Possessive Pronouns in Turkish
In Turkish, possessive pronouns are formed using suffixes that are added to personal pronouns.
Benim | my |
Senin | your (singular, informal) |
Onun | his / her / its |
Bizim | our |
Sizin | your (plural / formal) |
Onların | their |
Possessive Suffixes
In Turkish, possession is usually expressed with possessive suffixes that are attached directly to nouns. These suffixes show who something belongs to (my, your, his/her, our, etc.).
1. Words Ending in a Consonant
If a noun ends with a consonant, the possessive suffix is added directly to the word.
Example:
ev – house
evim – my house
evin – your house
evi – his/her house
2. Words Ending in a Vowel
If a noun ends with a vowel, a linking consonant -s- is used before the third-person possessive suffix.
Example:
araba – car
arabam – my car
araban – your car
arabası – his/her car
3. Vowel Harmony
Possessive suffixes follow the rules of Turkish vowel harmony.
This means the vowel in the suffix changes depending on the last vowel of the noun.
For example:
kitap – book → kitabım (my book)
göz – eye → gözüm (my eye)
kapı – door → kapım (my door)
gül – rose → gülüm (my rose)
4. Possessive Suffixes Table
| Person | Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| my | -(I)m | evim – my house |
| your (singular) | -(I)n | evin – your house |
| his / her / its | -(s)I | evi – his/her house |
| our | -(I)miz | evimiz – our house |
| your (plural) | -(I)niz | eviniz – your house |
| their | -(l)eri | evleri – their house |
(I = ı, i, u, ü depending on vowel harmony)
5. Important Note
Possessive suffixes are often used together with possessive pronouns:
Benim evim – my house
Senin araban – your car
Onun kitabı – his/her book
Benim | -m-ım, -im, -um, -üm | Benim ailem. – My family. Benim evim. – My house. Benim kızım. – My daughter. |
Senin | -n-ın, -in, -un, -ün | Senin ailen. – Your family. Senin evin. – Your house. Senin kızın. – Your daughter. |
Onun | -sı, -si, -su, -sü-ı, -i, -u, -ü | Onun ailesi. – His / her family. Onun evi. – His / her house. Onun kızı. – His / her daughter. |
Bizim | -ımız, -imiz, -umuz, -ümüz-mız, -miz, -muz, -müz | Bizim evimiz. – Our house. Bizim kızımız. – Our daughter. Bizim ailemiz. – Our family. |
Sizin | -ınız, -iniz, -unuz, -ünüz-nız, -niz, -nuz, -nüz | Sizin eviniz. – Your house. Sizin kızınız. – Your daughter. Sizin aileniz. – Your family. |
Onların | -ları, -leri | Onların evleri. – Their house / houses. Onların kızları. – Their daughter / daughters. Onların aileleri. – Their family / families. |
| baba (father) | anahtar (key) | anne (mother) | ev (house) | manto (coat) | kol (arm) | ütü (iron) | köy (village) | |
| Ben-im (my) | baba-m (my father) | anahtar-ım (my key) | anne-m (my mother) | ev-im (my house) | manto-m (my coat) | kol-um (my arm) | ütü-m (my iron) | köy-üm (my village) |
| Sen-in (your) | baba-n (your father) | anahtar-ın (your key) | anne-n (your mother) | ev-in (your house) | manto-n (your coat) | kol-un (your arm) | ütü-n (your iron) | köy-ün (your village) |
| O-nun (his / her) | baba-sı (his/her father) | anahtar-ı (his/her key) | anne-si (his/her mother) | ev-i (his/her house) | manto-su (his/her coat) | kol-u (his/her arm) | ütü-sü (his/her iron) | köy-ü (his/her village) |
| Biz-im (our) | baba-mız (our father) | anahtar-ımız (our key) | anne-miz (our mother) | ev-imiz (our house) | manto-muz (our coat) | kol-umuz (our arm) | ütü-müz (our iron) | köy-ümüz (our village) |
| Siz-in (your) | baba-nız (your father) | anahtar-ınız (your key) | anne-niz (your mother) | ev-iniz (your house) | manto-nuz (your coat) | kol-unuz (your arm) | ütü-nüz (your iron) | köy-ünüz (your village) |
| Onlar-ın (their) | baba-ları (their father) | anahtar-ları (their key) | anne-leri (their mother) | ev-leri (their house) | manto-ları (their coat) | kol-ları (their arm) | ütü-leri (their iron) | köy-leri (their village) |
If a word ends with a voiceless consonant, the possessive suffix begins with a vowel, and the final voiceless consonant changes to a voiced consonant. Examples of consonant changes:
p → b
t → d
k → g / ğ
ç → c
Benim kitabım – my book
Senin kitabın – your book
Onun kitabı – his/her book
Bizim kitabımız – our book
Sizin kitabınız – your book
Onların kitapları – their book / their books – In this case, consonant voicing does not occur.
Consonant voicing does not occur in words such as: saç, kravat, hayat, tişört, pasaport, bilet, etc.
Exceptions
The words su and ne attach suffixes to the stems suy- and ney-.
| Person / Number | su → suy- | Meaning | ne → ney- | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person singular (ben) | suyum | my water | neyim | what is mine |
| 2nd person singular (sen) | suyun | your water | neyin | what is yours |
| 3rd person singular (o) | suyu | his / her water | neyi | what is his / hers |
| 1st person plural (biz) | suyumuz | our water | neyimiz | what is ours |
| 2nd person plural (siz) | suyunuz | your water | neyiniz | what is yours |
| 3rd person plural (onlar) | suları | their water | neleri | what is theirs |
Loanwords such as saat, harf, and hayal take possessive suffixes with -i.
Examples:
benim saatim – my watch
senin harfin – your letter
onun hayali – his/her dream
Possessive suffixes are ALWAYS stressed. The meaning of the sentence depends on the position of the stress.
Examples:
Ben sekreterim. – I am a secretary.
Benim sekreterim. – My secretary.
Ben öğretmenim. – I am a teacher.
Benim öğretmenim. – My teacher.
Possessive suffixes are placed before case suffixes:
benim evimi, onun arabasını, bizim ailemizi.
NOTE: If case suffixes (dative -A, locative -DA, ablative -DAn, accusative -I) are added after the third-person possessive suffixes -(s)ı or -ları, the letter “n” is inserted between them.
This applies to the following possessive forms:
his / her / their: kitabı, sınıfı, köpeği, evi, balkonu → kitabına, sınıfında, etc.
- Onun evine gidiyorum. — I am going to his/her house.
- Onların sınıflarında bilgisayar var. — There is a computer in their classroom.
- Onun kitabında resimler var. — There are pictures in his/her book.
- Onların köpeğinden korkuyorum. — I am afraid of their dog.
- Onun balkonunda oturuyoruz. — We are sitting on his/her balcony.
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