Learn Hardcore Turkish: Farklı saat dilimi yüzünden toplantı gecikti. - Because of the different time zone, the meeting was delayed.

It means bold because of/due to. It often carries a slight negative/blame nuance in Turkish (as if the cause is at fault). More neutral/formal alternatives are bold nedeniyle and bold dolayı. For clearly positive causes, use bold sayesinde (thanks to).

Does the noun before bold yüzünden take a case ending?

No. With common nouns, you typically use the bare form: bold trafik yüzünden, bold yağmur yüzünden, bold farklı saat dilimi yüzünden. With personal pronouns, use the genitive: bold benim yüzümden, bold senin yüzünden, bold onun yüzünden, etc.

Why is it bold saat dilimi (with -i), not just bold saat dilim?

Bold saat dilimi is an indefinite noun compound (izafet): bold saat (hour) + bold dilim (slice/segment) + bold -i (3rd person possessive), yielding “time zone.” Many such two-noun terms in Turkish take this -i: bold telefon numarası, bold hava durumu.

What exactly is the verb form bold gecikti?

It’s the simple past, 3rd person singular of bold gecikmek (to be delayed): bold gecik- + bold -di → bold gecikti. The -d/-t alternates for voicing; after the voiceless consonant k, -di surfaces as -ti. Meaning: “(it) was delayed.”

How do bold gecikmek, bold geç kalmak, and bold ertelenmek differ?

Bold gecikmek: an event or person is delayed/late (intransitive). bold Toplantı gecikti.
Bold geç kalmak: a person is late for something. bold Toplantıya geç kaldım.
Bold ertelenmek/ertelemek: to be postponed/to postpone (a deliberate rescheduling). bold Toplantı ertelendi. / bold Toplantıyı erteledik.

Could I say bold farklı bir saat dilimi yüzünden instead?

Yes. Adding bold bir emphasizes the indefiniteness (“because of a different time zone”). Without bold bir, it’s still indefinite in this context; bold bir is optional.

Should it be plural: bold farklı saat dilimleri yüzünden?

Use singular when you mean “because of a different time zone” in a general sense. Use plural when multiple time zones are relevant: bold Farklı saat dilimleri yüzünden toplantı gecikti (“because of different time zones”).

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Turkish allows flexible order for emphasis:

bold Farklı saat dilimi yüzünden toplantı gecikti. (neutral)
bold Toplantı farklı saat dilimi yüzünden gecikti. (emphasis on the subject first)
bold Toplantı gecikti farklı saat dilimi yüzünden. (puts extra emphasis at the end in speech)

How would I say this with a clause using bold çünkü or bold için?

bold Toplantı gecikti çünkü farklı saat dilimlerindeyiz.
bold Farklı saat dilimlerinde olduğumuz için toplantı gecikti.
Both are natural. bold Çünkü introduces a full clause; bold için takes a nominalized clause. For a neutral/formal noun-based style: bold Farklı saat dilimi nedeniyle/dolayı toplantı gecikti.

Does bold yüzünden always sound like blame? What if I don’t want that?

It often implies blame/undesirability, though context can soften it. If you want neutral/formal, prefer bold nedeniyle or bold dolayı. For positive causes, use bold sayesinde.

Why does bold toplantı mean “the meeting” without a word for “the”?

Turkish has no definite article. Bold toplantı can mean “the meeting” or “a meeting” depending on context. To force “a,” use bold bir toplantı; to make it clearly definite, use a demonstrative like bold bu toplantı or specify which meeting.

How do I say “because of me/you/us” with bold yüzünden?

Use the genitive pronoun + bold yüzünden:

bold benim yüzümden (because of me)
bold senin yüzünden (because of you)
bold onun yüzünden (because of him/her/it)
bold bizim/sizin/onların yüzünden (because of us/you/them)

Is bold saat dilimi the only way to say “time zone”?

Bold saat dilimi is the standard. You may see bold zaman dilimi, but bold saat dilimi is more common in everyday use and in media.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

bold ı (in bold farklı, bold gecikti) is the dotless i, pronounced like a relaxed “uh.”
bold c in bold gecikti sounds like English “j” in “jam.”
bold ç in bold saat dilimi (not present here) would be “ch,” but note it’s bold gecik-, not bold geçik-.
The stress typically falls near the end: far-KLI SAAT di-Lİ-mi yü-ZÜN-den top-LAN-tı ge-CİK-ti.