How to Use Yarım, Yarı, Yarısı, and Buçuk in Turkish

All these words roughly translate as half, but they are used differently in Turkish. In this lesson, you will clearly see where and how each one is used with simple explanations and natural examples.

1. Yarım (adjective)

Yarım (+ noun/noun phrase) translates as half (+ a/an + noun/noun phrase):

Turkish Examples	English Translations
yarım elma	half an apple
yarım saat	half an hour
yarım litre süt	half a litre of milk

2. Yarı (adjective and adverb)

a) As an adjective, yarı (+ noun) translates as half (+ noun):

Turkish Examples	English Translations
yarı pamuk, yarı polyester	half cotton, half polyester
yarı İngilizce, yarı Türkçe	half English, half Turkish
yarı Amerikalı, yarı Meksikalı	half American, half Mexican

b) As an adverb, yarı (+ adjective) translates as half (+ adjective):

Turkish Examples	English Translations
yarı açık	half open
yarı çıplak	half naked
yarı şaka, yarı ciddî	half joking, half serious

3. Yarısı (pronoun)

We use yarısı after nouns/noun phrases in the genitive case (Check out this lesson on the genitive case). It translates as half (+ of + noun/noun phrase):

Turkish Examples	English Translations
öğrencilerin yarısı	half of the students
günün yarısı	half of the day
yıllık gelirimin yarısı	half of my yearly income

4. Buçuk (adjective)

Buçuk (+ noun) translates as a half (+ noun). Like a half in English, buçuk is used after whole numbers:

Turkish Examples	English Translations
iki buçuk saat	two and a half hours
dört buçuk km	four and a half km
üç buçuk ay	three and a half months

I included this lesson as part of an appendix in my book easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1–A2), along with 10 other appendices, in addition to the 36 main units. Check out the book here.