Forming the Plural of Nouns in Turkish

Forming the Plural of Nouns in Turkish

To form the plural in Turkish, you need to add the plural suffix -lar or -ler to the stem of the noun.

According to the law of vowel harmony, the suffix -lar is added to words with back vowels in the stem, while -ler is used with words that contain front vowels.

a, ı, o, u – lar
e, i, ö, ü – ler

Tekil – singular
Çoğul – plural

Some borrowed words that have “a, o, u” in the last syllable take the suffix “-ler” instead.

If nouns are used with numbers or words indicating quantity (such as birkaç, çok, kaç, az, birçok), the plural suffix is not added.

The conjunction ‘ve’ and the plural form

In the case of two coordinated nouns connected by the conjunction “ve”, the plural suffix is usually added only to the second word (this follows the suffix economy rule):
kadın ve erkekler – women and men.

However, it is also acceptable to add the suffix to both words:
kadınlar ve erkekler – women and men.

The plural suffix -lar / -ler is added not only to nouns but also to verbs.

Onlar konuşuyorlar – They are talking
Onlar evleniyorlar – They are getting married
Onlar dinliyorlar – They are listening

Exercises on the Plural in Turkish

Add the plural suffix

Put the words in the plural form