Learn Hardcore Turkish: Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum. - I write ten new words every day to improve my vocabulary.

kelime = word
hazine = treasure
kelime hazinesi = word‑treasure (a fixed expression meaning vocabulary)
- pattern: Noun1 + Noun2 + -si → “Noun2 of Noun1”
- so kelime hazinesi = “treasure of words”
kelime hazinem = my word‑treasure / my vocabulary
- -m = “my”
kelime hazinemi = my word‑treasure (as a direct object)
- -i = accusative case (“my vocabulary” as something being affected by a verb)

So kelime hazinemi is “my vocabulary” in object form, used here as the thing being improved by geliştirmek (“to improve”).

Why does hazinemi end in -i? What is that ending doing?

The final -i is the accusative case marker, showing that kelime hazinemi is the direct object of the verb geliştirmek (“to improve”).

Breakdown:

hazine = treasure
hazine‑m = my treasure
hazine‑m‑i → hazinemi = my treasure (as direct object)

In the sentence:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek = “to improve my vocabulary”
→ here, kelime hazinemi is what you are improving, so it takes accusative (-i).

In Turkish, a specific/definite direct object usually takes accusative:

Kitap okuyorum. = I am reading a book (indefinite, no -ı/-i/-u/-ü)
Kitabı okuyorum. = I am reading the book (definite, takes -ı)

Similarly, kelime hazinemi is definite and specific (“my vocabulary”), so it appears with -i.

How does -mek için work in geliştirmek için? Why do we need both parts?

The combination verb stem + -mek + için is a very common way to express purpose: “in order to do X / to do X (for the purpose of …)”.

geliştir‑mek = to improve
geliştirmek için = in order to improve / to improve (for the purpose of …)

So:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
= I write ten new words every day in order to improve my vocabulary.

You use:

[Verb stem] + -mek + için after verbs
- Türkçe öğrenmek için geldim. = I came in order to learn Turkish.
[Noun/Pronoun] + için after nouns
- Senin için yazıyorum. = I am writing for you.

Here, geliştirmek için clearly marks the purpose of the action yazıyorum (“I write”).

Can the word order change? Are sentences like Her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum, kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için also correct?

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, especially for adverbial phrases like … için clauses. All of these are grammatical:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ Purpose first, then the action (neutral, very natural).
Her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum, kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için.
→ Puts more emphasis on the action first and then adds the purpose as an afterthought.
Her gün, kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için, on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ Slightly more marked, but still okay; commas in writing show intonation breaks.

The finite verb (yazıyorum) usually comes at or near the end in neutral word order. Moving kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için around mainly affects emphasis, not the core meaning.

Why is it on yeni kelime, not on yeni kelimeler?

In Turkish, when a noun is directly preceded by a number or quantifier, the noun normally stays in the singular form, without -ler / -lar:

bir kitap = one book
iki kitap = two books (not iki kitaplar)
on yeni kelime = ten new words (not on yeni kelimeler)

So:

on kelime = ten words
on yeni kelime = ten new words

You would only mark plural with -ler/-lar if there is no number and you just mean “words” in general, e.g. kelimeler = words.

What’s the difference between her gün and günde? Could I use günde on yeni kelime here?

Both can be used to talk about frequency, but they’re not identical:

her gün = every day
- Focus: regular repetition: “every day (without exception)”
günde = per day / in a day
- Focus: quantity per time unit: “in a day / per day”

Your sentence:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ “I write ten new words every day.”

You could also say:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için günde on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ “I write ten new words per day to improve my vocabulary.”

Both are correct here. Her gün sounds slightly more like a habitual routine, günde sounds a bit more like a rate (“per day”).

Is kelime hazinesi the only way to say “vocabulary” in Turkish?

No, there are a few common ways to say “vocabulary”:

kelime hazinesi – literally “treasure of words”; very common, especially in educational contexts.
kelime dağarcığı – literally “word repertoire / word stock”; also very natural and common.
- Kelime dağarcığımı geliştirmek için… = To develop my vocabulary…
sözcük hazinesi or sözcük dağarcığı – same idea, just using sözcük instead of kelime.

In your sentence you could naturally say:

Kelime dağarcığımı geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.

Meaning stays the same. Kelime hazinesi and kelime dağarcığı are both standard; which one you hear can depend on region, style, or habit.

Why is it yazıyorum and not yazarım? What is the nuance of -yor here?

Yazıyorum is present continuous (or “present progressive”), formed with -yor:

yaz‑ıyor‑um = I am writing / I write (currently / habitually)

Because of her gün (“every day”), this present continuous has a habitual meaning: “I (regularly) write ten new words every day.”

Compare:

Her gün on yeni kelime yazarım.
→ simple present yazarım; also means “I write ten new words every day,” but can sound a bit more formal, generic, or like a statement of principle.

In everyday speech, yazıyorum with an adverb like her gün is the most natural way to express a regular habit.

The mi at the end of hazinemi looks like the yes/no question particle. Is it the same thing?

No, it’s a different “mi.” Here it’s not the question particle; it’s part of a suffix combination:

hazine‑m‑i → hazinemi
- -m = “my” (1st person singular possessive)
- -i = accusative (direct object)

They happen to appear together as mi, but that’s just phonetic coincidence.

The yes/no question particle is also mi/mı/mu/mü, but:

It’s written separately: var mı?, gidiyor mu?
It has no possessive or case meaning; it simply turns the sentence into a yes/no question.

In hazinemi, mi is attached to the noun and cannot be separated, so it’s clearly not the question particle.

Could I say Kelime hazinemi geliştiriyorum, her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s a correct sentence, but the structure and emphasis change:

Kelime hazinemi geliştiriyorum, her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ Two separate statements:
- “I am improving my vocabulary,”
- “I write ten new words every day.”

You’re stating what is happening (my vocabulary is improving) and then how you do it.

In the original:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ One sentence with a clear purpose clause:
- “I write ten new words every day in order to improve my vocabulary.”

So:

geliştirmek için … yazıyorum = focusing on purpose of writing.
geliştiriyorum, … yazıyorum = describing two related facts without explicitly marking one as the purpose of the other.

How does possession work in kelime hazinesi / kelime hazinem / kelime hazinemi?

This follows the standard Turkish possessive + case patterns in compound nouns.

Base compound:
- kelime hazinesi = word‑treasure (vocabulary)
- pattern: kelime (possessor) + hazine‑si (possessed, 3rd person)
First‑person possession:
- kelime hazinem = my vocabulary
- Change the second noun to 1st person poss: hazine‑m
Add accusative:
- kelime hazinem‑i → kelime hazinemi = my vocabulary (as direct object)

So in your sentence:

kelime hazinemi = “my vocabulary” (object of geliştirmek).

Other examples:

araba anahtarı = car key
araba anahtarım = my car key
araba anahtarımı kaybettim. = I lost my car key.

How would the sentence change if I mean those specific ten new words, not just any ten new words?

Then on yeni kelime would become definite and would usually take accusative:

Her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.
→ I write ten new words every day (any ten; indefinite).
Her gün on yeni kelimeyi yazıyorum.
→ I write the ten new words every day (some specific set that both speaker and listener know about).

In your original sentence, on yeni kelime is indefinite, so it stays without case ending:

Kelime hazinemi geliştirmek için her gün on yeni kelime yazıyorum.

Definite objects typically get accusative (-ı/-i/-u/-ü); indefinite ones typically don’t. Here, we don’t care which exact ten words they are, so no accusative is used.