Saat Declension: Turkish Cases of 'hour'
saat means “hour, clock”. Although its last vowel is a, it is a loanword that takes front-vowel suffixes (e/i/ü), so the plural is saatler. It is a regular noun: suffixes attach directly to saat, as in saati and saatte.
Quick facts
- Plural
- saatler
- hours
- Harmony
- Front unrounded
- suffix vowels e / i (loanword)
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- saati
- accusative, “the hour”
Rules this noun follows
- Loanword exception — This loanword takes front (e/i/ü) suffixes even though its last vowel is back.saatler, saati, saate
- Consonant hardening — After f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p a suffix-initial d becomes t (and c becomes ç).saatte, saatten
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).saatim, saatin
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).saatini, saatinde
Saat in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -ler before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | saathour | saatlerhours |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | saatithe hour (object) | saatlerithe hours (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | saateto the hour | saatlereto the hours |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | saattein / at the hour | saatlerdein / at the hours |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | saattenfrom the hour | saatlerdenfrom the hours |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | saatinthe hour's / of the hour | saatlerinthe hours's / of the hours |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | saatlewith the hour | saatlerlewith the hours |
Possessive forms: “my hour”, “your hour”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (saatinde). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | saatimmy hour | saatimimy hour (object) | saatimeto my hour | saatimdein / at my hour | saatimdenfrom my hour |
| seninyour | saatinyour hour | saatiniyour hour (object) | saatineto your hour | saatindein / at your hour | saatindenfrom your hour |
| onunhis/her/its | saatihis/her hour | saatinihis/her hour (object) | saatineto his/her hour | saatindein / at his/her hour | saatindenfrom his/her hour |
| bizimour | saatimizour hour | saatimiziour hour (object) | saatimizeto our hour | saatimizdein / at our hour | saatimizdenfrom our hour |
| sizinyour (pl.) | saatinizyour (pl.) hour | saatiniziyour (pl.) hour (object) | saatinizeto your (pl.) hour | saatinizdein / at your (pl.) hour | saatinizdenfrom your (pl.) hour |
| onlarıntheir | saatleritheir hours | saatlerinitheir hours (object) | saatlerineto their hours | saatlerindein / at their hours | saatlerindenfrom their hours |
Plural + possessive: saatlerim (my hours) · saatlerin (your hours) · saatleri (his/her hours) · saatlerimiz (our hours) · saatleriniz (your (pl.) hours) · saatleri (their hours)
Saat in example sentences
Watch out with saat
- Front suffixes after a back vowel. This loanword takes front-vowel suffixes: saatler, saati, saatte — not
*saatlar,*saatı. Rule → - This t does not soften. Unlike kitap → kitabı, saat keeps its t: saati, saate (not
*saadi). Loanwords and some native words are exceptions to the softening rule, so learn them as you meet them. Rule → - Time expressions. Saat kaç? "What time is it?", and saat üçte "at three o’clock": the locative goes on the number, not on saat.
- Locative with t, not d. After a voiceless consonant the locative and ablative start with t: saatte, saatten (not
*saatde). Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: time & calendar
- akşam evening
- ay month
- dakika minute
- gece night
- gün day
- hafta week
- kış winter
- sabah morning
- tatil holiday
- yaz summer
Other loanwords with front harmony
Questions about saat
What is the plural of saat?
The plural of saat ("hour") is saatler. Saat is a loanword that takes front-vowel suffixes despite its last vowel a, so it is saatler, not saatlar. The plural then takes case endings: saatleri, saatlerde, saatlerden.
How do you say "to the hour" in Turkish?
"To the hour" is saate, the dative case (-e). Similarly, "in / at the hour" is saatte (locative) and "from the hour" is saatten (ablative).
Why is it saatler and not saatlar?
Saat is a loanword whose final consonant was originally "soft" (palatal), so it takes front-vowel suffixes even though its last vowel is a: saatler, saati, saatte. Other examples are saat, kalp, rol and hal.
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