All about Kİ in the Turkish Language

In Turkish there are 3 types of - ki and its plural -kiler

Conjunction: - that, so that, as, but what, but.

Pronoun: - that/those which, which, who.

Idiom: - thus, like that, so it is.

 

Ki - as a Conjunction

This word ki replaces the English words - who, that, which - when joining two ideas in relation to each other. There is only the one word ki in Turkish as of course Turkish has no gender. Note that it is mandatory to use a comma preceding ki in Turkish in this type of usage to show the subject of the sentence clearly. Oran, ki sen bugün gördün, benim en iyi arkadaşım. - Oran, who you saw today, is my best friend Matematik, ki bir çok insan nefret eder, benim en sevdiğim derstir.Maths, which many people hate, is my favorite class. Ki is also used for joining two sentences together, but this method goes against Turkish Grammar rules. Biliyorum ki beni seviyorsun. - I know that you love me. This method is based on Persian Grammar and is more suitable to European thinking. However the construction shown below comes over as more natural to the Turk: Beni sevdiğini biliyorum. - The correct method according to Turkish grammar Whereas - Biliyorum ki beni seviyorsun. - although understandable is NOT the natural Turkish method. The correct Turkish method uses the -dik Relative Object participle: Beni sevdiğ-in-i biliyorum. - I know that you love me - [Lit: Me that-love-you knowing-am-I] sevdiğ- - that loves + -in - you/your + -i - object marker for the verb biliyorum - I know Thus it becomes that both ideas - "the person" and "their loving" become objects of the verb - I know. This is more suitable to the Turkish point of view. Ki - as a Suffix Most of the time the suffix ki again signifies - who, that, which - is actually in a locative situation. In Turkish the addition of ki to the object located completes the meaning whereas in English the relative pronoun in this relationship is glossed over or not included at all. Bahçedeki çocuk - The child (who is) in the garden. Note that the us of the relative ki - who, which, that - is necessary in Turkish although in English it can be omitted. For instance if we omit the ki and say - Bahçede çocuk - then in reality it is meaningless, whereas - Bahçedeki çocuk means - The child WHO is in the garden. - showing that "the child" is specific. Elimdeki para - The money (that is) in my hand, The money (that) I´ve got. Yanımdaki para yok - I don´t have money with me - [lit: money that is by my side.] Ki - as an Idiom This ki is often used in comparison as in: oysa ki - if it is thus, if that´s the way it is, thus, so then hal bu ki - the condition is this, that is the way it is, so then These days these utterances are regularly found written as a single word (in truth they are not), and have found a way into the language as such - oysaki - so, then, halbuki - It´s this way, like this..

Ki - as a Relative Pronoun 

In the completion of descriptive nouns, the suffix -ki can be added to the completed noun and then used in place of the noun + noun completion.

Ali´nin arabası, Ayşe´nin arabasından daha güzeldir.

Ali´s car is better than Ayşe´s car.

Ali´nin arabası, Ayşe´ninkinden daha güzeldir.

Ali´s car is better than Ayşe´s (one).

Bizim koltuklar [Koltuklarımız], Fatmaların koltuklarından daha yenidir.

Our chairs are newer that Fatma´s chairs.

Bizimkiler, Fatmaların koltuklarından daha yenidir.

Our ones are newer that Fatma´s chairs.

Bahçenin domatesi, seranın domatesinden daha lezzetlidir.

Our tomatoes are tastier than the greenhouse tomatoes

Bahçeninkiler, seraninkinden daha lezzetlidir.

The garden ones are tastier than the greenhouse ones.

Ahmet´in kitabi yerine Ahmet´inki.

Ahmet´s one in the place of Ahmet´s book.

