Conjunctions (bağlaçlar) join words, phrases and sentences: and, but, or, because. Turkish has these words too, and they work much as they do in English: they stand between the two things they connect and they never change their form. The main difference is that Turkish often prefers a suffix instead of a conjunction when it joins two verbs, which we cover at the end.
“And”: ve, ile, de
ve is the neutral “and”. It joins words, phrases and whole clauses.
- Ekmek ve peynir aldım. — I bought bread and cheese.
- Ankara ve İstanbul — Ankara and İstanbul
- Eve geldi ve hemen yattı. — He came home and went straight to bed.
ile (often suffixed as -(y)la / -(y)le) also means “and” between nouns, especially people, and “with” (see the instrumental case):
- Annemle babam tatile gitti. — My mum and dad went on holiday.
- Ali ile Ayşe evlendi. — Ali and Ayşe got married.
de / da after a word means “also, too” and can link clauses loosely: Ben de geliyorum (I’m coming too). It has its own guide: particles de, ki, bile, işte.
“But”: ama, fakat, ancak, lakin
| Word | Register | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ama | everyday | Pahalı ama çok güzel. — It’s expensive but very nice. |
| fakat | neutral to formal | Aradım fakat açmadı. — I called but he didn’t answer. |
| ancak | formal | Başvuru açık, ancak süre kısa. — Applications are open, but the deadline is short. |
| lakin | old-fashioned, literary | Lakin kimse dinlemedi. — Yet no one listened. |
Ama is also used for emphasis in speech: Ama yapma! — Oh, come on, don’t! / Çok güzel ama! — It’s really lovely!
“Or”: veya, ya da, yahut, yoksa
- Çay veya kahve içebilirsiniz. — You can have tea or coffee.
- Yarın ya da öbür gün gelirim. — I’ll come tomorrow or the day after.
- Otobüsle yahut metroyla gidebilirsin. — You can go by bus or metro. (yahut is literary)
In questions offering a choice, Turkish normally uses the question particle twice, or yoksa:
- Çay mı kahve mi? — Tea or coffee?
- Bugün mü gidiyorsun, yoksa yarın mı? — Are you going today, or tomorrow?
Yoksa also means “otherwise, or else”: Acele et, yoksa treni kaçıracağız. — Hurry up, or else we’ll miss the train.
Paired conjunctions
| Pair | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| hem … hem (de) | both … and | Hem ucuz hem de lezzetli. — Both cheap and tasty. |
| ne … ne (de) | neither … nor | Ne aradı ne de mesaj attı. — He neither called nor texted. |
| ya … ya (da) | either … or | Ya bugün ya yarın bitireceğiz. — We’ll finish either today or tomorrow. |
| gerek … gerek(se) | both … and (formal) | Gerek öğrenciler gerekse öğretmenler katıldı. — Both students and teachers took part. |
With ne … ne, the verb stays positive: Ne et ne balık yiyorum — I eat neither meat nor fish. Using a negative verb here (yemiyorum) is a common learner error.
“Because” and “so”: çünkü, zira, bu yüzden
çünkü introduces the reason, after the main clause:
- Bugün işe gitmedim, çünkü hastayım. — I didn’t go to work today because I’m ill.
- Neden geç kaldın? – Çünkü otobüs gelmedi. — Why were you late? – Because the bus didn’t come.
Zira means the same and is formal or literary.
To give the result (“so, therefore”), use:
- bu yüzden / o yüzden — that’s why, so: Çok yorgundum, bu yüzden erken yattım. — I was very tired, so I went to bed early.
- bu nedenle / bu sebeple — for this reason (more formal)
- yani — that is, so, I mean: Saat on oldu, yani geç kaldık. — It’s ten o’clock, so we’re late.
Turkish also expresses cause with suffixes: Hasta olduğum için gelmedim (I didn’t come because I was ill). That pattern is B1 material and builds on noun clauses.
Contrast: oysa, halbuki, yine de
- oysa / halbuki — whereas, but in fact: Bitti sanıyordum, oysa daha yarısındayız. — I thought it was finished, but in fact we’re only halfway.
- yine de / gene de — still, nevertheless: Hava soğuk, yine de denize girdik. — It’s cold, but we still went in the sea.
