Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Sade kahve seviyorum.
What exactly does sade mean here—“black” or “unsweetened”?
Sade means “plain,” i.e., with nothing added. In the context of coffee:
- With Turkish coffee, sade specifically means “no sugar” (the standard sugar-scale is sade = no sugar, orta = medium sugar, şekerli = sweet).
- For non-Turkish coffee, people may say sade kahve to mean “black coffee,” but you’ll also hear siyah kahve (black coffee) or şekersiz (without sugar). So the safest readings are “plain/unsweetened,” and often “black,” depending on context.
Why is there no ben? Shouldn’t it say “Ben sade kahve seviyorum”?
Turkish verbs carry the subject in their endings. Seviyorum ends with -um, which already means “I.” Ben is optional and used mainly for emphasis or contrast:
- Neutral: Sade kahveyi seviyorum.
- Emphatic/contrasting: Ben sade kahveyi seviyorum (başkaları değil).
Shouldn’t it be sade kahveyi seviyorum with the -i (accusative) on kahve?
Often, yes. In Turkish, a direct object that is specific or treated as a whole category typically takes the accusative -i:
- General preference (very common): Sade kahveyi seviyorum.
- Bare form (sade kahve seviyorum) is also heard and understood as a general preference, but many speakers find the -i version more natural with verbs of liking/disliking. Use the -i as your default for preferences.
What’s the difference between seviyorum and severim?
Both can express liking:
- Seviyorum (present continuous) = “I (currently) like/I love.” With stative verbs like sevmek, it often reads like a standing preference.
- Severim (aorist/habitual) = “I (generally) like” (neutral, timeless statement of taste). Both are fine. For broad, timeless preferences, severim is slightly more “textbook,” but seviyorum is very common in conversation.
How do I say “I don’t like plain coffee”?
Two natural options, with a nuance difference:
- General/nonhabitual: Sade kahveyi sevmiyorum.
- Habitual/general taste: Sade kahveyi sevmem. Both are widely used; sevmem often sounds like a general rule.
Can I say “Seviyorum sade kahve” or change the word order?
Default order is Subject–Object–Verb. Natural options:
- (Ben) sade kahveyi seviyorum. (most neutral) Marked orders exist for emphasis, but “Seviyorum sade kahve” is odd. You can put ben at the end for emphasis: Sade kahveyi seviyorum ben (I’m the one who likes it).
How do you pronounce the sentence?
Approximate English-friendly guide:
- Sade: SAH-deh
- kahve: KAH-veh (the h is audible)
- seviyorum: seh-vee-YO-room (stress tends to fall on the yor syllable) Vowels are pure: a as in “father,” e as in “bed,” o as in “or,” u like the u in “put.”
When do I need the buffer letter y, as in kahveyi?
If a word ends in a vowel and you add a vowel-initial suffix (like accusative -i or dative -e), insert y:
- kahve + -i → kahveyi (the coffee)
- kahve + -e → kahveye (to the coffee)
Is a plural like sade kahveleri seviyorum ever correct?
Use the singular for general preferences. Sade kahveleri seviyorum means “I like the (specific) coffees” (plural), e.g., several particular cups/brands being discussed. For “I like plain coffee (as a kind),” stick to singular: Sade kahveyi seviyorum.
How do I ask “Do you like plain coffee?”
Two common ways:
- Sade kahveyi seviyor musun? (present continuous)
- Sade kahveyi sever misin? (habitual) For polite/plural you: … musunuz? / … misiniz?
What’s the difference between sevmek, hoşlanmak, and beğenmek?
- Sevmek: to like/love (broad preference or strong liking). Takes accusative: Kahveyi seviyorum.
- Hoşlanmak: to take pleasure in, to like. Takes ablative -dan/-den: Kahveden hoşlanıyorum.
- Beğenmek: to find nice/approve of (often a specific instance). Accusative for the thing: Bu kahveyi beğendim.
How can I say “I really love plain coffee”?
- Sade kahveyi çok seviyorum. (I like it very much.)
- Stronger idiom: Sade kahveye bayılıyorum. (I adore plain coffee.) Note bayılmak takes dative -e/-a.
If I want to emphasize the activity, how do I say “I like drinking plain coffee”?
Use a verbal noun as the object:
- Sade kahve içmeyi seviyorum. (literally “I like drinking plain coffee.”) Here içmek → içme (drinking) → içmeyi (accusative as the object of seviyorum).
Is sade kahve only for Turkish coffee sugar levels? What about other coffees?
- With Turkish coffee, sade is the standard way to say “no sugar”: Bir sade Türk kahvesi, lütfen.
- With other coffees, you can use sade or say siyah kahve (black coffee) or şekersiz (without sugar): Bir sade filtre kahve / Bir siyah kahve, lütfen.
What grammar is happening in seviyorum?
It’s root + present-continuous + person:
- sev- (love/like) + -iyor (present continuous) + -um (1st person singular) → seviyorum. Notes:
- The -iyor vowel follows harmony (after a front vowel like e, it’s i).
- After -yor, personal endings are fixed as -um, -sun, -, -uz, -sunuz, -lar (not four-way harmony).