Learn Hardcore Turkish: Kapının sürgüsünü çekmeyi unutmayın, lütfen. - Please don’t forget to slide the door latch.

Sürgü is a sliding bolt/latch on a door that you push or pull to secure it from the inside. Kilit is a lock that you typically operate with a key. So sürgü ≈ bolt/latch; kilit ≈ keyed lock.

Why is it sürgüsünü and not just sürgüyü?

Because the bolt belongs to the door. Turkish shows this with a genitive–possessive structure:

kapı + -(n)ın → kapının (of the door)
sürgü + -sü → sürgüsü (its bolt)
Then accusative (definite object): sürgüsü + -nü → sürgüsünü So kapının sürgüsünü = “the door’s bolt” as a definite object. Sürgüyü would be “the bolt” without saying whose bolt.

How does the genitive–possessive construction work in kapının sürgüsünü?

Both parts are marked:

Possessor in genitive: kapı → kapının (of the door)
Possessed with 3rd-person possessive: sürgü → sürgüsü (its bolt)
If it’s a definite object, the possessed noun also takes accusative: sürgüsünü. This “double marking” is required in Turkish for specific possession.

Could I say kapı sürgüsünü instead of kapının sürgüsünü?

Yes, but the nuance changes. Kapı sürgüsü is a compound meaning “door bolt” in a generic sense. Kapının sürgüsü points to the bolt of a specific door. In many everyday contexts, both are acceptable; kapının sürgüsünü is more explicitly “the bolt of the (this/that) door.”

Why is it çekmeyi and not çekmek?

Verbs like unutmak (to forget) take a verbal noun as their object. You form this with -mA:

çekmek → verbal noun çekme (“the act of pulling”)
As the object of unutmayın, it takes accusative: çekmeyi. Using bare çekmek after unutmak is ungrammatical in standard Turkish.

Why are there two accusatives, sürgüsünü and çekmeyi?

They belong to different layers:

Inside the verbal noun, sürgüsünü is the object of çekme(k).
The entire action çekmeyi is the object of unutmayın. So you get nested objects, both marked as definite.

What does çekmek mean here? Doesn’t it just mean “to pull”?

Literally it’s “to pull,” but with sürgü it idiomatically means “to slide/engage the bolt.” Common alternatives:

sürgüyü çekmek = to bolt the door
sürgülemek = to bolt (more formal/technical)
Not the same as kilitlemek (to lock with a key).

What’s the exact form and politeness level of unutmayın?

It’s the negative imperative, second-person plural/formal:

Stem: unut-
Negative: -ma-
Buffer: -y-
2nd pl./polite imperative: -ın → unutmayın Use it for addressing multiple people or a single person politely. Informal singular is unutma. Very formal/written: unutmayınız.

Where can I put lütfen, and is the comma necessary?

Common placements:

Lütfen kapının sürgüsünü çekmeyi unutmayın.
Kapının sürgüsünü çekmeyi unutmayın, lütfen. Both are natural. The comma before final lütfen is optional and stylistic. Putting lütfen mid-phrase (…çekmeyi lütfen unutmayın) is possible but less common.

Can I reorder parts of the sentence?

Turkish allows flexibility, but the neutral flow keeps objects before the verb they belong to:

Most natural: Kapının sürgüsünü çekmeyi unutmayın (lütfen).
Also fine: Lütfen kapının sürgüsünü çekmeyi unutmayın. Avoid splitting kapının sürgüsünü away from çekmeyi, since they form a unit (“forget [pulling the door’s bolt]”).

Is it okay to just say Sürgüyü çekmeyi unutmayın?

Yes. If it’s clear which door you mean, Sürgüyü çekmeyi unutmayın is perfectly natural. Adding kapının is helpful when you need to be explicit.

Could I use a different verb, like sürgülemek or kilitlemek?

sürgülemek = to bolt. Example: Kapıyı sürgülemeyi unutmayın.
kilitlemek = to lock with a key. Use it only if you literally mean the keyed lock, e.g., Kapıyı kilitlemeyi unutmayın.

Why not say kapının sürgüyü?

In a genitive–possessive construction, the possessed noun must carry the possessive suffix: sürgüsü (its bolt), not sürgü. Then you add case to that possessed form: sürgüsünü (accusative). Kapının sürgüyü is ungrammatical.

What’s going on with the vowels and buffer letters in kapının, sürgüsünü, çekmeyi, unutmayın?

Vowel harmony picks the right vowel for each suffix.
Buffer letters prevent vowel clashes:
- kapı + -nın → kapının (buffer n because kapı ends in a vowel)
- sürgü + -sü + -nü → sürgüsünü (possessive -sü, then accusative with buffer n)
- çekme + -yi → çekmeyi (buffer y before accusative)
- unut-ma-yın → unutmayın (buffer y between negative and ending)

How do I pronounce the dotted and dotless i’s here?

ı (dotless) in kapının and unutmayın sounds like a relaxed “uh,” not like English i.
i (dotted) in çekmeyi is like English “ee” in “see.”
ü in sürgüsünü is like German/French ü/u (rounded front “ee”).
ç is “ch” in “church.”