vowels is in the group "-i, -ı, -u, -ü" but the other is not (meaning that it is one of "a, e, o, ö") then generally the vowel in the group "-i, -ı, -u, -ü" is dropped. There are some exceptions to this, however, and these exceptions will be noted when necessary. Applying these rules, ´my car´ becomes ´arabam´.
1.2. Adding a buffer consonant in between You are asked where you are going. You want to say "(to) home". Hence, you append the suffix giving the direction meaning (-e) to the word meaning home (ev) and your reply becomes "eve". However, if you are going to the car and you want to tell this to your friend, things are not that simple for you: First, change the suffix -e according to vowel harmony rules according to araba and it becomes -a. Now, add this suffix -a at the end of our word araba, and get arabaa. We have two vowels together. Drop one? Unfortunately, not this time. In this case we need to add a buffer consonant between the two vowels. There is not a simple rule to tell why. Sometimes one of the two vowels is dropped, sometimes one buffer consonant is added in between. However, what you do is consistent for a given suffix. If you are adding the suffix -e to a
word that ends with a vowel (like araba), you always add the fusion consonant y in between. Saying to the car then becomes arabaya. Too much effort spent to say a very simple word? More to come. Let´s practice on a few other words: Coast --> Kıyı | To the coast --> Kıyı-e --> Kıyıya Room --> Oda | To the room --> Oda-e --> Odaya Ship --> Gemi | To the ship --> Gemi-e --> Gemiye This may take some time to get used to, definitely doable. Unfortunately, that´s not everything. The buffer consonant is not y every time. y is the most common one, so you can put y whenever you don´t remember which one to put, chances are high you´ll be right. The other consonants that are sometimes used as fusion consonants are s and n. Let´s see different cases where these fusion consonants are used: a. The suffix -i If the suffix -i is used as the -i form of a noun, making it a direct object (like the in English), then the fusion consonant y is used. araba-i sat -> araba-y-ı sat -> arabayı sat (sell the car) yazı-i oku -> yazı-y-ı oku -> yazıyı oku (read the text) If the suffix -i is used as the third person posessive (his-her-its), then the fusion consonant s is used. araba-i -> araba-s-ı -> arabası (his-her-its car) para-i -> para-s-ı -> parası (his-her-its money) kedi-i -> kedi-s-i -> kedisi (his-her-its cat) * Note that the word for water (su) is an exception for this case, the fusion consonant y is used with the word su (water). su-i -> su-y-u -> suyu (his-her-its water) b. The suffix -e (direction suffix, adds the meaning of preposition to) When the direction suffix -e is added to a word that ends with a vowel, the fusion consonant y is added in between. araba-e -> araba-y-a -> arabaya (to the car) konu-e -> konu-y-a -> konuya (to the topic) pencere-e -> pencere-y-e -> pencereye (to the window) b. The suffix -in (gives the genitive meaning, like Andy´s) When the suffix -in is added to a word that ends with a vowel, the fusion consonant n is added in between. araba-in -> araba-n-ın -> arabanın (of the car, the car´s) konu-in -> konu-n-un -> konunun (of the topic) pencere-in -> pencere-n-in -> pencerenin (of the window) * Note that the suffix -in is also used with the second person posessive meaning.
If the suffix -in used as second person possessive is added to a word that ends with a vowel, than the letter i of the suffix is dropped. The same is true for the first person possessive suffix, -im, first person plural possessive suffix, -imiz and second person plural possessive suffix, -iniz. araba-im -> araba-m -> arabam (my car) kedi-in -> kedi-n -> kedin (your cat) kapı-imiz -> kapı-mız -> kapımız (our door) para-iniz -> para-nız -> paranız (your (plural) money) pencere-im -> pencere-m -> pencerem (my window) There are also other uses of fusion consonants besides separating two vowels. d. The suffix -le (with, by) When the suffix -le is added to a word that ends with a vowel, the fusion consonant y is added in between. araba-le git -> araba-y-la git -> arabayla git (go by car) kedi-le oyna -> kedi-y-le oyna -> kediyle oyna (play with the cat) gemi-le gel -> gemi-y-le gel -> gemiyle gel (come by ship) e. The suffix -de (location, like propositions at, in, on) and the suffix -den (proposition from) When the suffix -de or -den is added to a word as the first suffix, no fusion consonant is used. But when one of -de or -den/ is added to a word that already has a suffix or a series of suffixes that end with a vowel, the fusion consonant n is added in between. araba-de -> araba-da -> arabada (in the car) kedi-den -> kediden (from the cat) araba-si-de -> araba-sı-n-da -> arabasında (in his-her-its car) kedi-in-ki-den -> kedi-n-in-ki-n-den -> kedininkinden (from the cat´s) gemi-leri-den -> gemi-leri-n-den -> gemilerinden (from their ship)
Consonant Harmony Besides the vowel harmony rules, there are other basic rules that affect the way suffixes are used. A vowel following another is never allowed in Turkish, and there are rules to avoid these situations when they occur as a result of other rules. There are also rules about consonant harmony, that make some consonants change in certain cases.
