Turkish Cases Explained: 6 Endings and the Accusative Trap

Turkish has six cases, and each one is a suffix added to the end of a noun: nominative (no ending), accusative -(y)ı, dative -(y)a, locative -da, ablative -dan and genitive -(n)ın. They do most of the work that prepositions like "to", "in", "from" and "of" do in English: eve is "to the house", evde "in the house", evden "from the house". The endings are regular and follow vowel harmony. The one that catches learners out is the accusative, because Turkish uses it only when the object is definite.

The case names and examples below follow standard Turkish grammar as used by the Turkish Language Association (TDK). The Turkish names in brackets are the ones you'll see in Turkish textbooks.

The six Turkish cases at a glance

Each case answers a question, and if you can ask the question, you can usually pick the case.

In the tables below, a capital letter marks a sound that changes to match the word:

Some grammars add two more: the instrumental -(y)la (arabayla, by car) and the equative -ca (bence, in my opinion). Most textbooks for learners teach the six above as the core set, so we stick to them here.

Harmony, buffer letters and consonant changes

The endings change shape for three reasons. The first is vowel harmony: the dative, locative and ablative are two-way: they take a after a back vowel and e after a front vowel (okula, eve). The accusative and genitive are four-way: ı, i, u or ü (kızı, evi, okulu, gözü). Our article on Turkish vowel harmony and suffixes covers the full rule.

Turkish avoids two vowels in a row, so when a word ends in a vowel, a buffer consonant steps in. **The accusative and dative use y; the genitive uses n.**

• kapı (door): kapıyı, kapıya, kapının
• araba (car): arabayı, arabaya, arabanın

The locative and ablative start with a consonant, so they need no buffer: kapıda, arabadan.

There's a second buffer to watch. After a third-person possessive (evi, his or her house) and after the pronoun o and the demonstratives bu and şu, every case takes n: evini, evine, evinde, evinden, and onu, ona, onda, ondan, bunu, bunda.

Consonants change too. After a voiceless consonant (ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t), the d of the locative and ablative becomes t: kitapta, ofiste, Paris'te. In the other direction, many words ending in p, ç, t, k soften when a vowel follows: kitap → kitabı, kitaba; ağaç → ağacı; çocuk → çocuğu. TDK's Güncel Türkçe Sözlük prints this after the headword (for example kitap, -bı), so you can check any word.

Names of people, cities and countries take an apostrophe before the ending: Ayşe'ye, İstanbul'da, Türkiye'nin. TDK's spelling rules on the apostrophe list this use.

One word through all six cases

Pronouns, with the irregular ones

Learn bana, sana, benim and bizim as words of their own. You'll hear learners say bene, sene or benin, but none of them exist.

Nominative: the plain form

The nominative is the word with no ending. It marks the subject (Kedi uyuyor, the cat is sleeping) and the noun before var and yok (Ekmek var mı?, is there bread?).

It also marks a direct object that is indefinite or general. Kitap okuyorum means "I'm reading", with books as the activity and no particular book in mind.

The accusative and the definite-object rule

English shows the difference between "I bought bread" and "I bought the bread" with the word "the". Turkish does it with the accusative ending.

• Ekmek aldım. I bought bread. (some bread, nothing specific)
• Ekmeği aldım. I bought the bread. (the bread we talked about)
• Bir ekmek aldım. I bought a loaf.

The accusative marks a direct object the listener can identify. If the English would use "the", "this", "my" or a name, Turkish almost always adds the ending.

Always use the accusative with:

• personal pronouns: Seni seviyorum. (I love you), Beni ara. (Call me.)
• names: Ali'yi gördüm. (I saw Ali.)
• nouns with a possessive ending: Annemi aradım. (I called my mother.)
• nouns after bu, şu, o: Bu filmi izledim. (I watched this film.)
• something already mentioned: Bir elbise aldım. Elbiseyi çok sevdim. (I bought a dress. I really liked the dress.)

Leave it off when the object is general: Çay içer misin? (Do you drink tea? / Will you have some tea?), Araba kullanıyor musun? (Do you drive?), Mektup yazıyorum (I'm writing letters / doing some letter-writing).

The two kinds of object also behave differently in the sentence. A bare object has to sit right before the verb: Her sabah kahve içerim is natural, but Kahve her sabah içerim sounds wrong to a Turkish ear. An accusative object can move: Kahveyi her sabah ben yaparım (I'm the one who makes the coffee every morning).

The most common mistakes go in both directions:

Only direct objects take the accusative, and the subject never does. If the verb normally takes a different case, like the dative after yardım etmek, the accusative is wrong even when the meaning is definite: Sana yardım edeyim (Let me help you), never Seni yardım edeyim.

