On a Turkish menu, coffee is kahve, but Turkish coffee is Türk kahvesi, never Türk kahve. The -si is a small ending that Turkish adds to the second noun when the first noun tells you what kind of thing it is. These pairs are Turkish compound nouns, called isim tamlaması in Turkish grammar, and they confuse almost every learner at first.
In this article, you will learn the three ways to join two nouns in Turkish, how to choose between them, and what happens when you add a possessive, a plural, a case ending or an adjective. Haydi başlayalım!
Table of Contents
What Is a Compound Noun in Turkish?
A compound noun is two nouns used together to name one thing:
- The first noun describes. Turkish calls it the tamlayan.
- The second noun is the thing itself. Turkish calls it the tamlanan.
In Türk kahvesi, Türk describes and kahve is the thing: it is a coffee that is Turkish. The ending always goes on the second noun.
English simply puts the two nouns side by side: Turkish coffee, school bag, bedroom. Turkish usually needs an ending to link them, and the ending depends on what the first noun means.
Order that çay in Turkish
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The Three Types of Turkish Compound Nouns
There are three ways to put two nouns together. The meaning of the first noun decides which one you use.
| Type | Endings | Use it when the first noun says… | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Material | none | what the thing is made of | deri çanta (a leather bag) |
| 2. Kind (belirtisiz isim tamlaması) | -(s)I on the second noun | what kind of thing it is, or what it is for | el çantası (a handbag) |
| 3. Owner (belirtili isim tamlaması) | -(n)In on the first noun + -(s)I on the second | who or what it belongs to | Elif’in çantası (Elif’s bag) |
Type 1. Made of Something: No Ending
Rule: when the first noun is a material, add nothing.
- tahta masa (a wooden table)
- altın yüzük (a gold ring)
- fötr şapka (a felt hat)
Material words work like adjectives. The TDK dictionary (sozluk.gov.tr) lists tahta (wood), altın (gold), deri (leather) and fötr (felt) with a second meaning, labelled adjective: “made of this”. Adjectives need no ending, so neither do these.
- Mutfakta eski bir tahta masa var. (There is an old wooden table in the kitchen.)
- Ablam bir deri ceket aldı. (My older sister bought a leather jacket.)
Note: for that reason, many grammar books call this type a sıfat tamlaması (adjective phrase) rather than a compound. The rule does not change: no ending.
Type 2. A Kind of Something: -(s)I on the Second Noun
Rule: when the first noun says what kind of thing it is, what it is for or where it is used, add -(s)I to the second noun. The first noun takes no ending.
okul + çanta → okul çanta-s-ı (school bag)
- Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee: a kind of coffee)
- okul çantası (school bag: a bag for school)
- doğum günü (birthday: the day of a birth)
- yatak odası (bedroom: the room for the bed)
This is the type English speakers forget most, because English needs no ending here.
- Bir Türk kahvesi, lütfen. (One Turkish coffee, please.)
- Kızım yeni bir okul çantası istiyor. (My daughter wants a new school bag.)
Note: compare fötr şapka (a felt hat: material, type 1) with kovboy şapkası (a cowboy hat: a kind of hat, type 2). Same noun, different ending.
Note: on menus you will also see filtre kahve (filter coffee) with no ending. It is a fixed name recorded as such by TDK, so learn it as vocabulary. Türk kahve is still wrong.
Type 3. Belonging to Someone: -(n)In + -(s)I
Rule: when the first noun is a specific owner, it takes the genitive -(n)In, and the second noun takes -(s)I.
Elif + çanta → Elif’in çanta-s-ı (Elif’s bag)
- Elif’in çantası (Elif’s bag)
- çocuğun kitabı (the child’s book)
- otelin havuzu (the hotel’s pool)
- Elif’in çantası masada. (Elif’s bag is on the table.)
For the full rules of -(n)In, see the guide to the genitive case in Turkish.
How to Choose Between Type 2 and Type 3
Types 2 and 3 are the ones learners mix up. Ask yourself one question: is the first noun a specific owner?
- No, it only says what kind → type 2, -(s)I only.
- Yes, it is one particular person or thing → type 3, -(n)In + -(s)I.
| Type 2: a kind | Type 3: an owner |
|---|---|
| çocuk kitabı (a children’s book) | çocuğun kitabı (the child’s book) |
| otel havuzu (a hotel pool) | otelin havuzu (the hotel’s pool) |
| deniz suyu (seawater) | denizin suyu (the water of the sea) |
Tip: try replacing the first noun with onun (his, her, its). If that works, you need type 3: çocuğun kitabı → onun kitabı. With çocuk kitabı, there is no owner to replace.
Beware: English “children’s book” has an ‘s, but it is a kind of book, not a book owned by a child. In Turkish, it is type 2: çocuk kitabı.
Nationality Words: Türk Sporcu but Türk Kahvesi
Nationality words such as Türk, Alman (German) or Japon (Japanese) follow two different rules:
- Before a person: no ending. The nationality works like an adjective: Türk sporcu (a Turkish athlete), Alman öğrenciler (German students), Japon turistler (Japanese tourists).
