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Formation of nouns from adjectives - the suffix -lik
This suffix is vowel harmonized forms are -lik -lık -luk -lük.
The suffix -lik is very heavily used in Turkish. It has four main uses in Turkish as follows;
1. Formation of Abstract and Collective Nouns
The main use of the suffix -lik is to form Abstract Nouns from Adjectives.
güzel - beautiful - becomes - güzellik - beauty
mutlu - happy - becomes - mutluluk - happiness
iyi - good - becomes - iyilik - goodness
çocuk - child - becomes - çocukluk - childhood
zor - difficult becomes zorluk - difficulty, complication
It should be noted that the English Abstract nouns end in -ness, -tion, -ity, etc (generally)
Of course these abstract nouns can be further suffixed in Turkish according to their function in meaning:
mutluluğum - [mutluluğ-um] - my happiness
Hepimiz, çocukluğumuzu mutluluk içinde geçirdik. O zamanlarda mutluluğum sonsuzdu.
- All of us passed our childhood in happiness. At that time my happiness was endless
- [Hep-imiz, çocuk-luğ-umuz-u mut-lu-luk iç-i-nde geç-ir-dik. O zaman-lar-da mutlu-luğ-um son-suz-du.]
Thanks to Murat Açık for corrections to the sections above and below - JG, December 2012
Formation of Collective Nouns
genç - young becomes gençlik - youth
yaşlı - old becomes yaşlılık - age
insan - person/human becomes insanlık - human-kind
kişi - person/individual becomes kişilik - personality/identity
Bakan - Minister becomes Bakanlık - Ministry
balık - fish becomes balıkçı - fisherman becomes Balıkçılık - Fishing Club, Group, Association
This last example shows that noun suffixes can be chained to produce further extended meanings.
Thanks to Kadir Demirel for suggestions in this section - JG - Nov. 2006
2. Forming nouns of Usage
When adding -lik to concrete nouns or verb stems it forms nouns and adjectives meaning - suitable for.. intended for... place of...
tuz - salt - becomes - tuzluk - salt cellar
biber - pepper - becomes - biberlik - pepper shaker
göz - eye - becomes - gözlük - spectacles
kira - hire - becomes - kiralık - for hire
yağmur - raın - becomes - yağmurluk - raincoat, mackintosh, oilskin
3. Forming Nouns of Location
Bakan - Minister - becomes - Bakanlık - Ministry
çamaşır - linen, laundry items - becomes - çamaşırlık - a laundry
orman - forest - becomes - ormanlık - forest place
In this example of - forest - we can see that Turkish uses -lik to make a Substantive Noun of Location, as in the following example:
O tepenin arkasında büyük bir ormanlık bulunur - There is a large forest (to be found) behind that hill. Here the word - ormanlık - is used as a general Substantive Noun of Location. We may go on to talk about this particular - orman - itself: O ormanda çok yabani hayvan varmış. - It seems there are many wild animals in that forest.
Many place names - (have a look at a Turkish map) - often end in the suffix -lik. One that springs to mind is Ayvalık - Place of the Quince - [ayva], there is also a place near Çeşme called Değirmenlik - Place of the Mill - [değirmen]
It is difficult to translate this suffix directly into English, we can only say - "Quince" or "Quinceville" and "Milltown" or "Millhill" or whatever. Arising from the above we can also form nouns of "Place of" as follows
elmalık - apple orchard - from - elma - apple
sebzelik - vegetable garden, stall - from - sebze - vegetable
çiçeklik - flower garden, stall - from - çiçek - flower
kitaplık - book case - from - kitap - book
4. The Suffix -lik with Numbers:
A number is normally used as an adjective thus the number 10 (as an adjective) - on yumurta - ten eggs. Turkish changes numbers and numeric expressions into nouns by the addition of the -lik suffix thus the number 10 - on - becomes - onluk - the amount of ten. This is like saying Lend me a "tenner" in English, where the number 10 has become a noun of the amount ten. The suffix -lik is often added to counted nouns to produce a complex counted noun. Let us take our example of on yumurta -ten eggs. If we say I want a ten egg box. in English we understand that our requirement is "A box that will contain the amount of ten eggs."
Let us look at some possibilities in Turkish:
on yumurta bir kutu - ten eggs one box - this example has no meaning in Turkish - it is just two items - "ten eggs" and "one box". Turkish will use a counted noun - on yumurtalık - ten eggs-amount - thus - I want a ten egg box - becomes: On yumurtalık bir kutu istiyorum - [Lit: I want a ten egg-amount box.]
If we want to say - I want a box of ten eggs - the Turkish uses the -li - furnished with, containing - suffix:
On yumurtalı bir kutu istiyorum - I want a box containing ten eggs.
İki kişilik çadır var mı? - [Lit: Is there a tent of two person-amount?] - in English - Is there a double tent?
Evet var. Kaç günlük ? - [Lit: Yes, there is. How many day-amount?] - in English - Yes there is. For how many days?
An "eggy" question
Here is an "eggy" question from one of our Turkish friends, showing the diference in Turkish logic:
Shouldn´t that be? - "I want a ten egged box" - Cafer Bey by Email
My answer: To your suggestion:
"I want a ten egged box". I´m sorry I can not agree, I feel it should be "I want a ten egg box", as I have written.
If we say it your way, it makes the box itself "modified" as in "I want a black coloured box" or "I want a silk lined box".
But a "ten egg box" describes a box that can contain up to "ten eggs" ; that is how it is understood. Let us not forget that supermarkets in England sell their eggs in "egg boxes" not in "egged boxes"
To understand the difference "I want a three key box" - a box to put three keys into, and "I want a three keyed box" - a box which need three keys to open it.
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