Learn Hardcore Turkish: Bugün parkta seninle karşılaştım.

It means “with you.” It’s built from the pronoun senin (the form used with “ile”) + ile (“with”), which commonly fuses as -le/-la, giving seninle. With personal pronouns, the standard forms are benimle, seninle, onunla, bizimle, sizinle, onlarla.

Can I say “senle” instead of “seninle”?

Yes. Senle is common and colloquial; seninle is the safest/most standard in writing. Similarly: benimle/benle, onunla/onla (onla is colloquial), sizinle/sizle (sizle is colloquial).

Do I have to attach “ile,” or can I write it separately?

Both are correct:

Separate: senin ile, Ahmet ile, araba ile
Attached/clitic: seninle, Ahmet’le, arabayla Spelling rules when attaching:
After a consonant: add -le/-la (ev + le → evle)
After a vowel: add -yla/-yle (araba + yla → arabayla)
Final -l may double (okul + la → okulla) Use an apostrophe only with proper names when attaching: Ahmet’le.

Why is it “parkta” and not “parkda”?

The locative suffix is -DA and obeys:

Vowel harmony (a/e): after a back vowel → -da/-ta, after a front vowel → -de/-te
Voicing: after a voiceless consonant (p, ç, t, k, f, s, ş, h), d → t “Park” ends with voiceless k and its last vowel is back, so you get park-ta. Compare: evde, ofiste, ağaçta.

Does “-ta” mean “in” or “at”?

Both. Turkish -DA covers English “in/at/on” depending on context:

parkta = in/at the park
masada = on/at the table
ofiste = in the office

English often says “we ran into each other.” Shouldn’t it be plural “karşılaştık” instead of “karşılaştım”?

Both are fine, with a nuance:

Karşılaştım (seninle) = “I ran into you” (focus on “I” meeting “you”)
Karşılaştık = “We ran into each other” (mutual action) Choose the one that matches the focus you want.

Why not say “seni karşılaştım”?

Because karşılaşmak is intransitive; it doesn’t take a direct object. You meet/encounter someone with them: biriyle karşılaşmak. If you use a direct object, you need a different verb, e.g. seni gördüm = “I saw you.”

What’s the nuance difference between karşılaşmak, buluşmak, görüşmek, rastlamak/denk gelmek, karşılamak, and tanışmak?

karşılaşmak (biriyle): to run into/encounter (usually by chance)
buluşmak (biriyle): to meet up (by arrangement)
görüşmek (biriyle): to meet/talk/discuss (often arranged, can be by phone/online)
rastlamak / denk gelmek (birine): to come across/run into (chance; take dative: birine)
karşılamak (birini): to meet/welcome someone (at airport/station; transitive)
tanışmak (biriyle): to meet someone for the first time, get acquainted

How is “karşılaştım” built morphologically?

Stem: karşılaş- (from karşı “opposite” + reciprocal -laş → “encounter each other”)
Past: -DI → becomes -tı by vowel harmony (last vowel is back “a” → ı) and devoicing (d → t after voiceless “ş”)
1st person singular: -m Result: karşılaş-tı-m.

What does the word order emphasize in “Bugün parkta seninle karşılaştım”?

In Turkish, the element right before the verb tends to be in focus. Here seninle sits before karşılaştım, subtly highlighting “with you.” Time and place adverbials (bugün, parkta) naturally appear before that.

Can I reorder the parts, like “Bugün seninle parkta karşılaştım” or “Parkta bugün seninle karşılaştım”?

Yes. All are grammatical, with slight shifts of emphasis:

Bugün parkta seninle karşılaştım (neutral/default ordering: time > place > with whom > verb)
Bugün seninle parkta karşılaştım (places light emphasis on the location as new info)
Parkta bugün seninle karşılaştım (brings the place into earlier focus) The most neutral for this content is the original.

Do I need to include “Ben”?

No. The -m on karşılaştım already marks “I.” Add Ben only for emphasis/contrast, e.g., Ben bugün parkta seninle karşılaştım (as opposed to someone else).

Can I omit “seninle”?

You can say Bugün parkta karşılaştım, which means “I had a chance encounter (at the park),” but it invites the question “with whom?” If the context is clear, you could also say Bugün parkta karşılaştık (“We ran into each other today at the park”) without specifying the other person.

What changes if I say “karşılaşmışım” instead of “karşılaştım”?

-mış signals reported/inferential past. Karşılaşmışım suggests you learned, concluded, or are reporting the encounter indirectly (e.g., “Apparently I ran into you”). Karşılaştım is a direct, certain past statement.

Is there any politeness change if I use “sizinle” instead of “seninle”?

Yes. Sizinle is polite/formal or plural “you.” Use it with people you don’t know well or when showing respect: Bugün parkta sizinle karşılaştım.

Quick pronunciation tips for tricky letters here?

ı (in karşılaştım) is the undotted ı, like the vowel in English “roses” or a relaxed “uh.”
ş = “sh” (kar-şı-…)
ç = “ch” (not in this sentence, but common)
ü (in bugün) is a fronted “u,” like German ü or French u.