You will recognise the most common Turkish pet names, see that each one is a plain word with the ending for “my”, and say a few of them correctly.
The idea
A Turkish pet name is usually an everyday word plus the ending for “my”: can (soul, life) becomes canım, aşk (love) becomes aşkım, hayat (life) becomes hayatım, tatlı (sweet) becomes tatlım. After a consonant the ending is -ım, -im, -um or -üm by vowel harmony, after a vowel only -m: kuzu becomes kuzum. The word stands alone, set off by a comma, at the start or the end of the sentence and takes no case ending: Canım, yemek hazır. Canım is the widest term and is used among friends and by parents; aşkım is mostly for a partner. Usage varies with age, family and region.
| Base word | With the “my” ending | Ending and change |
|---|---|---|
| can | canım | -ım |
| aşk | aşkım | -ım |
| hayat | hayatım | -ım |
| tatlı | tatlım | -m |
| kuzu | kuzum | -m |
| bebek | bebeğim | k → ğ, -im |
| melek | meleğim | k → ğ, -im |
| güzel | güzelim | -im |
Examples
- Canım, yemek hazır.Darling, the meal is ready.The person addressed gets no case ending. Canım stands alone, set off by a comma, at the start or the end.
- Aşkım, bugün geç kalacağım.Love, I will be late today.
- Bebeğim, ellerini yıkadın mı?Sweetheart, did you wash your hands?A parent might say this to a child. The final k of bebek becomes ğ before the ending: bebeğim.
- bebeğimmy baby, sweetheartbebeğim-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my
- hayatımmy life, my darlinghayatım-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my
- tatlımmy sweettatlım-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my
- Canım arkadaşım, nasılsın?My dear friend, how are you?Without a comma, canım works like an adjective in front of a noun: dear friend. Friends use it with each other too.
- Canım sıkılıyor.I am bored.Here canım is not an address but the subject of a fixed phrase, literally my soul is squeezed. It means I am bored.
- Kuzum, bana su verir misin?Dear, could you give me some water?
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Watch out
In words that end in a soft k, such as bebek and melek, the k becomes ğ before the ending: bebeğim, meleğim, not bebekim. The t of hayat stays: hayatım. With a colleague or a stranger, aşkım and hayatım will usually sound far too close.
Try it yourself
Add the ending for “my” to bebek (baby) to make a pet name.
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bebeğim
bebeğim: bebek ends in k, which becomes ğ before the ending, and the front vowel e gives -im.
Add the ending for “my” to tatlı (sweet) to make a pet name.
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tatlım
tatlım: tatlı already ends in a vowel, so only -m is added, with no second ı.
Add the ending for “my” to hayat (life) to make a pet name.
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hayatım
hayatım: the last vowel a is a back vowel, so the ending is -ım, and the t of hayat stays.
Add the ending for “my” to kuzu (lamb) to make a pet name.
Show answer or example answer
kuzum
kuzum: kuzu ends in a vowel, so only -m is added: kuzum, not kuzuum.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Add the ending for “my” to bebek (baby) to make a pet name.
Add the ending for “my” to tatlı (sweet) to make a pet name.
Add the ending for “my” to hayat (life) to make a pet name.
Add the ending for “my” to kuzu (lamb) to make a pet name.
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: my baby, sweetheart
Tap the parts in order to build this word: my life, my darling
Keep your progress
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Write a short dialogue of four lines in which two people use canım or tatlım. Underline each ending and check its vowel.