Word formation in Turkish: the pieces behind the words
A long Turkish word is rarely a new word. An optician is the eye, the thing for it and the person who deals in it: göz, gözlük, gözlükçü. Turkish builds its words almost entirely with suffixes, and every one of them follows vowel harmony. If you know the 81 pieces on this page, you can read many new words before anyone has explained them.
Read a word from front to back: at the front is the word you know, behind it what has been made of it. The form of the suffix follows the last vowel before it — evli, but arabalı, sütlü, tuzlu — and after a voiceless consonant c becomes ç and d becomes t: kitapçı, meslektaş. A proper name takes no apostrophe before a derivation: İzmirli, Türkçe.
People: who does, sells or is something
The suffixes that turn a thing into a person: the one who sells it, does it, comes from it or shares it with you. The most frequent is -ci, much like English -er.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ci/-cı/-cu/-cü/-çi/-çı/-çu/-çü | someone who sells, makes or works with something; English -er, -monger | balıkçı, gazeteci, kitapçı, sütçü, yolcu |
| The form follows the last vowel (gazeteci, yolcu), and after f s t k ç ş h p the c becomes ç: kitapçı, sütçü. The word often names the shop as well: kitapçı is both the bookseller and the bookshop. | ||
| -ci/-cı/-cu/-cü/-çi/-çı/-çu/-çü | someone who does something often or by habit | şakacı, yalancı, inatçı, kavgacı |
| The same piece as for jobs, only not as a job: şakais a jokeşakacıa joker; inatis stubbornnessinatçıa stubborn person | ||
| -ici/-ıcı/-ucu/-ücü | someone who carries out the action of a verb; English -er | satıcı, alıcı, okuyucu, dinleyici, izleyici |
| From the verb stem: satsellsatıcıseller If the stem ends in a vowel, a y comes in between: oku, okuyucu. | ||
| -men/-man | a job or role, from a verb | öğretmen, danışman, yönetmen, göçmen |
| Only a few words, but very common ones: öğretmekto teachöğretmenteacher; yönetmekto directyönetmenfilm director | ||
| -daş/-taş | someone who has or shares the same thing; English fellow-, co- | vatandaş, meslektaş, yoldaş, sırdaş, adaş |
| Always with a, even after a front vowel: meslekprofessionmeslektaşcolleague; adnameadaşnamesake Arkadaş, friend, belongs here too, but its stem is no longer a living word. | ||
| -li/-lı/-lu/-lü | where someone comes from; English -er, -ite | köylü, şehirli, İzmirli, Ankaralı, İstanbullu |
| After a place name with no apostrophe: İzmirli, not İzmir'li. The apostrophe only comes before a case ending (İzmir'de), never before a derivation. English needs “from”; Turkish makes the town into an adjective. | ||
| -gil | the family of, someone and their household | teyzemgil, Ahmetgil, amcamgil, komşumgil |
| Colloquial and without harmony: it is always -gil. It means the whole household, much like English “at my aunt’s”. | ||
| -ist | specialist, musician, traveller (borrowed ending); English -ist | gitarist, piyanist, turist |
| From French, without harmony. Built the Turkish way, a guitarist is also gitarcı. | ||
| -cağız/-ceğiz | the poor little one: said with sympathy | adamcağız, çocukcağız, kızcağız, kadıncağız |
| Only for people and animals, and always with pity: kızcağız is “the poor girl”. | ||
| -sever | someone who loves something; English -lover | hayvansever, kitapsever, sanatsever, doğasever |
| Really the verb sevmek in the aorist: hayvansever is “one who loves animals”. Without harmony, written as one word. | ||
