The ablative case (ayrılma hâli or çıkma hâli) marks the point something moves away from. Its core meaning is “from”, but it also covers “out of”, “through”, “because of”, “made of”, “one of”, and the “than” of comparisons. If the locative answers where? and the dative answers where to?, the ablative answers nereden? (where from?).
For how it fits with the other cases, see the Turkish noun cases overview.
Forming the ablative
The suffix has four forms. Its vowel follows two-way vowel harmony, and its first consonant hardens to t after a voiceless consonant (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p, remembered as FıSTıKÇı ŞaHaP).
| Word ends in… | Last vowel e, i, ö, ü | Last vowel a, ı, o, u |
|---|---|---|
| a vowel or voiced consonant | -den | -dan |
| a voiceless consonant (f s t k ç ş h p) | -ten | -tan |
| Noun | Ablative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ev (house) | evden | from the house |
| okul (school) | okuldan | from school |
| araba (car) | arabadan | from the car |
| iş (work) | işten | from work |
| kitap (book) | kitaptan | from the book |
| ağaç (tree) | ağaçtan | from the tree |
| market | marketten | from the supermarket |
| Ankara | Ankara’dan | from Ankara |
| Mehmet | Mehmet’ten | from Mehmet |
No buffer letter is needed, because the suffix starts with a consonant, and the final p, ç, t, k of the noun does not soften: kitaptan, not kitabdan (compare kitabı in the accusative).
Pronouns, demonstratives and possessed nouns
| Base | Ablative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ben / sen | benden / senden | from me / from you |
| o | ondan | from him/her/it |
| biz / siz / onlar | bizden / sizden / onlardan | from us / you / them |
| bu / şu | bundan / şundan | from this / from that |
| evi (his house) | evinden | from his house |
| arkadaşı (her friend) | arkadaşından | from her friend |
After a third-person possessive, an extra n appears before the case ending: evi → evinden. The buffer letters guide explains this “pronominal n”.
Apostrophes and numbers
Proper names take an apostrophe: Türkiye’den, İzmir’den, Ayşe’den. Language names in -ce / -ca are ordinary nouns, so there is no apostrophe: İngilizceden, Türkçeden, Almancadan. With numerals, choose the form by how the number is pronounced: 5’ten (beşten), 3’ten (üçten), 2’den (ikiden), 6’dan (altıdan).
The main uses of the ablative
1. Movement away from a place
- Evden çıktım. — I left the house.
- İşten geliyorum. — I’m coming from work.
- Nereden geliyorsun? — Where are you coming from?
- Uçak İstanbul’dan saat beşte kalkıyor. — The plane leaves Istanbul at five.
2. Source: where something comes from
- Marketten ekmek aldım. — I bought bread from the supermarket.
- Bu haberi annemden duydum. — I heard this news from my mother.
- Kitaptan bir bölüm okudum. — I read a chapter from the book.
- Bu hediye arkadaşımdan. — This gift is from my friend.
3. Path: “through” or “via”
- Pencereden baktı. — She looked through the window.
- Köprüden geçtik. — We crossed over the bridge.
- Hangi yoldan gidelim? — Which road shall we take?
4. Cause: “because of”, “out of”
- Korkudan konuşamadı. — He couldn’t speak out of fear.
- Yorgunluktan uyuyakaldım. — I fell asleep from tiredness.
- Soğuktan titriyordu. — She was shivering with cold.
5. Material: “made of”
- Bu masa tahtadan yapılmış. — This table is made of wood.
- Altından bir yüzük aldı. — He bought a gold ring.
6. Part of a group: “one of”, “some of”
- Öğrencilerden biri geç kaldı. — One of the students was late.
- Bu kekten biraz alabilir miyim? — Can I have some of this cake?
7. Comparison: “than”
The thing you compare against goes in the ablative, usually with daha (more). See comparatives and superlatives for the full pattern.
- Ali Mehmet’ten daha uzun. — Ali is taller than Mehmet.
