is the little word that makes a yes/no question in Turkish. (This is a book.) becomes (Is this a book?). There is no “do” and no swapping of words as in English: the sentence stays as it is, and mi comes in.
Three things to know about the Turkish question particle mi: its vowel changes (), it is written as a separate word, and it goes right after the word you are asking about.
The pattern
sentenceplusmi / mı / mu / müyes or no?
Vowel harmony: mi, mı, mu or mü
The vowel of mi copies the last vowel of the word before it, following four-way harmony. After e or i it is , after a or ı it is , after o or u it is , and after ö or ü it is .
It follows vowel harmony, but is written apart
The last vowel of the word before mi picks its vowel.
The last vowel of kalem is e, so the question word is mi.
| Last vowel | Question word | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| e, i | ||
| a, ı | ||
| o, u | ||
| ö, ü |
Last vowel
e, i
- Question word
- Examples
Last vowel
a, ı
- Question word
- Examples
Last vowel
o, u
- Question word
- Examples
Last vowel
ö, ü
- Question word
- Examples
Why?
leans on the word before it. You write it apart, but you say the two together like one word: sounds like “kitapmı”. That’s why it borrows that word’s vowel, just as an ending would. If harmony is new to you, read our guide to Turkish vowel harmony.
Kerem’s note
Tip: Your voice goes up on the word just before mi: Bu ki-TAP mı? The word mi itself is never stressed.
Where mi goes: right after the word you ask about
Put mi at the end, after the verb, and you ask about the whole sentence. Put it after another word, and you ask about that word only. English does this with “Is it … that …?” or with stress in the voice; Turkish simply moves mi.
Ask about one word
mi goes right after the word you are asking about. Tap a word of the sentence.
Ali is going to Izmir today.
Alibugünİzmir'egidiyormu?
Is Ali going to Izmir today?
When mi is not after the verb, the verb keeps its normal ending: (Is it you who’s coming?). And two mi questions side by side ask “this or that?”: = Tea or coffee?
Sen mi geliyorsun?
Is it you who’s coming?
Bu akşam mı geliyorsun?
Are you coming this evening? (and not another time)
Çay mı, kahve mi?
Tea or coffee?
Açık mı, demli mi?
Light or strong? (tea)
mi with personal endings: misin, musun
When mi comes after the verb or after a “to be” word, the personal ending moves onto mi: (You’re a student.) → (Are you a student?). → The ending is written together with mi: , .
Where the person ending goes
Most endings that say who (-um, -sun…) move onto mi. After -di (past) and -se (if), they stay on the verb.
- Öğrencimi? (yes/no)yglueimI?
Am I a student?ending on mi
- Öğrencimi? (yes/no)sinyou?
Are you a student?ending on mi
- Öğrencimi? (yes/no)?
Is he / she a student?
- Öğrencimi? (yes/no)yglueizwe?
Are we students?ending on mi
- Öğrencimi? (yes/no)sinizyou (siz)?
Are you students? / Are you a student? (siz)ending on mi
- Öğrencistudentlertheymi? (yes/no)?
Are they students?stays on the verb
| Türk (Turkish) | geliyor (is coming) | |
|---|---|---|
| ben | Türkmü? (yes/no)yglueümI? | Geliyormuyum? |
| sen | Türkmü? (yes/no)sünyou? | Geliyormusun? |
| o | Türkmü? (yes/no)? | Geliyormu? |
| biz | Türkmü? (yes/no)yglueüzwe? | Geliyormuyuz? |
| siz | Türkmü? (yes/no)sünüzyou (siz)? | Geliyormusunuz? |
| onlar | Türklermi? | Geliyorlarmı? |
ben
- Türk (Turkish)
- Türkmü? (yes/no)yglueümI?
- geliyor (is coming)
- Geliyormuyum?
sen
- Türk (Turkish)
- Türkmü? (yes/no)sünyou?
- geliyor (is coming)
- Geliyormusun?
o
- Türk (Turkish)
- Türkmü? (yes/no)?
- geliyor (is coming)
- Geliyormu?
biz
- Türk (Turkish)
- Türkmü? (yes/no)yglueüzwe?
- geliyor (is coming)
- Geliyormuyuz?
siz
- Türk (Turkish)
- Türkmü? (yes/no)sünüzyou (siz)?
- geliyor (is coming)
- Geliyormusunuz?
onlar
- Türk (Turkish)
- Türklermi?
- geliyor (is coming)
- Geliyorlarmı?
