Yufka Yürekli – Everyday Turkish Expression

Meaning

Soft-hearted; very kind and easily moved 

It is used to describe someone who is very kind, soft-hearted, and easily moved emotionally.

It is often used for people who cannot hurt others and feel compassion quickly.

Literal meaning

With a heart like yufka — a very thin and soft type of dough used in Turkish cuisine, as shown in the image below.

Royalty-free image from Pixabay.

Example sentences:

• Anneler yufka yürekli olurlar.

→ Mothers tend to be soft-hearted.

• Deniz çok yufka yüreklidir. Kimseyi üzemez.

→ Deniz is very soft-hearted. She can’t hurt anyone.

Culture note

Interestingly, Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot has been translated into Turkish with different titles. In some editions, it appeared as Yufka Yürek, Yufka Yürekli, or Bir Yufka Yürekli, all highlighting the main character’s extreme kindness rather than his intelligence. In others, it was translated as Budala, which in Turkish is commonly used with a meaning close to “aptal” (idiot).

This contrast is striking: while some people see the character as soft-hearted and compassionate, others see him as foolish.

Opposite Expression

In Turkish, the opposite of yufka yürekli is commonly expressed with taş yürekli or taş kalpli (stone-hearted).

Both expressions are used to describe people who are merciless, emotionally cold, and lack compassion

towards others.

While taş kalpli is slightly more common in everyday speech, taş yürekli is also perfectly natural and widely understood. In practice, they are often used interchangeably.

For the suffix -li in yürekli and kalpli, see our lesson on the suffix -li.