Breakdown of Bir işe uğraştıkça ustalığa yaklaşırız.
bir
a
yaklaşmak
to approach
uğraşmak
to work on
iş
the work
-dikçe
as/whenever
ustalık
the mastery
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Questions & Answers about Bir işe uğraştıkça ustalığa yaklaşırız.
What does the suffix -dıkça mean in uğraştıkça, and how is it used?
The suffix -dıkça attaches to a verb stem to form a proportional/temporal clause meaning “as/when the action happens (more)…” It shows that the result in the main clause correlates with the intensity or frequency of the subordinate action. Here, uğraştıkça literally means “as one works at or engages in (something).”
What kind of verb is uğraşmak, and why is işe in the dative case?
Uğraşmak means “to tackle, deal with, or devote effort to” something. When you specify what you’re working on, that object takes the dative case, so işe (“to a task/job”) shows what you are engaging in.
How does yaklaşmak work, and why is ustalığa in the dative?
Yaklaşmak means “to approach” or “to draw near.” In Turkish it requires the dative case for the thing being approached. Thus ustalığa (“to mastery”) indicates the goal or point you are getting closer to.
Why is there a bir before işe, instead of just saying işe uğraştıkça?
Adding bir makes işe indefinite (“a task/any job”), which generalizes the statement. Without bir, using just işe could sound like you’re referring to one specific task already known to the listener.
Can you rephrase this sentence using ne kadar … o kadar … instead of -dıkça?
Yes. A common alternative is:
Ne kadar çok uğraşırsak, o kadar ustalaşırız.
This literally means “The more we work at it, the more we become masters.”
What’s the difference between uğraşmak and çalışmak in Turkish?
Uğraşmak implies making an effort or dealing with a particular task/problem, often with difficulty. Çalışmak is more general “to work” or “to study,” and doesn’t necessarily emphasize struggle or solving something.
Is the word order in Bir işe uğraştıkça ustalığa yaklaşırız fixed? Can the -dıkça clause come after the main clause?
Turkish generally places subordinate clauses (like those with -dıkça) before the main clause for clarity, but you can invert them for emphasis:
Ustalığa yaklaşırız bir işe uğraştıkça.
This sounds more poetic or emphatic.