Vernik sanki henüz kurumamış gibi yapışıyor.

Together, sanki ... gibi means as if / as though.

In this sentence, sanki and gibi work as a pair:

• sanki introduces the impression
• gibi marks the comparison

So sanki henüz kurumamış gibi means as if it hasn’t dried yet.

You will also hear sentences with only one of them:

• Vernik henüz kurumamış gibi yapışıyor.
• Vernik sanki henüz kurumamış, yapışıyor. (less neat for a learner; the first version is better)

Using both is very common and often sounds natural and slightly more vivid.

Henüz means yet or still in this kind of context.

So:

• henüz kurumamış = hasn’t dried yet

It is often used with things that are not completed yet:

• Henüz gelmedi. = He/She hasn’t come yet.
• Henüz hazır değil. = It isn’t ready yet.

Here it emphasizes that the drying seems incomplete.

Kurumamış comes from kurumak, meaning to dry.

It contains:

• -ma- = negation
• -mış = a form that often gives a completed/result sense

So:

• kurumuş = dried / has dried
• kurumamış = not dried / hasn’t dried

In this sentence, kurumamış is not the main verb. It is part of the as if expression:

• henüz kurumamış gibi = as if it hasn’t dried yet

Here -mış helps express a resulting state or apparently completed/not completed condition, rather than a simple past event.

That is why:

• kurumamış fits well for hasn’t dried
• it focuses on the present state: the varnish seems to still be in an undried condition

Also, in a sentence with sanki ... gibi, this form sounds very natural because the speaker is describing an impression, not making a plain factual statement.

Because kurumadı means more directly it did not dry, a simple past statement.

But kurumamış gibi means:

• as if it hasn’t dried
• as if it seems not to have dried

That is the more natural pattern here.

Compare:

• kurumadı = it didn’t dry
• kurumamış gibi = as if it hasn’t dried / as though it seems not to have dried

So kurumamış gibi matches the English idea much better.

Gibi means like / as if.

Here it turns the phrase before it into a comparison:

• henüz kurumamış gibi = like it hasn’t dried yet / as if it hasn’t dried yet

The whole chunk henüz kurumamış gibi describes how the varnish is behaving:

• How is it sticking?
• As if it hasn’t dried yet.

So gibi connects the impression to the main verb yapışıyor.

Yapışıyor comes from yapışmak, meaning to stick / cling / adhere.

The ending -iyor is the present continuous:

• yapışıyor = is sticking

Turkish often uses this form for what something is doing now or how it is behaving at the moment.

So here it means the varnish is currently behaving in a sticky way:

• Vernik ... yapışıyor. = The varnish is sticking ...

In English, depending on context, you might say:

• is sticking
• sticks
• feels sticky

But Turkish uses the verb yapışıyor.

Because Turkish often expresses this idea with a verb.

• yapışıyor = it is sticking / it sticks
• yapışkan = sticky as an adjective

So:

• Vernik yapışıyor. = The varnish is sticking / feels sticky.
• Vernik yapışkan. = The varnish is sticky.

The sentence you gave focuses more on the varnish’s behavior or effect, not just a fixed quality.

Yes. The understood subject is the same: vernik.

Turkish often leaves out pronouns like it when the subject is already clear.

So the sentence is roughly:

• Vernik sanki henüz kurumamış gibi yapışıyor.
• The varnish sticks as if it hasn’t dried yet.

There is no separate word for it before kurumamış, because Turkish does not need it here.

Turkish usually puts the main verb near the end.

So the structure is:

• Vernik = subject
• sanki henüz kurumamış gibi = comparison/impression phrase
• yapışıyor = main verb

Literally, the order is something like:

• Varnish as if not-yet-dried like is-sticking

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal Turkish word order.

Not necessarily.

The sentence describes an impression:

• it behaves as if it has not dried yet

So the speaker is not directly stating the fact The varnish has not dried. Instead, they are saying:

• It feels/seems that way
• It is sticking in a way that suggests that

That is exactly why sanki ... gibi is used.

Yes, but the nuance changes a little.

• Vernik henüz kurumamış gibi yapışıyor.

  • still very natural
  • as if it hasn’t dried yet

• Vernik sanki kurumamış gibi yapışıyor.

  • also natural
  • as if it hasn’t dried
  • without henüz, the yet idea is weaker

• Vernik kurumamış gibi yapışıyor.

  • also possible
  • a bit plainer

So:

• sanki adds the sense of appearance/impression
• henüz adds the idea of yet / still not completed