Sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi gökyüzü açılıyor.

The sky is clearing as if the rain is going to stop.

Breakdown of Sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi gökyüzü açılıyor.

• gökyüzü: the sky
• durmak: to stop
• yağmur: the rain
• gibi: as if
• sanki: as if
• açılmak: to clear up

Questions & Answers about Sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi gökyüzü açılıyor.

What does the word sanki do here?

Sanki means “as if / as though.” It signals that what follows is an impression or a hypothetical comparison rather than a factual statement. In speech it can sound tentative or hedging, like “kind of seems like.”

Why are both sanki and gibi used? Isn’t that redundant?

Using both is very common and natural. Sanki sets up the “as if” frame at the start, and gibi attaches to the clause it modifies to complete the comparison:

• Sanki [yağmur duracakmış] gibi … = “As if [the rain were going to stop] …” You can drop sanki and say Yağmur duracakmış gibi gökyüzü açılıyor, which is also fine. Keeping both adds emphasis and is idiomatic in everyday Turkish.

What exactly does gibi attach to in this sentence?

Gibi is a postposition that attaches to the phrase immediately before it. Here it attaches to the entire clause yağmur duracakmış, forming the adverbial phrase yağmur duracakmış gibi (“as if the rain were going to stop”), which modifies gökyüzü açılıyor.

How should I parse duracakmış morphologically?

• dur- = verb root “to stop”
• -acak = future tense marker
• -mış = evidential/indirect (“apparently/it seems/it’s said that”) Together, dur-acak-mış means “it apparently will stop” or “it seems it will stop.”

Why use duracakmış instead of just duracak?

• duracak = “will stop” (straight future, more definite)
• duracakmış = “apparently/it seems it will stop” (inferred or second-hand) With gibi, duracakmış gibi strongly conveys an impression based on signs you see (e.g., clearing skies), not a certainty.

Could I say duracak gibi instead of duracakmış gibi?

Yes:

• duracak gibi = “looks like it will stop” (your direct assessment)
• duracakmış gibi = “apparently/seemingly it will stop” (more tentative or inferential) Both are common; -mış adds a soft, evidential nuance.

Can I use other tenses with gibi, like duruyor gibi or durmuş gibi?

Yes, and each changes the nuance:

• duruyor gibi = “as if it is stopping (right now)” (ongoing process)
• durmuş gibi = “as if it has stopped” (it appears already stopped)
• duracak gibi = “as if it will stop” (near-future likelihood)
• duracakmış gibi = same as above but more inferential/hedged.

Is açılmak a passive here? What does gökyüzü açılıyor mean?

Açılmak is the intransitive/anticausative counterpart of açmak (“to open”). Here gökyüzü açılıyor literally “the sky is opening,” idiomatically “the sky is clearing.” It’s present continuous (-ıyor), describing what’s happening now.

Why mix present continuous (açılıyor) with future–evidential (duracakmış)?

They report different time frames:

• gökyüzü açılıyor = current observation.
• yağmur duracakmış (inside the gibi phrase) = an inference about the near future. This mix is natural in Turkish when you describe present signs and infer a likely outcome.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move parts around?

Word order is flexible. All are acceptable with very similar meaning:

• Sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi gökyüzü açılıyor.
• Gökyüzü sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi açılıyor. (very natural)
• Gökyüzü açılıyor, sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi. (afterthought style) Fronting sanki gives the “as if” frame right away; placing it mid-sentence integrates it more tightly with the subject.

Do I need a comma after the gibi-clause?

Optional. You can write Sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi, gökyüzü açılıyor, but many native speakers omit the comma. Use a comma if you want a slight pause or for clarity in longer sentences.

Why is there no “it” pronoun for “it will stop”?

Turkish doesn’t need an explicit “it.” The subject is yağmur (“rain”), so yağmur duracakmış literally means “the rain will stop (apparently).” Turkish is a pro‑drop language and often omits subject pronouns when the subject is clear.

Could I use hava instead of gökyüzü?

Yes. Hava açılıyor (“the weather is clearing”) is very common and sounds a bit more idiomatic in everyday speech. Gökyüzü açılıyor is also correct and natural.

Are there synonyms for durmak for “rain stopping”?

Yes, common ones are:

• dinmek: Yağmur dinecek(miş) gibi…
• kesilmek: Yağmur kesilecek(miş) gibi… All mean “to cease/let up,” with slight stylistic differences.

Could I express the same idea with görünmek/görünmekte?

Yes. Examples:

• Sanki yağmur duracakmış gibi görünüyor.
• Yağmur duracak gibi görünüyor; gökyüzü açılıyor. Using görünmek explicitly states “it seems/appears,” while …miş gibi already implies that through comparison.

Is sanki ever sarcastic?

Yes. Sanki alone can be used ironically, e.g., Sanki vaktimiz var = “As if we had time (we don’t).” With …gibi plus a concrete visual cue (clearing sky), it reads literally as a tentative observation, not sarcasm.

Any pronunciation tips for yağmur and gökyüzü?

• yağmur: ğ lengthens the preceding vowel; it’s like “yaamur.” The final -ur has a back, rounded u.
• gökyüzü: ö and ü are front rounded vowels (lip-rounded versions of “e” and “i”). Stress typically falls late: gök-YÜ-zü.
• açılıyor: dotless ı is a central vowel (like the ‘e’ in “taken” but more neutral): a–çı–lı–yor.