Karın Declension: Turkish Cases of 'belly'
karın means “belly, stomach”. Its last vowel is ı, so 2-way suffixes use a (karınlar) and 4-way suffixes use ı (karnın). Its last vowel drops before a vowel suffix (karnı, karna) but stays before a consonant (karında).
Quick facts
- Plural
- karınlar
- bellies
- Harmony
- Back unrounded
- suffix vowels a / ı
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- karnı
- accusative, “the belly”
Rules this noun follows
- Vowel drop — The last vowel of the root drops before a vowel-initial suffix.karnı, karna, karnım
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).karnım, karnın
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).karnını, karnında
Karın in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -lar before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | karınbelly | karınlarbellies |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | karnıthe belly (object) | karınlarıthe bellies (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | karnato the belly | karınlarato the bellies |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | karındain / at the belly | karınlardain / at the bellies |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | karındanfrom the belly | karınlardanfrom the bellies |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | karnınthe belly's / of the belly | karınlarınthe bellies's / of the bellies |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | karınlawith the belly | karınlarlawith the bellies |
Possessive forms: “my belly”, “your belly”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (karnında). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | karnımmy belly | karnımımy belly (object) | karnımato my belly | karnımdain / at my belly | karnımdanfrom my belly |
| seninyour | karnınyour belly | karnınıyour belly (object) | karnınato your belly | karnındain / at your belly | karnındanfrom your belly |
| onunhis/her/its | karnıhis/her belly | karnınıhis/her belly (object) | karnınato his/her belly | karnındain / at his/her belly | karnındanfrom his/her belly |
| bizimour | karnımızour belly | karnımızıour belly (object) | karnımızato our belly | karnımızdain / at our belly | karnımızdanfrom our belly |
| sizinyour (pl.) | karnınızyour (pl.) belly | karnınızıyour (pl.) belly (object) | karnınızato your (pl.) belly | karnınızdain / at your (pl.) belly | karnınızdanfrom your (pl.) belly |
| onlarıntheir | karınlarıtheir bellies | karınlarınıtheir bellies (object) | karınlarınato their bellies | karınlarındain / at their bellies | karınlarındanfrom their bellies |
Plural + possessive: karınlarım (my bellies) · karınların (your bellies) · karınları (his/her bellies) · karınlarımız (our bellies) · karınlarınız (your (pl.) bellies) · karınları (their bellies)
Karın in example sentences
Watch out with karın
- The last vowel drops. Before a vowel suffix the second vowel disappears: karnı, karna, karnım (not
*karını,*karına). Consonant suffixes keep it: karında, karınlar. Rule → - Two meanings of karnın. karnın is both "of the belly" (genitive) and "your belly" (possessive). karnı is likewise both the object form and "his/her belly". Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: body
- boyun neck
- kalp heart
- kan blood
- omuz shoulder
- sırt back
- ağız mouth
- alın forehead
- ayak foot
- bacak leg
- baş head
Other nouns that drop a vowel
Questions about karın
What is the plural of karın?
The plural of karın ("belly") is karınlar. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of karın is ı, a back vowel, so it takes -lar. The plural then takes case endings: karınları, karınlarda, karınlardan.
How do you say "to the belly" in Turkish?
"To the belly" is karna, the dative case (-a). Similarly, "in / at the belly" is karında (locative) and "from the belly" is karından (ablative).
Why is it karnı and not karını?
Karın belongs to a group of two-syllable nouns (mostly Arabic loans and body parts) whose second vowel drops when a vowel-initial suffix follows: karnı, karna, karnım. With consonant-initial suffixes the vowel stays: karında, karınlar.
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