Learn Hardcore Turkish: Palet karışık renklerle dolu. - The palette is filled with mixed colors.

In Turkish, palet refers to an artist’s palette—a flat board on which painters mix their colors. It is not the same as the English shipping “pallet.” The Turkish palet comes from French and is specifically about painting.

Why is the word renklerle used instead of just renkler or renkle?

The suffix –le (becoming –lerle after the plural renkler) is the instrumental/comitative case, meaning “with” or “by.” In the phrase renklerle dolu, it literally means “full with colors.” You need that case to express “full of/with something.”

renkler = “colors” (nominative plural)
renklerle = “with colors” (instrumental plural)

What part of speech is karışık, and why is it placed before renklerle?

karışık is an adjective meaning “mixed.” In Turkish, adjectives come directly before the noun or noun phrase they modify. Here it modifies renklerle, resulting in “with mixed colors.” So the structure is:
adjective (karışık) + noun phrase (renklerle) + adjective (dolu).

What does dolu mean here? Is it a verb or an adjective?

dolu is an adjective meaning “full.” It describes the state of the noun before it (in this case, the palette). Although dolu comes from a verb root dolu- (“to be filled”), in usage it functions as an adjective, often in the pattern X ile dolu = “full of X.”

Why isn’t there a word for “is” in Palet karışık renklerle dolu?

In Turkish, the copula “to be” in present tense is usually omitted (zero copula). So you simply state Noun + adjective, and it translates as “Noun is adjective.” Here, “Palet … dolu” directly means “The palette is full.”

Could we say Palet karışık renklerle doludur instead?

Yes. Adding –dur (becoming doludur) explicitly marks the copula in a more formal or written style. However, in everyday speech, dropping –dur is perfectly normal: Palet karışık renklerle dolu.

Is the word order flexible? For example, can I say Karışık renklerle dolu palet?

Absolutely. Karışık renklerle dolu palet means “a palette that is full of mixed colors,” putting the descriptive phrase before palet. Turkish allows such adjective phrases (or relative clauses) to precede the noun they describe.

Why do we use the plural renklerle instead of singular? Would renkle dolu work?

Using the plural renklerle (“with colors”) emphasizes multiple distinct colors. renkle dolu (“with color”) is grammatically correct but sounds like “full of (one type of) color” or “full of color in general.” To convey “mixed colors,” the plural is natural.