Learn Hardcore Turkish: Çorbanın kıvamı soğuyunca daha yoğun oluyor. - The soup’s consistency becomes thicker when it cools.

kıvamı comes from kıvam (meaning “consistency” or “thickness”) plus the third-person singular possessive suffix -ı. So kıvamı literally means “its consistency,” here referring to the soup.

Why are there two possessive/genitive markers in çorbanın kıvamı?

Turkish uses a genitive–possessive construction when one noun possesses another.

çorbanın is çorba
- genitive -nın (“of the soup”).
kıvamı then takes the possessive -ı (“its consistency”).
Together, çorbanın kıvamı = “the consistency of the soup.”

How is soğuyunca formed, and what does it mean?

soğuyunca = soğumak (“to cool”) + the suffix -unca (a “when/once” connector). It means “when (it) cools” or “once it has cooled.” This suffix turns the verb into a temporal clause.

Why is there a y in soğuyunca?

When a suffix beginning with a vowel attaches to a stem ending in a vowel, Turkish inserts a buffer consonant—y in this case—to avoid two vowels colliding. So soğu- + -unca becomes soğuyunca.

What does daha yoğun mean, and why is daha used before yoğun?

yoğun means “thick,” “dense,” or “concentrated.” daha means “more.” Placing daha before an adjective forms the comparative: daha yoğun = “more thick,” i.e., “thicker.”

Why is the form oluyor used at the end, instead of simply oldu or another tense?

oluyor is the third-person singular present progressive of olmak (“to become”/“to be”). It conveys a general or ongoing result: “it becomes/thickens.”

oldu (simple past) would mean “it became thicker” at a specific moment.
oluyor describes a habitual or general fact: “it gets thicker.”

What tense or aspect does oluyor express here?

It’s the present continuous/progressive, used here to express a general truth or repeated outcome: whenever the soup cools, its consistency becomes thicker.

Why is the verb placed at the very end of the sentence?

Turkish is a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) language. Time and subordinate clauses (like soğuyunca) typically precede the main verb. Hence:

Subject (“Çorbanın kıvamı”)
Temporal clause (“soğuyunca”)
Main verb (“daha yoğun oluyor”)

Could I use soğurken instead of soğuyunca, and would the meaning change?

Yes, but the nuance differs:

soğuyunca = “when it has cooled” (focus on the moment it finishes cooling).
soğurken = “while it is cooling” (focus on the process of cooling).
With soğurken, you’d imply that during the cooling process the soup is getting thicker; soğuyunca emphasizes what happens after it cools.