You will tell someone you did not understand and politely ask them, as you would a stranger, to repeat, slow down or write it down.
The idea
First say what went wrong: Anlamadım (I did not catch it). Then ask with the -r form of the verb, the separate word mi and -siniz: Tekrar eder misiniz? The vowel of mi follows the last vowel of the verb before it: eder misiniz, konuşur musunuz, yazar mısınız. Biraz daha yavaş (a little slower) and lütfen soften the request.
| Last vowel of the verb | Polite (strangers) | Friendly (friends) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | mısınız | mısın | yazar mısınız |
| e, i | misiniz | misin | eder misiniz |
| o, u | musunuz | musun | konuşur musunuz |
| ö, ü | müsünüz | müsün | görür müsünüz |
Examples
- Özür dilerim, sizi anlamadım.I am sorry, I did not understand you.Anlamadım is complete and polite on its own; sizi (you, polite) may be dropped: Özür dilerim, anlamadım.
- Biraz daha yavaş konuşur musunuz?Could you speak a little more slowly?
- Lütfen yazar mısınız?Could you write it down, please?
- Tekrar eder misiniz?Could you repeat that?Mi is a separate word and takes the vowel of the verb before it: eder, so misiniz.
- Türkçem çok iyi değil.My Turkish is not very good.
- anlamadımI did not understandanlamadı-medi / -madı: the negative pastmPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- anlamıyorumI do not understandanlamıyor-miyor / -mıyor / -muyor / -müyor: not doing nowum-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we areAnlamadım means you just missed what was said; anlamıyorum means you are not following at all, for example in a language you do not know. For repair, anlamadım is the usual choice.
- Tekrar eder misin?Can you repeat that? (to a friend)With a friend or a child, -sin replaces -siniz. With a stranger or an older person, keep misiniz.
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Watch out
mi is its own word and does not copy the vowel of English "could you": konuşur misiniz and konuşurmusunuz are both wrong, konuşur musunuz is right. With a stranger or an older person keep -siniz; misin is for friends and children.
Try it yourself
Ask a stranger politely to repeat: Could you repeat that?
Show answer or example answer
misiniz
misiniz: the last vowel of eder is e, so mi, and a stranger is addressed with -siniz.
Ask a stranger politely to speak slowly: Could you speak a little slowly?
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musunuz
musunuz: the last vowel of konuşur is u, so mu; the ending -sunuz repeats that rounded vowel.
Ask a stranger politely to write it down: Could you write it, please?
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mısınız
mısınız: the last vowel of yazar is a, a back unrounded vowel, so the dotless mı and -sınız.
Make the negative past with the person ending: I did not understand.
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anlamadım
anlamadım: anla + -ma (not) + -dı (past; d after the vowel a, ı after back a) + -m (I).
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Ask a stranger politely to repeat: Could you repeat that?
Ask a stranger politely to speak slowly: Could you speak a little slowly?
Ask a stranger politely to write it down: Could you write it, please?
Make the negative past with the person ending: I did not understand.
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: I did not understand
Tap the parts in order to build this word: I do not understand
Keep your progress
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Imagine a shop assistant who talks too fast and write the three requests you would make: repeat, slower, write it down. Check the vowel of mi in each.