The language of the recipe: the imperative, -ip and -ince
A recipe, a manual and a set of directions are written alike. All three run on short commands strung two or three at a time. For example: “Sebzeleri soyup küçük küçük doğrayın” — Peel the vegetables and chop them small. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A recipe, a manual and a set of directions are written alike. All three run on short commands strung two or three at a time.
The command has four steps of politeness, and recipes take the middle two. The bare stem, karıştır, is for a friend and for blogs. The polite -in/-ın, karıştırın, is the print standard. The bookish -iniz is left to signs: kullanmayınız.
Two actions by one person are linked with -ip/-ıp: tense and person stand only on the last verb. Sebzeleri soyup küçük küçük doğrayın is peel the vegetables and chop them small.
Timing comes from -ince (as soon as), -meden önce (before) and -dikten sonra (after): Su kaynayınca makarnayı atın. The trap is looking for a person in them: there is none.
Table
| the form | what it means | example |
|---|---|---|
| the bare stem | the informal imperative | karıştır — stir (informal) |
| -in / -ın / -un / -ün | the polite imperative | karıştırın — stir, please |
| -iniz | bookish, for signs | kullanmayınız — do not use |
| -ip / -ıp | and then (one subject) | soyup doğrayın — peel and chop |
| -ince / -ınca | as soon as | kaynayınca — once it boils |
| -meden önce | before | pişirmeden önce — before cooking |
| -dikten sonra | after | ekledikten sonra — after you add |
By example
- Sebzeleri soyup küçük küçük doğrayınPeel the vegetables and chop them small
- Su kaynayınca makarnayı atınOnce the water boils, add the pasta
- Fırından çıkardıktan sonra soğutunAfter you take it out of the oven, let it cool
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
The imperative in a Turkish recipe?
A recipe, a manual and a set of directions are written alike. All three run on short commands strung two or three at a time.
-ince vs -dikten sonra?
The command has four steps of politeness, and recipes take the middle two. The bare stem, karıştır, is for a friend and for blogs. The polite -in/-ın, karıştırın, is the print standard. The bookish -iniz is left to signs: kullanmayınız.
How to join two verbs with ip in Turkish?
Two actions by one person are linked with -ip/-ıp: tense and person stand only on the last verb. Sebzeleri soyup küçük küçük doğrayın is peel the vegetables and chop them small.
How to say before and after in a Turkish recipe?
Timing comes from -ince (as soon as), -meden önce (before) and -dikten sonra (after): Su kaynayınca makarnayı atın. The trap is looking for a person in them: there is none.
Why recipes write karıştırın and not karıştır?
Timing comes from -ince (as soon as), -meden önce (before) and -dikten sonra (after): Su kaynayınca makarnayı atın. The trap is looking for a person in them: there is none.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Sebzeleri soyup küçük küçük doğrayın” — Peel the vegetables and chop them small. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.