In Turkish, “my”, “your”, “his” and “our” are not separate words but endings on the noun: ev (house) → (my house), (your house), (his or her house). You meet these Turkish possessive endings from day one: (My name is Kerem.) (How is your mother?)
There are six endings, one for each person, and their vowels follow vowel harmony. Learn them with one noun, and every other noun works the same way.
The pattern
nounplus-(i)m / -(i)n / -(s)i …whose
The letters in parentheses only come in when they’re needed: the (i) after a consonant, the (s) after a vowel.
The six endings
Here are all six with ev (house), which ends in a consonant, and (car), which ends in a vowel. After a vowel, the (i) of -(i)m, -(i)n, -(i)miz and -(i)niz isn’t needed, and “his / her” takes a glue letter s.
| Ending | ev (house) | araba (car) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| my | -(i)m | evimmy | arabammy |
| your (sen) | -(i)n | evinyour | arabanyour |
| his / her / its | -(s)i | evihis / her / its | arabasglueıhis / her / its |
| our | -(i)miz | evimizour | arabamızour |
| your (siz) | -(i)niz | evinizyour (siz) | arabanızyour (siz) |
| their | -leri | evleritheir | arabalarıtheir |
my
- Ending
- -(i)m
- ev (house)
- evimmy
- araba (car)
- arabammy
your (sen)
- Ending
- -(i)n
- ev (house)
- evinyour
- araba (car)
- arabanyour
his / her / its
- Ending
- -(s)i
- ev (house)
- evihis / her / its
- araba (car)
- arabasglueıhis / her / its
our
- Ending
- -(i)miz
- ev (house)
- evimizour
- araba (car)
- arabamızour
your (siz)
- Ending
- -(i)niz
- ev (house)
- evinizyour (siz)
- araba (car)
- arabanızyour (siz)
their
- Ending
- -leri
- ev (house)
- evleritheir
- araba (car)
- arabalarıtheir
-(i)n is “your” for one person you call sen. For siz (polite, or more than one person) it is -(i)niz: (What is your name?) is what a receptionist or a teacher asks.
our friends
Step 3 of 3ımızour
Whose? Ours.
- Last vowel a is back and flat, so the vowel is ı: -ımız.
Tip: The plural comes first, then the possessive: (our friends), (my books). See the Turkish plural.
Vowel harmony: evim, kızım, okulum, gözüm
The vowel of the ending copies the last vowel of the noun, following four-way harmony: i after e or i, ı after a or ı, u after o or u, and ü after ö or ü. Only “their” is different: like the plural, it has just two shapes, -leri and -ları.
house · last vowel e
ev
evim: the last vowel is e, a front, flat vowel, so the ending has i.
- last vowel e
- front, flat
- ending vowel i
my house
The ending:Ending: i or ı or u or ü, here i, m
| Last vowel | my | your | his / her | our | your (siz) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| e, i | -im | -in | -i | -imiz | -iniz |
| a, ı | -ım | -ın | -ı | -ımız | -ınız |
| o, u | -um | -un | -u | -umuz | -unuz |
| ö, ü | -üm | -ün | -ü | -ümüz | -ünüz |
Last vowel
e, i
- my
- -im
- your
- -in
- his / her
- -i
- our
- -imiz
- your (siz)
- -iniz
Last vowel
a, ı
- my
- -ım
- your
- -ın
- his / her
- -ı
- our
- -ımız
- your (siz)
- -ınız
Last vowel
o, u
- my
- -um
- your
- -un
- his / her
- -u
- our
- -umuz
- your (siz)
- -unuz
Last vowel
ö, ü
- my
- -üm
- your
- -ün
- his / her
- -ü
- our
- -ümüz
- your (siz)
- -ünüz
Why?
Turkish likes the vowels in a word to sound alike, so the ending changes to fit the word: flows, “okulimiz” doesn’t. It is the same pattern as the question word . Our guide to Turkish vowel harmony explains it step by step.
Kerem’s note
After a vowel: arabam, arabası
When the noun ends in a vowel, the endings start straight away: anne → annem, annen, annemiz. For “his / her / its”, Turkish adds a glue letter s so that two vowels don’t meet: (her mother), (his car), (its box).
s: “his / her” after a vowel
The ending for his, her or its starts with s after a vowel: araba → arabası.
- annemotherglueihis / her / its
her mother
- arabacarglueıhis / her / its
his car
- kutuboxglueuhis / her / its
its box
The same -(s)i joins two nouns into one name: (Turkish coffee), (phone number), (birthday).
Tip: One everyday word is different: (water) takes a y, not an s: suyu (its water), as in portakal suyu (orange juice).
Consonant changes: kitabım, çocuğum, oğlum
Most possessive endings start with a vowel, so the usual consonant changes happen. A final p, ç, t or k softens to b, c, d or ğ: (my book), (my child). Before “their”, which starts with an l, nothing changes: .
When an ending starts with a vowel, a hard letter at the end of the word goes soft.
- pbecomes+ vowelb
- çbecomes+ vowelc
- tbecomes+ voweld
- kbecomes+ vowelğ
- kitapbookımmy
my book
- çocukchildunyour
your child
- köpekdogihis / her / its
his dog
- sokakstreetımızour
our street
These keep their letter
- kitapbooklarıtheir
their books: -ları starts with a consonant
- topballummy
my ball: one-syllable words usually keep their letter
A small group of words also lose the vowel of their last syllable before a vowel ending: (my son), isim → ismim (my name), (our city), (my mouth).
