Nehir Declension: Turkish Cases of 'river'
nehir means “river”. Its last vowel is i, so 2-way suffixes use e (nehirler) and 4-way suffixes use i (nehrin). Its last vowel drops before a vowel suffix (nehri, nehre) but stays before a consonant (nehirde).
Quick facts
- Plural
- nehirler
- rivers
- Harmony
- Front unrounded
- suffix vowels e / i
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- nehri
- accusative, “the river”
Rules this noun follows
- Vowel drop — The last vowel of the root drops before a vowel-initial suffix.nehri, nehre, nehrim
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).nehrim, nehrin
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).nehrini, nehrinde
Nehir in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -ler before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | nehirriver | nehirlerrivers |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | nehrithe river (object) | nehirlerithe rivers (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | nehreto the river | nehirlereto the rivers |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | nehirdein / at the river | nehirlerdein / at the rivers |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | nehirdenfrom the river | nehirlerdenfrom the rivers |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | nehrinthe river's / of the river | nehirlerinthe rivers's / of the rivers |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | nehirlewith the river | nehirlerlewith the rivers |
Possessive forms: “my river”, “your river”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (nehrinde). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | nehrimmy river | nehrimimy river (object) | nehrimeto my river | nehrimdein / at my river | nehrimdenfrom my river |
| seninyour | nehrinyour river | nehriniyour river (object) | nehrineto your river | nehrindein / at your river | nehrindenfrom your river |
| onunhis/her/its | nehrihis/her river | nehrinihis/her river (object) | nehrineto his/her river | nehrindein / at his/her river | nehrindenfrom his/her river |
| bizimour | nehrimizour river | nehrimiziour river (object) | nehrimizeto our river | nehrimizdein / at our river | nehrimizdenfrom our river |
| sizinyour (pl.) | nehrinizyour (pl.) river | nehriniziyour (pl.) river (object) | nehrinizeto your (pl.) river | nehrinizdein / at your (pl.) river | nehrinizdenfrom your (pl.) river |
| onlarıntheir | nehirleritheir rivers | nehirlerinitheir rivers (object) | nehirlerineto their rivers | nehirlerindein / at their rivers | nehirlerindenfrom their rivers |
Plural + possessive: nehirlerim (my rivers) · nehirlerin (your rivers) · nehirleri (his/her rivers) · nehirlerimiz (our rivers) · nehirleriniz (your (pl.) rivers) · nehirleri (their rivers)
Nehir in example sentences
Watch out with nehir
- The last vowel drops. Before a vowel suffix the second vowel disappears: nehri, nehre, nehrim (not
*nehiri,*nehire). Consonant suffixes keep it: nehirde, nehirler. Rule → - Two meanings of nehrin. nehrin is both "of the river" (genitive) and "your river" (possessive). nehri is likewise both the object form and "his/her river". Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: nature & weather
Other nouns that drop a vowel
Questions about nehir
What is the plural of nehir?
The plural of nehir ("river") is nehirler. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of nehir is i, a front vowel, so it takes -ler. The plural then takes case endings: nehirleri, nehirlerde, nehirlerden.
How do you say "to the river" in Turkish?
"To the river" is nehre, the dative case (-e). Similarly, "in / at the river" is nehirde (locative) and "from the river" is nehirden (ablative).
Why is it nehri and not nehiri?
Nehir belongs to a group of two-syllable nouns (mostly Arabic loans and body parts) whose second vowel drops when a vowel-initial suffix follows: nehri, nehre, nehrim. With consonant-initial suffixes the vowel stays: nehirde, nehirler.
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