Yoğurt soğuk.

The yogurt is cold.

Breakdown of Yoğurt soğuk.

• olmak: to be
• soğuk: cold
• yoğurt: the yogurt

Questions & Answers about Yoğurt soğuk.

Why is there no verb like is in the sentence Yoğurt soğuk?

Turkish normally omits the copula “to be” in the present tense. Instead of saying “Yogurt is cold,” you simply put the noun and its adjective together: Yoğurt soğuk literally “Yogurt cold,” which readers understand as “Yogurt is cold.”

Why does the adjective soğuk come after the noun yoğurt?

When you use an adjective predicatively (i.e. as part of a full sentence), Turkish places the adjective after the noun it describes. If you want to use soğuk attributively (like “cold yogurt” as a noun phrase), you flip the order: soğuk yoğurt (“cold yogurt”).

What’s the difference between soğuk yoğurt and Yoğurt soğuk?

• soğuk yoğurt = “cold yogurt” (just describing which yogurt)
• Yoğurt soğuk = “Yogurt is cold” (a full sentence stating its temperature)

How do I make the sentence more formal or add an explicit “is”?

You can attach the copula‐suffix -dur (or -tir, -dür, -tır depending on vowel harmony) to soğuk:
• Yoğurt soğuktur.
This is more formal/written. In everyday speech you’d still skip it.

How do you say “This yogurt is cold”?

Add the demonstrative bu (“this”):
• Bu yoğurt soğuk.
Turkish has no separate word for “the,” so bu or context marks which yogurt you mean.

How do you ask “Is the yogurt cold?” in Turkish?

Use the question particle -mu after the adjective, with proper spacing and no change in word order:
• Yoğurt soğuk mu?
If you mean “Is this yogurt cold?” you can also say Bu yoğurt soğuk mu?

What does the letter ğ in yoğurt do? It’s silent, right?

Yes. The Turkish “soft g” (ğ) has no own sound. Instead it lengthens or glides the preceding vowel. Thus yoğurt is pronounced roughly [yo:ɾt], with a long “o.”

Where are the articles “a” and “the”? How do you express them?

Turkish has no indefinite or definite articles. Context tells you if it’s “a” or “the.”
• To force “a yogurt,” add bir: Bir yoğurt soğuk.
• To force “the yogurt,” use a demonstrative or context: Bu yoğurt soğuk can mean “That/the yogurt is cold.”