Learn Hardcore Turkish: Üst geçit yağmurda kaygan oluyor; dikkatle çık. - The overpass gets slippery in the rain; go up carefully.

Üst geçit literally means “upper passage” and in everyday Turkish it refers to a pedestrian overpass/footbridge that lets people cross above a road. For vehicle overpasses you’ll also hear terms like köprülü kavşak, vi(y)adük, or simply köprü depending on the structure.

Should Üst geçit be written as one word or two?

Both are seen, but the standard form is one word: üstgeçit. Writing it as two words (üst geçit) is common in informal contexts and is still understood.

Why is it yağmurda with the suffix -da? What does that add?

The locative suffix -DA means “in/at/on,” and with time nouns it also means “during.” So yağmurda = “in the rain / when it’s raining.”
Form details:

Vowel harmony: after a back vowel (a/ı/o/u), use -da; after a front vowel (e/i/ö/ü), use -de. Here, yağmur has back vowels, so da.
Voicing: the suffix’s initial consonant is d after a voiced sound; it becomes t (i.e., -ta/-te) after a voiceless consonant. Yağmur ends in the voiced consonant r, so we get da, not ta.

What does kaygan oluyor mean literally, and why use oluyor?

Kaygan = “slippery.” Oluyor is the present continuous of olmak (“to be/become”). Together, kaygan oluyor is “is becoming/gets slippery.” Turkish often uses olmak with adjectives to express becoming or a typical outcome under certain conditions. Here: “When it rains, the overpass gets slippery.”

Could I say kaygan olur or kaygandır instead? What’s the difference?

Kaygan olur (aorist) states a general tendency or rule of thumb: “it (typically) is/gets slippery.”
Kaygandır uses the copular -dır, making a firm, somewhat formal statement: “it is slippery.”
Kaygan oluyor feels more conversational and can suggest a repeated occurrence: “it gets (is getting) slippery.”

What about kayganlaşıyor or kayganlaşır? Are these better?

They’re also correct and slightly more explicit about change-of-state:

Kayganlaşıyor = “is becoming slippery (right then/whenever it rains).”
Kayganlaşır (aorist) = “tends to become slippery (in the rain).” All four (kaygan oluyor/olur, kayganlaşıyor/laşır) are acceptable; choice depends on nuance and style.

Is the semicolon used the same way as in English here?

Yes. It links two closely related independent clauses: a statement (“The overpass gets slippery in the rain”) and an imperative (“go up carefully”). A period would also be fine. You could optionally add a connector: … kaygan oluyor; bu yüzden/o yüzden dikkatle çık.

What does çık mean here? I thought it meant “go out.”

Çıkmak is very versatile: “to go out/exit,” but also “to go up/climb/get onto,” “to appear,” etc. In this context—talking about an overpass—çık means “go up (onto it).”

Do I need to say üstgeçide çık? Which case goes with çıkmak?

It depends on the meaning:

Movement onto/into a place: use dative -(y)e/a → üstgeçid(e): “go up onto the overpass.”
Movement out of/from a place: use ablative -den/dan → evden çık: “leave the house.”
In your sentence, the destination is obvious from context, so the bare imperative çık is fine. Note the stem softens with vowel-initial suffixes: üstgeçit + e → üstgeçide (t → d).

Is dikkatle the best way to say “carefully”? How does it compare to dikkatli and dikkatlice?

Dikkatle literally “with care” (from ile), correct and slightly formal/bookish.
Dikkatli is very common colloquially and works adverbially in practice: Dikkatli çık = “Go up carefully.”
Dikkatlice also exists; it can sound a bit less common or add a subtle “in a careful manner” tone.
Other natural options: Dikkat ederek çık (“go up by paying attention”) or simply Dikkatli ol (“be careful [as you go]”).

How would I make the imperative polite or plural?

Use çıkın for polite singular or plural. Very formal writing uses çıkınız. You can add lütfen for politeness: Lütfen dikkatle/dikkatli çıkın.

Why is there no article (“the”) before Üst geçit? How do I say “this/that overpass”?

Turkish has no articles like “the/a.” Specificity comes from context or demonstratives:

bu üstgeçit = this overpass
şu/o üstgeçit = that overpass You can also add possessives or relative clauses for specificity as needed.

Can I reorder the sentence, e.g., Yağmurda üstgeçit kaygan oluyor?

Yes. Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis.

Üst geçit yağmurda kaygan oluyor keeps “the overpass” as topic.
Yağmurda üstgeçit kaygan oluyor foregrounds the condition “in the rain.”
Both are natural.

Does yağmurda really mean “while it’s raining” even though there’s no verb “to rain” in that part?

Yes. The locative on a time/condition noun often means “during/when.” Alternatives:

Yağmur yağarken = while it’s raining
Yağmurlu havada = in rainy weather

Any tips for pronouncing the tricky letters in this sentence?

Ü/ü: front rounded vowel (like German ü; think of saying “ee” with rounded lips).
Ğ/ğ: does not make its own consonant sound; it lengthens the preceding vowel or can be a light glide between vowels. Yağmur sounds roughly like “yaa-mur.”
Ç/ç: “ch” as in “chair.”
I/ı (dotless ı): a back, unrounded vowel; in çık it’s like a short, relaxed “uh.”

Why is dikkatle written as one word? Could I write dikkat ile?

İle (“with”) can be written separately or as the clitic -le/-la attached to the preceding word. Both dikkat ile and dikkatle are acceptable; the attached form is more common in this adverbial use. After a vowel, it becomes -yle/-yla (e.g., arabayla = “with/by car”).