You will recognise person nouns such as öğretmen (teacher), danışman (adviser) and uzman (expert), then add ordinary noun endings. These words do not specify gender.
The idea
In established formations, -men follows front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) and -man follows back vowels (a, ı, o, u). Attach it directly to the verb stem, without -mek/-mak: öğret- → öğretmen, danış- → danışman. In öğretmen, the t stays because the suffix starts with m. Learn uzman as a whole word meaning expert; do not assume that every person noun comes from an everyday verb. Plural, possession and case follow the completed noun, in that order.
| Shape | Verb stem | Established noun |
|---|---|---|
| -men | öğret- | öğretmen |
| -men | seç- | seçmen |
| -man | danış- | danışman |
| -man | yaz- | yazman |
Examples
- Öğretmen soruyu yeniden açıkladı.The teacher explained the question again.
- Danışman raporu dikkatle okudu.The adviser read the report carefully.
- Uzman sonuçları bugün değerlendirecek.The expert will assess the results today.
- öğretmenlerimizdenfrom our teachersöğretmen-man / -men: established person nounsler-ler / -lar: the plural suffiximiz-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: ourden-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
- danışmanlaradvisersdanışman-man / -men: established person nounslar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
- seçmenlerdenfrom the votersseçmen-man / -men: established person nounsler-ler / -lar: the plural suffixden-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
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
Vowel harmony cannot guarantee the meaning of a new word. Yazman is an established word for a secretary or record-keeping clerk; the usual word for a literary author is yazar. Do not create every occupation name by attaching -man/-men.
Try it yourself
Complete the established noun meaning teacher, using -man or -men. Write the whole word.
Show answer or example answer
öğretmen
öğretmen: remove the infinitive ending from öğretmek. The last vowel of öğret- is e, so -men gives the established word for a teacher; no consonant changes.
Complete the established noun meaning adviser, using -man or -men. Write the whole word.
Show answer or example answer
danışman
danışman: the final vowel of danış- is dotless ı. This selects -man, producing the noun for a person who gives advice, not the act of consulting.
A person writes novels. Choose the usual noun for author: yazar or yazman.
Show answer or example answer
yazar
yazar: the context is writing novels, so it calls for the name of an author. Yazman would identify a different role, concerned with secretarial or record-keeping work.
Build one word meaning “from our teachers”, starting with öğretmen.
Show answer or example answer
öğretmenlerimizden
öğretmenlerimizden: -ler makes the teachers plural, -imiz identifies them as ours, and -den marks the source. Putting “our” before the plural would change the suffix order.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the established noun meaning teacher, using -man or -men. Write the whole word.
Complete the established noun meaning adviser, using -man or -men. Write the whole word.
A person writes novels. Choose the usual noun for author: yazar or yazman.
Build one word meaning “from our teachers”, starting with öğretmen.
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: from our teachers
Tap the parts in order to build this word: advisers
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Choose three established person nouns from this page. Write a sentence with each, then turn one into a plural form meaning “our” and add “from”. Explain which suffix contributes each meaning.