Turkish can change who an action affects by adding a voice suffix to the verb stem. You may know the passive (yapılmak, to be done) and the causative (yaptırmak, to have something done). Two more voices complete the system:
- the reflexive (dönüşlü), -(I)n: the subject acts on itself: giyinmek, to dress oneself.
- the reciprocal (işteş), -(I)ş: two or more subjects act on each other or together: tanışmak, to get to know each other.
Both are less productive than the passive and causative: you cannot add them to just any verb. But the verbs that have them are among the most frequent in daily conversation, and many have taken on meanings of their own.
Formation
| Voice | After a consonant | After a vowel | Harmony |
|---|---|---|---|
| reflexive | -in / -ın / -un / -ün | -n | 4-way |
| reciprocal | -iş / -ış / -uş / -üş | -ş | 4-way |
The vowel follows 4-way vowel harmony. The voice suffix comes straight after the root and before any tense or person suffix: giy-in-di-m (I got dressed), tanı-ş-tı-k (we met).
The reflexive -(I)n
| Base verb | Reflexive | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| giymek (to wear, put on) | giyinmek | to get dressed |
| soymak (to peel, strip) | soyunmak | to get undressed |
| yıkamak (to wash) | yıkanmak | to wash oneself, have a bath |
| taramak (to comb) | taranmak | to comb one’s hair |
| hazırlamak (to prepare) | hazırlanmak | to get ready |
| süslemek (to decorate) | süslenmek | to dress up, make oneself pretty |
| kurulamak (to dry) | kurulanmak | to dry oneself |
| saklamak (to hide) | saklanmak | to hide (oneself) |
| övmek (to praise) | övünmek | to boast |
- Çabuk giyin, geç kalıyoruz! — Get dressed quickly, we’re late!
- Akşam yemeğinden önce yıkandım. — I had a wash before dinner.
- Düğün için iki saat hazırlandı. — She spent two hours getting ready for the wedding.
- Çocuk dolabın içine saklandı. — The child hid in the wardrobe.
- Başarısıyla çok övünüyor. — He boasts a lot about his success.
Collision with the passive
The passive is -(I)l after consonants, -n after vowels and -(I)n after l. So the two voices look the same in two situations:
- Vowel-final stems: yıkanmak = to wash oneself or to be washed. Çocuk yıkandı (the child had a bath / was bathed) vs Araba yıkandı (the car was washed). The subject tells you which.
- l-final stems: silinmek is the passive (Tahta silindi, the board was wiped); reflexive readings are rare.
With consonant-final stems they separate cleanly: giyindi (he got dressed) vs giyildi (it was worn): Bu ceket hiç giyilmedi. — This jacket has never been worn.
Lexicalised reflexives
Some reflexive forms now have independent meanings that you should learn as vocabulary:
- görünmek — to appear, seem (vs passive görülmek, to be seen): Yorgun görünüyorsun. — You look tired.
- bulunmak — to be present, be located: Müze şehir merkezinde bulunuyor. — The museum is located in the city centre.
- sevinmek — to be glad: Bunu duyduğuma sevindim. — I’m glad to hear that.
- çekinmek — to shy away, hesitate: Sormaktan çekinmeyin. — Don’t hesitate to ask.
Kendi as the general reflexive
For verbs without a reflexive form, use the reflexive pronoun kendi with the ordinary active verb:
- Kendimi aynada gördüm. — I saw myself in the mirror.
- Kendine iyi bak! — Take care of yourself!
Even where a reflexive verb exists, kendi is used for contrast: Önce bebeği, sonra kendini yıkadı. — She washed the baby first, then herself.
The reciprocal -(I)ş
“Each other”
| Base verb | Reciprocal | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| görmek | görüşmek | to see each other, meet, talk |
| tanımak | tanışmak | to get acquainted |
| bulmak | buluşmak | to meet up |
| anlamak | anlaşmak | to agree, get along |
| karşılamak | karşılaşmak | to run into each other, encounter |
| yazmak | yazışmak | to correspond |
| bakmak | bakışmak | to look at each other |
| söylemek | söyleşmek | to chat, converse |
| çarpmak | çarpışmak | to collide |
The subject is plural, or one participant is in the subject and the other is added with ile / -(y)le:
- Ali ile Ayşe geçen yıl tanıştılar. — Ali and Ayşe met last year.
- Ali’yle bir partide tanıştım. — I met Ali at a party.
- Tanıştığımıza memnun oldum. — Nice to meet you. (lit. “I’m pleased that we’ve met”)
- Yarın saat beşte Taksim’de buluşalım. — Let’s meet at Taksim tomorrow at five.
- Ev sahibiyle kira konusunda anlaştık. — We came to an agreement with the landlord about the rent.
- Görüşürüz! — See you!
