İnsan Declension: Turkish Cases of 'person'
insan means “person, human”. Its last vowel is a, so 2-way suffixes use a (insanlar) and 4-way suffixes use ı (insanın). It is a regular noun: suffixes attach directly to insan, as in insanı and insanda.
Quick facts
- Plural
- insanlar
- people
- Harmony
- Back unrounded
- suffix vowels a / ı
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- insanı
- accusative, “the person”
Rules this noun follows
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).insanım, insanın
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).insanını, insanında
İnsan in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -lar before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | insanperson | insanlarpeople |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | insanıthe person (object) | insanlarıthe people (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | insanato the person | insanlarato the people |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | insandain / at the person | insanlardain / at the people |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | insandanfrom the person | insanlardanfrom the people |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | insanınthe person's / of the person | insanlarınthe people's / of the people |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | insanlawith the person | insanlarlawith the people |
Possessive forms: “my person”, “your person”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (insanında). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | insanımmy person | insanımımy person (object) | insanımato my person | insanımdain / at my person | insanımdanfrom my person |
| seninyour | insanınyour person | insanınıyour person (object) | insanınato your person | insanındain / at your person | insanındanfrom your person |
| onunhis/her/its | insanıhis/her person | insanınıhis/her person (object) | insanınato his/her person | insanındain / at his/her person | insanındanfrom his/her person |
| bizimour | insanımızour person | insanımızıour person (object) | insanımızato our person | insanımızdain / at our person | insanımızdanfrom our person |
| sizinyour (pl.) | insanınızyour (pl.) person | insanınızıyour (pl.) person (object) | insanınızato your (pl.) person | insanınızdain / at your (pl.) person | insanınızdanfrom your (pl.) person |
| onlarıntheir | insanlarıtheir people | insanlarınıtheir people (object) | insanlarınato their people | insanlarındain / at their people | insanlarındanfrom their people |
Plural + possessive: insanlarım (my people) · insanların (your people) · insanları (his/her people) · insanlarımız (our people) · insanlarınız (your (pl.) people) · insanları (their people)
İnsan in example sentences
Watch out with insan
- Two meanings of insanın. insanın is both "of the person" (genitive) and "your person" (possessive). insanı is likewise both the object form and "his/her person". 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
- baba father
- bebek baby
- çocuk child
Other back-vowel A1 nouns
Questions about insan
What is the plural of insan?
The plural of insan ("person") is insanlar. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of insan is a, a back vowel, so it takes -lar. The plural then takes case endings: insanları, insanlarda, insanlardan.
How do you say "to the person" in Turkish?
"To the person" is insana, the dative case (-a). Similarly, "in / at the person" is insanda (locative) and "from the person" is insandan (ablative).
How do you say "my person" in Turkish?
"My person" is insanım (often with the pronoun: benim insanım). "Your person" is insanın, "his/her person" is insanı and "my people" is insanlarım.
Drill Turkish noun cases in the TurkLogic app
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