A2 · Nouns · about 7 minutes
Compound nouns with -i
compound nouns
Turkish coffee, bus stop: only the second word gets an ending.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need7
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- portakalorange
- diştooth
- zenginrich
- istasyonstation
- fırçabrush, paintbrush
- banyobathroom
- serthard; strict
Understand
RememberA kind, not an owner: first word without, second with an ending — otobüs durağı.
- Signal words
- -i
- -ı
- -u
- -ü
- -si
- -sı
- -su
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Turkish.
| Turkish coffee | Türk kahvesi |
| bus stop | otobüs durağı |
| dentist | diş doktoru |
| orange juice | portakal suyu |
| school garden | okul bahçesi |
| at the bus stop | otobüs durağında |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The first noun has no ending, the second takes -i or -si.
Bir Türk kahvesi, lütfen.A Turkish coffee, please.
The ending follows four-way vowel harmony and softens p, ç, t and k.
Otobüs durağı nerede?Where is the bus stop?
Without a genitive it is a kind, with a genitive a particular owner.
Burası bir okul bahçesi.This is a school garden.
Before a case an n goes in after the ending.
Otobüs durağında bekliyorum.I am waiting at the bus stop.
In the plural -ler goes before the ending.
Bütün otobüs durakları yeni.All the bus stops are new.
Example sentences
Kahvaltıda portakal suyu içiyorum.I drink orange juice at breakfast.
Yarın diş doktoruna gidiyorum.Tomorrow I am going to the dentist.
Bu çay bardağı çok küçük.This tea glass is very small.
5 more example sentences
Türk mutfağı çok zengin.Turkish cuisine is very rich.
Tren istasyonu buraya yakın mı?Is the railway station near here?
Ders kitabı çantamda.The textbook is in my bag.
Yatak odası çok aydınlık.The bedroom is very bright.
Futbol maçı akşam sekizde.The football match is at eight in the evening.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English speakers leave the ending out, because an English compound has none: otobüs durak. Or they put a genitive on the first word, thinking of “the stop of the bus”. Correct is: first word without an ending, second with -i — and the k softens.
Quick check
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Practise
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English puts nouns side by side to make a compound: bus stop, tea glass, dentist. Turkish does the same, but adds the third-person possessive ending to the second word: otobüs durağı “bus stop”, çay bardağı “tea glass”, diş doktoru “dentist”, literally “tooth doctor”. The first word has no ending.
That is the difference from the possessive construction: okulun bahçesi is “the garden of the school” — one particular school. okul bahçesi is “a school garden”, a kind of garden. Without the genitive it is about the kind; with the genitive it is about the owner.
If a case is added, the n appears again after the ending: otobüs durağında“at the bus stop”diş doktoruna“to the dentist” In the plural -ler goes before the ending: otobüs durakları.
A closer look
When an owner is added
If the compound belongs to someone, the personal possessive ending replaces the compound ending: doğum günü “birthday”, but doğum günüm “my birthday” and doğum günün “your birthday”.
Two possessive endings never follow each other. In the third person both look the same: Ali'nin doğum günü “Ali’s birthday”.
Doğum günüm yarın.My birthday is tomorrow.
Exceptions and special cases1
Exception
When the first word says what something is made of
then it works like an adjective, and the second word has no ending: altın yüzük “a gold ring”, tahta masa “a wooden table”.
Mutfakta bir tahta masa var.There is a wooden table in the kitchen.
Why? Here the first word describes the material like an adjective; it does not name a kind. That is why the ending is missing.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Written as two words
Like English “bus stop”, most Turkish compounds are two words: diş fırçası“toothbrush”yatak odası“bedroom” A few common ones have grown together and are written as one, such as buzdolabı “fridge”. You learn those as words of their own.
Diş fırçası banyoda.The toothbrush is in the bathroom.
Worth knowing
A kind or a description
“Turkish coffee” is a kind of coffee and therefore a compound: Türk kahvesi. “A Turkish colleague”, on the other hand, is a description: Türk bir meslektaş, with no ending.
Türk kahvesi çok sert.Turkish coffee is very strong.
The verbs on this page, in every form: gitmek · içmek · beklemek