Use this suffix family to say that someone has a job done or causes something to happen. The examples contrast having shelves made with making people laugh; neither meaning necessarily implies force.
The idea
For a verb that takes this family, remove -mak/-mek and attach the causative to the stem. Choose ı after a/ı, i after e/i, u after o/u, and ü after ö/ü. Start with t after ç f h k p s ş t and with d otherwise. The table gives all eight shapes. Add an infinitive ending or tense and person afterwards: yap + tır + dı + k → yaptırdık.
| Last vowel | Voiced ending | Example | Voiceless ending | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | -dır | yazdırmak | -tır | yaptırmak |
| e, i | -dir | sildirmek | -tir | diktirmek |
| o, u | -dur | durdurmak | -tur | unutturmak |
| ö, ü | -dür | güldürmek | -tür | söktürmek |
Examples
- Ablam yeni raflar yaptırdı.My older sister had new shelves made.
- Bu şaka herkesi güldürdü.This joke made everyone laugh.
- Terziye keten bir ceket diktirdik.We had a tailor make a linen jacket.
- yaptırdıkwe had it doneyaptır-dir / -dır: the causative suffixdı-di, -dı, -du, -dü, -ti: the past (geldi, yaptı)kPast person endings: -m, -n, -k, -niz, -ler
- güldürmekto make someone laughgüldür-dir / -dır: the causative suffixmek-mek / -mak: the infinitive
- söktürmekto have something removedsöktür-dir / -dır: the causative suffixmek-mek / -mak: the infinitive
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Watch out
Harmony does not tell you which causative family a verb uses. Learn okumak → okutmak, not okudurmak. In this family, do not soften the stem before the consonant: yaptırmak keeps p, and diktirmek keeps k.
Try it yourself
Write the causative infinitive of yapmak: to have something made.
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yaptırmak
yaptırmak: remove -mak first. The p in yap requires t, and a selects ı. The result means having something made, rather than making it yourself.
Write the causative infinitive of gülmek: to make someone laugh.
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güldürmek
güldürmek: the rounded front vowel ü stays rounded in -dür, while voiced l allows d. The resulting verb means causing someone else to laugh.
Write the causative infinitive of sökmek: to have something removed.
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söktürmek
söktürmek: ö selects ü, but the final k requires t. Keep that k: the next sound is a consonant, so there is no change to ğ.
Complete the verb: we had a tailor make a linen jacket. Use the causative of dikmek in the definite past, first person plural.
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diktirdik
diktirdik: dik + tir + di + k. The first k belongs to the stem; the last marks “we”. Terziye identifies the tailor who did the sewing, while we arranged it.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Write the causative infinitive of yapmak: to have something made.
Write the causative infinitive of gülmek: to make someone laugh.
Write the causative infinitive of sökmek: to have something removed.
Complete the verb: we had a tailor make a linen jacket. Use the causative of dikmek in the definite past, first person plural.
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: we had it done
Tap the parts in order to build this word: to make someone laugh
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Choose three verbs from the table. Build their causative infinitives, then write one sentence about a service and one about making someone laugh. Mark the causative before the tense ending.