Laziness, stubbornness, resourcefulness: the whole lesson from one tail
Lesson u59-l1 looks like a list of ten abstract words, but in fact it is 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
Lesson u59-l1 looks like a list of ten abstract words, but in fact it is one rule applied ten times.
-lık / -lik / -luk / -lük makes the name of a property out of a property. tembel (lazy) → tembellik (laziness), iyi (good) → iyilik (kindness), dürüst (honest) → dürüstlük (integrity), saygın (respected) → saygınlık (standing), eşit (equal) → eşitlik (equality). This is the job English gives to -ness and -ity — except that Turkish needs no special form for each word: the vowel of the tail obeys harmony, and there are no other variants.
There can be three steps. inat (stubbornness as an act) → inatçı (a stubborn one) → inatçılık (stubbornness as a trait). Likewise beceri → becerikli → beceriklilik. English switches the root or the suffix here at random — kind, kindly, kindness; Turkish always moves along the chain, and the chain is visible.
The negative is built into the middle. umursamak (to attach importance) → umursamaz (indifferent) → umursamazlık (heedlessness). The tail -maz gives the negative participle, and it is to that one -lık attaches.
The same -lık does other jobs too. A place: çöp → çöplük (a dump), kitap → kitaplık (a bookcase). A purpose: bir günlük (for one day), tek kullanımlık (disposable). A set: onluk (a ten-pack). One tail, four jobs, and only the stem tells them apart.
Why it is here. The wave ends with a unit about character, and half its words are new only in their root. Seeing -lık, cut it off and look for the familiar adjective: nine times out of ten it is already in the course.
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?
Lesson u59-l1 looks like a list of ten abstract words, but in fact it is 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.