Lesson 2. Bu ne? Bu kim?: the words for “this” and “that”, and the plural

I can ask and say what this is and who this is — one thing or several — point out “here, over there, there”, and address people politely: Zeynep Hanım, Mehmet Bey, hocam.

Bu, şu, o: what this is and who this is

Why: to ask and say what this is and who this is — one thing or several. Turkish points with three words: bu — this (near you); şu — that one there (you point at it); o — that (farther away). O also means “he, she, it”. For things and animals you ask Bu ne?, for people Bu kim? The question word goes where the answer goes. Turkish has no word for “is” here, and no “a” unless you say bir: Bu kitap. — This is a book. Before a noun bu means “this”: bu çanta — this bag. For several things or people, use the plural: -lar or -ler, by the last vowel of the word, never -s. Masa → masalar, ev → evler. The same: bunlar, şunlar, onlar. Where: burada — here, şurada — over there, orada — there. “And” is ve. To someone you call siz, use the first name with Bey (to a man) or Hanım (to a woman) — after the name, never before, and never with the last name: Mehmet Bey, Zeynep Hanım. Call your teacher hocam. A stranger whose name you don't know is addressed as beyefendi (a man) or hanımefendi (a woman): you'll hear these words, you don't need to say them. Common mistakes: • NOT “Hanım Zeynep” → Zeynep Hanım • NOT “Karataş Bey” (with the last name) → Mehmet Bey • NOT “evlar”, “kitapler” → evler, kitaplar

Bu, şu, o: near, over there, far away

O also means “he, she, it”; onlar means “they”.

Where	One	Several	Place
Next to you	bu	bunlar	burada
Over there (you're pointing)	şu	şunlar	şurada
Far away	o	onlar	orada

Several: -lar or -ler

The last vowel of the word chooses the ending.

The last vowel of the word	Ending	Examples
a, ı, o, u	-lar	masalar, kadınlar, telefonlar, çocuklar
e, i, ö, ü	-ler	evler, kediler, köpekler

How to address someone

Bey and Hanım go after the first name, and only with siz.

To whom	How to address someone
To a man, formally	Mehmet Bey
To a woman, formally	Zeynep Hanım
To your teacher	hocam
To a stranger whose name you don't know	beyefendi (to a man), hanımefendi (to a woman)
To a friend	by first name: Merve

Lesson notes

Bu, şu, o: what this is and who this is

Why: to ask and say what this is and who this is — one thing or several. Turkish points with three words: bu — this (near you); şu — that one there (you point at it); o — that (farther away). O also means “he, she, it”. For things and animals you ask Bu ne?, for people Bu kim? The question word goes where the answer goes. Turkish has no word for “is” here, and no “a” unless you say bir: Bu kitap. — This is a book. Before a noun bu means “this”: bu çanta — this bag. For several things or people, use the plural: -lar or -ler, by the last vowel of the word, never -s. Masa → masalar, ev → evler. The same: bunlar, şunlar, onlar. Where: burada — here, şurada — over there, orada — there. “And” is ve. To someone you call siz, use the first name with Bey (to a man) or Hanım (to a woman) — after the name, never before, and never with the last name: Mehmet Bey, Zeynep Hanım. Call your teacher hocam. A stranger whose name you don't know is addressed as beyefendi (a man) or hanımefendi (a woman): you'll hear these words, you don't need to say them. Common mistakes: • NOT “Hanım Zeynep” → Zeynep Hanım • NOT “Karataş Bey” (with the last name) → Mehmet Bey • NOT “evlar”, “kitapler” → evler, kitaplar