2. Consonant Harmony Vowel harmony rules cause the vowels of suffixes to be modified when they are added to some words. There are similar rules about consonants. However, you may feel that all these rules are too many just for a simple start. Then, I advice you to omit the consonant harmony rules when you want to say or write something, just for the beginning. You will still be understood. Consonant harmony is mainly for making speech more fluent, it does not have a major effect on understandability. You will eventually learn these if you decide to continue learning Turkish, as you read sentences or listen to Turkish speakers.
Tip Consonant harmony is mainly for making speech more fluent, it does not have a major effect on understandability. There are two different cases of consonant harmony - either the last consonant of the main word changes, or the first consonant of the suffix changes. The trouble making consonants in this case arep, ç, t and k. Let´s call the words that end with one of p, ç, t or k the trouble words. CASE A - Word mutation. Two conditions must be satisfied for word mutation to occur: 1. You have a word ending with one of ´p, ç, t, k´. 2. You want to add this word a suffix that starts with a vowel. If the word has only one syllable, like saç, you are safe. The word usually does not change. saç-ı --> saçı (his/her/its hair) sap-a --> sapa (to the handle) However, if the word has more than one syllable, than the consonant at the end usually changes. p becomes b ç becomes c t becomes d k becomes ğ And here are some examples to this: ağaç-a --> ağaca (to the tree) Ģarap-ın --> Ģarabın (of the wine) kağıt-a --> kağıda (to the paper) geyik-e --> geyiğe (to the deer) Tip There are exceptions to both the single syllable and multiple syllable cases mentioned above. For example: kap-a --> kaba (to the container) saat-in --> saatin (the clock´s) You should still learn and apply the rules though, there are not too many of these exceptions.
CASE B - Suffix mutation. Two conditions must be satisfied for suffix mutation to occur: 1. You have a word ending with one of p, ç, t, k, f, h, s, ş. 2. You want to add this word a suffix that starts with c or d. In this case, the first letter of the consonant changes. c becomes ç d becomes t Examples: Leh --> Polish (people) Leh-ce --> Lehçe --> Polish (language) Türk --> Turkish (people) Türk-ce --> Türkçe --> Turkish (lanuage) yap --> do yap-di --> yaptı --> he did
Infinitives and Plurals 1. Infinitives Verbs in Turkish, when used alone, have the imperative meaning as in English. do --> yap come --> gel go --> git drink --> iç sleep --> uy In order to make a verb infinitive, the suffix -mek is used. to do --> yapmak (changes to -mak since yap[do] is a hard word) to come --> gelmek to go --> gitmek to drink --> içmek to sleep --> uyumak The following are examples to the use of infinitives in Turkish: It is good to sleep. --> Uyumak iyi(dir). It is difficult to study. --> ÇalıĢmak zor(dur). I want to go. --> Gitmek istiyorum. I want to walk. --> Yürümek istiyorum.
2. Plurals To make plurals of nouns, the suffix -ler is used. Below are some examples, note how the suffix lerbecomes 'sometimes -ler, sometimes -lar' obeying the rules of vowel harmony. road(s) --> yol --> yollar tree(s) --> ağaç --> ağaçlar rose(s) --> gül --> güller
room(s) --> oda --> odalar house(s) --> ev --> evler job(s) --> meslek --> meslekler
Negatives 1. Negatives of nouns and adjectives To make a noun or adjective negative, add the word değil at the end of the adjective or noun. Positive
Negative
Bu bir araba. [This is a car.]
Bu bir araba değil. [This is not a car]
O bir ev. [That is a house.]
O bir ev değil. [That is not a house]
O çok güzel. [She is very beautiful.]
O çok güzel değil. [She is not very beautiful.]
Bu araba beyaz. [This car is white.]