Dative -(y)a: to, toward, for

The dative points toward something. Use it for direction (Eve gidiyorum, I'm going home; Ankara'ya taşındık, we moved to Ankara) and for the person who receives something (Anneme çiçek aldım, I bought my mother flowers; Ona söyledim, I told him).

The dative also gives prices. Bu ceket kaça? means "How much is this jacket?", and Beş yüz liraya aldım is "I bought it for 500 lira". It shows up with the clock too: Saat üçe beş var is "five to three". For the full clock and price patterns, see our guide to Turkish numbers, time and prices.

With the infinitive it expresses purpose: Ekmek almaya gittim (I went to buy bread).

Locative -da: in, on, at

The locative says where something is: evde (at home), masada (on the table), otobüste (on the bus). It also marks points in time: saat üçte (at three o'clock), 2020'de (in 2020), hafta sonunda (at the weekend).

With var and a person, it means "to have on you": Bende kalem var is "I've got a pen (with me)", and Sende para var mı? is "Do you have any money on you?".

Don't confuse the locative ending with the word de/da meaning "too, also". **The ending is attached, and the word de is written separately**: evde (at home) but Ben de geliyorum (I'm coming too). Even native speakers mix the two up in writing.

Ablative -dan: from, through, than

The ablative's core meaning is "from": İstanbul'dan geldim (I came from İstanbul), İşten çıktım (I left work). It covers a few meanings English spreads over other words:

• through or via: Köprüden geçtik (We crossed the bridge), Pencereden baktı (She looked out of the window)
• than, in comparisons: Ali Mehmet'ten uzun (Ali is taller than Mehmet), Çay kahveden ucuz (Tea is cheaper than coffee)
• because of: Yorgunluktan uyuyakaldım (I fell asleep from tiredness)
• made of: tahtadan bir masa (a table made of wood)

In comparisons, the ablative goes on the thing compared against, where English uses the separate word "than".

Genitive -(n)ın: of and possession

The genitive marks the owner: Ali'nin arabası (Ali's car), evin kapısı (the door of the house), Türkiye'nin başkenti (the capital of Türkiye).

The genitive works in a pair. The owner gets the genitive, and the thing owned gets a possessive ending: Ali'nin araba-sı, benim kitab-ım. Both halves are required.

Compare two phrases that look alike. Evin kapısı means "the door of the house", one particular house. Ev kapısı has no genitive, and it means "a house door", the kind of door you find on houses. Turkish uses this second pattern for compound nouns: okul müdürü (school principal), Türk kahvesi (Turkish coffee).

The genitive also forms "have" with var: Ali'nin bir kardeşi var (Ali has a brother or sister).

Verbs that take a case you don't expect

Many Turkish verbs need a fixed case on their object, and it often doesn't match English. TDK's dictionary marks this in each entry: the definition of bahsetmek (to talk about), for instance, is tagged -den. When you learn a verb, learn its case with it.

Note the pairs. Telefon etmek takes the dative but aramak, which also means "to call", takes the accusative. And binmek and inmek are opposites with opposite cases, which makes them easy to remember together. You'll use both every day if you're living in Türkiye.

How to practise the cases

Tables are for checking a form. The endings only become automatic once you produce them yourself:

1. Drill one noun through all six cases aloud, then switch to a word ending in a vowel (araba, kapı) to practise the buffers.
2. For every new verb, write a short sentence with its case, not just the verb: otobüse binmek, köpekten korkmak.
3. Before you add the accusative, ask one question: could I say "the" or "my" in English? If yes, add it.
4. Read short texts and underline each object, then decide why it has or lacks an ending.

Cases are introduced from A1 and keep returning at every level, so they're a good place to see where you stand. Our guide to Turkish levels from A1 to C2 describes what each level expects.

Frequently asked questions

How many cases does Turkish have?

Six are usually taught: nominative, accusative, dative, locative, ablative and genitive. Some grammars also count the instrumental -(y)la and the equative -ca.

When do I use the accusative in Turkish?

Use it on a direct object that is specific: a name, a pronoun, a noun with "my/your", a noun after bu/şu/o, or something already mentioned. For general or unspecified objects, use the plain form and put it right before the verb.

Why is it Ali'yi but kitabı?

Ali ends in a vowel, so the accusative needs the buffer y. Kitap ends in a consonant, so no buffer is needed, and the p softens to b before the vowel.

What is the difference between -de and de?

The locative -de/-da is attached to the word and means "in, at" (evde). The separate word de/da means "too, also" (ben de).

Case endings are the kind of mistake you stop noticing in your own speech. In a lesson, Ceylan corrects them as you talk and can explain the rule in English. Try the free level test first if you're unsure of your level, or go straight to requesting a free trial lesson.