Ninem köyde yaşıyor.

In Turkish, possession is often shown with a suffix, not a separate word.

• nine = grandmother / grandma
• ninem = my grandmother

The -m at the end is the 1st person singular possessive suffix, meaning my.

So instead of saying my grandmother as two words, Turkish often says it as one word: ninem.

The possessive ending here is basically -Im / -Um type vowel-harmony suffixes, and after a vowel-final noun like nine, Turkish usually inserts a buffer-like pattern that gives:

• nine → ninem

This is the normal way to say my grandmother.

A few similar examples:

• anne → annem = my mother
• teyze → teyzem = my aunt
• nine → ninem = my grandmother

So ninem is just the standard possessed form.

Köyde means in the village or at the village, depending on context.

It breaks down like this:

• köy = village
• -de = in / at / on

So:

• köyde = in the village

This -de ending is called the locative suffix.

Because Turkish usually marks location with a suffix.

In English, you say:

• in the village

In Turkish, that idea of in is built into the noun:

• köy = village
• köyde = in the village

So if you only said köy, you would just be saying village, not in the village.

This is due to vowel harmony.

The locative suffix has two main vowel forms:

• -da
• -de

After front vowels, Turkish uses -de. After back vowels, it uses -da.

The word köy contains ö, which is a front vowel, so the correct form is:

• köyde

Compare:

• evde = at home / in the house
• okulda = at school
• köyde = in the village

Yaşıyor comes from the verb yaşamak, which means to live.

The form yaşıyor is built like this:

• yaşa- = verb stem
• -ıyor / -iyor / -uyor / -üyor = present continuous marker
• implied third person singular = he/she/it

So:

• yaşıyor = he/she is living or he/she lives, depending on context

In this sentence, it means:

• Ninem köyde yaşıyor.
• My grandmother lives in the village.

It can often correspond to either one in English.

Formally, -iyor is the present continuous form, so a very literal translation would be:

• is living

But in Turkish, this form is also commonly used for situations that English might express with the simple present:

• lives

So in this sentence, the most natural English translation is usually:

• My grandmother lives in the village.

Even though the Turkish form is technically the present continuous.

Because Turkish often drops subject pronouns when they are clear from context or from the verb form.

English usually needs:

• She lives in the village.

But Turkish can simply say:

• Köyde yaşıyor. = She lives in the village.

In your sentence, the subject is already stated as ninem, so adding o (she/he/it) would be unnecessary.

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, although the most neutral order here is:

• Ninem köyde yaşıyor.

That is a normal subject + place + verb pattern.

You could also say:

• Köyde ninem yaşıyor.

This is grammatical, but it gives more emphasis to köyde.

Since Turkish often puts the most important or highlighted information earlier, changing the order can shift the focus a bit, even if the basic meaning stays the same.

Turkish does not use the in the same way English does.

So:

• köy can mean village or the village, depending on context
• köyde can mean in a village or in the village, depending on context

In many everyday sentences, the context tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, English usually translates it naturally as the village.

The letter ı is a very common Turkish vowel, but it does not exist in standard English.

• i in Turkish sounds like ee in see
• ı is different: it is a close back unrounded vowel

A rough approximation for English speakers is the vowel in a very reduced, relaxed uh sound, but that is not perfect.

So:

• yaşıyor is approximately yah-shuh-yor

Also note:

• ş = sh
• y is pronounced like English y

So the word sounds roughly like:

• yah-shuh-yor

By itself, nine just means grandmother / grandma in a general sense.

If Turkish speakers want to be specific, they often use:

• anneanne = maternal grandmother
• babaanne = paternal grandmother

So ninem simply means my grandmother / my grandma, unless the context makes the relationship clear.

It can do both, depending on context.

• köyde yaşamak = to live in the village
• hâlâ yaşıyor = he/she is still alive

In your sentence, because of köyde, the meaning is clearly to live somewhere, not just to be alive.

So here:

• Ninem köyde yaşıyor. means My grandmother lives in the village.

A simple breakdown is:

• Ninem = my grandmother
  
  • noun + possessive suffix
• köyde = in the village
  
  • noun + locative suffix
• yaşıyor = lives / is living
  
  • verb in present continuous form

So the sentence structure is:

• Subject: ninem
• Location: köyde
• Verb: yaşıyor

That gives:

• Ninem köyde yaşıyor. = My grandmother lives in the village.