- Bu ev o evden daha büyük. — This house is bigger than that house.
- Türkçe bana İngilizceden daha kolay geliyor. — Turkish seems easier to me than English.
- Trenle gitmek otobüsten daha rahat. — Going by train is more comfortable than by bus.
8. Time: since, before, after
Several postpositions require the ablative:
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| -den beri | Sabahtan beri bekliyorum. | I’ve been waiting since the morning. |
| -den önce | Yemekten önce ellerini yıka. | Wash your hands before the meal. |
| -den sonra | Dersten sonra kahve içelim. | Let’s have coffee after the lesson. |
| -den başka | Senden başka kimse bilmiyor. | Nobody knows except you. |
| -den … -e kadar | Sabahtan akşama kadar çalıştım. | I worked from morning till evening. |
9. Price per unit at the market
- Domatesler kaçtan? — How much are the tomatoes (per kilo)?
Verbs that take the ablative
Some verbs need the ablative where English uses a direct object or a different preposition:
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| korkmak | to be afraid of | Köpeklerden korkuyorum. — I’m afraid of dogs. |
| hoşlanmak | to like | Bu şarkıdan hoşlandım. — I liked this song. |
| nefret etmek | to hate | Yalandan nefret ederim. — I hate lies. |
| bahsetmek | to talk about | Bana bu kitaptan bahsetti. — She told me about this book. |
| sıkılmak | to get bored of | Bu diziden sıkıldım. — I got bored of this series. |
| vazgeçmek | to give up | Şekerden vazgeçti. — He gave up sugar. |
| ayrılmak | to leave | Saat altıda ofisten ayrıldım. — I left the office at six. |
| emin olmak | to be sure of | Bundan eminim. — I’m sure of this. |
Short dialogue
- Zeynep: Nerelisin? — Where are you from?
- Tom: İngiltere’denim, ama iki yıldır İzmir’de yaşıyorum. — I’m from England, but I’ve been living in İzmir for two years.
- Zeynep: Şimdi nereden geliyorsun? — Where are you coming from now?
- Tom: İşten. Ofisten çıkınca marketten biraz meyve aldım. — From work. After leaving the office I bought some fruit at the supermarket.
- Zeynep: İzmir’i Londra’dan daha çok seviyor musun? — Do you like İzmir more than London?
- Tom: Evet, havası Londra’nınkinden çok daha güzel! — Yes, its weather is much nicer than London’s!
Notice İngiltere’denim: the ablative plus a “to be” ending means “I am from”. The question Nerelisin? uses the suffix -li instead, and its answer can be İngiltere’denim or İngiliz’im.
Common mistakes
- Writing d after a voiceless consonant. Kitapdan, Mehmet’den are wrong; use kitaptan, Mehmet’ten.
- Softening the stem. The ablative never softens: ağaçtan, not ağacdan.
- Apostrophes on language names. İngilizce’den is wrong; write İngilizceden.
- Forgetting the pronominal n. Evisden or evidan are wrong; use evinden (from his house).
- Using the accusative with korkmak. Köpekleri korkuyorum is wrong; say Köpeklerden korkuyorum.
- Confusing ablative and locative. Okulda means “at school”; okuldan means “from school”.
Mini-exercise
Add the correct ablative ending.
- Saat sekizde (ev) çıktım. → ?
- Bu bilgiyi (kitap) öğrendim. → ?
- (Ankara) İzmir’e otobüsle gittik. → ?
- Bu hediye (sen) mi? → ?
- Kız kardeşim (kedi) korkuyor. → ?
- (Kahvaltı) sonra yürüyüşe çıktık. → ?
Answers: 1. evden 2. kitaptan 3. Ankara’dan 4. senden 5. kediden 6. Kahvaltıdan
Next steps
Paste words like arkadaşlarımdan into the suffix deconstructor to see each layer, and check -den versus -dan in the harmony calculator.
