A verb can name an action as a thing you discuss: bakış is a glance, dönüş a return. With words such as okuyuş, the noun often highlights how an action is performed. You will build these forms from verb stems and extend them as nouns.
The idea
Remove -mak/-mek and attach the noun suffix: -ış after a/ı, -iş after e/i, -uş after o/u, -üş after ö/ü. After a vowel, insert y: anlayış, söyleyiş, okuyuş, yürüyüş. Some stems change: git- becomes gidiş, but bak- keeps its k in bakış. The resulting noun can take plural, possessive and case endings. Meanings depend on the word: anlayış can mean understanding, so do not translate every form as “a way of doing”.
| Last vowel | After a consonant | Example | After a vowel | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | -ış | bakış | -yış | anlayış |
| e, i | -iş | gidiş | -yiş | söyleyiş |
| o, u | -uş | duruş | -yuş | okuyuş |
| ö, ü | -üş | dönüş | -yüş | yürüyüş |
Examples
- Bu bakış beni şaşırttı.That glance surprised me.
- Otobüsün dönüşü uzun sürdü.The bus took a long time to return.
- Onun okuyuşu çok etkileyici.Their way of reading is very impressive.
- bakışlarglancesbakış-(y)ış / -(y)iş / -(y)uş / -(y)üş: action nounslar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
- dönüşlerreturnsdönüş-(y)ış / -(y)iş / -(y)uş / -(y)üş: action nounsler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
- okuyuşummy way of readingokuyuş-(y)ış / -(y)iş / -(y)uş / -(y)üş: action nounsum-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my
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Watch out
The -ış in bakış makes a noun; the similar ending in bakışmak makes a reciprocal verb, “to look at each other”. A glance need not be mutual. Nor can you replace every -ma/-me noun with this suffix: okuma names reading as an activity, while okuyuş often draws attention to the delivery.
Try it yourself
Use this lesson’s noun suffix with git- (go). Write one word.
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gidiş
gidiş: the stem is git-, but its final t becomes d before this vowel. The vowel i selects -iş, giving the noun for going or departure.
Use this lesson’s noun suffix with oku- (read) to name the way of reading.
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okuyuş
okuyuş: oku- ends in a vowel, so y separates the two vowels. Its u selects -uş; the result can describe someone's manner of reading.
Make dönüş (return) plural. Write one word.
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dönüşler
dönüşler: first form dönüş, then add the plural. The last vowel is now ü, so the plural is -ler, even though the stem contains ö.
Add the ending for “my” to bakış (glance). Write one word.
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bakışım
bakışım: bakış ends in a consonant and its last vowel is ı, so “my” adds -ım. This names my glance; it does not mean “I am looking”.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Use this lesson’s noun suffix with git- (go). Write one word.
Use this lesson’s noun suffix with oku- (read) to name the way of reading.
Make dönüş (return) plural. Write one word.
Add the ending for “my” to bakış (glance). Write one word.
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: glances
Tap the parts in order to build this word: returns
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Form nouns from bakmak, dönmek and okumak. Add one plural or possessive ending to each, then use the results in three sentences. Explain which sentence describes a way of doing something.