Bu araba beyaz değil. [This car is not white]
2. Negatives of verbs To make a verb negative, add the suffix -me at the root of the verb. to come --> gel-mek not to come --> gel-me-mek (the negating suffix is always added at the verb root) Note how the suffix is added at the root. This is always the case. A verb may have many suffixes, but the negating suffix is always immediately after the verb root. All the other suffixes follow as if they are being added to the positive of the verb. gel-di --> geldi --> he came gel-me-di --> gelmedi --> he did not come ol-mak ya da ol-ma-mak --> olmak ya da olmamak --> to be or not to be 3. There is, there is not In Turkish, there are special words for there is and there is not. In particular: there is --> var there is not --> yok Let's make sentences with these words: There is a book on the table. --> Masada bir kitap var. There isn't a table in this room. --> Bu odada (bir) masa yok. The words 'var' and 'yok' are more important than this, since they are used when you want to say "I have" or "I don't have" as well. In Turkish, to say "I have something", you say "There is mysomething". Let's give examples: I have a book. --> (Benim) kitabım var. Aylin has a car. --> Aylin'in arabası var. This woman has seven cats. --> Bu kadının yedi kedisi var. (Like saying "There is this woman's seven cats") I don't have a car. --> (Benim) arabam yok. My uncle does not have a daughter. --> Amcamın kızı yok.
Noun states In Turkish, a noun has 5 fundamental states, produced using suffixes, that correspond to meanings of some prepositions in English. It is not necessary to learn these as the states of nouns, but learning these suffixes is important since they are very commonly used. State
Meaning
Nothing state (no suffix)
Just the plain noun.
-i state
Marks the noun as the subject of an action.
-e state
Adds the meaning of direction (very similar to the proposition to)
-de state
Adds the meaning of position (Used for the prepositions in, at, on)
-den state
Adds the meaning of from, used for this preposition
An important thing to note here is the use of the -i form. It is used to denote the subject of an action, and adds the meaning of"being known, specified" just as the meaning given by "the". This will be more clear after looking at the sentences below. (bir --> one, kedi --> cat, gördüm --> I saw) Bir kedi gördüm. --> I saw a cat. (Note that although cat is the object of the action here, the -i form of kedi is not used since it is not known, i.e. it is a cat, not the cat) Kediyi gördüm. --> I saw the cat. (Note that kedi has the suffix -i, but the two -i's are separated by the fusion consonant 'y'.) Now, example sentences for all the cases.
Nothing state: o This is a house. --> Bu bir ev. -i state: o I saw the house. --> Evi gördüm. -e state: o Go home. --> Eve git. (House and home are the same word in Turkish, 'ev'.) -de state: o The pen is on the table. --> Kalem masada. o Joe is at school. --> Joe okulda. o Your mother is in that room. --> Annen o odada. -den state: o I came from home. --> Evden geldim.
To be The verb to be (for the ´is´ in English) is handled in a special way, it is different from the other verbs. This is also the case in Turkish, the use of the verb to be is very unique. Unlike all the other verbs, to be is expressed with suffixes. It can be in one of present tense or past tense. Let´s see it in present tense and past tense for different cases of personal pronouns. English
Turkish
Suffix
i am xxx
ben xxx-im
-im
you are xxx
sen xxx-sin
-sin
he \ she | is xxx it /
o xxx
-(none) or -dir
we are xxx
biz xxx-iz
-iz
you are xxx
siz xxx-siniz
-siniz
they are xxx
onlar xxx or onlar xxx-ler
none or -ler
i was xxx
ben xxx-dim
-dim
you were xxx
sen xxx-din
-din
he \ she | was xxx it /
o xxx-di
-di
we were xxx
biz xxx-dik
-dik
you were xxx
siz xxx-diniz
-diniz
they were xxx
onlar xxx(-y)-diler
(-y)-diler
Present tense to be
Past tense to be
NOTE 1 For the third person of the present tense to be, there are two cases. One with no suffix and one with -dir. If you are making a personal statement or you are talking in a casual way, you use the no suffix case. However, if you want to make a definitive or informative statement like one in an encyclopedia, you use the suffix -dir. Both have the same meaning, and sometimes can be used interchangeably. Let´s see examples to this. This house is very big. --> Bu ev çok büyük. That is my house. --> O benim evim. He is a student. --> O bir öğrenci. Spider is an animal. --> Örümcek bir hayvandır. (The -dir case is used since this is an informative statement) Sun is larger than earth. --> GüneĢ dünyadan daha büyüktür. (Again, this is an informative statem.)