Qualities: with, without, like
Adjectives from nouns and verbs. -li and -siz are the pair “with” and “without”, needed from day one: sütlü, şekersiz — English -ful and -less, but used far more widely.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -li/-lı/-lu/-lü | with, having; English -ful, -y, -ed | şekerli, sütlü, tuzlu, bulutlu, akıllı, evli |
| One of the most frequent pieces of all: bulutcloudbulutlucloudy; akılmindakıllıclever Evli, married, is literally “with a house”. | ||
| -siz/-sız/-suz/-süz | without; English -less | şekersiz, parasız, susuz, tuzsuz, işsiz, evsiz |
| The counterpart of -li: sütlüwith milksütsüzwithout Where English says un-, Turkish often uses -siz: anlamsız, meaningless. | ||
| -sel/-sal | learned adjectives; English -al, -ic | kişisel, tarihsel, bilimsel, toplumsal, ulusal |
| A young piece from the language reform, frequent in newspapers and science: tarihhistorytarihselhistorical | ||
| -msi/-msı/-msu/-msü/-imsi/-ımsı/-umsu/-ümsü | slightly, -ish (with colours and tastes) | mavimsi, yeşilimsi, ekşimsi, sarımsı, tatlımsı |
| After a vowel without a linking vowel (mavimsi), after a consonant with one (yeşilimsi) — English -ish exactly. | ||
| -si/-sı/-su/-sü | like a, -like; English -ish, -like | çocuksu, kadınsı, erkeksi, insansı |
| Do not confuse it with the possessive ending, which looks the same: çocuksuis “childlike”çocuğu“his child” | ||
| -ik/-ık/-uk/-ük | the result of an action: open, broken, out of order | açık, kırık, bozuk, yanık, çürük |
| From the verb stem: kırbreakkırıkbroken; bozspoilbozukout of order Before an ending that starts with a vowel, k becomes ğ: kırığı. | ||
| -gın/-gin/-gun/-gün/-kın/-kin/-kun/-kün | the state after an action; English -ed | yorgun, şaşkın, kırgın, olgun, durgun |
| yormakto tireyorguntired; şaşmakto be amazedşaşkınbewildered; olmak to become, ripen, olgun ripe, mature. | ||
| -kan/-ken/-gan | tends to do something often | çalışkan, unutkan, konuşkan, yapışkan, sıkılgan |
| çalışmakto workçalışkanhard-working; unutmakto forgetunutkanforgetful | ||
| -cil/-cıl/-cul/-çil/-çıl/-çul | tending to, living with, -loving | evcil, insancıl, barışçıl, otçul, etçil |
| ev house, evcil tame, domestic; otgrassotçulherbivorous | ||
| -ak/-ek | a quality from a verb: fearful, timid | korkak, ürkek, titrek |
| korkmakto be afraidkorkakcowardly | ||
| -kâr/-gâr | someone who does or has something (from Persian) | fedakâr, sahtekâr, hilekâr, sanatkâr |
| With a circumflex on the a: it shows that the k before it is pronounced soft, towards the front of the mouth. The stems are mostly Arabic loanwords. | ||
| -ane | in the manner of, -ly (from Persian) | dostane, şahane, şairane |
| Without harmony. şahane, “kingly”, simply means “great, superb” in everyday speech. | ||
| -cik/-cık/-cuk/-cük/-çik/-çık/-çuk/-çük | small, dear (diminutive) | küçücük, azıcık, minicik, kedicik, ufacık |
| With some words the piece merges with the stem: küçük becomes küçücük, teeny; az becomes azıcık, a tiny bit. | ||
| -lik/-lık/-luk/-lük | for so many, for so long, worth so much | kişilik, haftalık, liralık, saatlik, yıllık |
| After a number: iki kişilikfor two peoplebir haftalıkfor a weekbeş liralıkworth five lira The noun stays singular, as after every Turkish number — English “a two-person room” works the same way. | ||
| -ki/-kü | of a particular time — yesterday’s, today’s, tomorrow’s | dünkü, bugünkü, yarınki, sabahki, akşamki |
