Çay Declension: Turkish Cases of 'tea'
çay means “tea”. Its last vowel is a, so 2-way suffixes use a (çaylar) and 4-way suffixes use ı (çayın). It is a regular noun: suffixes attach directly to çay, as in çayı and çayda.
Quick facts
- Plural
- çaylar
- teas
- Harmony
- Back unrounded
- suffix vowels a / ı
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- çayı
- accusative, “the tea”
Rules this noun follows
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).çayım, çayın
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).çayını, çayında
Çay in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -lar before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | çaytea | çaylarteas |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | çayıthe tea (object) | çaylarıthe teas (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | çayato the tea | çaylarato the teas |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | çaydain / at the tea | çaylardain / at the teas |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | çaydanfrom the tea | çaylardanfrom the teas |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | çayınthe tea's / of the tea | çaylarınthe teas's / of the teas |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | çaylawith the tea | çaylarlawith the teas |
Possessive forms: “my tea”, “your tea”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (çayında). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | çayımmy tea | çayımımy tea (object) | çayımato my tea | çayımdain / at my tea | çayımdanfrom my tea |
| seninyour | çayınyour tea | çayınıyour tea (object) | çayınato your tea | çayındain / at your tea | çayındanfrom your tea |
| onunhis/her/its | çayıhis/her tea | çayınıhis/her tea (object) | çayınato his/her tea | çayındain / at his/her tea | çayındanfrom his/her tea |
| bizimour | çayımızour tea | çayımızıour tea (object) | çayımızato our tea | çayımızdain / at our tea | çayımızdanfrom our tea |
| sizinyour (pl.) | çayınızyour (pl.) tea | çayınızıyour (pl.) tea (object) | çayınızato your (pl.) tea | çayınızdain / at your (pl.) tea | çayınızdanfrom your (pl.) tea |
| onlarıntheir | çaylarıtheir teas | çaylarınıtheir teas (object) | çaylarınato their teas | çaylarındain / at their teas | çaylarındanfrom their teas |
Plural + possessive: çaylarım (my teas) · çayların (your teas) · çayları (his/her teas) · çaylarımız (our teas) · çaylarınız (your (pl.) teas) · çayları (their teas)
Çay in example sentences
Watch out with çay
- Two meanings. çay is also a "stream". Çay ocağı is the tea stall found in offices and markets.
- Two meanings of çayın. çayın is both "of the tea" (genitive) and "your tea" (possessive). çayı is likewise both the object form and "his/her tea". Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: food & drink
- bal honey
- balık fish
- çorba soup
- domates tomato
- ekmek bread
- elma apple
- et meat
- kahvaltı breakfast
- kahve coffee
- kebap kebab
Other back-vowel A1 nouns
Questions about çay
What is the plural of çay?
The plural of çay ("tea") is çaylar. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of çay is a, a back vowel, so it takes -lar. The plural then takes case endings: çayları, çaylarda, çaylardan.
How do you say "to the tea" in Turkish?
"To the tea" is çaya, the dative case (-a). Similarly, "in / at the tea" is çayda (locative) and "from the tea" is çaydan (ablative).
How do you say "my tea" in Turkish?
"My tea" is çayım (often with the pronoun: benim çayım). "Your tea" is çayın, "his/her tea" is çayı and "my teas" is çaylarım.
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