You will choose between öğrenmek and öğretmek by asking who gives the knowledge and who receives it, and mark the person with the right case.
The idea
Öğrenmek is to learn: the subject is the person who gains the knowledge, and the person you learn from takes -den/-dan: Ali'den öğrendim. Öğretmek is to teach: the subject is the person who gives the knowledge, and the person taught takes -e/-a: Ali'ye öğrettim. The thing itself is the object: Türkçe öğreniyorum, Türkçeyi öğretiyorum.
| Verb | I (present) | I (past) | With a person |
|---|---|---|---|
| öğrenmek | öğreniyorum | öğrendim | Ali'den öğrendim |
| öğretmek | öğretiyorum | öğrettim | Ali'ye öğrettim |
Examples
- Ben Türkçe öğreniyorum.I am learning Turkish.
- Ayşe bana Türkçe öğretiyor.Ayşe is teaching me Turkish.Bana is ben in the dative: the person who receives the teaching takes -e/-a. Ayşe gives the knowledge and I take it, so the verb is öğretiyor.
- Babam bana yüzmeyi öğretti.My father taught me to swim.
- Bu şarkıyı büyükannemizden öğrendik.We learned this song from our grandmother.The person you learn from takes -den/-dan: büyükannemizden. With öğretmek the person would take -e/-a instead.
- Kızım okulda İngilizce öğreniyor.My daughter is learning English at school.
- Annem komşumuzun çocuklarına piyano öğretiyor.My mother teaches our neighbour's children piano.
- Kızıma saat okumayı öğretiyorum.I am teaching my daughter to tell the time.
- Yeni bir dil öğrenmek zaman alır.Learning a new language takes time.
- öğretmenlerimizeto our teachersöğretmenler-ler / -lar: the plural suffiximiz-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: oure-e / -a / -ye / -ya: to, towards
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Watch out
Do not let one verb do both jobs, as French apprendre or Russian учить can: Ayşe bana Türkçe öğreniyor is wrong when Ayşe is the teacher, because she needs öğretiyor. The person also changes case: you learn from someone (Ayşe'den öğrendim) but you teach to someone (Ayşe'ye öğrettim).
Try it yourself
Fill in the verb: My mother taught me how to cook.
Show answer or example answer
öğretti
öğretti: your mother gives the knowledge, so the verb is öğretmek, and bana shows who receives it; the past ending is -ti because öğret- ends in the voiceless t.
Fill in the verb: I am learning German.
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öğreniyorum
öğreniyorum: you are the one gaining the knowledge, so öğrenmek; -iyor follows the stem öğren- and -um means "I".
Fill in the verb: We learned this recipe from our neighbour.
Show answer or example answer
öğrendik
öğrendik: the neighbour is the source, marked by -dan, so the learner's verb öğrenmek is right; -di follows the voiced n and -k means "we".
Fill in the verb: The teacher is teaching the children the letters.
Show answer or example answer
öğretiyor
öğretiyor: the teacher gives the letters and the children take -a in çocuklara, so öğretmek; the final t of öğret- stays before -iyor.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Fill in the verb: My mother taught me how to cook.
Fill in the verb: I am learning German.
Fill in the verb: We learned this recipe from our neighbour.
Fill in the verb: The teacher is teaching the children the letters.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: to our teachers
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Write four sentences: two about something you are learning and who it comes from, and two about something you could teach and who would receive it. Check the case of each person.