Learn Hardcore Turkish: Disiplin olmadan başarıya ulaşmak zor. - Without discipline, reaching success is difficult.

The suffix -madan is the negative adverbial participle (or negative gerund) in Turkish. It turns the verb olmak (“to be” / “to exist”) into “without being” or “without existing.” So disiplin olmadan literally means “without discipline being (present).”

Why is disiplin not marked with an ablative case suffix like -dan directly?

Rather than saying disiplin-dan (“from discipline”), Turkish often uses olmak to express “having” or “being with” something. By combining disiplin + olmadan, you get “without discipline being.” In contrast, disiplinsiz is an adjective meaning “undisciplined,” but disiplin olmadan emphasizes the absence of discipline as a condition.

What case is başarıya, and why is that case used?

Başarıya takes the dative case suffix -ya (after a vowel) because the verb ulaşmak (“to reach” / “to achieve”) requires its object in the dative. So başarıya ulaşmak means “to reach/attain success.”

Why is ulaşmak in its infinitive form here instead of a conjugated verb?

When you describe an action as the subject of an adjective like zor, Turkish uses the infinitive form. The entire phrase başarıya ulaşmak acts as a noun-like subject meaning “achieving success.” Then zor (“hard”) describes that subject.

Why is there no explicit subject (like “it” or “you”) in the sentence?

Turkish often drops subjects when they’re obvious or generic. Here the sentence is impersonal: “It is hard to achieve success without discipline.” No pronoun is needed because the situation itself is the focus.

Can I change the word order? For example, say Başarıya ulaşmak disiplin olmadan zor?

Yes. Turkish has relatively free word order. Placing Başarıya ulaşmak first emphasizes the act of achieving success, while disiplin olmadan first emphasizes the lack of discipline. The meaning remains essentially the same.

Is there another way to say “without discipline” more succinctly?

You could use the adjective disiplinsiz (“undisciplined”), but that changes the nuance. Disiplin olmadan stresses “in the absence of discipline,” whereas disiplinsiz labels someone or something as “undisciplined.”

What other words can replace zor to express difficulty?

You can use güç (“difficult/power”), as in Disiplin olmadan başarıya ulaşmak güç. You might also say Disiplin olmadan başarıya erişmek zor using the synonym erişmek for “reach.”