Turkish Suffix -li
Updated: Dec 22, 2025
The suffix -li is a powerful tool in Turkish. It creates countless adjectives, and once you learn to use it, your vocabulary will grow enormously. Let’s take a closer look at how it works.
It generally means having (the quality of), characterized by, or full of. We usually add it to nouns.
Note: The suffix -li follows vowel harmony, so it appears in four forms: -li, -lı, -lü, -lu.
Common Adjectives with -li
Examples of adjectives in -li:
başarılı → successful
dikkatli → careful
yetenekli → skillful
saygılı → respectful
önemli → important
yararlı → useful
tehlikeli → dangerous
değerli → valuable
anlayışlı → understanding
tecrübeli / deneyimli → experienced
renkli → colorful
çizgili → lined, striped
lezzetli → tasty, delicious
tuzlu → salty
yağlı → oily, fatty
şekerli → sugary, with sugar
çikolatalı → with chocolate
güneşli → sunny
rüzgârlı → windy
yağmurlu → rainy
karlı → snowy
bulutlu → cloudy
sisli → foggy
fırtınalı → stormy
-li Meaning With
In some cases, the suffix -li translates as with.
Examples of -li meaning "with":
10 katlı bir bina → a building with 10 floors
bahçeli bir ev → a house with a garden
iki odalı bir daire → a flat with two rooms
silahlı bir adam → a man with a gun
Describing People with -li
We also use the suffix -li to describe people’s physical appearance.
Examples of adjectives in -li describing people:
kısa ≠ uzun boylu bir kız → a short ≠ tall girl
orta boylu bir aktör → an actor of medium height
yeşil gözlü bir kadın → a green-eyed woman
kızıl saçlı bir kız → a red-haired girl
orta yaşlı bir iş insanı → a middle-aged businessperson
bıyıklı / sakallı bir adam → a man with a moustache / beard
geniş omuzlu ve kaslı bir adam → a broad-shouldered and muscular man
siyahlı iki adam → two men (dressed) in black
şık giyimli bir kadın → an elegantly dressed woman
Bonus Use of -li
We can also add it to the question word ne (neli).
Example:
A: Dondurmanı neli istersin? → What flavour ice cream would you like?
B: Limonlu ve çilekli. → Lemon and strawberry.
Practice
Translate the following phrases into Turkish using the pattern adjective + bir + noun (for example: a careful driver → dikkatli bir sürücü):
a thoughtful person
an ambitious student
an elderly man with glasses
a masked robber
a chocolate cake
a coffee with milk
a patient teacher
Looking Ahead
We also have the suffix -siz, which is the opposite of -li and shows lack or absence. We will explore it in another post.
This lesson comes from my book Turkish Vocabulary Booster: Word Formation in Turkish. Discover more suffixes and expand your vocabulary by exploring the book, and you can also try the word formation quizzes.
