What a quality is made of: -lı, -sız, -cı, -ca
Turkish describes people almost without a dictionary: it takes a ready name and hangs a tail on it. Four tails give hundreds of qualities at once. For example: “Çok sabırlı ve alçakgönüllü biri” — A very patient and humble person. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Turkish describes people almost without a dictionary: it takes a ready name and hangs a tail on it. Four tails give hundreds of qualities at once.
The main pair is -lı and -sız, with and without. sabır (patience) gives sabırlı, and ar (shame) gives arsız. The vowel in the tail bends to the word; the consonant never does.
The tail -cı/-çı gives a bent of character: inat → inatçı, a stubborn one. From a verb the quality comes with -kan: çalışmak → çalışkan, a hard worker. After the voiceless p, ç, t, k, s, ş the first tail hardens into -çı.
The trap is -ca/-ce. It turns a quality into a manner: dostça, in a friendly way. It also softens: güzelce is not beautifully but properly.
Table
| the tail | what it makes | from what | example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -lı / -li / -lu / -lü | with something | a noun | sabır → sabırlı — patient |
| -sız / -siz / -suz / -süz | without something | a noun | ar → arsız — shameless |
| -cı / -çı | a disposition of character | a noun | inat → inatçı — stubborn |
| -kan / -ken | a standing property | a verb | çalışmak → çalışkan |
| -gın / -gin / -gun / -gün | the state a person is in | a verb | dalmak → dalgın |
| -ca / -ce | in what manner | a quality | dost → dostça — in a friendly way |
| -lık / -lik | the property as a noun | a quality | yalnız → yalnızlık — loneliness |
By example
- Çok sabırlı ve alçakgönüllü biriA very patient and humble person
- İnatçı ama çalışkan bir çocukA stubborn but hardworking child
- Bana dostça davrandıHe treated me in a friendly way
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
What a quality is made of: how does it work in Turkish?
Turkish describes people almost without a dictionary: it takes a ready name and hangs a tail on it. Four tails give hundreds of qualities at once.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Çok sabırlı ve alçakgönüllü biri” — A very patient and humble person. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.