Kardeşim ortaokula başladı.

the sibling

Breakdown of Kardeşim ortaokula başladı.

• başlamak: to start
• ortaokul: a middle school

Questions & Answers about Kardeşim ortaokula başladı.

Why does kardeşim mean my sibling?

Because -im here is a 1st person singular possessive suffix, meaning my.

• kardeş = sibling
• kardeş-im = my sibling

So Turkish often expresses possession by adding a suffix to the noun instead of using a separate word like my.

Does kardeş mean brother or sister?

It can mean either. Kardeş is gender-neutral.

So kardeşim can mean:

• my brother
• my sister
• more literally, my sibling

Context tells you which one is meant.

Also, in everyday Turkish, kardeş often refers especially to a younger sibling, while older siblings are commonly called:

• ağabey / abi = older brother
• abla = older sister

But in a broad sense, kardeş can still mean sibling in general.

Why is it ortaokula and not just ortaokul?