I can read a menu and name a dish correctly — mercimek çorbası, tavuk kebabı, şekersiz Türk kahvesi — and say “with milk” and “without salt”: sütlü, tuzsuz.
Two-word names: Türk kahvesi
Two-word names: Türk kahvesi
Why: to read a menu. English “lentil soup” is just two words side by side; in Turkish the second word takes an ending.
In a two-word name the first word has no ending, and the second takes the “his / her / its” ending (as in annesi): Türk kahvesi, mercimek çorbası, tavuk kebabı. After a vowel it is -sı, -si, -su, -sü; after a consonant, -ı, -i, -u, -ü; the stem changes as usual: kebap → kebabı.
One word is special — su: as the second word it takes -yu, not “susu”: meyve suyu, maden suyu.
Familiar words are built the same way: meyve suyu, doğum günü, hafta sonu.
Don't confuse this with “whose?”: there the first word takes an ending too — Zeynep'in kahvesi, “Zeynep's coffee”.
“With” and “without” are the endings -lı and -sız, each with four forms (see the table): şekerli çay — tea with sugar, şekersiz — without sugar; sütlü kahve, tuzsuz çorba.
In Turkish you “drink” soup: çorba içiyorum — “I'm eating soup”. Some words have two meanings: tatlı — “sweet” and “dessert”; acı — “hot, spicy” and “bitter”. Don't confuse acı and açı, “angle”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Türk kahve” → Türk kahvesi
• NOT “mercimeğin çorbası” → mercimek çorbası
• NOT “tuzsiz çorba” → tuzsuz çorba
Two-word names
The first word has no ending; the second takes the “his / her / its” ending.
| First word | Second word | Together | In English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Türk | kahve | Türk kahvesi | Turkish coffee |
| mercimek | çorba | mercimek çorbası | lentil soup |
| tavuk | kebap | tavuk kebabı | chicken kebab |
| meyve | su | meyve suyu | juice |
| doğum | gün | doğum günü | birthday |
| hafta | son | hafta sonu | weekend |
“With” and “without”: -lı and -sız
Each ending has four forms; the vowel follows the last vowel of the word.
| The last vowel of the word | With / without | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| after a, ı | -lı / -sız | ballı, balsız |
| after e, i | -li / -siz | şekerli, şekersiz |
| after o, u | -lu / -suz | tuzlu, tuzsuz |
| after ö, ü | -lü / -süz | sütlü, sütsüz |
Lesson notes
Two-word names: Türk kahvesi
Why: to read a menu. English “lentil soup” is just two words side by side; in Turkish the second word takes an ending.
In a two-word name the first word has no ending, and the second takes the “his / her / its” ending (as in annesi): Türk kahvesi, mercimek çorbası, tavuk kebabı. After a vowel it is -sı, -si, -su, -sü; after a consonant, -ı, -i, -u, -ü; the stem changes as usual: kebap → kebabı.
One word is special — su: as the second word it takes -yu, not “susu”: meyve suyu, maden suyu.
Familiar words are built the same way: meyve suyu, doğum günü, hafta sonu.
Don't confuse this with “whose?”: there the first word takes an ending too — Zeynep'in kahvesi, “Zeynep's coffee”.
“With” and “without” are the endings -lı and -sız, each with four forms (see the table): şekerli çay — tea with sugar, şekersiz — without sugar; sütlü kahve, tuzsuz çorba.
In Turkish you “drink” soup: çorba içiyorum — “I'm eating soup”. Some words have two meanings: tatlı — “sweet” and “dessert”; acı — “hot, spicy” and “bitter”. Don't confuse acı and açı, “angle”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Türk kahve” → Türk kahvesi
• NOT “mercimeğin çorbası” → mercimek çorbası
• NOT “tuzsiz çorba” → tuzsuz çorba