An illness is hastalık; hasta describes someone as ill or names a patient. This lesson follows the illness itself through a discussion, a book and a fictional personal account. You will identify both its role in the sentence and whose illness is meant.
The idea
Before a vowel-initial ending, the final k of hastalık becomes ğ: hastalığa, hastalığın, hastalığım. It stays k in hastalıkta, hastalıktan and hastalıklar. The form hastalığı has two possible jobs: bu hastalığı can be a specific object, while onun hastalığı means his/her illness. Context distinguishes them. In hastalıklarımız, the possessive ending follows the plural, so the stem still has k; the table collects this noun’s forms, and the linked suffix lessons explain the general patterns.
| Use | Form |
|---|---|
| Base form: illness | hastalık |
| Accusative: specific illness as object | hastalığı |
| Dative | hastalığa |
| Locative | hastalıkta |
| Ablative | hastalıktan |
| Genitive: of the illness | hastalığın |
| Plural: illnesses | hastalıklar |
| My illness | hastalığım |
| Your illness (singular) | hastalığın |
| His/her illness | hastalığı |
| Our illness | hastalığımız |
| Your illness (plural/polite) | hastalığınız |
| Their illness / illnesses | hastalıkları |
| His/her illness as object | hastalığını |
| From/about my illness | hastalığımdan |
| Our illnesses | hastalıklarımız |
Examples
- Bu hastalığı birlikte araştırıyoruz.We are researching this illness together.
- Hastalığımdan toplantıda söz etmedim.I did not mention my illness at the meeting.
- Yazar kendi hastalığını anlatıyor.The author is describing their own illness.
- Hastalığın adı bu dosyada yazmıyor.The name of the illness is not written in this file.
- Hastalıklar bu kitapta ayrı bir bölümde ele alınıyor.Illnesses are covered in a separate section of this book.
- Hastalığım yüzünden geziyi erteledik.We postponed the trip because of my illness.
- Onun hastalığı hakkında bilgim yok.I have no information about his or her illness.
- Konuşmada bu hastalığa da değindik.We also touched on this illness in the talk.
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Watch out
Possession does not replace case marking. When his/her illness is the object of anlatmak, hastalığı becomes hastalığını, with linking n before the accusative. Also, hastalığım means my illness; the sentence “I am ill” is Hastayım.
Try it yourself
Complete with hastalık: we are researching this particular illness together.
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hastalığı
hastalığı: bu points to a particular illness, and araştırmak takes a direct object. The final -ı marks that object; there is no possessor in this phrase, and the vowel triggers k → ğ.
Write the plural of hastalık: illnesses.
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hastalıklar
hastalıklar: the request is for more than one illness. The last vowel ı selects -lar, whose initial consonant leaves the stem’s k unchanged.
Complete with one word meaning “my illness”.
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hastalığım
hastalığım: benim identifies the speaker as the possessor. The ending is -ım, with dotless ı, and its vowel softens the final consonant. This names the speaker’s illness rather than saying that the speaker is ill.
Complete with hastalık: the author is describing their own illness.
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hastalığını
hastalığını: kendi refers back to the author here, so the starting form is third-person possessive hastalığı. The illness is also the definite object of anlatıyor: add linking n and accusative -ı.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete with hastalık: we are researching this particular illness together.
Write the plural of hastalık: illnesses.
Complete with one word meaning “my illness”.
Complete with hastalık: the author is describing their own illness.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Invent three diary sentences for a fictional character: use hastalıklar, then hastalığım, then hastalığını about someone else. Identify who has the illness and which form marks an object.