| Almost without harmony: it is -ki, and -kü only after dün and bugün. Written as one word — written separately, ki is the word “that”. | ||
Abstract nouns, jobs and trades
-lik turns a word into a state, an office or a profession: güzellik, öğretmenlik. Where English shares the work out between -ness, -ity, -hood and -ship, Turkish almost always uses this one piece.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -lik/-lık/-luk/-lük | turns a word into a state; English -ness, -ity, -ship, -hood | güzellik, iyilik, mutluluk, arkadaşlık, dostluk, sağlık |
| mutluhappymutlulukhappiness; sağ alive, healthy, sağlık health. Before a vowel k becomes ğ: sağlığınız. | ||
| -lik/-lık/-luk/-lük | the profession, the office | öğretmenlik, doktorluk, aşçılık, avukatlık, garsonluk |
| With yapmak you say what someone does for a living: aşçılık yapıyor, he works as a cook. | ||
| -cilik/-cılık/-culuk/-cülük/-çilik/-çılık/-çuluk/-çülük | a trade or an industry (two stacked pieces) | balıkçılık, gazetecilik, çiftçilik, otelcilik |
| First -ci, then -lik: balıkfishbalıkçıfishermanbalıkçılıkfishing as a trade | ||
| -sizlik/-sızlık/-suzluk/-süzlük | the lack of something; English -lessness | işsizlik, uykusuzluk, parasızlık, susuzluk |
| -siz and then -lik: işworkişsizunemployedişsizlikunemployment | ||
| -izm | -ism (borrowed ending) | turizm, realizm, romantizm |
| From French and without harmony; the person ends in -ist: turist. Note the spelling: Turkish writes the sounds, so English -ism becomes -izm. | ||
Things, tools, places and shapes
What you need something for and where you find it: the salt cellar, the glasses, the hospital, the land of the Greeks, the triangle.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -lik/-lık/-luk/-lük | a tool or container for something | tuzluk, gözlük, kulaklık, önlük, sözlük, kitaplık |
| tuzsalttuzluksalt cellar; gözeyegözlükglasses; sözwordsözlükdictionary Glasses are one thing in Turkish, not a plural. | ||
| -lik/-lık/-luk/-lük | a place where there is a lot of something | çamlık, kayalık, ağaçlık, otluk |
| çampineçamlıkpine wood; kayarockkayalıkrocky place | ||
| -hane | house, place for something (from Persian) | hastane, postane, pastane, kütüphane, eczane |
| After a vowel the h often drops: hasta and -hane give hastane, hospital; pasta and -hane give pastane, cake shop. | ||
| -istan/-stan | the land of the …; English -land, -ia | Yunanistan, Macaristan, Bulgaristan, Gürcistan, Hindistan |
| The stem is the name of the people: YunanGreeksMacarHungarians A country name is a proper name, so it takes an apostrophe before a case ending. | ||
| -evi | a home or house for someone or something | huzurevi, doğumevi, öğretmenevi, aşevi |
| ev with the compound possessive ending, written as one word: huzurpeacehuzurevicare home | ||
| -gen | -gon, -angle (a geometric shape) | üçgen, dörtgen, beşgen, altıgen, çokgen |
| Without harmony, attached to the number: üçthreeüçgentriangle A rectangle is dikdörtgen, the “upright four-angle”. | ||
| -geç/-gaç/-kaç | a tool that does something (from a verb) | süzgeç, yüzgeç, kıskaç |
| süzmekto strainsüzgeçstrainer; yüzmekto swimyüzgeçfin | ||
| -ge/-ga | a tool or an area (from a verb) | süpürge, bölge, çizge |
| süpürmekto sweepsüpürgebroom; bölmekto dividebölgeregion | ||
| -ak/-ek | a place or thing where something happens (from a verb) | durak, yatak, konak, batak |
| durmakto stopdurakstop; yatmakto lie downyatakbed | ||
| -gi/-gı/-gu/-gü | a tool (from a verb) | silgi, sürgü, burgu |
