You will ask and answer two different questions, one about your origin and one about your home, and pick the right suffix for each.
The idea
Origin and home are two questions with two suffixes. Nerelisin? is answered with -li (Almanyalıyım) or with -den/-dan plus a person ending (Almanya'danım). Nerede yaşıyorsun? is answered with -de/-da (Berlin'de yaşıyorum).
| Question | Answer shape | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nerelisin? | -li / -lı / -lu / -lü | Almanyalıyım. |
| Hangi şehirdensin? | -den / -dan + -im / -ım | Bursa'danım. |
| Nerede yaşıyorsun? | -de / -da | Berlin'de yaşıyorum. |
| Nereden geliyorsun? | -den / -dan | Okuldan geliyorum. |
Examples
- Ben Berlin'de yaşıyorum.I live in Berlin.
- Annem Konya'dan, babam İzmir'den.My mother is from Konya, my father from İzmir.Konya'dan on its own already means "is from Konya": the third person needs no word for "is".
- Sen nerede yaşıyorsun?Where do you live?
- Siz hangi şehirdensiniz?Which city are you from?Siz is the polite "you" and the plural "you", and -siniz belongs to it. With a friend you say Hangi şehirdensin?
- nerelisinwhere are you fromnereli-li / -lı / -lu / -lü: with, havingsin-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we arenere means "which place", -li means "from there" and -sin means "you": three parts, one question.
- Almanya'danımI am from GermanyAlmanya'dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out ofım-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we areThe apostrophe separates the place name from the case ending: Almanya + 'dan + ım (I am).
- Ben Almanyalıyım.I am German.Almanyalı (a person from Germany) is a word of its own, so there is no apostrophe before -lı. Compare Almanya'danım.
- Ben şimdi Berlin'deyim ama Bursa'danım.I am in Berlin now, but I am from Bursa.-de/-da says where you are now (Berlin'deyim), -den/-dan says where you come from (Bursa'danım).
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Watch out
Do not answer Nerelisin? with the locative. Ben Berlin'deyim only says that you are in Berlin now, not that you come from there. Origin is -den/-dan or -li, and the apostrophe appears only before -den: Almanya'danım, but Almanyalıyım.
Try it yourself
Build the question "Where are you from?" from these three parts.
Show answer or example answer
nerelisin
nerelisin: nere means "which place", -li makes it "from there" and -sin is "you"; after the front vowel e the form is -li, not -lı.
Say "I am from Konya" in one word. Two forms are correct.
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Konya'danım / Konyalıyım
Konya'danım or Konyalıyım: Konya ends in the back vowel a, so the ablative is -dan, and the apostrophe sits before it. -lı is a word-building suffix, so it takes none.
Say "I am in Bursa (right now)" in one word.
Show answer or example answer
Bursa'dayım
Bursa'dayım: you are there now, so the locative -da is needed, and y joins it to -ım because two vowels may not meet.
Fill in the question word: Where do you live?
Show answer or example answer
nerede
nerede: living is a state, not a movement, so the question word takes the locative. nereden would ask where from, and nereye where to.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Build the question "Where are you from?" from these three parts.
Say "I am from Konya" in one word. Two forms are correct.
Say "I am in Bursa (right now)" in one word.
Fill in the question word: Where do you live?
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: where are you from
Tap the parts in order to build this word: I am from Germany
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Write three sentences about yourself: where you are from, where you live now, and where one family member comes from.