Harf kilidi şifre çarkıyla çözülüyor.

The letter lock is solved with the cipher wheel.

Breakdown of Harf kilidi şifre çarkıyla çözülüyor.

• çözmek: to solve
• harf kilidi: a combination lock (letters)
• şifre çarkı: a cipher wheel

Questions & Answers about Harf kilidi şifre çarkıyla çözülüyor.

Why is it harf kilidi instead of harfin kilidi?

Harf kilidi is an indefinite noun compound in Turkish. This is the normal way to say a type of thing, like letter lock.

• harf kilidi = letter lock / a lock with letters
• harfin kilidi = the lock of the letter

So harfin kilidi would sound much more specific and literal, as if one particular letter owns a lock. Here, Turkish is naming the object as a category, so harf kilidi is the natural form.

What does the -i in kilidi mean here?

Here, the -i is not the accusative ending. It is the ending used on the second noun in an indefinite noun compound.

So:

• harf + kilit → harf kilidi
• şifre + çark → şifre çarkı

This pattern is very common in Turkish:

• kahve fincanı = coffee cup
• okul kapısı = school door
• telefon numarası = phone number

So kilidi is just the normal compound form of kilit in harf kilidi.

Why does kilit become kilidi with d instead of staying kiliti?