– Example: Yarışmayı bir Türk sporcu kazandı. (A Turkish athlete won the competition.)
- Before a thing: type 2, with -(s)I. Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee), Türk mutfağı (Turkish cuisine), Türk bayrağı (the Turkish flag), Japon arabası (a Japanese car).
– Example: Türk mutfağı çok zengin. (Turkish cuisine is very rich.)
Note: you can add -(s)I to a word for a person, but the meaning changes. Without the ending, the first word says who the person is. With it, the first word says what the person belongs to or works with. The first pair below is the one the linguists Aslı Göksel and Belma Haznedar use.
| No ending: who the person is | With -(s)I: what the person belongs to or works with |
|---|---|
| Türk asker (a soldier who is Turkish) | Türk askeri (a soldier of the Turkish army) |
| kadın doktor (a woman doctor) | kadın doktoru (a gynecologist, a doctor for women) |
| İngiliz öğretmen (a teacher from England) | İngilizce öğretmeni (an English teacher, who teaches English) |
- Bu okulda bir İngiliz öğretmen çalışıyor. (A teacher from England works at this school.)
- Ablam İngilizce öğretmeni. (My older sister is an English teacher.)
- Bu okulda iki İngilizce öğretmeni var: biri İngiliz, diğeri Türk. (There are two English teachers at this school: one is from England, the other is Turkish.)
To learn more about country names, nationalities and languages, see our guide to countries, nationalities and languages in Turkish.
How to Form the -(s)I Ending
Rule: -(s)I follows four-way vowel harmony. Add -s- when the second noun ends in a vowel.
| Last vowel of the second noun | After a consonant | After a vowel | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | -ı | -sı | Türk mutfağı, el çantası |
| e, i | -i | -si | tren bileti (train ticket), Türk kahvesi |
| o, u | -u | -su | dil okulu (language school), posta kutusu (mailbox) |
| ö, ü | -ü | -sü | doğum günü, Galata Köprüsü (the Galata Bridge) |
Note (ketchup rule): a final p, ç, t or k softens before the vowel ending:
- p → b: mutfak dolabı (kitchen cupboard, from dolap)
- ç → c: çam ağacı (pine tree, from ağaç)
- k → ğ: taksi durağı (taxi stand, from durak)
Irregular nouns: a few nouns change shape when they take -(s)I:
- su → suyu: after the vowel you would expect -su, but su (water) takes -yu: maden suyu (mineral water), not
maden susu(wrong: su never takes -su). - şehir → şehri: the ending makes the last vowel of şehir (city) drop: liman şehri (port city), not
liman şehiri(wrong: the i of şehir drops). - hak → hakkı: the ending doubles the last consonant of hak (right): seçme hakkı (the right to vote), not
seçme hakı(wrong: the k doubles). - cami → camii: cami (mosque) ends in a vowel but takes just -i: Süleymaniye Camii, not
Süleymaniye Camisi(wrong in writing, although common in speech).
Adding the possessive form: Okul Çantam, Not Okul Çantasım
Rule: a noun can carry only one possessive ending. When you add “my”, “your” and so on, the personal ending replaces -(s)I.
okul çanta-sı → okul çanta-m (my school bag)
| Possessor | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| benim | okul çantam | my school bag |
| senin | okul çantan | your school bag |
| onun | okul çantası | his or her school bag |
| bizim | okul çantamız | our school bag |
| sizin | okul çantanız | your school bag (plural or formal) |
| onların | okul çantaları or okul çantası | their school bag |
- Doğum günün kutlu olsun! (Happy birthday, literally “may your birthday be blessed”.)
- Bu yeni yüz kremimi kullanıyorum, gerçekten harika bir ürün! (I am using this new face cream; it is a really great product.)
In doğum günün, gün takes -ün (your) instead of -ü. In yüz kremimi, krem takes -im (my), then the accusative -i.
Note: in the third person, nothing changes, because the same -sı already means “his, her, its”: Elif’in okul çantası (Elif’s school bag).
Plural Compounds: Okul Çantaları
Rule: the plural -lAr comes before the ending, and the ending becomes -ı or -i.
okul çanta-lar-ı (school bags), not okul çanta-sı-lar
- Şehirde yeni bisiklet yolları var. (There are new bike lanes in the city.)
- İki Türk kahvesi, lütfen. (Two Turkish coffees, please.)
Note: after a number, the noun stays singular, as in the second example. The guide on how to form plurals in Turkish explains why.
Note: okul çantaları can also mean “their school bag”. Context tells you which.
Adding Case Endings: Türk Kahvesini
Rule: before a case ending, add the buffer -n- after -(s)I.
Türk kahvesi + -i → Türk kahvesi-n-i
| Case | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative | Türk kahvesini | Türk kahvesini sade içerim. (I drink Turkish coffee without sugar.) |
| Dative | Türk kahvesine | Türk kahvesine bayılırım. (I love Turkish coffee.) |
| Locative | Türk kahvesinde | Türk kahvesinde köpük çok önemlidir. (Foam matters a lot in Turkish coffee.) |
| Ablative | Türk kahvesinden | Türk kahvesinden sonra uyuyamıyorum. (I can’t sleep after Turkish coffee.) |
| Genitive | Türk kahvesinin | Türk kahvesinin köpüğü kalın olmalı. (The foam on a Turkish coffee should be thick.) |
| Instrumental | Türk kahvesiyle | Türk kahvesiyle birlikte lokum geldi. (Turkish delight came with the Turkish coffee.) |
Beware: the instrumental -(y)lA (with) takes -y-, not -n-: Türk kahvesiyle, never Türk kahvesinle. You can also write it as a separate word: Türk kahvesi ile.
