istemek is "to want," and it is the verb where Turkish forces a grammatical decision English speakers never have to make: who is going to do the wanted action? If the wanter and the doer are the same person, you use a bare -mAk infinitive; if they are different people, you switch to a -mA verbal noun carrying a possessive that names the doer. English uses "want to go" and "want you to go" without changing the verb form much; Turkish changes the entire complement type. Master that split and you have the heart of this verb.
The verb itself is regular
istemek has the stem iste-, vowel-final and fully regular — no stem changes. The aorist takes -Ar (ister), as a vowel-final polysyllable would.
| Tense / suffix | 1st sg. (I) | 3rd sg. (he/she/it) |
|---|---|---|
| Present continuous -(I)yor | istiyorum | istiyor |
| Aorist -(A/I)r | isterim | ister |
| Past -DI | istedim | istedi |
| Future -(y)AcAK | isteyeceğim | isteyecek |
| Evidential -mIş | istemişim | istemiş |
As with söyle-, before -(I)yor the final -e drops and the vowel harmonizes to i: iste- + -iyor → istiyorum. The polite-request isterim / ister misiniz? (aorist) is a fixed courtesy formula you will hear constantly in shops and restaurants.
Bir bardak çay daha ister misiniz?
Would you like another glass of tea?
Same subject: -mAk infinitive
When the person who wants and the person who acts are one and the same, the wanted verb stays in its bare dictionary form, the -mAk infinitive. "I want to go" — I am the wanter and I am the goer, so: gitmek istiyorum. Literally "to-go I-want."
Bu yaz biraz dinlenmek ve hiçbir şey yapmamak istiyorum.
This summer I want to rest a bit and do nothing at all.
Sınavı geçmek istiyorsan düzenli çalışman gerekir.
If you want to pass the exam, you need to study regularly.
When a word comes between the infinitive and istemek, or when you want to emphasize the action as a definite goal, the infinitive often takes the accusative -(y)I, surfacing as -mAyI: gitmeyi çok istiyorum ("I really want to go"). The plain gitmek istiyorum and the marked gitmeyi istiyorum are both correct; the accusative is preferred when the two words are separated.
O filmi sinemada izlemeyi gerçekten çok istiyordum.
I really wanted to see that film at the cinema.
Different subject: -mA + possessive
Here is the structural pivot. When the wanter and the doer are different people — "I want you to go" — Turkish cannot use the bare infinitive, because the infinitive has no slot to name the doer. Instead it uses the -mA verbal noun, attaches a possessive suffix identifying the doer, and marks the whole thing accusative as istemek's object. "I want you to go" becomes gitmeni istiyorum — literally "your-going I-want" (git-me-n-i).
| Whose action? | -mA + possessive (+ acc.) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| your (sg.) | gitmeni | that you go |
| his/her | gitmesini | that he/she goes |
| our | gitmemizi | that we go |
| your (pl./formal) | gitmenizi | that you go |
Bu akşam erken gelmeni istiyorum, konuşmamız gereken bir şey var.
I want you to come home early tonight — there's something we need to talk about.
Öğretmen hepimizin sessiz olmasını istedi.
The teacher wanted all of us to be quiet.
Noun objects: wanting a thing
istemek is not limited to wanting actions — it wants things too, and then it behaves like an ordinary transitive verb, taking a direct object. A definite, specific object takes the accusative; an indefinite one stays bare.
Garson, bir şişe su ve iki kahve istiyoruz.
Waiter, we'd like a bottle of water and two coffees.
Çocuk doğum günü için yeni bir bisiklet istedi.
The child asked for a new bicycle for his birthday.
istemek also means "to ask for / request" and even "to demand," and in marriage contexts kız istemek is the traditional phrase for formally asking for a woman's hand.
The idiom canım istiyor: "I feel like"
For appetites and cravings — wanting food, drink, or an experience in the moment — Turkish prefers the idiom canım istiyor, literally "my soul wants (it)." The thing craved is marked with the accusative, and can ("soul, life force") carries the possessive of the experiencer: canım (my), canın (your), canı (his/her). It is warmer and more visceral than plain istemek and is the natural way to say "I feel like a coffee" or "I'm in the mood for…".
Hava çok sıcak, canım dondurma istiyor.
It's so hot — I feel like an ice cream.
Bugün hiçbir şey yapmak canım istemiyor, sadece uyumak istiyorum.
I don't feel like doing anything today, I just want to sleep.
Note the second example pairs both constructions: yapmak canım istemiyor (idiom + infinitive) alongside plain uyumak istiyorum. Both are everyday spoken Turkish.
Negative and question forms
The negative inserts -mA: istemiyorum ("I don't want"), istemedim ("I didn't want"), istemem (negative aorist, emphatic "I won't / I refuse"). Questions use the particle mi: istiyor musun? ("do you want?"), ister misin? (the polite "would you like?").
Gerçekten bu işi bırakmak istiyor musun, iyice düşündün mü?
Do you really want to quit this job — have you thought it through?
Common mistakes
❌ Senin gitmek istiyorum.
Incorrect — for a different doer use the -mA + possessive complement, not the infinitive: gitmeni istiyorum.
✅ Gitmeni istiyorum.
I want you to go.
❌ Ben gitmemi istiyorum.
Incorrect — same subject takes the bare infinitive, not -mA + possessive: gitmek istiyorum.
✅ Gitmek istiyorum.
I want to go.
❌ Bir kahveyi istiyorum, lütfen.
Incorrect — an indefinite 'a coffee' is bare, no accusative: bir kahve istiyorum.
✅ Bir kahve istiyorum, lütfen.
I'd like a coffee, please.
❌ Benim canım çikolata istiyorum.
Incorrect — in the idiom the verb is third person (canım istiyor), not first: canım çikolata istiyor.
✅ Canım çikolata istiyor.
I feel like (some) chocolate.
Key takeaways
istemekis regular:istiyorum,ister,istedim,isteyeceğim,istemiş.- Same subject → bare
-mAkinfinitive:gitmek istiyorum. - Different subject →
-mA- possessive (+ accusative):
gitmeni istiyorum.
- possessive (+ accusative):
- It also takes plain noun objects:
su istemek,bisiklet istedi. - The idiom canım istiyor ("my soul wants") expresses momentary cravings.
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Start learning Turkish→Related Topics
- Wanting: istemek and canım istiyorA2 — The three ways Turkish says 'want' — with an infinitive, with a noun object, and the idiomatic canım istiyor — and the crucial same-subject versus different-subject split.
- The Action Nominal -mAB1 — The -mA verbal noun and how its possessive suffix encodes a subject, enabling different-subject complement clauses like gelmeni istiyorum.
- The Infinitive as a Noun: -mAkA2 — Using the -mAk infinitive as a subject-neutral verbal noun, and how it takes case (yüzmeyi, gitmeye) once the final k drops.
- -mA vs -mAk vs -(y)Iş: Which NominalizationB2 — Three ways to turn a verb into a noun: -mAk for the generic activity, -mA for a specific action with a subject, -(y)Iş for the manner or single instance.