With ben and biz, a glue letter y comes in, because two vowels can’t touch: , . With onlar, -ler or -lar stays where it was, and mi comes last:
Why?
The endings after -iyor are really the “to be” endings, and “to be” always sits on the last word of the sentence. In a question, that last word is mi, so mi carries the ending. The past tense is the exception: its endings belong to the verb, so they stay there: See our guide to the past tense -di.
Kerem’s note
var mı, yok mu, değil mi
mi works with (there is) and (there isn’t) too: (Is there any tea?), (Isn’t there any milk?). Our guide to var and yok has more.
After (not) it makes a negative question: (Aren’t you Turkish?). And at the end of a sentence is the Turkish “isn’t it?”, “don’t you?” or “right?”: one tag for every sentence.
Burada tuvalet var mı?
Is there a toilet here?
Süt yok mu?
Isn’t there any milk?
Türk değil misin?
Aren’t you Turkish?
Hava çok güzel, değil mi?
The weather is lovely, isn’t it?
Yarın geliyorsun, değil mi?
You’re coming tomorrow, aren’t you?
Tip: With a negative verb, mi works as usual: Gelmiyor musun? = Aren’t you coming?
No mi with question words
Questions with a question word, such as (what), kim (who), (where), (how), (when), neden (why) or (how many), don’t take mi. The question word already makes it a question, and the verb keeps its normal ending.
Bune?
Word by word: this, what.What is this?
Nasılsın?
How are you?
Nerede oturuyorsun?
Where do you live?
Ne zaman geliyorsun?
When are you coming?
Tip: Never use mi together with a question word: , not “Ne yapıyor musun?”.
Answering: evet, hayır, var, yok
Answer with (yes) or (no), and usually repeat the key word: Questions with var get or : / In casual speech, the repeated word alone is often the whole answer.
Yorgun musun? – Evet, çok yorgunum.
Are you tired? – Yes, very tired.
Türk müsün? – Hayır, Türk değilim.
Are you Turkish? – No, I’m not Turkish.
Geliyor musun? – Geliyorum!
Are you coming? – I’m coming!
Ekmek var mı? – Maalesef yok.
Is there any bread? – Sorry, there isn’t.
In Türkiye
“No” with your eyebrows
Many Turks say no without a word: they raise their eyebrows and tip the head slightly back, often with a small click of the tongue: tsk. To foreigners it can look like a nod, so watch faces as well as words.
Common mistakes
Watch out
Not:Bu kitapmı?
Say:Bu kitap mı?
mi follows harmony like an ending, but it is always written as a separate word. Even Turks often get this wrong in text messages!
Watch out
Not:Bu kitap mi?
Say:Bu kitap mı?
The last vowel of is a, so the question word is .
Watch out
Not:Öğrencisin mi?
Say:Öğrenci misin?
The personal ending moves off the word and onto mi: .
Watch out
Not:Geliyorsun mu?
Say:Geliyor musun?
The same goes for -iyor: the verb stays bare and mu carries the ending. Only onlar keeps -lar on the verb:
Watch out
Not:Gitti misin?
Say:Gittin mi?
In the past tense -di, the ending -n stays on the verb and mi comes last.
Watch out
Not:Nerede mi oturuyorsun?
Say:Nerede oturuyorsun?
A question word is enough. Don’t add mi to it.
A short dialogue
Read or listen, then answer
Where is Tom from?
Zeynep
Merhaba! Yeni öğrenci misin?
Tom
Evet, yeniyim. Adım Tom.
Zeynep
Memnun oldum Tom. İngiliz misin?
Tom
Hayır, İngiliz değilim. Amerikalıyım.
Zeynep
Türkçen çok iyi! İstanbul'da mı oturuyorsun?
Tom
Evet, Kadıköy'de. Sen de Kadıköy'de mi oturuyorsun?
Zeynep
Hayır, Beşiktaş'ta. Kantine gidiyorum, sen de geliyor musun?
Tom
Tabii, geliyorum!
Spot the questions: and (mi + the sen ending), and (asking about the place, so the verb keeps its ending) and .
Summary
| How | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Vowel | mi / mı / mu / mü after the last vowel | |
| Position | right after the word you ask about | |
| Person ending | goes onto mi (except -di and onlar) | |
| Question words | no mi |
Vowel
- How
- mi / mı / mu / mü after the last vowel
- Example
Position
- How
- right after the word you ask about
- Example
Person ending
- How
- goes onto mi (except -di and onlar)
- Example
Question words
- How
- no mi
- Example