Kiler - in the plural form 

Just as an example: içindekiler - contents [Lit: those which are inside]

Odanın içindekileri hepsi kiralamış

- Apparently all the room´s contents are on hire

The Suffix -ki (by Omero)

The following notes are thanks to - Omero (AllTheLyrics Forum) -ki is really one of the strangest suffixes used in Turkish:

-ki when used as suffix. It is used to create adjectives of words, which describe place or time 1. The cat is sick. - Kedi hasta. - The sick cat - Hasta kedi. 2. The cat is at home. - Kedi evde. - The cat, (which is) at home - Evdeki kedi. In No. 1. hasta is originally an adjective, so it can be used as an adjective without any change In No.2 at home is an adverbial expression of place . If you want to use such an expression as an adjective, you have to put a -ki at it. Another example: Sokakta yaşayan adam. - The man who lives on the street. (yaşayan is regarded as an adjective - it is the present participle - living) Sokaktaki adam. - The man, who is on the street. (as sokakta is not an adjective, but a noun plus suffix, you have to add a -ki to make an adjective of it. If you say: Adam sokakta. - The man is on the street. Here, sokakta is not an adjective but a noun indicating the location - therefore no -ki here.

Vowel changes to ki 

-ki is not subject to the vowel changes but with one exception: -kü exists, so whenever it is added to a word, the last vowel of which is ö or ü , it has to be -kü. Bugün sinemaya gidelim - Let us go to the cinema today. Bugünkü planımız, sinemaya gitmek. - Our plan for today [Today´s plan-our][ is to got to the cinema. Dünkü hava çok güzeldi. - Yesterday´s weather was nice. In both cases, the words bugün/dün are used in adjective-like functions. If you say the first one without -kü Dün hava çok güzeldi. it would mean Yesterday the weather was nice.

Ki as a separate word

What about the ki which is written separately, a big problem:

The film was so sad, that I had to cry. - Film o kadar üzücüydü ki, ağladım. The weather was so foggy, that I hardly saw anything. - Hava o kadar sisliydi ki, hiç bir şey göremiyordum.

Herkes bilir ki, dünya yuvarlaktır. - Everybody knows that the world is round. Oturdum ki, biraz dinleneyim - I sat down (in order) to have a rest. 

There are alternatives to use instead. For example I sat down to rest could also be Dinlenmek için oturdum Everybody knows that the world is round could also be Herkes dünyanın yuvarlak olduğunu bilir My suggestion: avoid this separate ki if you are a beginner, until you get used to it. Native speakers use it correctly, but it is not easy to describe, when exactly. The various meanings of -ki (suffix) and ki (stand alone word)

The English-Turkish dictionary says for ki : 1. who, which, that 2. so, that, such, that 3. seeing, considering that 4. as, though 5. when 6. ..?, I wonder?? 7. in, of Confused? Me too! So just concentrate on the other -ki which is used to make an Adjective of Location, which is really much more important. Thanks to - Omero How is -ki used - some examples

-ki as a word:

(mostly as conjuction) Odadan içeri girmişti ki telefon çaldı. - The phone rung as (as soon as; when; even as) he came into the room. İstanbul’un en büyük semti, ki yıllarca ben orada yaşadım, Kadıköy’dür. - The biggest town in (Lit: of) Istanbul is Kadıköy where I had live for years. Madem ki geldin o zaman konuşalım. - Now that you came, let’s talk then. İyi ki erken gelmişiz, yoksa yer bulamazdık. - Fortunately we came early, otherwise we would not have found any free seats. Neden bu kadar sinirleniyorsun ki? - Why are you getting so upset? / What are you getting upset for/about? (If "-ki" is at the end of sentences, it always shows a little shock, emphasizing, exaggeration, curiosity)

 

-ki as a suffix to make adjectives:

Perdenin üzerindeki sineği gördün mü, ne kadar büyük! - Did you see the fly on the curtain, how big it is. See -daki suffix of place 

A little converstaion using ki: - İçerdeki masanın üzerinde duran gömlekler yeni mi? - The shirts on the table inside, are they new? - Evet bugün aldım. Seninkileri de gördün mü? - Yes I bought Then today. Did you see yours? (Seninkiler = senin gömleklerin) - Yoo, nerede ki? - No, where are they then? (This ki is for showing his curiosity. Yoo is a gentle idiomatic way of saying No! in daily converation.) - Yatak odasındalar. - They are in the bed-room. If ki does not make an adjective, it should be always written separately. Thanks to Uğur Görgülü - 17 July 2011 About Ki Some examples from the Web, thanks to the unknown contibutor.

