Knowing Russian gives you a useful habit: notice how a noun relates to the rest of the sentence. Keep that habit, but learn the Turkish construction separately. The table compares particular phrases, not whole case systems.
The idea
Russian в школу uses the accusative for a destination; Turkish okula uses the dative. For location, в школе corresponds to okulda (locative); for origin, из школы corresponds to okuldan (ablative). A verb can also require its own case: bakmak takes the dative for what you look at, so смотрю на картину becomes resme bakıyorum. Follow the linked suffix lessons for the full forms.
| Turkish | Russian |
|---|---|
| okula | в школу — accusative: destination |
| okulda | в школе — prepositional: location |
| okuldan | из школы — genitive: origin |
| resme bakıyorum | смотрю на картину — accusative after на: what I look at |
| müzik dinliyorum | слушаю музыку — accusative: music in general |
| bu müziği dinliyorum | слушаю эту музыку — accusative: this particular music |
Examples
- Ben bugün okula gidiyorum.I am going to school today.
- Çocuklar şimdi okulda bekliyor.The children are waiting at school now.
- Biz birlikte okuldan dönüyoruz.We are returning from school together.
- Ben bu resme bakıyorum.I am looking at this picture.
- Akşamları müzik dinliyorum.I listen to music in the evenings.
- Şimdi bu müziği dinliyorum.I am listening to this music now.
- Bu eski kitabı okuyorum.I am reading this old book.
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Watch out
Russian слушаю музыку has an accusative object even when no particular music is meant. Do not automatically add a Turkish accusative suffix: müzik dinliyorum describes listening to music in general. Bu müziği dinliyorum means you are listening to this particular music; the difference matters.
Try it yourself
Complete with the form of okul: I am going to school, not staying there. Write the whole word.
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okula
okula: the school is the destination of gidiyorum. Add -a after the back vowel in okul; the Russian accusative in в школу does not make this a Turkish accusative object.
Complete with the form of resim: I am looking at this picture. Write the whole word.
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resme
resme: looking is expressed with bakmak, whose target takes the dative. In resim, the second vowel drops before the vowel suffix: resim → resme. There is no physical journey here.
Use müzik for music in general, with no particular piece in mind. Write the whole word.
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müzik
müzik: no particular piece is identified, so the bare object directly before dinliyorum fits this meaning. Adding an accusative suffix would change how the listener understands the object.
Complete with the form of kitap: I am reading this old book. Write the whole word.
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kitabı
kitabı: bu identifies the book, so this direct object needs the accusative. The final p in kitap becomes b before -ı. The adjective eski stays unchanged; it does not copy the noun’s ending.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete with the form of okul: I am going to school, not staying there. Write the whole word.
Complete with the form of resim: I am looking at this picture. Write the whole word.
Use müzik for music in general, with no particular piece in mind. Write the whole word.
Complete with the form of kitap: I am reading this old book. Write the whole word.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write three short sentences about going to, waiting at and returning from school. Then contrast listening to music in general with listening to this music. Explain each Turkish choice without relying on the Russian case name.