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Learn Hardcore Turkish: Bu koku iğrenç. - This smell is disgusting.

Hardcore Turkish
/Taking a car for its periodic inspection
/Bu koku iğrenç.

Bu koku iğrenç.

Bu koku iğrenç.

This smell is disgusting.

Breakdown of Bu koku iğrenç.

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Questions & Answers about Bu koku iğrenç.

What does each word in Bu koku iğrenç do?

bu = this
koku = smell / odor / scent
iğrenç = disgusting / revolting / gross

Grammatically, bu koku is the subject phrase, and iğrenç is the predicate adjective: This smell is disgusting.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In Turkish, the present-tense to be is often not expressed as a separate word in simple third-person sentences.

So:

Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.

Turkish often works like:

O mutlu. = He/She is happy.
Hava güzel. = The weather is nice.

So the English is is understood.

Why is iğrenç after koku here, not before it?

Because iğrenç is not directly modifying the noun here; it is the predicate of the sentence.

Compare:

iğrenç koku = a disgusting smell
- Here the adjective comes before the noun.
Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.
- Here the adjective comes after because it is the main description of the subject.

This is a very important difference in Turkish.

Could I also say Bu iğrenç bir koku?

Yes, but it is slightly different in structure.

Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.
Bu iğrenç bir koku. = This is a disgusting smell.

In the second sentence, bu stands more like this on its own, and iğrenç bir koku is the thing being identified.

Both are natural, but they are not exactly the same sentence pattern.

Why is there no word for the or a?

Turkish does not have articles like English the and a/an.

bu already makes the noun specific: this smell
If Turkish wants something like a/an, it can use bir

For example:

iğrenç bir koku = a disgusting smell

But in Bu koku iğrenç, no article is needed.

Is koku always negative, like stink?

No. Koku is basically neutral. It can mean:

smell
odor
scent

Whether it sounds good or bad depends on context.

For example:

güzel koku = nice smell
kötü koku = bad smell
Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.

So the negativity here comes mainly from iğrenç, not from koku itself.

How strong is iğrenç?

İğrenç is quite strong. It usually means something like:

disgusting
gross
revolting

It is much stronger than kötü (bad).

So:

Bu koku kötü. = This smell is bad.
Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.

If you use iğrenç, you are giving a strong negative reaction.

How do you pronounce iğrenç?

A rough guide:

bu ≈ boo
koku ≈ koh-koo
iğrenç ≈ ee-rench

A few letter notes:

ç sounds like ch
ğ is not pronounced like a hard English g; it usually softens or lengthens the sound around it

So iğrenç does not sound like ig-rench with a hard g.

Does iğrenç change for gender or number?

No. Turkish adjectives do not agree with nouns in gender or number.

So:

Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.
Bu kokular iğrenç. = These smells are disgusting.

Also, Turkish does not have grammatical gender like masculine/feminine noun classes.

Can bu be used by itself, without koku?

Yes. Bu can be:

a determiner: bu koku = this smell
a pronoun: bu = this

For example:

Bu iğrenç. = This is disgusting.

In your sentence, bu is a determiner because it directly comes before koku.

How would I turn this into a question?

You add the question particle mi:

Bu koku iğrenç mi? = Is this smell disgusting?

A useful point: mi is written separately from the word before it.

Examples:

Güzel mi? = Is it nice?
Hazır mı? = Is it ready?

How would I say This smell is not disgusting?

You use değil for negation:

Bu koku iğrenç değil. = This smell is not disgusting.

This is the normal way to negate adjective and noun sentences in Turkish.

Compare:

Bu koku iğrenç. = This smell is disgusting.
Bu koku iğrenç değil. = This smell is not disgusting.

Could I say Bu koku iğrençtir with -dir at the end?

Yes, you can, but it sounds more formal, definite, or emphatic.

Bu koku iğrenç. = neutral, normal everyday speech
Bu koku iğrençtir. = more formal or emphatic, something like This smell is indeed disgusting or This smell is disgusting, as a fact

In everyday conversation, the version without -dir is much more common.

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