How strongly: pek, oldukça, gayet — and comparing whole groups
çok covers nearly everything, but between a little and very Turkish keeps a whole scale. At a doctor's it earns its keep: it hurts and it hurts a lot are different conversations. For example: “Bugün pek iyi değilim” — Today I am not feeling so great. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
çok covers nearly everything, but between a little and very Turkish keeps a whole scale. At a doctor's it earns its keep: it hurts and it hurts a lot are different conversations.
Below çok sit oldukça, fairly, and epey, quite a lot and more colloquial: oldukça iyi. Above it sits gayet, utterly, and only with a good verdict: gayet sağlıklı.
pek stands apart. In a plain statement it is bookish, yet in the negative it has become ordinary and irreplaceable: pek iyi değil.
The trap is comparing only word with word. Whole chunks compare too: diğeri kadar güçlü, as strong as the other; Bu ağrı dünkünden daha az.
Table
| the word | strength | where it lives | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| biraz | a bit | everywhere | biraz halsizim |
| oldukça | quite | neutral | oldukça iyi |
| epey | quite a lot | conversational | epey geçti |
| çok | very | everywhere | çok ağrıyor |
| gayet | perfectly | with a positive verdict | gayet sağlıklı |
| pek | quite / not so | strongest in the negative | pek iyi değil |
| bem-, kap-, ter- | intensity by a doubled syllable | only with these qualities | bembeyaz, tertemiz |
| … kadar | as … as | comparing whole groups | diğeri kadar güçlü |
By example
- Bugün pek iyi değilimToday I am not feeling so great
- Ateşi oldukça yüksekHis temperature is quite high
- Bu ağrı dünkünden daha azThis pain is less than yesterday’s
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
How strongly: how does it work in Turkish?
çok covers nearly everything, but between a little and very Turkish keeps a whole scale. At a doctor's it earns its keep: it hurts and it hurts a lot are different conversations.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Bugün pek iyi değilim” — Today I am not feeling so great. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.