| silmek to wipe, silgi rubber, eraser. The same piece also makes feelings and results: sevgi, bilgi. | ||
Nouns from verbs
The action, its result, the thing it produces. The stem is the verb without -mek/-mak: gir becomes giriş, seç becomes seçim.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -iş/-ış/-uş/-üş | the doing, the way something is done; English -ing | giriş, çıkış, bakış, satış, uçuş, gidiş |
| girmek to go in, giriş entrance, entry; uçmakto flyuçuşflight With gitmek the t softens: gidiş, the outward journey. | ||
| -im/-ım/-um/-üm | the result, a part, a unit | seçim, doğum, bölüm, giyim, yapım |
| bölmek to divide, bölüm part, chapter, department; doğmakto be borndoğumbirth | ||
| -gi/-gı/-gu/-gü | a feeling, a piece of knowledge, a levy | sevgi, bilgi, saygı, duygu, vergi |
| sevmekto lovesevgilove; bilmekto knowbilgiinformation; vermekto givevergitax — what you give | ||
| -ı/-i/-u/-ü | the result of the action | yazı, yapı, sayı, dolu, konu |
| yazmak to write, yazı writing, text; saymakto countsayınumber | ||
| -ma/-me | a dish, named after how it is prepared | dolma, sarma, dondurma, kızartma, haşlama |
| The same piece the grammar uses to turn a verb into a noun gives dishes their names: dolmakto fill updolmastuffed vegetables; dondurmakto freezedondurmaice cream — “the frozen thing” | ||
| -ecek/-acak | what you will eat, drink or wear | yiyecek, içecek, giyecek, gelecek |
| The future ending as a noun: içmekto drinkiçeceka drink; gelmekto comegelecekthe future | ||
| -miş/-mış/-muş/-müş | what has happened, as a noun or adjective | geçmiş, dolmuş, okumuş, bilmiş |
| The past ending as a word: geçmekto passgeçmişthe past; dolmakto fill updolmuşthe shared taxi that only leaves when it is full | ||
| -it/-ıt/-ut/-üt | a thing or a work (from a verb) | geçit, yakıt, anıt, yapıt |
| yakmakto burnyakıtfuel; anmakto rememberanıtmonument | ||
| -ıntı/-inti/-untu/-üntü | leftovers, small bits or a movement (from a verb) | kırıntı, akıntı, sıkıntı, esinti, döküntü |
| kırmakto breakkırıntıcrumb; esmekto blowesintibreeze | ||
| -anak/-enek | a possibility, a custom, a record (from a verb) | seçenek, olanak, gelenek, tutanak |
| seçmekto chooseseçenekoption; gelmekto comegelenektradition — what has come down to us | ||
| -ç/-ınç/-inç/-unç/-ünç | a feeling or a state (from a verb) | sevinç, inanç, korkunç, gülünç |
| sevinmekto be gladsevinçjoy; korkmakto be afraidkorkunçterrible | ||
| -tı/-ti/-tu/-tü | a sound (from a verb of noise) | gürültü, fısıltı, şırıltı, patırtı |
| The stem is the sound verb without its ending: fısıldamakto whisperfısıltıa whisper | ||
| -loji | -logy, the science (borrowed ending) | biyoloji, psikoloji, sosyoloji, teknoloji |
| From French. The person ends in -log: psikolog, and before an ending with a vowel g becomes ğ: psikoloğa. | ||
Verbs from nouns and adjectives
Water becomes to water, clean becomes to clean, cheap becomes to get cheaper. The pieces sit between the word and the ending -mek/-mak.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -la-/-le- | makes a verb from a noun or adjective | temizlemek, sulamak, tuzlamak, kilitlemek, ütülemek, başlamak |
| The most productive verb piece: temizcleantemizlemekto clean; suwatersulamakto water; kilitlockkilitlemekto lock English often just uses the noun as a verb; Turkish needs the piece. | ||
| -laş-/-leş- | to become, to turn into something; English -en, get …-er | güzelleşmek, ucuzlaşmak, zorlaşmak, kolaylaşmak |
| ucuzcheapucuzlaşmakto get cheaper; zorhardzorlaşmakto get harder | ||
