You will ask where a thing or a person is, and tell nerede (where) from nereye (to where).
The idea
Put the thing you are looking for first and nerede after it: Tuvalet nerede? There is no word for "is". Nerede is nere (which place) plus the locative -de. When you ask the person you are talking to, the word takes an ending: neredesin to a friend, neredesiniz to someone you address politely or to several people. For a third person there is no ending: Ali nerede?
| Word | Built from | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nerede | nere + -de | Tuvalet nerede? |
| neredesin | nere + -de + -sin | Sen neredesin? |
| nereye | nere + -ye | Nereye gidiyorsun? |
| nereden | nere + -den | Nereden geliyorsun? |
Examples
- Ali şimdi nerede?Where is Ali now?
- Senin telefonun nerede?Where is your phone?
- Sen şimdi neredesin?Where are you now?The ending -sin means "you": you are asking the person you are talking to. Sen may be dropped: Şimdi neredesin?
- Tuvalet nerede?Where is the toilet?No word for "is" is needed. The thing you look for comes first, then nerede.
- Eczane nerede?Where is the pharmacy?
- Gözlüğüm nerede?Where are my glasses?The word is gözlük (glasses). Its final k becomes ğ before the vowel of the ending: gözlüğüm. Nothing else changes in the question.
- neredewhere (at)nerede-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, on
- neredesinizwhere are you (polite or plural)nerede-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, onsiniz-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we are
- Nereye gidiyorsun?Where are you going?Movement towards a place asks nereye (to where), not nerede (where).
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Watch out
Learners use nerede for movement: Nerede gidiyorsun? is wrong. Where you are going is Nereye gidiyorsun?, with -ye (to). Do not add an ending to nerede when you ask about someone else.
Try it yourself
Ask where the school is: use okul (school) and the question word.
Show answer or example answer
Okul nerede
Okul nerede: the noun comes first and nerede closes the question; Turkish needs no word for "is".
Ask a friend where they are. Build the word from nere, the locative and the ending for you.
Show answer or example answer
neredesin
neredesin: you are speaking to the person, so nere + -de takes the ending -sin.
Ask where someone is going. Which question word fits a movement?
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nereye
nereye: the verb gidiyorsun is about movement, so the question word must mean "to where", not "where".
Say "my glasses" (gözlük) in the question. Watch the last consonant.
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gözlüğüm
gözlüğüm: gözlük ends in k and the ending -üm begins with a vowel, so the k softens to ğ.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Ask where the school is: use okul (school) and the question word.
Ask a friend where they are. Build the word from nere, the locative and the ending for you.
Ask where someone is going. Which question word fits a movement?
Say "my glasses" (gözlük) in the question. Watch the last consonant.
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 (at)
Tap the parts in order to build this word: where are you (polite or plural)
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Imagine you are new in a building. Write four questions: where the toilet, the exit, your bag and your teacher are.