From a suffixed word to its dictionary headword

The idea

First decide whether the word names something or expresses an action. Work from the right, removing recognised inflectional endings one at a time: kitabımda → kitabım → kitap. The final step restores the dictionary spelling; merely deleting letters would leave kitab. For a verb, look for the infinitive in -mak or -mek: gidiyoruz → gitmek. Check the entry and any forms it supplies rather than reversing every consonant automatically. Then compare the meanings with the sentence. The table gives lookup targets, not rules for every possible spelling change.

Examples

• Kitabımda küçük bir not var.There is a small note in my book.
• Çantalarımızdan iki kalem çıkardık.We took two pens out of our bags.
• Biz bugün kütüphaneye gidiyoruz.We are going to the library today.
• Bu kelime sözlükte var.This word is in the dictionary.
• Gözlükçüde yeni çerçeveler var.There are new frames at the optician’s.
• Yüzümü bu havluyla kurutuyorum.I am drying my face with this towel.

Watch out

Do not strip a word down to the shortest possible root. From gözlükçüde, look up gözlükçü (optician); reducing it to göz (eye) loses the profession. Finding an entry is only halfway: yüz can mean a face or a hundred, and the sentence decides which fits.

Try it yourself

1. Write the dictionary headword for kitabımda in this sentence: Kitabımda küçük bir not var.

   Show answer or example answer

   kitap

   kitap: kitabımda means “in my book”. Removing the location and possession endings still requires restoring the final p of the headword; kitab is not the target spelling.

2. Write the dictionary headword for gidiyoruz in this sentence: Biz bugün kütüphaneye gidiyoruz.

   Show answer or example answer

   gitmek

   gitmek: gidiyoruz describes what we are doing. The dictionary infinitive names the action without “we”; its stem ends in t, although this present form has d.

3. Write the dictionary headword for gözlükçüde in this sentence: Gözlükçüde yeni çerçeveler var.

   Show answer or example answer

   gözlükçü

   gözlükçü: the sentence places new frames at an optician’s. Removing the location ending keeps the word for the professional; gözlük would mean glasses and göz an eye.

4. Write the dictionary headword for yüzümü in this sentence: Yüzümü bu havluyla kurutuyorum.

   Show answer or example answer

   yüz

   yüz: a towel dries the speaker’s face in this sentence. The ownership and object endings belong to yüzümü; the numeral meaning “hundred” does not fit what is being dried.

Use it today

Look up the six forms in the table. For each, write the headword and only the meaning that fits its example sentence. Keep the encountered form beside it. Finally explain why the optician example needs more than the root meaning “eye”.