Ordinal Numbers -(I)ncI | Turkish Grammar

Ordinal numbers tell you the position in a sequence — first, second, third. English does this with a small zoo of irregular forms (first, second, third, fifth) and the suffix -th. Turkish is far more systematic: it takes a cardinal number and adds one suffix, -(I)ncI, which harmonizes to fit the vowel of the number. There are only two small wrinkles to learn — a softening in dört "four," and a writing convention where a period after a figure signals an ordinal. This page covers the suffix, the harmony, and both wrinkles.

The suffix -(I)ncI

The ordinal suffix is -(I)ncI. The capital letters are placeholders: the I stands for one of the four high vowels (ı, i, u, ü), chosen by four-way vowel harmony, and the first vowel only appears when the number ends in a consonant. So the suffix surfaces as -ıncı, -inci, -uncu, -üncü after a consonant, and as -ncı, -nci, -ncu, -ncü after a vowel.

Number	Ordinal	Meaning
bir (1)	birinci	first
iki (2)	ikinci	second
üç (3)	üçüncü	third
beş (5)	beşinci	fifth
altı (6)	altıncı	sixth
yedi (7)	yedinci	seventh
on (10)	onuncu	tenth
yirmi (20)	yirminci	twentieth

Asansör bozuk, üçüncü kata kadar yürümek zorunda kaldık.

The lift is broken, so we had to walk up to the third floor.

Bu kitabı ikinci kez okuyorum, her seferinde başka bir şey buluyorum.

I'm reading this book for the second time — each time I find something new.

Four-way harmony in action

Because -(I)ncI uses the high vowels, the harmony is four-way: the suffix vowel matches the last vowel of the number in both backness and roundedness. bir (front, unrounded) → birinci; on (back, rounded) → onuncu; üç (front, rounded) → üçüncü; altı (back, unrounded) → altıncı.

Yarışı onuncu sırada bitirdi ama hiç üzülmedi.

She finished the race in tenth place, but she wasn't upset at all.

Yirmi birinci yüzyılda her şey çok hızlı değişiyor.

In the twenty-first century, everything changes very fast.

In a compound number, only the last word takes the ordinal suffix: yirmi bir "21" → yirmi birinci "twenty-first," not yirminci birinci.

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The ordinal suffix harmonizes four ways because it contains a high vowel. Trace the last vowel of the number: e/i → -inci, a/ı → -ıncı, o/u → -uncu, ö/ü → -üncü. Only the final word of a multi-word number takes it.

The softening: dört → dördüncü

There is exactly one ordinal you cannot predict from the spelling rule alone: dört "four." When the suffix attaches, the final t softens to d, giving dördüncü "fourth" — not dörtüncü. This is the same consonant softening you see elsewhere when a vowel-initial suffix follows a voiceless stop (kitap → kitabı), and dört is the one number where it bites.

Dördüncü denememde sınavı sonunda geçtim.

On my fourth attempt I finally passed the exam.

Sınıfın dördüncüsü oldu, ailesi çok gurur duydu.

She came fourth in the class — her family was very proud.

The other numbers do not soften this way: üç → üçüncü (not üçündü), yedi → yedinci, sekiz → sekizinci. Only dört changes its consonant.

Writing ordinals: figure + period

In writing, Turkish marks an ordinal by putting a period directly after the figure: 5. = "fifth," read aloud as beşinci. This is a genuine trap for English speakers, because in English 5. would look like the start of a decimal. In Turkish, 5. kat means "fifth floor," while a decimal would be written 5,5 with a comma. You may also see the suffix spelled out after the figure with an apostrophe when needed for clarity (5'inci), but the bare period is by far the most common.

Ofisimiz 5. katta, sağdaki ilk kapı.

Our office is on the 5th floor, the first door on the right.

3. sırada bekliyordum ki adam kuyruğa kaynak yaptı.

I was waiting in 3rd place when the man cut into the queue.

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A period after a figure makes it ordinal: 2. = ikinci "second," 20. = yirminci "twentieth." A decimal uses a comma instead (2,5). So 5. kat is "fifth floor," never "5.0 floor."

Common uses: dates, ranks, and "the Nth time"

Ordinals appear in ranks, floors, centuries, and the phrase ...inci kez / kere / defa "the Nth time." Note that calendar dates use cardinals, not ordinals — 5 Mayıs "the fifth of May" is read with the cardinal beş, the same way English speakers increasingly write "May 5." But ranked editions and centuries are ordinal.

Bu filmi üçüncü kez izliyorum, bayılıyorum.

I'm watching this film for the third time — I love it.

Takımımız ligi birinci bitirdi, herkes sokaklara döküldü.

Our team finished the league first — everyone poured into the streets.

Common mistakes

These errors come from reading Turkish punctuation through English eyes and from forgetting the dört softening.

❌ Ofisimiz beş nokta kat.

Incorrect — '5.' is read as the ordinal beşinci, not 'five point'.

✅ Ofisimiz beşinci katta.

Our office is on the fifth floor.

❌ Bu benim dörtüncü denemem.

Incorrect — dört softens its t to d before the ordinal suffix.

✅ Bu benim dördüncü denemem.

This is my fourth attempt.

❌ Yarışı yirminci birinci bitirdi.

Incorrect — only the last word of a compound number takes -(I)ncI.

✅ Yarışı yirmi birinci bitirdi.

She finished the race twenty-first.

❌ oninci kat

Incorrect — 'on' is back and rounded, so the suffix is -uncu: onuncu.

✅ onuncu kat

tenth floor

❌ Asansör 5,5 katta.

Incorrect — a comma makes it a decimal; an ordinal floor uses a period: 5. kat.

✅ Asansör 5. katta.

The lift is on the 5th floor.

Key takeaways

Add -(I)ncI to a cardinal to make an ordinal: bir → birinci, iki → ikinci, beş → beşinci.
The suffix harmonizes four ways: -inci, -ıncı, -uncu, -üncü, so on → onuncu, üç → üçüncü.
dört → dördüncü: the final t softens to d — the only number that changes its consonant.
In compounds, only the last word takes the suffix: yirmi bir → yirmi birinci.
In writing, a period after a figure marks an ordinal (kat
= "fifth floor"); a comma marks a decimal (5,5).
Calendar dates use cardinals (5 Mayıs), but ranks, floors, centuries, and "the Nth time" use ordinals.

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