“Together” or “all at once”
With intransitive verbs, -(I)ş often means that a group does something together or in a jumble, not to each other:
- Çocuklar gülüştüler. — The children all laughed.
- Kuşlar uçuştu. — The birds flew up all together.
- Herkes bağırışıyordu. — Everyone was shouting at once.
- Sabahtan beri koşuşturuyoruz. — We’ve been rushing around since morning.
Lexicalised reciprocals and false friends
- yarışmak — to compete; barışmak — to make up after an argument.
- atışmak — to bicker, squabble (from atmak, to throw).
- anlaşmak — to agree, get along, not “to understand each other”. Komşularımızla iyi anlaşıyoruz = We get along well with our neighbours. For mutual understanding use Birbirimizi anlıyoruz.
Reciprocal -lAş on nouns
Nouns can form reciprocal verbs with -lAş: mesaj → mesajlaşmak (to text each other), mektup → mektuplaşmak (to exchange letters), selam → selamlaşmak (to greet each other), haber → haberleşmek (to keep in touch).
Careful: -lAş on adjectives means “to become”: zor → zorlaşmak (to get harder), ucuz → ucuzlaşmak (to get cheaper). The meaning depends on the base.
Birbiri as the general reciprocal
As with kendi, the pronoun birbiri (“one another”) works with any verb and takes the case the verb needs, plus a possessive for the person:
- Birbirimize yardım ediyoruz. — We help each other.
- Birbirinizi tanıyor musunuz? — Do you know each other?
- Birbirlerinden hiç ayrılmıyorlar. — They’re never apart.
Stacking voices
Voice suffixes stack in a fixed order: root + reflexive/reciprocal + causative + passive.
| Form | Analysis | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| tanıştırmak | tanı-ş-tır | to introduce (make people meet) |
| barıştırmak | barı-ş-tır | to reconcile |
| soyundurmak | soy-un-dur | to undress (someone) |
| tanıştırıldık | tanı-ş-tır-ıl-dı-k | we were introduced |
| görüşülmek | gör-üş-ül | to be discussed |
- Seni annemle tanıştırayım. — Let me introduce you to my mother.
- Bu konu dünkü toplantıda görüşüldü. — This issue was discussed at yesterday’s meeting.
Görüşülmek is very common in formal Turkish and the news: Teklif yönetim kurulunda görüşülecek — The proposal will be discussed by the board.
Everyday phrases built on these voices
Many set phrases you will hear daily use reciprocal or reflexive forms:
- Görüşmek üzere! — See you soon!
- Anlaştık! — Deal! / Agreed!
- Seninle tanıştırayım… — Let me introduce you to…
- Hazırlan, çıkıyoruz. — Get ready, we’re leaving.
- Sonra konuşuruz. — We’ll talk later.
Common mistakes
- Adding -iş to any verb. Yardım edişmek does not exist; use birbirimize yardım etmek.
- Object marking on reciprocals. Ali’yi tanıştım is wrong; tanışmak takes ile: Ali’yle tanıştım. (Ali’yi tanıyorum = I know Ali.)
- Confusing giyinmek and giymek. Ceketi giyindim is wrong; with an object use giymek: Ceketi giydim. Giyinmek has no object.
- Using anlaşmak for “understand each other”. Anlaştık means “we agreed”; “we understand each other” is Birbirimizi anlıyoruz.
- Using görünmek for “be seen”. Görünmek means “to seem, appear”; “to be seen” is the passive görülmek: Dün parkta görüldü. — He was seen in the park yesterday.
Mini-exercise
Choose the reflexive, reciprocal or stacked form.
- Biz 2019’da bir kursta (tanımak, reciprocal, past). → ?
- Sabah kalkıp hemen (giymek, reflexive, past, ben). → ?
- Ahmet’le çarşamba günü (bulmak, reciprocal, optative “let’s”). → ?
- Kardeşim beni yeni komşularla (tanımak, reciprocal + causative, past). → ?
- “They text each other every day.” → ?
- “You look very happy today.” → ?
Answers
- Biz 2019’da bir kursta tanıştık. — We met on a course in 2019.
- Sabah kalkıp hemen giyindim. — I got up in the morning and got dressed straight away.
- Ahmet’le çarşamba günü buluşalım. — Let’s meet up with Ahmet on Wednesday.
- Kardeşim beni yeni komşularla tanıştırdı. — My brother introduced me to the new neighbours.
- Her gün mesajlaşıyorlar. — They text each other every day.
- Bugün çok mutlu görünüyorsun. — You look very happy today.
Next steps
Feed tanıştırıldık or görüşülecek into the suffix deconstructor to see the voice layers, and review verbal nouns to tell the noun görüş (opinion) apart from the verb görüşmek.