 

(1) who; which; that : bir çocuk ki çok yaramaz - a child who´s very naughty. Anlaşıldı ki bu işi o yapmış. - It´s become clear that he´s the one who did this. Sanmam ki gelsin. - I don´t think he´ll come. Bir şey yapmadım ki pişmanlık duyayım. - I haven´t done anything that I should feel sorry about.

 

 

(2) so ... that; such that: Öyle ucuz ki herkes alabilir. - It´s so cheap that everyone can afford it.

 

(3) Would you believe it? : Eve geldim ki kapı duvar. - I came home, but ki would you believe it? ki nobody answered the door. Elimi cebime attım ki para yok. - I felt in my pocket for it, but (ki - good heavens! - ki) the cash wasn´t there.

 

(4) seeing that, considering that: Adam üşümüş ki paltosunu giymiş. - The man must have been cold, seeing that he put on his coat.

 

(5) as, though: Cevap vermeseydi bile ki ki verdi ki iş olacağına varırdı. - Even if he hadn´t made a reply ki though he did ki the thing wouldn´t have turned out any differently.

 

(6) When: Henüz uykuya dalmıştım ki, bir patlama oldu. - I´d just dropped off to sleep when something exploded.

 

(7) I wonder?: Bilmem ki ne yapsam? - What should I do, I wonder?

 

8. Indicates frustration, disapproval, doubt, or anxiety: O bana inanmaz ki! - She will not believe me, so why should I talk with her? Ama bana verirler mi ki? - But will they actually give it to me, I wonder?

 

9. Is used for emphasis: Öyle güzel ki! - It´s more beautiful than I can say! Öyle bir para döktü ki! - He spent money like it was going out of style! Araba ki ne araba! - It´s a car and a half!/It´s some car! Some notes in Turkish from edebiyatfakultesi.com ki´ nin Yazımı: ki eğer bağlaçsa;

 

(A) Genelllikle iki cümleyi bağlama görevi yapar. Örnek: 1. cümle + 2. Cümle Hava o kadar güzeldi ki kendimi hemen sokağa attım. Bir de baktım ki ortalıkta kimse kalmamış.

 

(B) Kişi ve işaret zamirlerinden sonra gelen ki de bağlaç olup ayrı yazılır. Örnek : Ben ki, Bizler ki, Durum o ki Kişi zamiri kişi zamiri işaret zamiri

 

(C) Bazı bağlaçlarla birlikte kullanılmasına karşı, kalıplaşmış ki ayrı yazılır. Örnek : Öyle ki, yeter ki, kaldı ki

 

UYARI : ki, eğer bağlaçsa daima ayrı bir sözcük olarak yazılır. Ayrıca kendinden önce gelen sözcüğün ünlülerine uyum gösterip kı olmaz. Kendinden önce gelen sözcüğe bitişik yazılan ki ler ise şunlardır :

 

 

(1) de durum ekinden sonra gelip addan sıfat yapan ki : Örnek : evdeki hesap, kafamdaki plan, yoldaki insanlar (2) İlgi zamiri olan ki : Örnek Seninki, sınıfınki, bizimki (3) Bazı bağlaçlarla kalıplaşan ki : Örnek : Oysaki, mademki, halbuki, sanki (4) Zaman bildiren sözcüklerden sonra gelen ki : Örnek : Dünkü, akşamki, az öncek