Var and yok: there is, there isn’t

var, play (there is, there are) and yok, play (there isn’t, there aren’t) are two of the most useful words in Turkish. Çay var., play = There is tea. Süt yok., play = There is no milk. They never change for person or number: they simply say whether something exists.

Turkish has no everyday verb “to have” either. Instead it says “my cat exists”: Kedim var., play = I have a cat. So with var and yok you can talk both about what there is and about what you have.

There is, there isn’t

To say what is somewhere, start with the place (with -de / -da, “in, at, on”), then the thing, then var or yok. That is the opposite of English “There is a cat in the room”.

• Masada bir kitap var.

  There’s a book on the table.

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• Buzdolabında süt yok.

  There’s no milk in the fridge.

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• Bu sokakta çok kafe var.

  There are a lot of cafés on this street.

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• Evde kimse yok.

  There’s nobody at home.

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Having things: Kedim var (I have a cat)

To say what you have, put the possessive ending on the thing, then add var or yok: kedi → kedim, play (my cat) → Kedim var., play (I have a cat, literally “my cat exists”). The ending says who: Kedin var (you have a cat), Kedimiz var (we have a cat). Our guide to Turkish possessive endings has all six.

• İkitwokardeşimmy siblingvar.there is

  Word by word: two, my sibling, there is.

  I have two brothers and sisters.

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• Çocuğummy childyok.there isn’t

  Word by word: my child, there isn’t.

  I don’t have any children.

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• Bugün zamanım yok.

  I don’t have time today.

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• Ali'nin bir köpeği var.

  Ali has a dog.

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To stress whose it is, add benim (my), senin (your) and so on in front: Benim arabam yok, ama Ali'nin arabası var., play = I don’t have a car, but Ali does.

Questions: var mı? yok mu?

To ask, put the question word after var or yok: var mı?, play (is there? do you have?) and yok mu?, play (isn’t there? don’t you have?). The vowel follows harmony, so it is mı, play after var and mu, play after yok. Answer with Evet, var., play or Hayır, yok., play, or just Var., play / Yok., play

With a question word, there is no mı: Kaç kardeşin var?, play (How many brothers and sisters do you have?), Evde kim var?, play (Who’s at home?), Ne var?, play (What is it? What’s up?).

• Burada tuvalet var mı?

  Is there a toilet here?

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• Telefonun var mı?

  Do you have a phone?

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• Kaç kardeşin var?

  How many brothers and sisters do you have?

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• Evde kim var?

  Who’s at home?

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In the past: vardı and yoktu

For the past, add the “was” ending -dı to var and -tu to yok: vardı, play (there was, I had) and yoktu, play (there wasn’t, I didn’t have). yok ends in k, a hard letter, so the d becomes t, and its vowel o makes the ending -tu.

• Dün çok trafik vardı.

  There was a lot of traffic yesterday.

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• Evde kimse yoktu.

  There was nobody at home.

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• Eskiden bir köpeğim vardı.

  I used to have a dog.

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For plans and timetables, the present var is enough, just as English says “I have an exam tomorrow”: Yarın sınavım var., play

Everyday phrases with var and yok

In Türkiye

Ne var ne yok?

Friends greet each other with Ne var ne yok?, play, “What is there, what isn’t?”, the Turkish “What’s new?”. A typical answer is İyilik, sağlık, play: “Goodness, health”, in other words “All good”. More ways to say hello in our guide to Turkish greetings.

İyilik, sağlık. Sende ne var ne yok?

All good. What’s new with you?

Common mistakes

A short dialogue

Spot var and yok: ekmek var mı, play, var, play, süt de var mı, play, süt yok, play, vardı, play (there was), yumurta var mı, play, yumurta var, play, nakit param yok, play (I have no cash) and sorun yok, play.

Summary