Borç means debt. This lesson follows the noun from an unspecified debt to a particular debt and then to someone’s debt. You will also distinguish borç almak (borrow money) from borç vermek (lend money).
The idea
Although borç has one syllable, its final ç becomes c before a vowel-initial suffix: borcu, borca, borcum. It stays ç in borçlar, borçta and borçtan. In sana borcum var, the possessive form identifies me as the person who owes, while sana identifies the person I owe. The table gives this noun’s forms; the related suffix lessons explain how endings combine.
| Form | Use |
|---|---|
| borç | bare form: debt |
| borcu | accusative: the debt as object |
| borca | dative |
| borçta | locative |
| borçtan | ablative |
| borcun | genitive: of the debt |
| borçlar | plural: debts |
| borcum | my debt |
| borcun | your debt (one person) |
| borcu | his/her debt |
| borcumuz | our debt |
| borcunuz | your debt (plural or polite) |
| onların borçları | their debt / debts |
| borçlarımız | our debts |
| annemin borcunu | my mother’s debt as object |
Examples
- Bu borcu yarın ödeyeceğiz.We will repay this debt tomorrow.
- Sana hiç borcum yok.I do not owe you anything.
- Babamın borçları geçen ay bitti.My father’s debts were cleared last month.
- Teyzem bize borç verdi.My aunt lent us money.
- Bu borçtan birlikte kurtulduk.We got out of this debt together.
- Annemin borcunu bugün ödedik.We paid my mother’s debt today.
- Dün kimseden borç almadık.We did not borrow money from anyone yesterday.
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Watch out
Borcu can be the definite object “the debt” or the possessive “his/her debt”. Compare Bu borcu ödedik with Annemin borcunu ödedik: the second names the owner and adds the accusative after the possessive, with an intervening n. Do not drop that extra ending. In borç almak and borç vermek, the verb determines whether money is borrowed or lent.
Try it yourself
Complete with the correct form of borç: We will repay this debt tomorrow.
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borcu
borcu: bu points to a specific debt, which is the object of ödeyeceğiz. The accusative vowel triggers the change from ç to c; no owner is named here.
Complete with the correct form of borç: I do not owe you anything.
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borcum
borcum: benim tells us that the speaker owes the money. The ending -um marks “my”; sana names the other person, so it does not call for “your debt”.
Use the plural possessive form of borç: All our debts have been cleared.
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borçlarımız
borçlarımız: bizim requires “our”, while bütün and the plural instruction call for debts. The plural comes first, leaving the stem’s ç unchanged; the possessive then follows -lar.
Complete with the correct form of borç: We paid my mother’s debt today.
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borcunu
borcunu: annemin makes the debt the mother’s. Start from borcu and add -nu because her debt is the definite object of ödedik, rather than the subject.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete with the correct form of borç: We will repay this debt tomorrow.
Complete with the correct form of borç: I do not owe you anything.
Use the plural possessive form of borç: All our debts have been cleared.
Complete with the correct form of borç: We paid my mother’s debt today.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Invent a short exchange about a debt between two fictional people. Say who owes whom, then describe repaying that person’s debt. Use one plural possessive form and check every change from ç to c.