Su Declension: Turkish Cases of 'water'
su means “water”. Its last vowel is u, so 2-way suffixes use a (sular) and 4-way suffixes use u (suyu). It is irregular: before a vowel it uses the stem suy-, so you get suyu and suyun.
Quick facts
- Plural
- sular
- water
- Harmony
- Back rounded
- suffix vowels a / u
- Ends in
- a vowel
- buffer letters y / n / s
- Object form
- suyu
- accusative, “the water”
Rules this noun follows
- Irregular stem — su and ne use y instead of the usual buffer (suyu, neyi).suyu, suyun, suyum
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).suyum, suyun
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).suyunu, suyunda
Su in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -lar before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | suwater | sularwater |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | suyuthe water (object) | sularıthe water (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | suyato the water | sularato the water |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | sudain / at the water | sulardain / at the water |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | sudanfrom the water | sulardanfrom the water |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | suyunthe water's / of the water | sularınthe water's / of the water |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | suylawith the water | sularlawith the water |
Possessive forms: “my water”, “your water”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (suyunda). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | suyummy water | suyumumy water (object) | suyumato my water | suyumdain / at my water | suyumdanfrom my water |
| seninyour | suyunyour water | suyunuyour water (object) | suyunato your water | suyundain / at your water | suyundanfrom your water |
| onunhis/her/its | suyuhis/her water | suyunuhis/her water (object) | suyunato his/her water | suyundain / at his/her water | suyundanfrom his/her water |
| bizimour | suyumuzour water | suyumuzuour water (object) | suyumuzato our water | suyumuzdain / at our water | suyumuzdanfrom our water |
| sizinyour (pl.) | suyunuzyour (pl.) water | suyunuzuyour (pl.) water (object) | suyunuzato your (pl.) water | suyunuzdain / at your (pl.) water | suyunuzdanfrom your (pl.) water |
| onlarıntheir | sularıtheir water | sularınıtheir water (object) | sularınato their water | sularındain / at their water | sularındanfrom their water |
Plural + possessive: sularım (my water) · suların (your water) · suları (his/her water) · sularımız (our water) · sularınız (your (pl.) water) · suları (their water)
Su in example sentences
Watch out with su
- Irregular stem. Before a vowel, su uses the old stem suy-: suyu, suyun, suyum (not
*susu). The locative and ablative are regular: suda, sudan. - Two meanings of suyun. suyun is both "of the water" (genitive) and "your water" (possessive). suyu is likewise both the object form and "his/her water". Rule →
Related nouns and resources
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Other A1 nouns ending in a vowel
Questions about su
What is the plural of su?
The plural of su ("water") is sular. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of su is u, a back vowel, so it takes -lar. The plural then takes case endings: suları, sularda, sulardan.
How do you say "to the water" in Turkish?
"To the water" is suya, the dative case (-a). Similarly, "in / at the water" is suda (locative) and "from the water" is sudan (ablative).
Why is it suyu and not susu?
Su is one of two irregular nouns (with ne): before a vowel-initial suffix it uses the old stem suy-, giving suyu, suya, suyun and suyum. Consonant suffixes are regular: suda, sudan, sular.
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