Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açık.

Hayvanat bahçesi is a fixed Turkish noun phrase meaning zoo.

Literally, it comes from:

• hayvanat = animals in an older/literary form
• bahçe = garden
• bahçesi = garden with the compound ending

So the whole phrase is literally something like animals garden, but in normal English you just translate it as zoo.

Grammatically, it is a noun compound, and Turkish commonly builds these as:

noun + noun-(s)i

That is why the second word appears as bahçesi, not just bahçe.

Because Turkish noun compounds usually mark the second noun with the ending -(s)i / -(s)ı / -(s)u / -(s)ü.

So:

• bahçe = garden
• bahçesi = garden in a compound structure

This ending looks like a possessive ending, and historically it is related to one, but in compounds it often functions just as part of the compound pattern.

Compare:

• elma suyu = apple juice
• öğrenci evi = student house / dorm
• hayvanat bahçesi = zoo

Because bahçe ends in a vowel, the buffer consonant s appears: bahçe + si → bahçesi.

Not really in everyday speech. The usual modern word for animal is hayvan, and the normal plural is hayvanlar.

Hayvanat is an older, somewhat formal or old-fashioned word, but it survives in fixed expressions, especially hayvanat bahçesi.

So a learner should definitely recognize hayvanat bahçesi, but usually not try to use hayvanat freely in everyday conversation.

Turkish often leaves out the present-tense to be in the third person.

So:

• Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açık.

literally looks like:

• Zoo today open

but it naturally means:

• The zoo is open today.

This is completely normal Turkish. English needs is, but Turkish often does not.

No. Açık is an adjective meaning open.

In this sentence, it works as a predicate adjective, just like open in:

• The door is open
• The store is open
• The zoo is open

So the structure is:

• Hayvanat bahçesi = subject
• bugün = today
• açık = open

The meaning of is is understood even though no separate verb appears.

Because Turkish has no definite article like English the.

So Turkish does not need a separate word for:

• the zoo
• the door
• the house

Context tells you whether English should use the, a, or no article at all.

In this sentence, English naturally says The zoo is open today, but Turkish simply says Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açık.

Yes, Bugün hayvanat bahçesi açık is also natural.

Turkish word order is flexible, especially with time words like bugün. The main difference is emphasis:

• Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açık.
  More neutral if you are talking about the zoo as the topic.

• Bugün hayvanat bahçesi açık.
  Puts more focus on today.

In both versions, açık naturally stays near the end because it is the predicate.

Because it is the subject of the sentence, and subjects normally appear in the basic form, often called the nominative.

Turkish adds case endings when a noun has another role, such as:

• destination
• location
• direct object
• source

Compare:

• Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açık.
  The zoo is open today.
  Subject, so no extra case ending.

• Hayvanat bahçesine gidiyorum.
  I am going to the zoo.
  Dative ending: -ne

• Hayvanat bahçesinde çalışıyor.
  He/she works at the zoo.
  Locative ending: -nde

Yes, but it sounds more formal, written, or emphatic.

Compare:

• Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açık.
  Normal everyday Turkish.

• Hayvanat bahçesi bugün açıktır.
  More formal, like an announcement, report, or official statement.

Learners often meet -dır in textbooks because it is easy to explain, but in ordinary speech Turkish speakers usually leave it out.

A few sounds may be new for English speakers:

• ç = ch as in chair
• ı = the Turkish undotted i, a vowel English does not really have
• ü = like German ü or French u

So:

• açık has ç = ch, and the last vowel is ı, not normal i
• bugün ends with ü, not u

A simple rough guide:

• açık ≈ a-CHIK, but with the last vowel farther back than English i
• bugün ≈ bu-GÜN, with rounded lips on ü

The exact sounds take practice, but Turkish spelling is very regular, so once you learn the letters, pronunciation becomes much easier.