-ken joins two things that happen at the same time. It means “while”, “when” or “as”: (on the way home, literally “while going home”), (while eating). On nouns and adjectives it means “when … was”: (when I was a student), (when I was young).
It is one of the friendliest endings in Turkish: it has no person ending, and it is one of the very few endings that never changes its vowel.
The pattern
aorist (o form)gider, yer, okurplus-kenwhile
-kenwhile
On my way home, I bought bread.
ekmek aldım happens during the Eve giderken part.
The main action happens inside the stretch of time of the -ken part.
How to build it: aorist + -ken
Take the aorist form for “he” or “she” (, , , ) and add -ken. Nothing else goes on it: no person ending, no tense ending. The main verb at the end of the sentence says who and when.
while going
Step 3 of 3kenwhile
While: gelirken = while coming. Its vowel never changes.
| Verb | Aorist | While… |
|---|---|---|
| yemek (eat) | yerusually / would | yerusually / wouldkenwhile |
| gitmek (go) | giderusually / would | giderusually / wouldkenwhile |
| okumak (read) | okurusually / would | okurusually / wouldkenwhile |
| çalışmak (work) | çalışırusually / would | çalışırusually / wouldkenwhile |
| sürmek (drive) | sürerusually / would | sürerusually / wouldkenwhile |
| almak (take) | alırusually / would | alırusually / wouldkenwhile |
Verb
yemek (eat)
- Aorist
- yerusually / would
- While…
- yerusually / wouldkenwhile
Verb
gitmek (go)
- Aorist
- giderusually / would
- While…
- giderusually / wouldkenwhile
Verb
okumak (read)
- Aorist
- okurusually / would
- While…
- okurusually / wouldkenwhile
Verb
çalışmak (work)
- Aorist
- çalışırusually / would
- While…
- çalışırusually / wouldkenwhile
Verb
sürmek (drive)
- Aorist
- sürerusually / would
- While…
- sürerusually / wouldkenwhile
Verb
almak (take)
- Aorist
- alırusually / would
- While…
- alırusually / wouldkenwhile
Yemek yerken televizyon izlemem.
I don’t watch TV while I’m eating.
Duş alırken telefon çaldı.
The phone rang while I was in the shower.
Araba sürerken telefonla konuşma!
Don’t talk on the phone while driving!
Tip: The aorist is the key. Stems ending in a vowel add -r (), most one-syllable stems add -ar / -er (, ), a dozen common ones add -ir (, , bilir), and longer stems add -ir (). See our aorist guide for the full rule.
-ken never changes
Almost every Turkish ending follows vowel harmony. -ken doesn’t: it stays -ken after every vowel. Its k never turns into ğ either. So you say and , never “alırkan” or “okurkan”.
| Last vowel | Still -ken |
|---|---|
| e, i | gelirken,yerken |
| a, ı | alırken,yaparken |
| o, u | okurken,otururken |
| ö, ü | görürken,gülerken |
Why?
-ken was once a separate word, iken (while being), and separate words don’t follow the harmony of the word before them. In formal writing you can still see it written apart: = .
Kerem’s note
Who does it, and when?
If both actions are done by the same person, you need nothing extra: = I bought bread on my way home. If they are done by different people, name the person in the -ken part: = The phone rang while I was sleeping.
Benuyurkentelefonçaldı.
Word by word: I, sleep-while, phone, rang.The phone rang while I was sleeping.
Senyemekyaparkenbenmasayıhazırlarım.
Word by word: you, food, make-while, I, the-table, I’ll-prepare.While you cook, I’ll set the table.
Parktakoşarkendüştüm.
Word by word: in-park, run-while, I-fell.I fell while I was running in the park.
-ken has no tense of its own either. The main verb decides whether it is past, present or future, so one -ken form covers them all:
Eve giderken ekmek aldım.
I bought bread on my way home.
Eve giderken ekmek alırım.
I (usually) buy bread on my way home.
Eve giderken ekmek alacağım.
I’ll buy bread on my way home.
With nouns and adjectives: öğrenciyken, gençken
-ken also goes on nouns, adjectives and place words, and then it means “when … was” or “while … is”. After a consonant, add just -ken: , . After a vowel, the glue letter y comes first: , , .
y: two vowels meet
Turkish doesn’t let two vowels touch, so y goes between them: hasta → hastayım.
