Breakdown of Bu kapı pencereden daha güvenli.
olmak
to be
bu
this
kapı
the door
pencere
the window
-den
than
daha güvenli
safer
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Questions & Answers about Bu kapı pencereden daha güvenli.
Why aren’t there any articles (like the or a) before kapı or pencere?
Turkish does not have definite or indefinite articles. Instead, specificity can come from demonstratives (like bu for “this”) or context. So bu kapı means “this door,” no separate article needed.
How do you express “than” in Turkish comparatives?
You use daha (“more”) before the adjective and put the thing you’re comparing in the ablative case (suffix -den, -dan, -ten, or -tan depending on vowel harmony). The general pattern is:
Subject + (other item)+ablative + daha + adjective
Here: Bu kapı (subject) + pencere+-den + daha + güvenli.
Why is it pencereden and not pencereye?
-e/-a is the dative case (“to/for”), while -den/-dan is the ablative (“than/from”). Comparatives always use the ablative on the second element: pencere → pencereden.
What role does daha play here?
daha is the comparative marker meaning “more.” Placed before an adjective, it creates a comparative. There’s no separate suffix on the adjective itself, unlike English “-er.”
How would you form a superlative like “the safest”?
Use en before the adjective:
(Bu) kapı en güvenli
= “(This) door is the safest.”
No extra suffix needed on güvenli.
Why is there no verb like “is” in the sentence?
In Turkish, the present-to-be copula (-dir) is usually omitted in colloquial or simple descriptive sentences. So “Bu kapı … daha güvenli” stands alone, but you could formally say Bu kapı pencereden daha güvenlidir.
Can you swap the items to say “This window is safer than the door”?
Yes. Flip the nouns and keep the ablative on the second one:
Bu pencere kapıdan daha güvenli.
Does the word order matter much in comparatives?
Turkish is relatively flexible, but the standard comparative order is:
Subject + “other item” in ablative + daha + adjective + (optional copula).
Deviating from this can sound odd or emphasize a different part of the sentence.