| -laş-/-leş- | to do something with each other | mektuplaşmak, selamlaşmak, haberleşmek, şakalaşmak |
| mektuplettermektuplaşmakto write to each other; selamgreetingselamlaşmakto greet each other One syllable does the work of English “each other”. | ||
| -lan-/-len- | to get something, to fall into a state | hastalanmak, evlenmek, sinirlenmek, güneşlenmek, yaşlanmak |
| hastaillhastalanmakto fall ill; evhouseevlenmekto get married — literally “to come to a house” | ||
| -al-/-el- | to become (from an adjective) | azalmak, çoğalmak, düzelmek, daralmak, kısalmak |
| azlittleazalmakto decrease; düzstraightdüzelmekto improve After a vowel only -l-: kısa, kısalmak. | ||
| -ar-/-er- | to take on a colour | morarmak, sararmak, yeşermek, bozarmak |
| morpurplemorarmakto go black and blue; sarıyellowsararmakto turn yellow | ||
| -sa-/-se- | to want something; to regard as something | susamak, önemsemek, garipsemek, küçümsemek |
| suwatersusamakto get thirsty; önemimportanceönemsemekto take seriously English says “be thirsty”; Turkish has a verb, “to water-want”. | ||
| -da-/-de- | to make a sound (sound verbs) | fısıldamak, horuldamak, gıcırdamak, şırıldamak |
| The stem is a sound word that does not stand alone. The same stem often gives a noun in -tı: fısıltı, gıcırtı. | ||
Verbs from verbs
Having something done, being done, doing it to yourself, doing it to each other: pieces between stem and ending that make one verb out of another. Where English needs “have”, “get”, “be” or “each other”, Turkish adds a syllable. The grammar covers them in detail; here they appear as building blocks of the vocabulary.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -dir-/-dır-/-dur-/-dür-/-tir-/-tır-/-tur-/-tür-/-t- | to have something done, to make someone do it (causative) | yaptırmak, kestirmek, okutmak, bekletmek, temizletmek |
| After a vowel usually just -t-: beklemekto waitbekletmekto keep waiting English needs “have … done”; Turkish adds a syllable. The grammar page on the causative explains which form goes where. | ||
| -il-/-ıl-/-ul-/-ül-/-in-/-ın-/-n- | to be done (passive) | yapılmak, açılmak, yazılmak, bilinmek, okunmak |
| After l it is -in- (bilinmek), after a vowel -n- (okunmak), otherwise -il-. | ||
| -in-/-ın-/-un-/-ün-/-n- | to do something to yourself (reflexive) | yıkanmak, giyinmek, taranmak, sevinmek, övünmek |
| yıkamakto washyıkanmakto wash yourself; giymekto put ongiyinmekto get dressed The same form can also be passive. | ||
| -iş-/-ış-/-uş-/-üş-/-ş- | to do something together, with each other | görüşmek, buluşmak, tanışmak, anlaşmak, yazışmak |
| bulmakto findbuluşmakto meet up; tanımakto knowtanışmakto get to know each other | ||
Manner, numbers and time
Adverbs and number words: slowly, in Turkish, in my opinion, by the thousand, in the morning, the third, one each.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ce/-ca/-çe/-ça | in this way (makes an adverb); English -ly | yavaşça, sessizce, dikkatlice, açıkça, güzelce |
| sessizquietsessizcequietly Often it is not needed: yavaş konuş, speak slowly — the adjective works as an adverb on its own. | ||
| -ce/-ca/-çe/-ça | the language of a people; English -ish, -ese | Türkçe, Almanca, İngilizce, Fransızca, Arapça |
| Capital letter and no apostrophe, even with an ending: Türkçeyi, Almancada. Türkçe konuşmak means “to speak in Turkish” — the same word is the language and the adverb. | ||
| -ce/-ca | in the opinion of | bence, sence, bizce, sizce |
| Attached to the personal pronoun: bencein my opinionsizcein your opinion | ||
