Ya bulmacayı çözelim ya da kadranı çevirelim.

It means either ... or ....

So:

• ya bulmacayı çözelim
• ya da kadranı çevirelim

= either let’s solve the puzzle, or let’s turn the dial

This structure presents two alternatives. In everyday Turkish, you may also hear ya ... ya ... without da, but ya ... ya da ... is very common and clear.

Here, ya da is functioning as the conjunction or.

A few important points:

• It is written separately: ya da
• It is not the locative ending -da/-de meaning in/on/at
• It is also not the separate particle de/da meaning also/too

So in this sentence, treat ya da as part of the either/or structure.

Because they are direct objects, and in Turkish, a specific/definite direct object usually takes the accusative ending.

• bulmaca → bulmacayı
• kadran → kadranı

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a particular puzzle and a particular dial, not just puzzles or dials in general.

This is one of the big differences from English: Turkish often shows specificity through case endings rather than articles like the.

That y is a buffer consonant.

Turkish does this when:

• the noun ends in a vowel
• and the suffix begins with a vowel

So:

• bulmaca
  • -ı would create two vowels together
• Turkish inserts y: bulmacayı

But:

• kadran ends in a consonant
• so no buffer is needed: kadranı

This is very common in Turkish.

They are in the first person plural imperative/optative form, which is usually translated as let’s ... in English.

So:

• çözelim = let’s solve
• çevirelim = let’s turn

This form includes both the speaker and the listener(s). It is usually a suggestion, proposal, or invitation, not a plain statement.

Because Turkish verbs already show the person.

The ending -elim tells you that the meaning is let us / let’s. So the subject biz (we) is not necessary.

You could add biz for emphasis, but normally Turkish leaves it out:

• Biz ya bulmacayı çözelim ya da kadranı çevirelim.

That is possible, but less neutral and usually only used if you want to stress we.

This is due to vowel harmony.

The let’s ending appears as:

• -alım
• -elim

Which one you use depends on the vowels in the verb stem.

Here:

• çöz- has a front vowel (ö) → çözelim
• çevir- has a front vowel (e/i) → çevirelim

Compare with back-vowel verbs:

• yapalım = let’s do
• bakalım = let’s look

So -elim is the correct harmonized form here.

It is usually more of a suggestion or proposal.

The -elim form is like English let’s:

• Let’s solve the puzzle
• Let’s turn the dial

That sounds cooperative and inclusive. It is not as direct as ordering someone else to do something.

Of course, tone and context can make it sound more forceful, but grammatically it is the let’s form.

Not completely, because Turkish word order is fairly flexible. But this version is very natural:

• Ya bulmacayı çözelim ya da kadranı çevirelim.

It has a nice parallel structure:

• object + verb
• object + verb

That makes the two alternatives sound balanced.

You can move words around for emphasis, but for a learner, this is the most straightforward and natural order to use.

Yes, you could say:

• Bulmacayı çözelim ya da kadranı çevirelim.

That is still correct and natural.

The difference is that adding the first ya makes the either ... or ... structure more explicit. It gives the sentence a more balanced choice between two options feeling.

So:

• Bulmacayı çözelim ya da kadranı çevirelim = Let’s solve the puzzle or turn the dial
• Ya bulmacayı çözelim ya da kadranı çevirelim = Either let’s solve the puzzle or let’s turn the dial

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• ç = like ch in church
  • çözelim, çevirelim
• ö = a rounded front vowel; English does not have an exact equivalent
  • a rough trick: say e as in bed, but round your lips
• ı = the Turkish dotless i
  • it does not sound like English ee
  • it is a deeper, more central/back vowel with no exact English match

So learners often need extra practice with:

• çö-
• -dır / -nı / -yı type endings
• the contrast between i and ı

Those are very normal pronunciation challenges for English speakers.