NOTE 2 When constructing the third person plural past tense form of to be, the suffix -ler can be ommitted in some cases. These are explained below: a. Humans or objects that have no individuality take singular conjugation for third person plural. But if the speaker wants to give objects individuality then he can use plural. This would be a poetic sentence. b. Humans and other things that have individuality (for instance animals that have names) can take either singular or plural conjugation. Usually if the subject is defined (if we known them) then we use plural conjugation. If the subject is undefined then we use singular conjugation. NOTE 3 Since the verb to be is different for each personal pronoun, personal pronouns can be omitted in speech or writing. The meaning of person is given with this verb. To say "I am beautiful." you can use one of: "Ben güzelim." "Güzelim.". Using the personal pronoun adds the meaning of stressing person. We will use the personal pronoun in parenthesis to indicate that it is optional. Now, let´s see where to be is used: 1. To construct a sentence with a noun or adjective instead of a verb, like in English. The verb to be is the implicit verb here. o You are beautiful. --> (Sen) güzelsin. o You were beautiful. --> (Sen) güzeldin. o This is a house. --> Bu bir ev. o That was a house. --> O bir evdi. 2. To construct verbs in different tenses, the suffix for each tense is used with either present tense of to be or past tense of to be. Actually, it is present tense of to be in all cases except the regular past tense.
Adjective and noun clauses In this lesson, we will learn how adjective clauses (for describing a noun using an adjective, like beautiful girl) and noun clauses (for describing ownership relationships between nouns, like car's door) are formed in Turkish. First, let's start with the adjective clauses which is simpler and then we'll look at noun clause construction. Adjective clauses Constructing adjective clauses in Turkish is very simple and straightforward, almost the same as in English. The only thing you need to do is to put the correct adjective before the noun. beautiful girl ==> güzel kız fast car ==> hızlı araba big house ==> büyük ev thick book ==> kalın kitap high building ==> yüksek bina hard lesson ==> zor ders slow train ==> yavaĢ tren If you don't add the adjective before the noun but use it as the main expression in the sentence, the word order changes in English and it changes the same way in Turkish. This girl is beautiful. --> Bu kız güzel This car is fast. --> Bu araba hızlı. Ahmet is tall. --> Ahmet uzun. I am tall. --> Ben uzunum. (Note the use of verb to be with the adjective) You are tall. --> Sen uzunsun. However, note that when you want to say a beautiful girl, the word for a (bir) is placed between the adjective and the noun. a small piece ==> küçük bir parça a greedy man ==> açgözlü bir adam a blue book ==> mavi bir kitap a short tree ==> kısa bir ağaç a long movie ==> uzun bir film Let's now apply what we've learned in the construction of a few sentences. This is a red rose. ==> Bu kırmızı bir gül. Joe is a quiet kid. ==> Joe sessiz bir çocuk. Joe is a very quiet kid. ==> Joe çok sessiz bir çocuk.
Noun clauses Two nouns form a clause in three different ways in Turkish: Case1: The first noun tells what the second noun is made of (i.e. metal box, plastic plate...). In this case, you just write these nouns in the same order as you do in English without adding any suffixes. metal box ==> metal kutu plastic plate ==> plastik tabak Case2: The first noun describes the second noun, wıth any relationship except for the madeof relationship we saw above and the specific ownership relationship. Examples to this case can be car key, book shelf, garden door, window glass... In this case, you write the nouns in the same order as English, but add the suffix -i at the end of the second noun. If the noun to which you append suffix -i already ends with a vowel, you add the fusion consonant s between these vowels to separate the two vowels. The third example below demonstrates this case. car key ==> araba anahtarı book shelf ==> kitap rafı garden door ==> bahçe kapısı (note the fusion consonant s here) window glass ==> pencere camı Case 3: There is a specific ownership relationship between the two nouns (the key of the car, the door of the garden, Kemal's daughter, the door of the car). In this case, you write the describing noun first and the described noun second as it was done in the preceding two cases. However, you add the suffix -in to the first noun and the suffix -i to the second noun. If the noun to which you append the suffix -in already ends with a vowel, you add the fusion consonant n between the two vowels to separate them. For the suffix -i, the fusion consonant is same as told in the previous case. You add the consonant s to separate the word ending with a vowel from the suffix -i. the key of the car ==> arabanın anahtarı (note the use of fusion consonant n here for the first noun, araba) the door of the garden ==> bahçenin kapısı Kemal's daughter ==> Kemalin kızı the door of the car ==> arabanın kapısı (note the use of fusion consonant n for the first noun and the fusion consonant s for the second noun) exception: The word for water, su, is an exception for the fusion consonants in noun clauses. The fusion consonant for water (su) is always 'y'. color of water --> su-in renk-i --> suyun rengi (not sunun rengi) water of Kemal --> Kemal-in su-i --> Kemal'in suyu. (not Kemal'in susu) (Note that ' is used in Turkish to separate the suffixes from private words that need to be always capitalized, like Kemal in this case