| -lerce/-larca | by the hundred, for hours: a large amount | yüzlerce, binlerce, saatlerce, yıllarca, günlerce |
| Plural and -ce together: saathoursaatlercefor hours on end | ||
| -leyin | at a time of day: in the morning, in the evening, at night | sabahleyin, akşamleyin, geceleyin, öğleyin |
| Without harmony: -leyin with e even after sabah and akşam. Just as common in everyday speech: sabahları, every morning. | ||
| -in/-ın/-ün | in the season | yazın, kışın, güzün |
| yazsummeryazınin summer There is no such form for spring; you say ilkbaharda. | ||
| -inci/-ıncı/-uncu/-üncü/-nci/-ncı/-ncu/-ncü | the which-th (ordinal number); English -th | ikinci, üçüncü, dördüncü, yedinci, sekizinci |
| After a vowel without a linking vowel: iki, ikinci; after a consonant with one: bir, birinci. With dört the t softens: dördüncü. Unlike English first, second, third, there is not a single irregular ordinal. | ||
| -er/-ar/-şer/-şar | each, apiece (distributive number) | birer, ikişer, üçer, beşer, altışar |
| After a vowel with ş: iki, ikişer, two each. English needs “each” or “apiece” after the noun; Turkish puts it on the number. | ||
| -casına/-cesine/-çasına/-çesine | as if, like a, beyond measure | delicesine, çılgıncasına, aptalcasına, kardeşçesine |
| delimaddelicesinelike mad; kardeşsiblingkardeşçesinelike brothers and sisters | ||
| -den/-dan/-ten/-tan | a frozen ablative used as an adverb: again, suddenly, sincerely | yeniden, birden, candan, içten, baştan |
| The ablative ending, but not in its sense of “from”: yeni new, yeniden anew, again; cansoulcandanheartfelt | ||
| -la/-le/-yla/-yle | with, in this way (an adverb from a noun) | hızla, zorla, dikkatle, sevgiyle, memnuniyetle |
| The attached ile: dikkatcaredikkatlecarefully; memnuniyetle with pleasure, gladly — English “with care” in one word. | ||
Compounds and intensifiers
Two words that become one, and the syllable that strengthens an adjective out of itself: başkent, buzdolabı, masmavi.
| Building block | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| baş- | head, chief, first; English chief-, head-, prime | başkent, başhekim, başöğretmen, başrol, başbakan |
| baş is the head: kentcitybaşkentcapital; rolrolebaşrolleading role Written as one word. | ||
| mas-/kıp-/bem-/yem-/sap-/ter- | completely: intensifies an adjective | masmavi, kıpkırmızı, bembeyaz, yemyeşil, sapsarı, tertemiz |
| The first syllable of the adjective up to its vowel, plus an m, p, s or r: mavi becomes masmavi, beyaz becomes bembeyaz, temiz becomes tertemiz. Which consonant it takes has to be learnt word by word. English says “bright red”, “snow-white”, “spotless”. | ||
| -(s)ı/-(s)i/-(s)u/-(s)ü | compound noun: the second word carries the possessive ending | buzdolabı, ayakkabı, kahverengi, hanımeli |
| buz ice and dolap cupboard: buz dolabı, written together buzdolabı. The ending stays on the word even when a case is added: buzdolabına. English puts two nouns side by side; Turkish marks the second. The grammar explains the compound with -i in detail. | ||
| -bilim | the study of; English -ology, -ics | dilbilim, toplumbilim, ruhbilim, gökbilim |
| bilim, science, attached to a noun: dillanguagedilbilimlinguistics Beside it there are often loanwords in -loji: sosyoloji beside toplumbilim. | ||
| gayri- | not, un- (from Arabic) | gayrimenkul, gayriresmî, gayrimeşru |
| One of the few real prefixes, and only in loanwords: menkulmovablegayrimenkulimmovable — real estate | ||