Log inSign up

Asansör çalışmıyor.

Asansör çalışmıyor.
The elevator is not working.
FromLesson 40inHardcore Turkish
……

Breakdown of Asansör çalışmıyor.

çalışmak
to work
asansör
the elevator

Questions & Answers about Asansör çalışmıyor.

What does Asansör mean?
Asansör means “elevator” or “lift” in Turkish. It’s borrowed from French ascenseur and pronounced approximately ah-sahn-SOOR.
What does çalışmıyor mean?
çalışmıyor is the negative present-continuous form of çalışmak (“to work” or “to function”), so çalışmıyor = is not working.
How is çalışmıyor formed grammatically?

You build it in three steps:

  1. çalış- = verb stem “work/function”
  2. -ma/-me (negative suffix) → çalış-m-
  3. -yor (present-continuous suffix) + zero ending for 3rd person → çalışmıyor

Vowel harmony turns m + yor into mıyor here.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like o (“he/it”) in the sentence?
Turkish drops personal pronouns when they’re clear from the verb ending. The zero ending in çalışmıyor already tells you it’s 3rd person singular (“it isn’t working”).
How would I turn this into a question (“Is the elevator not working?”)?

Add the question particle mu after the verb, respecting vowel harmony from the last vowel o (back rounded), and write it separately:
Asansör çalışmıyor mu?

What’s the difference between çalışmıyor and çalışmaz?
  • çalışmıyor = “is not working (right now)” (present-continuous negative)
  • çalışmaz = “does not work” as a general truth/habit (negative aorist)

If the elevator is temporarily out of order, çalışmıyor is more natural.

Can I say Asansör bozuk instead of Asansör çalışmıyor?

Yes. bozuk means “broken/damaged.”

  • Asansör bozuk. = “The elevator is broken.”
  • Asansör çalışmıyor. = “The elevator isn’t working.”

They’re close in meaning; bozuk implies a fault, çalışmıyor focuses on current non-function.

How do I pronounce “Asansör çalışmıyor”?

Approximate transcription:
ah-sahn-SOOR cha-lish-muh-YOR
Stress in Turkish usually falls on the last syllable: cha-lish-muh-YOR.

Why is the word order Asansör çalışmıyor and not Çalışmıyor asansör?

Turkish follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) order. Here there’s no object, so it’s simply Subject + Verb:
[Asansör] [çalışmıyor].
You could shift words for emphasis, but the normal, neutral order is as shown.

Is “Asansör çalışmıyor” formal or informal?
It’s neutral and perfectly fine in both spoken and written Turkish.

More from this lesson

havaalanıtaksiyola çıkmakBen sabah erken yola çıkıyorum.Havaalanına gitmek için taksiyle yola çıktım.yarımYarım ekmek yiyorum.Taksi ile yolculuğum yarım saatte bitti.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Turkish grammar?”
Turkish grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Turkish

Master Turkish — from Asansör çalışmıyor to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions
Start learning Turkish freeBrowse the full course