- Hangi saç kremini kullanıyorsun? (Which hair conditioner are you using?)
- Artık ben de küçük bir sırt çantasıyla seyahat ediyorum ve yazılarımı dünyanın her yerinde yazıyorum. (Now I also travel with a small backpack and write my articles from anywhere in the world.)
For every case ending, see the overview of Turkish case suffixes.
Where to Put an Adjective
Rule: put the adjective before the whole compound, never between the two nouns.
yeni + okul çantası → yeni okul çantası (a new school bag)
With bir (a, one), the order is adjective + bir + compound: küçük bir sırt çantası (a small backpack).
- Mahallede yeni bir spor salonu açıldı. (A new gym opened in the neighborhood.)
Note: type 3 is different. There, the adjective goes right before the second noun: Elif’in yeni çantası (Elif’s new bag). The article on how Turkish adjectives work covers adjective order in more detail.
Compounds Inside Compounds
A compound can be part of a bigger compound. Turkish calls this zincirleme isim tamlaması (chained compound). Read it from right to left: the last noun is the thing you are talking about.
- The first part is a compound: it keeps its ending. doğum günü pastası (birthday cake), Türk kahvesi fincanı (Turkish coffee cup).
- The second part is a compound: no extra ending. A noun cannot take two -(s)I endings, so İstanbul Havalimanı (Istanbul Airport), not
İstanbul Havalimanısı. Same with Türk Hava Yolları (Turkish Airlines). - Type 3 chains: every owner takes -(n)In. Kuzenimin nişan elbisesinin rengi kırmızı. (The color of my cousin’s engagement dress is red.)
In the last example: nişan elbisesi (engagement dress) → kuzenimin nişan elbisesi (my cousin’s engagement dress) → kuzenimin nişan elbisesinin rengi (the color of my cousin’s engagement dress).
Compounds Written as One Word
Some compounds are written as a single word. The ending is still there, inside the word.
| One word | Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ayçiçeği | ay (moon) + çiçek (flower) | sunflower |
| havalimanı | hava (air) + liman (harbor) | airport |
| anaokulu | ana (mother) + okul (school) | kindergarten |
| kuşburnu | kuş (bird) + burun (nose) | rose hip |
Note: you cannot guess the spelling from the grammar. TDK writes ayçiçeği as one word but ay çekirdeği (sunflower seeds) as two. When in doubt, check the word on sozluk.gov.tr.
Bir Fincan Kahve or Kahve Fincanı?
Rule: for an amount, put the container first with no ending. For the object itself, use a type 2 compound.
| Amount: container + contents | Object: type 2 compound |
|---|---|
| bir fincan kahve (a cup of coffee) | kahve fincanı (a coffee cup) |
| bir bardak çay (a glass of tea) | çay bardağı (a tea glass) |
| bir şişe su (a bottle of water) | su şişesi (a water bottle) |
- Bir bardak çay daha alır mısın? (Would you like another glass of tea?)
- Çay bardağı kırıldı. (The tea glass broke.)
For more café and restaurant language, see the list of essential Turkish phrases for dining out.
Recap: Common Mistakes with Turkish Compound Nouns
The struck-through forms below are incorrect: read them, but do not copy them.
Türk kahve(wrong: coffee is a thing, so it needs -(s)I)- Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee)
okul çantasım(wrong: two possessive endings on one noun)- okul çantam (my school bag)
tahta masası(wrong: a material takes no ending)- tahta masa (a wooden table)
okul yeni çantası(wrong: the adjective goes before the whole compound)- yeni okul çantası (a new school bag)
okul çantasılar(wrong: the plural goes before the ending)- okul çantaları (school bags)
Türk kahvesinle(wrong: the instrumental takes -y-, not -n-)- Türk kahvesiyle (with Turkish coffee)
İstanbul Havalimanısı(wrong: havalimanı already has its ending)- İstanbul Havalimanı (Istanbul Airport)
bir kahve fincanıfor “a cup of coffee” (wrong: this is the cup itself)- bir fincan kahve (a cup of coffee)
Conclusion
Turkish joins two nouns in three ways: no ending for a material (tahta masa), -(s)I for a kind (Türk kahvesi), and -(n)In + -(s)I for an owner (Elif’in çantası). Nationality words add one twist: no ending before a person (Türk sporcu), -(s)I before a thing. The rest follows a few simple rules: one possessive ending per noun, the plural before the ending, -n- before case endings (except the instrumental), and adjectives before the whole compound.
The next time you order a Türk kahvesi, you will know exactly why it ends in -si. To further learn Turkish, try the TurkishFluent app that takes you from A1 to C1 with 50+ lessons.