In some words the vowel of the last syllable drops out when an ending with a vowel comes.
oğul → oğlum
- oğulsonummy
my son
- isimnameinyour
your name
- şehircityimizour
our city
- ağızmouthıhis / her / its
his mouth
These keep their vowel
- okulschoolummy
my school: most words keep their vowel
Tip: The ğ is silent and makes the vowel before it longer: sounds like “cho-joo-oom”.
Benim evim: adding benim, senin…
The ending is enough, but you can put (my), (your), (his, her), (our), (your, siz) or (their) in front for emphasis or contrast. The ending stays either way, and it must match: , .
| Pronoun | Whose | my house, your house… |
|---|---|---|
| ben | benimof / ’s | benimevim |
| sen | seninof / ’s | seninevin |
| o | onglueunof / ’s | onunevi |
| biz | bizimof / ’s | bizimevimiz |
| siz | sizinof / ’s | sizineviniz |
| onlar | onlarınof / ’s | onlarınevi,onlarınevleri |
Pronoun
ben
- Whose
- benimof / ’s
- my house, your house…
- benimevim
Pronoun
sen
- Whose
- seninof / ’s
- my house, your house…
- seninevin
Pronoun
o
- Whose
- onglueunof / ’s
- my house, your house…
- onunevi
Pronoun
biz
- Whose
- bizimof / ’s
- my house, your house…
- bizimevimiz
Pronoun
siz
- Whose
- sizinof / ’s
- my house, your house…
- sizineviniz
Pronoun
onlar
- Whose
- onlarınof / ’s
- my house, your house…
- onlarınevi,onlarınevleri
Bubenimannem.
Word by word: this, my, my mother.This is my mother.
Busenintelefonunmu?
Word by word: this, your, your phone, ?.Is this your phone?
Bizim evimiz küçük ama güzel.
Our house is small but nice.
Reading 1: my
Why?
After a consonant, “my” and “I am” look the same: is “my teacher” or “I am a teacher”. The word in front, or the situation, tells you which. After a vowel they differ: is “my mother”, anneyim is “I am a mother”.
Kerem’s note
Whose? Ali'nin arabası
To say whose something is with a name or a noun, Turkish marks both words: the owner takes -(n)in (like English ), and the thing owned takes the his / her ending -(s)i: = Ali’s car, literally “Ali’s, his car”. The course teaches this in A2, but you will hear it early.
A specific owner
owner-(n)in“of / ’s”
thing-(s)i“his / her / its”
- Ali'nglueinof / ’sarabacarsglueıhis / her / its
Ali’s cara specific owner
- annemothermmyinof / ’sadnameıhis / her / its
my mother’s namea specific owner
- komşuneighbornglueunof / ’sköpeğdogihis / her / its
the neighbor’s doga specific owner
On its own, the his / her ending is enough when it’s clear who you mean: = His car is new. More on the owner ending in our guide to Turkish cases.
Possessive + case: evimde, arabasında
Case endings such as -de (in, at) and -e (to) come after the possessive: evimde (in my house), evine (to your house). After his / her / its and their, an n comes in before the case: (in his house), (in her car).
Cars never swap places. A word only uses the cars it needs; the empty ones are skipped.
Telefonum çantamda.
My phone is in my bag.
Arabanda su var mı?
Is there any water in your car?
Ayşe şimdi evinde.
Ayşe is at home now.
Kardeşimle İstanbul'a gidiyorum.
I’m going to Istanbul with my brother.
Tip: can mean “in his house” (ev + i + nde) or “in your house” (ev + in + de). The situation tells you which.
Common mistakes
Watch out
Not:benim anne
Say:benim annem
doesn’t replace the ending. Without benim it’s fine (); without the ending it isn’t.
Watch out
Not:arabaı
Say:arabası
After a vowel, “his / her / its” takes the glue letter s: , , .
Watch out
Not:kitapım
Say:kitabım
-ım starts with a vowel, so the p softens to b. The same with , and .
Watch out
Not:oğulum
Say:oğlum
drops its u before a vowel ending: , , . Before -lar it keeps it: .
Watch out
Not:bizim evim
Say:bizim evimiz
The pronoun and the ending must match: goes with -imiz, with -iniz.
Watch out
Not:evimler
Say:evlerim
The plural comes before the possessive: ev + ler + im = my houses.
Watch out
Not:Ali'nin araba
Say:Ali'nin arabası
The thing owned needs its own ending too. Without -sı, the phrase sounds broken to a Turkish ear.
A short dialogue
Read or listen, then answer
Who has a son?
Deniz
Bu fotoğraf çok güzel! Bunlar kim?
Mert
Bu benim ailem. Bu annem, bu da babam.
Deniz
Bu kız kim? Kız kardeşin mi?
Mert
Evet, kız kardeşim Elif. Bu da kocası, Can.
Deniz
Çocukları var mı?
Mert
Evet, bir oğulları var. Adı Ege.
Deniz
Bu sizin eviniz mi?
Mert
Hayır, bu dedemin evi. Bizim evimiz İzmir'de.
Spot the possessive endings: , , , , , , , (no vowel drop before -ları), , , and .
Summary
| After a consonant | After a vowel | |
|---|---|---|
| my | ||
| your (sen) | ||
| his / her / its | ||
| our | ||
| your (siz) | ||
| their |
my
- After a consonant
- After a vowel
your (sen)
- After a consonant
- After a vowel
his / her / its
- After a consonant
- After a vowel
our
- After a consonant
- After a vowel
your (siz)
- After a consonant
- After a vowel
their
- After a consonant
- After a vowel