Mission—Team—FAQ—Privacy—Terms—Sponsors—Grammar—Typing Course—Donate

© 2026 Elon Automation B.V.

Learn Hardcore Turkish: Sigara burada yasak. - Cigarettes are forbidden here.

Hardcore Turkish
/Taking a car for its periodic inspection
/Sigara burada yasak.

Sigara burada yasak.

Sigara burada yasak.

Cigarettes are forbidden here.

Breakdown of Sigara burada yasak.

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning Turkish now

Questions & Answers about Sigara burada yasak.

Why is there no verb in Sigara burada yasak? Is this really a complete sentence?

Yes, it is a complete sentence.

In Turkish, the verb to be is often left out in the simple present tense with third-person subjects. So a sentence like:

Sigara burada yasak

literally looks like:

Cigarette/smoking here forbidden

but it naturally means:

Smoking is forbidden here or Cigarettes are forbidden here.

The missing is is understood automatically. This is very common in Turkish.

For example:

Hava güzel. = The weather is nice.
Burası sessiz. = This place is quiet.

Does sigara mean cigarette or smoking here?

Literally, sigara means cigarette. But in signs and short statements like this, Turkish often uses sigara to mean smoking in a general sense.

So depending on context, Sigara burada yasak can be understood as:

Smoking is forbidden here
Cigarettes are not allowed here

If you wanted to say smoking more explicitly, you could say:

Sigara içmek burada yasak.

That literally means To smoke is forbidden here.

What does burada mean exactly?

Burada means here.

It refers to the place where the speaker or sign is located. In this sentence, it tells you where the rule applies:

burada = here
so Sigara burada yasak = Smoking is forbidden here

A few related words:

burası = this place / here
orada = there
şurada = over there

What does yasak mean? Is it a noun or an adjective?

Yasak most often means forbidden, prohibited, or banned.

In this sentence, it works like a predicate adjective:

Sigara burada yasak. = Smoking is forbidden here.

But yasak can also behave like a noun meaning ban or prohibition, depending on context.

For learners, the easiest way to understand it here is:

yasak = forbidden / not allowed

You may also see:

Yasak! = Forbidden!
Park etmek yasak. = Parking is forbidden.

Why is there no ending on sigara? Why not a case suffix?

Because sigara is the subject-like idea of the sentence here: the thing being talked about.

In Sigara burada yasak, sigara is just the plain dictionary form. Turkish often uses the bare noun for general statements like this.

There is no accusative ending because sigara is not a direct object here.

Compare:

Sigara burada yasak. = Smoking is forbidden here.
Sigarayı bıraktım. = I quit smoking / I gave up cigarettes.

In the second sentence, sigarayı has the accusative ending because it is the object.

Could I also say Burada sigara yasak?

Yes. Burada sigara yasak is also natural.

Turkish word order is flexible, especially in short statements like this. The most neutral meaning stays the same:

Sigara burada yasak
Burada sigara yasak

Both mean roughly Smoking is forbidden here.

The difference is mostly about emphasis:

Sigara burada yasak can put a little more attention on smoking/cigarettes
Burada sigara yasak can put a little more attention on here

In signs, Burada sigara içmek yasaktır is also very common and sounds more formal.

Is this the same as Sigara içmek burada yasak?

Yes, the meaning is basically the same, but Sigara içmek burada yasak is more explicit.

Compare:

Sigara burada yasak.
Short, natural, common on signs and in speech.
Sigara içmek burada yasak.
More literal: Smoking here is forbidden.

The version with içmek is clearer grammatically because it uses the verb to smoke, but Turkish often prefers the shorter version in everyday use.

Why isn’t it Sigaralar burada yasak?

Because Turkish often uses the singular form for a general category.

So sigara here does not just mean one cigarette. It can refer to cigarettes or smoking in general.

This is similar to English sentences like:

Smoking is dangerous
The car is expensive to maintain when talking about cars in general

If you say sigaralar, that means cigarettes in the plural, and it sounds more like you are talking about multiple physical cigarettes rather than the general activity or category.

So sigara is the more natural choice here.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or neutral?

It is fairly neutral and very natural, especially on signs or in everyday speech.

However, for a more formal or official style, Turkish often uses -dır / -dir or a more explicit structure:

Sigara içmek burada yasaktır.
Burada sigara içmek yasaktır.

These sound more official, like something written in a rulebook, notice, or public sign.

So:

Sigara burada yasak. = natural, short, everyday
Sigara içmek burada yasaktır. = more formal

How is Sigara burada yasak pronounced?

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

see-GA-ra boo-RA-da ya-SAK

A few notes:

g is always a hard g as in go
r is tapped lightly
stress is usually near the end in burada and strongly on the last syllable of yasak

A more careful breakdown:

sigara = si-ga-ra
burada = bu-ra-da
yasak = ya-sak

Can this sentence ever mean Cigarettes are forbidden here instead of Smoking is forbidden here?

Yes. In practice, it can suggest either one, and context decides.

On a sign in a building, restaurant, or office, English would usually translate it as:

No smoking
Smoking is forbidden here

But if the context is specifically about bringing or having cigarettes somewhere, it could be understood more literally as:

Cigarettes are forbidden here

Still, in most everyday situations, people will understand it as a ban on smoking.

Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io