Sevgi Declension: Turkish Cases of 'love'
sevgi means “love, affection”. Its last vowel is i, so 2-way suffixes use e (sevgiler) and 4-way suffixes use i (sevginin). Because it ends in a vowel, vowel-initial suffixes need a buffer letter: sevgiyi, sevginin, sevgisi.
Quick facts
- Plural
- sevgiler
- affections
- Harmony
- Front unrounded
- suffix vowels e / i
- Ends in
- a vowel
- buffer letters y / n / s
- Object form
- sevgiyi
- accusative, “the love”
Rules this noun follows
- Buffer letter y — y separates two vowels (kapı-y-ı).sevgiyi, sevgiye, sevgiyle
- Buffer letter n — n separates two vowels in the genitive (kapı-n-ın).sevginin
- Buffer letter s — s separates two vowels in the 3rd-person possessive (kapı-s-ı).sevgisi
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).sevgisini, sevgisinde
Sevgi in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -ler before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | sevgilove | sevgileraffections |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | sevgiyithe love (object) | sevgilerithe affections (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | sevgiyeto the love | sevgilereto the affections |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | sevgidein / at the love | sevgilerdein / at the affections |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | sevgidenfrom the love | sevgilerdenfrom the affections |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | sevgininthe love's / of the love | sevgilerinthe affections's / of the affections |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | sevgiylewith the love | sevgilerlewith the affections |
Possessive forms: “my love”, “your love”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (sevgisinde). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | sevgimmy love | sevgimimy love (object) | sevgimeto my love | sevgimdein / at my love | sevgimdenfrom my love |
| seninyour | sevginyour love | sevginiyour love (object) | sevgineto your love | sevgindein / at your love | sevgindenfrom your love |
| onunhis/her/its | sevgisihis/her love | sevgisinihis/her love (object) | sevgisineto his/her love | sevgisindein / at his/her love | sevgisindenfrom his/her love |
| bizimour | sevgimizour love | sevgimiziour love (object) | sevgimizeto our love | sevgimizdein / at our love | sevgimizdenfrom our love |
| sizinyour (pl.) | sevginizyour (pl.) love | sevginiziyour (pl.) love (object) | sevginizeto your (pl.) love | sevginizdein / at your (pl.) love | sevginizdenfrom your (pl.) love |
| onlarıntheir | sevgileritheir affections | sevgilerinitheir affections (object) | sevgilerineto their affections | sevgilerindein / at their affections | sevgilerindenfrom their affections |
Plural + possessive: sevgilerim (my affections) · sevgilerin (your affections) · sevgileri (his/her affections) · sevgilerimiz (our affections) · sevgileriniz (your (pl.) affections) · sevgileri (their affections)
Sevgi in example sentences
Watch out with sevgi
- Buffer letters after the final vowel. Vowel suffixes need a buffer: sevgiyi (y), sevginin (n), sevgisi (s). After sevgisi a case suffix adds n: sevgisinde, not
*sevgiside. Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: feelings & the mind
- akıl mind
- dert trouble
- dikkat attention
- düşünce thought
- hayal dream
- his feeling
- keyif pleasure
- merak curiosity
- mutluluk happiness
- sabır patience
Other B1 nouns ending in a vowel
Questions about sevgi
What is the plural of sevgi?
The plural of sevgi ("love") is sevgiler. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of sevgi is i, a front vowel, so it takes -ler. The plural then takes case endings: sevgileri, sevgilerde, sevgilerden.
How do you say "to the love" in Turkish?
"To the love" is sevgiye, the dative case (-ye). Similarly, "in / at the love" is sevgide (locative) and "from the love" is sevgiden (ablative).
How do you say "my love" in Turkish?
"My love" is sevgim (often with the pronoun: benim sevgim). "Your love" is sevgin, "his/her love" is sevgisi and "my affections" is sevgilerim.
Drill Turkish noun cases in the TurkLogic app
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