- rağmen — despite (with the dative): Yağmura rağmen maç oynandı. — The match was played despite the rain.
Adding and clarifying: ayrıca, hatta, yani
- ayrıca — also, in addition: Ayrıca yarın toplantı var. — There’s also a meeting tomorrow.
- hatta — even, in fact: Çok iyi Türkçe konuşuyor, hatta şiir yazıyor. — She speaks very good Turkish; she even writes poetry.
ki, eğer and madem
ki joins a main clause to a following clause, in a Persian-style order that is very common in speech:
- Biliyorum ki haklısın. — I know that you’re right.
- O kadar yorgunum ki hemen uyuyacağım. — I’m so tired that I’ll fall asleep right away.
eğer (“if”) is optional, because the condition is carried by -se/-sa on the verb: (Eğer) vaktin olursa ara. — Call if you have time.
madem(ki) means “since, seeing that”: Madem geldin, bir çay iç. — Since you’re here, have a tea.
Spelling of ki
The conjunction ki is written separately. It is written together only in fixed words: çünkü, belki, sanki, mademki, halbuki, oysaki. The conjunction never changes its vowel; çünkü is a fixed word.
When Turkish prefers a suffix
Between two verbs with the same subject, Turkish often avoids ve and uses the converb -ip instead:
- Eve gelip yemek yedim. — I came home and ate. (more natural than Eve geldim ve yemek yedim)
- Oturup konuştuk. — We sat and talked.
Similarly, “when”, “while” and “after” are usually suffixes, not conjunctions. See converbs.
A short dialogue
- Zeynep: Hafta sonu sinemaya mı gidelim, yoksa evde mi kalalım? — Shall we go to the cinema at the weekend, or stay home?
- Murat: Sinemaya gidelim ama önce yemek yiyelim, çünkü çok açım. — Let’s go to the cinema, but let’s eat first, because I’m starving.
- Zeynep: Tamam. Pizza ya da döner? — OK. Pizza or döner?
- Murat: Ne pizza ne döner, bugün balık istiyorum. Hem sağlıklı hem de hafif. — Neither pizza nor döner; I want fish today. It’s both healthy and light.
- Zeynep: Ben de! O zaman sahile gidelim. — Me too! Let’s go to the seafront, then.
Count the joining words: yoksa, ama, çünkü, ya da, ne … ne, hem … hem de. Six conjunctions in five short lines is completely normal in everyday Turkish.
Common mistakes
- Negative verb with ne … ne. Ne çay ne kahve içmem should be Ne çay ne kahve içerim.
- veya in either/or questions. Çay veya kahve mi? sounds odd; say Çay mı kahve mi?
- Spelling ki together. Biliyorumki is wrong; write Biliyorum ki. But çünkü and belki are always one word.
- Overusing ve between verbs. Correct but heavy; try -ip.
- Using rağmen without the dative. Yağmur rağmen should be yağmura rağmen.
Mini-exercise
Fill in the gap with a suitable conjunction.
- Kahve … çay istemiyorum, su lütfen. (neither … nor) → ?
- Türkçe zor … çok güzel. (but) → ?
- Erken çıktım, … zamanında vardım. (so) → ?
- Hafta sonu … sinemaya … tiyatroya gideceğiz. (either … or) → ?
- Yorgunum … çok çalıştım. (because) → ?
- Hava güzel, … evde kalmak istiyorum. (still / nevertheless) → ?
Answers
- Ne kahve ne çay istiyorum, su lütfen. — I want neither coffee nor tea; water, please.
- Türkçe zor ama çok güzel. — Turkish is hard but very beautiful.
- Erken çıktım, bu yüzden zamanında vardım. — I left early, so I arrived on time.
- Hafta sonu ya sinemaya ya da tiyatroya gideceğiz. — At the weekend we’ll go either to the cinema or to the theatre.
- Yorgunum çünkü çok çalıştım. — I’m tired because I worked a lot.
- Hava güzel, yine de evde kalmak istiyorum. — The weather’s nice, but I still want to stay at home.
Practice this
Typing çünkü and ya da every day? Set up the Turkish characters with the keyboard tool, then move on to the small words that add nuance in particles de, ki, bile and işte.
