LingoflyVowel harmony: the ending bends to the word
Say evde for at home and okulda for at school. The tail is the same one, and only its vowel changed: it bent to the word. For example: “ev → evde” — a house → at home. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Say evde for at home and okulda for at school. The tail is the same one, and only its vowel changed: it bent to the word.
There are two rows of tails, and mixing them is costly. The wide row holds only -a and -e. After a, ı, o, u you take -a; after e, i, ö, ü you take -e. The at-tail lives here: ev → evde, okul → okulda, göz → gözde.
The narrow row holds four vowels. After a, ı comes -ı; after e, i, -i. After o, u comes -u; after ö, ü, -ü. The tail that points at a definite thing follows this row: okulu, gözü.
The trap is pouring both rows into one. Out come evdi and okuldı, and no such words exist.
Table
| last vowel | wide tail | narrow tail | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | -a | -ı | atlar, atı |
| ı | -a | -ı | kızlar, kızı |
| o | -a | -u | yollar, yolu |
| u | -a | -u | okullar, okulu |
| e | -e | -i | evler, evi |
| i | -e | -i | diller, dili |
| ö | -e | -ü | gözler, gözü |
| ü | -e | -ü | günler, günü |
By example
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Turkish vowel harmony?
Say evde for at home and okulda for at school. The tail is the same one, and only its vowel changed: it bent to the word.
Why evde but okulda?
Say evde for at home and okulda for at school. The tail is the same one, and only its vowel changed: it bent to the word.
How to pick the vowel in a Turkish ending?
Say evde for at home and okulda for at school. The tail is the same one, and only its vowel changed: it bent to the word.
Why ı, i, u and ü are one Turkish ending?
There are two rows of tails, and mixing them is costly. The wide row holds only -a and -e. After a, ı, o, u you take -a; after e, i, ö, ü you take -e. The at-tail lives here: ev → evde, okul → okulda, göz → gözde.
What does it look like in a Turkish example sentence?
“ev → evde” — a house → at home. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.