Turkish Compound Nouns

Turkish compound nouns roughly correspond to English compounds such as airport, housewife, and train station. For example, the Turkish equivalents of these compounds are havaalanı (airport), ev hanımı (housewife), and tren istasyonu (train station). Like in English, Turkish also has two main types of compound nouns: closed form and open form.

1. Closed Form

Closed form compound nouns are written without a space between the words. They can be formed in different ways:

• noun + noun

• adjective + noun

• noun + verb

• verb + verb

  
  

There are two main patterns:

(a) No suffix is used. The first words are in bold in the examples below:

• anavatan → mother country

• başkent → capital (city)

• yüzyıl → century

• ilkbahar → spring

• Karadeniz → the Black Sea

• okuryazar → literate

(b) The second word takes the suffix -i (-ı, -ü, -u). The second words are in bold in the examples below:

• kahverengi → brown

• atasözü → proverb

• havaalanı → airport

• kitabevi → bookshop

• balayı → honeymoon

Tip for learners:

Closed form compounds don’t always follow a clear rule, so it is best to learn them as vocabulary items. As can be seen, closed form Turkish compounds may translate into English as either ordinary nouns or compound nouns (in the closed or open form).

2. Open Form

Open form compound nouns are written with a space between the words. In Turkish, this type is called isim (or ad) tamlaması.

They always consist of two nouns. The second noun always takes the suffix -i (-ı, -ü, -u). If it ends in a vowel, the buffer letter s goes in between.

Examples:

• Türkçe öğretmeni → Turkish teacher

• ev hanımı → housewife

• diş macunu → toothpaste

• tren istasyonu → train station

• yatak odası → bedroom

• seyahat acentesi → travel agency

Key Points to Remember:

1. If the second noun is su (water), the buffer letter y is used instead of s:

• meyve suyu → fruit juice

• musluk suyu → tap water

  
  

2. If the second noun ends in a hard consonant (k, t, ç, p), it may change to its soft form (ğ, d, c, b):

• güneş gözlük → güneş gözlüğü → sunglasses

• yaya geçit → yaya geçidi → pedestrian crossing

• elma ağaç → elma ağacı → apple tree

• gece kulüp → gece kulübü → night club

Tip for learners:

Open form compounds are easier to recognize because they are written as two words. The key is to remember that the second noun always takes the suffix -i, with possible sound changes.

Now let’s look at another important form of compound nouns in Turkish.

Nationality + Noun Compounds

1. Relating to People: We simply combine the nationality adjective with the person or profession noun.

Examples:

• Türk yönetmen Nuri Bilge Ceylan → Turkish (film) director ...

• İngiliz yazar J.K. Rowling → English writer ...

• Brezilyalı futbolcu Alex de Souza → Brazilian footballer ...

2. Relating to Countries or Their Languages: We add the suffix -(s)i to the noun.

Examples:

• Türk kahvesi → Turkish coffee

• Yunan mitolojisi → Greek mythology

• İngiliz dili → English language

• Japon kültürü → Japanese culture

For nationalities ending in -li (-lı, -lü, -lu), we omit -li and use the country name.

Examples:

• Brezilyalı → Brezilya futbolu → Brazilian football

• Mısırlı → Mısır piramitleri → Egyptian pyramids

• Kanadalı → Kanada doları → Canadian dollar

But

• Amerikalı → Amerikan sineması → American cinema

This lesson is from my book easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1-A2). You can find more examples and exercises in the book. 👉 Check out the book here.