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Questions & Answers about yağ oranı düşük.
Why is there no verb like “is” in yağ oranı düşük?
Turkish often omits the copula (“to be”) in the present tense. Instead of saying yağ oranı düşüktür, speakers simply say yağ oranı düşük to mean “(The) fat content is low.” Omitting -tür (the formal copula suffix) makes the phrase shorter and more natural in everyday contexts or on packaging.
Why doesn’t yağ have any suffix in yağ oranı düşük?
This is an example of a noun-noun compound. In many Turkish compounds, the first noun remains bare (no genitive suffix), and the second noun carries any needed suffix. Here:
- yağ (fat) is the modifier
- oranı (its ratio) bears the suffix –ı
So yağ oranı works like cep telefonu (“cell phone”) rather than the full genitive–possessive yağın oranı.
What does the –ı in oranı do?
The –ı on oranı is the 3rd-person singular possessive suffix. In the compound, it signals that the ratio belongs to (or is of) fat. Without it, you’d just have oran (“ratio”) by itself.
Could I use the full genitive–possessive construction yağın oranı instead? Is there a difference?
Yes, you can say yağın oranı düşük. That literally means “the ratio of the fat is low.”
- yağın = “of the fat” (genitive)
- oranı = “its ratio” (possessive)
But in product labels and everyday speech, the shorter compound yağ oranı düşük is far more common.
What case is yağ oranı in?
It’s in the nominative case (no extra ending), serving as the subject of the implied verb “to be.” In Turkish, subjects of nominal predicates are unmarked.
Why isn’t düşük inflected for case, number, or gender?
Turkish adjectives don’t agree with nouns in case, number, or gender. düşük stays the same whether you’re talking about one food item or many. You only see changes if you add comparative or superlative markers (e.g. daha düşük, en düşük).
Can I rephrase it as düşük yağ oranı? What’s the structural difference?
Yes. düşük yağ oranı literally means “low fat content.” Here düşük is a pre-nominal adjective modifying the entire noun phrase yağ oranı. In yağ oranı düşük, you have a small clause (“fat content – low”), more like a full sentence without the verb.
How would I add the copula to make it fully grammatical?
Attach the formal copula suffix -tür to düşük:
- yağ oranı düşüktür = “The fat content is low.”
Optionally, you can add a subject pronoun or make it emphatic: - Yağ oranı gerçekten düşüktür.
How do I say “very low fat content” in Turkish?
You can insert an adverb of degree:
- yağ oranı çok düşük (“the fat content is very low”)
- yağ oranı son derece düşük (“the fat content is extremely low”)
Or as an adjective phrase: - çok düşük yağ oranı (“very low fat content”).
Why is düşük preferred here instead of az?
Both mean “little/few,” but:
- düşük is more technical/formal for rates, levels, percentages.
- az is broader and colloquial for “not much” of a countable or uncountable noun (e.g. az şeker “little sugar”).
On labels and in nutritional contexts, düşük yağ oranı sounds more precise than az yağ oranı.