You may know every word on a page yet miss a shortened form in conversation. This B1 lesson connects a few common reductions with their full written forms. No recording is attached; the table gives approximate pronunciation cues.
The idea
In casual speech, the r of -yor may disappear at the end of a word or before a consonant: bekliyor can sound like bekliyo, and biliyorsun like biliyosun. These remain the same verbs, with the same person and meaning. In ne yapıyorsun, the opening also contracts, giving a form such as napıyosun. This is a recognizable expression, not a rule for joining every pair of words. For a physical comparison, say bekliyor with a brief tongue-tip contact just behind the upper teeth; then say bekliyo without that final contact. Speakers vary, and the full pronunciation is also possible. The table’s reduced forms describe speech; use standard spelling in the exercises.
| Standard spelling | Possible casual pronunciation (approximate) |
|---|---|
| ne yapıyorsun | napıyosun |
| bekliyor | bekliyo |
| biliyorsun | biliyosun |
| çalıyor | çalıyo |
| yaklaşıyor | yaklaşıyo |
| arıyorsun | arıyosun |
Examples
- Sen burada ne yapıyorsun?What are you doing here?
- Taksi kapıda bekliyor.The taxi is waiting at the door.
- Bu adresi biliyorsun.You know this address.
- Telefon yine çalıyor.The phone is ringing again.
- Tren yaklaşıyor.The train is approaching.
- Beni arıyorsun.You are calling me.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Turkish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Turkish device voice is available. You can still read the text.
Watch out
Do not erase every r: in arıyorsun, the first r belongs to ara- and stays in the reduced arıyosun. Nor does napıyosun turn the question into a new dictionary verb. Restore both words: ne yapıyorsun.
Try it yourself
Restore the standard spelling of napıyosun.
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ne yapıyorsun
ne yapıyorsun: the contraction hides the question word ne as well as sounds in the verb. Restoring two words preserves the question “what are you doing?”.
Restore the standard spelling of bekliyo.
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bekliyor
bekliyor: the taxi is still waiting. The missing final r is part of the present-continuous ending; it does not signal a different tense.
Restore the standard spelling of biliyosun.
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biliyorsun
biliyorsun: the ending -sun still identifies the person addressed. Restore r before it; biliyor alone would lose that second-person information.
Restore the standard spelling of arıyosun.
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arıyorsun
arıyorsun: keep the first r, which is already present in arıyosun, and restore the second one in -yor. The result still means “you are calling”.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Restore the standard spelling of napıyosun.
Restore the standard spelling of bekliyo.
Restore the standard spelling of biliyosun.
Restore the standard spelling of arıyosun.
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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Cover the standard column and reconstruct each form from its pronunciation cue. Then read the six sentences with their full forms. Try the reduction in bekliyor once, keeping its meaning unchanged; you do not need to imitate it in every conversation.