getirmek and götürmek (to bring and take away) | Turkish Grammar

Turkish has two everyday verbs where English speakers often reach for the wrong one: getirmek "to bring" and götürmek "to take (somewhere)." The choice between them is not about politeness or formality — it is about direction relative to a reference point, usually the speaker. Get this axis right and you will sound far more native than learners who simply translate "take" as götürmek every time.

The core distinction: toward "here" vs. away from "here"

The cleanest way to understand these verbs is to notice that they are the transitive, "carry something" counterparts of the two basic motion verbs you already know:

gelmek "to come" (motion toward the speaker) → getirmek "to bring" (cause an object to come toward the speaker)
gitmek "to go" (motion away from the speaker) → götürmek "to take away" (cause an object to go away from the speaker)

Historically these are old causative-like derivations of gel- and git- — "to make come" and "to make go" — which is exactly why they inherit the deixis. You are not choosing between "bring" and "take" as vocabulary items; you are answering the question which way is the thing moving, toward me or away from me?

Akşam yemeğe gelirken bir şişe şarap getir.

When you come over for dinner tonight, bring a bottle of wine.

Çöpü çıkarken aşağı götürür müsün?

Could you take the rubbish down with you on your way out?

In the first sentence the wine moves toward the speaker's location (here, dinner), so it is getirmek. In the second, the rubbish moves away from where the speaker is, so it is götürmek.

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The mnemonic that sticks: getirmek pairs with gelmek (both start with ge- and both mean "this way"); götürmek pairs with gitmek (both involve "that way / away"). If you can decide between gel- and git- for a situation, you already know which carrying verb to use.

English "bring" and "take" map almost perfectly — with one trap

This is one of the rare cases where English already encodes the same distinction, so you can usually trust your instinct: "bring" = getirmek, "take" = götürmek. The trap is that English "take" is overloaded. Take also means "grab / pick up" (almak) and "take" in the sense of medicine, time, photos, and so on. None of those are götürmek.

Reçeteyi al ve eczaneye götür.

Take the prescription and take it to the pharmacy.

Here the first "take" (pick up off the table) is al-, and only the second "take" (carry it elsewhere) is götür-. Watching for this prevents the most common error of sticking götürmek onto every English "take."

Çocukları ben okuldan alıp eve götürürüm.

I'll pick the kids up from school and take them home.

The grammatical frame: accusative theme, dative goal

Both verbs share an identical case pattern. The thing you carry — the theme — takes the accusative when it is definite, and the destination — the goal — takes the dative (-(y)A). Anyone you carry it for takes the dative too.

Role	Case	Example phrase
Theme (what is carried)	Accusative (-(y)I) if definite	kitabı getir-
Goal (destination)	Dative (-(y)A)	okula götür-
Recipient (for whom)	Dative (-(y)A)	bana getir-
Source (from where)	Ablative (-DAn)	dolaptan getir-

Bana bir bardak su getirir misin?

Could you bring me a glass of water?

Yarın belgeleri müdüre götüreceğim.

Tomorrow I'll take the documents to the manager.

Notice that in bir bardak su (a glass of water) there is no accusative ending, because the water is indefinite — "a glass of water," not "the water." Once the object is specific, the accusative appears: suyu getir "bring the water."

Full present and core-tense forms

Both verbs are regular and harmonize predictably. getirmek is a front-vowel verb; götürmek has rounded front vowels, so its endings round accordingly.

Tense / Mood	getirmek (ben)	götürmek (ben)
Aorist (habitual)	getiririm	götürürüm
Present continuous	getiriyorum	götürüyorum
Definite past	getirdim	götürdüm
Reported past	getirmişim	götürmüşüm
Future	getireceğim	götüreceğim
Imperative (sen)	getir	götür
Negative aorist (ben)	getirmem	götürmem
Abilitative (ben)	getirebilirim	götürebilirim

Telefonumu evde unuttum, sen getirir misin?

I left my phone at home — would you bring it?

Arabayı tamirciye götürdüm ama daha bitmemiş.

I took the car to the mechanic, but apparently it's not done yet.

A subtle case: the reference point can shift to the listener

Usually "here" means the speaker. But Turkish, like English, lets the reference point shift to wherever the conversation is centered — often the listener's location, especially on the phone. If you call a friend and they are at the office, you might say you will bring something to them there, treating their location as the goal-as-here.

Ofise mi gidiyorsun? Öğlen sana yemek getiririm.

Are you going to the office? I'll bring you lunch at noon.

Here getirmek is used even though the speaker is not at the office yet, because the listener's location is the established destination — the food comes to where you are. This mirrors English "I'll bring you lunch" exactly, so trust the parallel.

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When a destination has already been set as the conversational "center" (often where the listener will be), use getirmek to mean "carry it to that center." Switch to götürmek only when the thing moves to some third place, away from both the center and the speaker.

Idiomatic uses worth knowing

getirmek stretches into several common idioms that have nothing to do with physical carrying — "to bring about" a result, "to produce" income, even "to bring up" a topic.

Bu yatırım yılda iyi bir kazanç getiriyor.

This investment brings in a good return each year.

Sürekli aynı konuyu getirip duruyor.

He keeps bringing up the same subject over and over.

götürmek, more rarely, can mean "to do away with / sweep away" in a dramatic register, as when a flood "takes" a bridge.

Sel köprüyü götürmüş.

Apparently the flood swept the bridge away.

Common mistakes

❌ Doktora git, raporları götür bana.

Incorrect — 'to me' (bana) requires bringing toward the speaker, so götürmek clashes with bana.

✅ Doktora git, raporları bana getir.

Go to the doctor and bring me the reports.

❌ Kalemi masadan götür ve bana ver.

Incorrect — picking a pen up off the table is almak, not götürmek.

✅ Kalemi masadan al ve bana ver.

Take the pen off the table and give it to me.

❌ Çocuğu okula getireceğim, sonra işe gideceğim.

Incorrect if the speaker is not at the school — moving the child away from 'here' to the school is götürmek.

✅ Çocuğu okula götüreceğim, sonra işe gideceğim.

I'll take the child to school, then go to work.

❌ Misafirlere kahve götürdüm.

Usually incorrect — if the guests are here with you, the coffee comes toward you-and-them, so it's getirmek.

✅ Misafirlere kahve getirdim.

I brought the guests some coffee.

❌ Bavulu istasyona getir.

Incorrect when you and the listener are not at the station — the suitcase travels away to the station.

✅ Bavulu istasyona götür.

Take the suitcase to the station.

Key takeaways

getirmek = toward "here" (pairs with gelmek); götürmek = away from "here" (pairs with gitmek). Decide the direction first, then pick the verb.
Both take an accusative theme (when definite) and a dative goal/recipient; sources are ablative.
English "bring/take" map cleanly, but watch for "take = almak" (pick up) and "take = a photo/medicine," which are never götürmek.
The reference point can shift to the listener's location, especially on the phone — then "carry it to you" is getirmek.
getirmek has rich figurative uses ("bring in income," "bring up a topic"); götürmek's main idiom is "sweep away."

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