- öğrencistudentgluekenwhile
when (I) was a student
- evhomedein / at / ongluekenwhile
while (I) was at home
- tatilvacationdein / at / ongluekenwhile
while on vacation
No glue needed
The word ends in a consonant, so nothing clashes.
- gençyoungkenwhile
when (I) was young
Öğrenciyken İzmir'de otururdum.
When I was a student, I used to live in Izmir.
Gençken çok spor yapardım.
When I was young, I used to do a lot of sports.
İşteyken beni arama.
Don’t call me while I’m at work.
Hava güzelken dışarı çıkalım.
Let’s go out while the weather is nice.
var and yok work the same way: = while you were away, = while there’s a chance. = I got really bored while you were away.
Tip: Who it is about comes from the main verb or a pronoun: = When I was a student… = When my dad was a student…
-ken or -ince: a stretch or a moment
Turkish has another “when” ending, -ince. -ince marks the moment something happens, and the main action follows it. -ken is a stretch of time, and the main action happens inside it. Compare (when I got home, at that moment) with (on my way home, during the trip).
-incewhen
When I got home, I cooked.
yemek yaptım starts right at the moment of Eve gelince.
The moment the first thing happens, the second one follows.
Why?
The aorist names an action in general, with no clear start or end. That is exactly a stretch of time, so -ken sits on the aorist: = in the time of reading.
Kerem’s note
Tip: A quick test: if you can say “in the middle of …” in English, use -ken. If you can say “as soon as …” or “after …”, use -ince.
Not, and “whereas”: bakmazken, ben çalışırken
The negative aorist -mez / -maz takes -ken too: = while nobody was looking. And just like English “while”, -ken can set two facts against each other: = While I’m working, you’re sleeping!
Kimse bakmazken son kurabiyeyi yedim.
While nobody was looking, I ate the last cookie.
Ben her gün çalışırken sen hiçbir şey yapmıyorsun.
While I work every day, you don’t do anything.
Tip: You will also hear -ken after other tenses. = Since you’re here anyway, have a cup of tea! = Just as I was about to leave, the phone rang. The second one comes in our C1 course.
Common mistakes
Watch out
Not:okurkan
Say:okurken
-ken never follows vowel harmony. Even after a, ı, o or u it stays -ken: alırken, okurken.
Watch out
Not:okuken
Say:okurken
-ken goes on the aorist , not on the bare stem oku. Only nouns and adjectives take it directly: gençken.
Watch out
Not:giterken
Say:giderken
gitmek turns its t into d before a vowel, and the aorist is : gider + ken.
Watch out
Not:Okuldaken seni aradım.
Say:Okuldayken seni aradım.
ends in a vowel, so the glue letter y comes before -ken: okulda + y + ken.
Watch out
Not:Ders çalışırkenim müzik dinlerim.
Say:Ders çalışırken müzik dinlerim.
-ken takes no person ending. The -m for “I” goes on the main verb at the end: dinlerim.
Watch out
Not:Eve gelirken yemek yaptım.
Say:Eve gelince yemek yaptım.
You cooked after you arrived, not on the way. A moment followed by an action takes -ince.
A short dialogue
Read or listen, then answer
What happened on the way to the airport?
Kaan
Hoş geldin! Tatil nasıldı?
Ayşe
Çok güzeldi! Bodrum'dayken her gün denize girdim.
Kaan
Ne güzel! Sen yokken burada hep yağmur yağdı.
Ayşe
Biliyorum. Ama dönüşte bir sorun oldu.
Kaan
Ne oldu?
Ayşe
Havalimanına giderken taksi bozuldu!
Kaan
Olamaz! Uçağı kaçırdın mı?
Ayşe
Hayır. Şoför arabayı tamir ederken başka bir taksi durdurdum.
Kaan
Akıllıca! Ben de geçen yıl Antalya'dayken aynı şeyi yaşadım.
Spot the -ken forms: and (place + y + ken), (yok + ken), and (aorist + ken; the t of et becomes d). In , the driver does the -ken part and Ayşe does the main verb.
Summary
| How | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| While doing | aorist + -ken | |
| While not doing | -mez / -maz + -ken | |
| When … was | noun or adjective + -ken | |
| After a vowel | + y + -ken | |
| A moment, not a stretch | -ince instead |
While doing
- How
- aorist + -ken
- Example
While not doing
- How
- -mez / -maz + -ken
- Example
When … was
- How
- noun or adjective + -ken
- Example
After a vowel
- How
- + y + -ken
- Example
A moment, not a stretch
- How
- -ince instead
- Example