Laziness, stubbornness, resourcefulness: one tail for a dozen words
A dozen abstract words about character are one rule applied ten times. For example: “Tembellik yüzünden geç kaldı” — He was late because of laziness. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A dozen abstract words about character are one rule applied ten times.
-lık turns a quality into the name of that quality: tembel (lazy) → tembellik, laziness. The same with iyi → iyilik, kindness, and dürüst → dürüstlük, integrity. The vowel of the tail bends to the word, and there is nothing else to choose.
There can be three steps in a row: inat (an act of stubbornness) → inatçı (a stubborn one) → inatçılık (the trait). English changes the root along the way; Turkish walks the chain.
The trap is that the same tail does other work: çöp → çöplük, a dump. Meet a -lık, cut it off, and look for a familiar word inside.
Table
| the base | what it means | with -lık | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| tembel | lazy | tembellik | laziness |
| iyi | good | iyilik | kindness |
| dürüst | honest | dürüstlük | integrity |
| bencil | selfish | bencillik | selfishness |
| inatçı | a stubborn one | inatçılık | stubbornness |
| umursamaz | indifferent | umursamazlık | heedlessness |
| çöp | trash | çöplük | a dump (a place) |
By example
- Tembellik yüzünden geç kaldıHe was late because of laziness
- Onun dürüstlüğüne güveniyorumI trust his integrity
- Umursamazlığı herkesi kızdırdıHis heedlessness made everyone angry
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
Laziness, stubbornness, resourcefulness: how does it work in Turkish?
A dozen abstract words about character are one rule applied ten times.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Tembellik yüzünden geç kaldı” — He was late because of laziness. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.