-li / -lı / -lu / -lü: with, having

The idea

The suffix -li turns a noun into an adjective meaning with or having: şekerli, sütlü, karlı. Its vowel follows the last vowel of the noun: i after e i, ı after a ı, u after o u, ü after ö ü. The l never changes (ağaçlı), and after a vowel nothing is added (Almanyalı). Added to a place it means someone from there: Ankaralı.

Examples

• Annem sütlü kahve içiyor.My mother is drinking coffee with milk.
• Bahçeli bir evde oturuyoruz.We live in a house with a garden.A word in -li is an adjective, so it stands before the noun, and bir may sit between them: bahçeli bir ev.
• Bugün yağmurlu bir gün.Today is a rainy day.
• AnkaralıyımI am from Ankara.Ankara·lı-li / -lı / -lu / -lü: with, having·yım-im / -sin / -iz / -siniz: I am, you are, we areNo apostrophe: -lı builds a new word (Ankaralı, someone from Ankara), unlike a case ending such as Ankara'da. The -yım is the person ending: I am from Ankara.
• Almanyalılarpeople from GermanyAlmanya·lı-li / -lı / -lu / -lü: with, having·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
• İstanbullulardanfrom the people of Istanbulİstanbul·lu-li / -lı / -lu / -lü: with, having·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• ağaçlıwith trees, tree-linedThe ç is voiceless, yet the suffix keeps its l: ağaçlı. Only -da/-ta and similar endings change their first sound; -li never does.
• Parka ailemle gidiyorum.I am going to the park with my family.Together with a person is -le/-la, not -li: ailemle. The -li suffix says what something has.

Watch out

Do not use -li for company. It says what something has, not who goes with you: for together with a person use -le/-la, as in ailemle, not ailemli. And write no apostrophe: Ankaralı, because the suffix builds a new word and is not a case ending like the one in Ankara'da.

Try it yourself

1. Add the suffix for “with” to şeker (sugar): with sugar.

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   şekerli

   şekerli: the last vowel of şeker is e, a front vowel, so the suffix is -li, and the l stays l after r.

2. Add the suffix for “with” to süt (milk): with milk.

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   sütlü

   sütlü: the last vowel is ü, a front rounded vowel, so the suffix is -lü.

3. Add the suffix to Almanya (Germany) to name a person from there: from Germany.

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   Almanyalı

   Almanyalı: the last vowel a is back, so the suffix is -lı; the word ends in a vowel, so nothing is inserted, and there is no apostrophe because the suffix builds a new word.

4. Add the suffix for “together with” to ailem (my family): I am going to the park with my family.

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   ailemle

   ailemle: this means together with a person, which belongs to -le/-la, not -li; the last vowel of ailem is e, so -le.

Use it today

Write four sentences about food or places: coffee with milk, a house with a garden, a snowy day. Underline each -li word and check its last vowel.