Must, should and need in Turkish: -meli, lazım, gerek

To say must in Turkish, the main tool is the ending -meli or -malı: Gitmeliyim., play = I must go, I have to go, I should go. One ending covers all three English words: the situation tells you how strong it is.

For things you need, Turkish uses two words that mean “necessary”: lazım, play and gerek, play. Bana su lazım., play = I need water. Gitmem gerek., play = I need to go. Together, -meli, lazım and gerek cover almost every “must”, “should”, “have to” and “need” you will want to say.

Must and should: -meli

Take the verb stem (gitmek → git, play), add -meli or -malı, then a personal ending. With nothing after it, it means “he”, “she” or “it”: gitmeli, play = he must go, she should go. Use it for advice, duties and rules.

• Dinlenmelisin.

  You should rest.

  Show parts
• Yarın erken kalkmalıyım.

  I have to get up early tomorrow.

  Show parts
• Yolcularpassengerskemerlerinitheir-beltstakmalı.must-fasten

  Word by word: passengers, their-belts, must-fasten.

  Passengers must fasten their seat belts.

Vowel harmony: -meli or -malı

-meli has two shapes, decided by the last vowel of the stem: -meli after e, i, ö, ü and -malı after a, ı, o, u. Both of its vowels change together.

Personal endings: gitmeliyim, gitmelisin…

After -meli come the same endings as with “to be”: -(y)im (ben), -sin (sen), nothing (o), -(y)iz (biz), -siniz (siz) and -ler (onlar). -meli ends in a vowel, so ben and biz need a glue y: gitmeliyim, gitmeliyiz.

Shouldn’t and mustn’t: -memeli

For “shouldn’t” or “mustn’t”, put -me / -ma (not) right after the stem, before -meli: iç → içmemeli, play, kal → kalmamalı, play. Two “me” in a row is normal: yememeli, play (shouldn’t eat).

• Sigara içmemelisin.

  You shouldn’t smoke.

  Show parts
• Geç kalmamalıyız.

  We mustn’t be late.

  Show parts
• Bunu kimse bilmemeli.

  Nobody should know about this.

  Show parts

Questions: Gitmeli miyim? Ne yapmalıyım?

For a yes/no question, add mi, play after -meli as a separate word and move the personal ending onto it. mi copies the last vowel: mi, play after -meli, mı, play after -malı. With a question word like ne, play (what) or ne zaman, play (when) there is no mi: Ne yapmalıyım?, play = What should I do?

• Doktora gitmeli miyim?

  Should I go to the doctor?

  Show parts
• Ne yapmalıyım?

  What should I do?

  Show parts
• Ne zaman gelmeliyiz?

  When should we come?

  Show parts

Must be: a strong guess

Like English “must”, -meli can also mean you are almost sure about something. Use it with olmak (to be): Ali evde olmalı., play = Ali must be at home. Yorgun olmalısın., play = You must be tired.

• Ali evde olmalı, ışıklar açık.

  Ali must be at home, the lights are on.

  Show parts
• Çok yorgun olmalısın.

  You must be very tired.

  Show parts
• Bu çanta pahalı olmalı.

  This bag must be expensive.

  Show parts

I need: bana … lazım

For things you need, Turkish says “to me, water is necessary”: Bana su lazım., play The person takes the “to” ending (bana, play, sana, play, ona, play, bize, play, size, play, onlara, play), the thing stays plain, and lazım, play or gerek, play comes last. lazım, play is more common in everyday speech.

• Banato-mesuwaterlazım.necessary

  Word by word: to-me, water, necessary.

  I need water.

• Sanato-younewhatlazım?necessary

  Word by word: to-you, what, necessary.

  What do you need?

• Bize biraz buz lazım.

  We need some ice.

  Show parts
• Tuzsaltlazımnecessarymı??

  Word by word: salt, necessary, ?.

  Do you need salt?

I need to: gitmem gerek

For “I need to do something”, take the verb stem, add -me / -ma to turn it into a noun (gitme, play = going), then a “whose” ending, and finally gerek, play or lazım, play. So gitmem gerek, play is literally “my going is necessary”.

These are the same “whose” endings as in evim (my house) and evin (your house); see the possessive endings. If you add a person, use the “’s” form: Benim gitmem gerek., play Ali'nin gitmesi gerek., play = Ali needs to go.

• Artık gitmem lazım.

  I need to go now.

  Show parts
• Dinlenmen gerek.

  You need to rest.

  Show parts
• Ali'nin gitmesi gerek.

  Ali needs to go.

  Show parts
• Erken kalkmamız lazım.

  We need to get up early.

  Show parts

Is it necessary? gerekiyor, gerek yok

For general statements, use the dictionary form with gerekiyor, play (it’s necessary) or gerekmiyor, play (it isn’t necessary), from the verb gerekmek. They work like any -iyor verb: mu, play to ask, -me to say not. For a short “no need”, say Gerek yok, play or Lazım değil, play.

• Rezervasyon yapmak gerekiyor mu?

  Do you need to book?

  Show parts
• Acele etmek gerekmiyor.

  There’s no need to hurry.

  Show parts
• Erken gelmem gerekiyor mu?

  Do I need to come early?

  Show parts
• Gerek yok, teşekkürler.

  No need, thanks.

-meli, lazım or gerek?

-meli sounds like advice, a duty or a rule: someone thinks you should. lazım, play and gerek, play sound practical: the situation needs it. In everyday speech, gitmem lazım, play is the most common way to say “I have to go”.

Common mistakes

A short dialogue

Spot the must, should and need forms: gitmelisin, play, gitmemelisin, play, gitmem lazım, play, gitmen gerekiyor mu, play, aramalıyım, play, lazım mı, play, gerek yok, play, bana biraz su lazım, play, içmelisin, play and yatmalısın, play.

Summary