Baba Declension: Turkish Cases of 'father'
baba means “father”. Its last vowel is a, so 2-way suffixes use a (babalar) and 4-way suffixes use ı (babanın). Because it ends in a vowel, vowel-initial suffixes need a buffer letter: babayı, babanın, babası.
Quick facts
- Plural
- babalar
- fathers
- Harmony
- Back unrounded
- suffix vowels a / ı
- Ends in
- a vowel
- buffer letters y / n / s
- Object form
- babayı
- accusative, “the father”
Rules this noun follows
- Buffer letter y — y separates two vowels (kapı-y-ı).babayı, babaya, babayla
- Buffer letter n — n separates two vowels in the genitive (kapı-n-ın).babanın
- Buffer letter s — s separates two vowels in the 3rd-person possessive (kapı-s-ı).babası
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).babasını, babasında
Baba in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -lar before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | babafather | babalarfathers |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | babayıthe father (object) | babalarıthe fathers (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | babayato the father | babalarato the fathers |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | babadain / at the father | babalardain / at the fathers |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | babadanfrom the father | babalardanfrom the fathers |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | babanınthe father's / of the father | babalarınthe fathers's / of the fathers |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | babaylawith the father | babalarlawith the fathers |
Possessive forms: “my father”, “your father”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (babasında). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | babammy father | babamımy father (object) | babamato my father | babamdain / at my father | babamdanfrom my father |
| seninyour | babanyour father | babanıyour father (object) | babanato your father | babandain / at your father | babandanfrom your father |
| onunhis/her/its | babasıhis/her father | babasınıhis/her father (object) | babasınato his/her father | babasındain / at his/her father | babasındanfrom his/her father |
| bizimour | babamızour father | babamızıour father (object) | babamızato our father | babamızdain / at our father | babamızdanfrom our father |
| sizinyour (pl.) | babanızyour (pl.) father | babanızıyour (pl.) father (object) | babanızato your (pl.) father | babanızdain / at your (pl.) father | babanızdanfrom your (pl.) father |
| onlarıntheir | babalarıtheir fathers | babalarınıtheir fathers (object) | babalarınato their fathers | babalarındain / at their fathers | babalarındanfrom their fathers |
Plural + possessive: babalarım (my fathers) · babaların (your fathers) · babaları (his/her fathers) · babalarımız (our fathers) · babalarınız (your (pl.) fathers) · babaları (their fathers)
Baba in example sentences
Hafta sonu babamla balık tutmaya gittik.
At the weekend I went fishing with my father.
Instrumental case
Watch out with baba
- Buffer letters after the final vowel. Vowel suffixes need a buffer: babayı (y), babanın (n), babası (s). After babası a case suffix adds n: babasında, not
*babasıda. Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: family & people
- abla older sister
- adam man
- ağabey older brother
- aile family
- amca uncle
- anne mother
- arkadaş friend
- bebek baby
- çocuk child
- dede grandfather
Other A1 nouns ending in a vowel
Questions about baba
What is the plural of baba?
The plural of baba ("father") is babalar. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of baba is a, a back vowel, so it takes -lar. The plural then takes case endings: babaları, babalarda, babalardan.
How do you say "to the father" in Turkish?
"To the father" is babaya, the dative case (-ya). Similarly, "in / at the father" is babada (locative) and "from the father" is babadan (ablative).
How do you say "my father" in Turkish?
"My father" is babam (often with the pronoun: benim babam). "Your father" is baban, "his/her father" is babası and "my fathers" is babalarım.
Drill Turkish noun cases in the TurkLogic app
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