Yemekte içki içmedik.

Yemekte means at the meal, during the meal, or often more naturally at dinner / over the meal, depending on context.

It is made from:

• yemek = meal / food
• -te = the locative ending, meaning in, at, on

So:

• yemekte = at the meal

In this sentence, it does not mean in the food. The context makes it clear that it refers to the mealtime situation.

This is because of a common Turkish sound rule.

The locative suffix has forms like:

• -de / -da
• -te / -ta

Which one appears depends partly on the final sound of the word before it.

Since yemek ends in k, which is a voiceless consonant, the suffix becomes -te, not -de:

• yemek + -de -> yemekte

This is normal Turkish consonant harmony.

They are related, but they do different jobs.

• içmek = to drink
• içki = drink, especially alcoholic drink or alcohol
• içmedik = we did not drink

So:

• içki is the thing
• içmedik is the action

This kind of repetition can feel strange to an English speaker, but it is completely normal in Turkish:

• içki içmek = to drink alcohol
• literally something like to do alcohol-drinking

Usually, yes.

Although it comes from the verb içmek (to drink), içki normally means:

• alcohol
• an alcoholic drink
• liquor / booze depending on tone and context

So Yemekte içki içmedik means specifically that we did not drink alcohol with the meal / at the meal, not just we didn’t drink anything.

If you wanted to say we didn’t drink anything, that would be different, for example:

• Hiçbir şey içmedik.

Because Turkish usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb already shows the person.

The verb içmedik already means we did not drink.

It breaks down like this:

• iç- = drink
• -me- = negative
• -di- = past
• -k = we

So the we is already built into the verb. Adding biz would only be for emphasis or contrast:

• Biz yemekte içki içmedik. = We didn’t drink alcohol at the meal.

It can be analyzed as:

• iç- = drink
• -me- = not
• -di- = past tense
• -k = we

So:

• içmedik = we did not drink

This order is very typical in Turkish:

verb stem + negative + tense + person

For comparison:

• içtim = I drank
• içmedim = I didn’t drink
• içtik = we drank
• içmedik = we didn’t drink

Because here it is an indefinite direct object.

In Turkish, a direct object often stays unmarked when it is indefinite or non-specific:

• içki içmedik = we didn’t drink alcohol / any alcohol

If the object were specific or definite, you would often use the accusative:

• İçkiyi içmedik. = We didn’t drink the alcohol.

That version sounds like there is some particular alcohol already known in the conversation.

So the lack of accusative here gives a more general meaning.

Turkish often uses a noun + verb combination where English might use a single more specific expression.

So:

• içki içmek = to drink alcohol
• literally to drink drink/alcohol

This is not bad style or unnecessary repetition. It is just the normal Turkish way to express the idea.

Compare similar patterns:

• kahve içmek = to drink coffee
• sigara içmek = to smoke cigarettes
• yemek yemek = to eat food / have a meal

That last one is especially famous because the noun and the verb are very similar:

• yemek = food / meal
• yemek yemek = to eat

Yes, that can be a natural English translation in many contexts.

Depending on context, Yemekte içki içmedik could be understood as:

• We didn’t drink alcohol at the meal.
• We didn’t have any alcohol with the meal.
• We didn’t have a drink at dinner.

The Turkish sentence itself does not force one exact English wording. The best translation depends on the situation and the style of English you want.

No, Turkish word order is flexible, although some orders are more neutral than others.

Yemekte içki içmedik is a very natural order. It presents the setting first, then the object, then the verb.

A rough breakdown is:

• Yemekte = setting/time-place frame
• içki = object
• içmedik = verb

Because the verb normally comes at the end in Turkish, this sentence sounds neutral and standard.

You could also hear other orders for emphasis, such as:

• İçki yemekte içmedik.
• Biz yemekte içki içmedik.

But the original version is probably the most straightforward one for learners.

Yes, and that is why context matters.

yemek as a noun can mean:

• food
• a meal
• sometimes specifically dinner, depending on context

So yemekte can be understood as:

• at the meal
• during the meal
• at dinner

In this sentence, English often prefers at dinner or with the meal, even though Turkish simply says yemekte.

Yes, it is natural and normal.

A speaker might use it in contexts like:

• explaining what happened at a restaurant
• saying they avoided alcohol
• comparing what different people drank during a meal

It sounds like a plain factual statement:

• We didn’t drink alcohol at the meal.

There is nothing unusual or literary about it.