Benim kelime hazinem geniş.

My vocabulary is wide.

Breakdown of Benim kelime hazinem geniş.

• olmak: to be
• benim: my
• geniş: wide
• kelime hazinesi: the vocabulary

Questions & Answers about Benim kelime hazinem geniş.

What does each word in Benim kelime hazinem geniş correspond to literally?

Word by word:

• Benim = my (literally the genitive form of ben “I”)
• kelime = word
• hazinem = my treasure / my treasury (hazine = treasure, -m = my)
• geniş = wide, broad

So the structure is literally something like: “My word treasury-my wide.”
Idiomatically: “My vocabulary is broad.”

Why do we have both benim and the -m ending on hazinem to show “my”? Isn’t that redundant?

In Turkish, possession is normally shown on the possessed noun with a suffix:

• hazine → hazinem = my treasure

Adding benim is optional and adds emphasis or clarity, similar to the difference between:

• Kelime hazinem geniş. – My vocabulary is broad. (neutral)
• Benim kelime hazinem geniş. – My vocabulary is broad. (with emphasis on my, like “It’s my vocabulary that’s broad.”)

So yes, both benim and -m mark possession, but benim is there for emphasis or contrast, not because it’s grammatically required.

Can I leave out benim and just say Kelime hazinem geniş?

Yes, and that is very natural.

• Kelime hazinem geniş. is perfectly correct and probably more common in neutral statements.
• Benim kelime hazinem geniş. sounds more like you’re contrasting with someone else’s vocabulary or stressing that you’re talking specifically about yours.

Context will decide whether you need the emphasis from benim.

Where is the verb “is” in this sentence? Why isn’t there a word for “is”?

Turkish often drops the verb “to be” in the simple present 3rd person (“he/she/it is”).

• Kelime hazinem geniş. literally: My vocabulary broad.
  Meaning: My vocabulary *is broad.*

If you want a more formal or explicit form, you can say:

• Kelime hazinem geniştir.

Here -dir is the copula (a kind of “is”), used especially in formal writing, explanations, or to show certainty. In everyday speech, it’s usually omitted and just understood from context.

Why is geniş (the adjective) at the end? Can I put it earlier in the sentence?

The normal word order in Turkish is Subject – (other elements) – Predicate.
Here:

• Subject: Benim kelime hazinem
• Predicate / Adjective: geniş

So “Benim kelime hazinem geniş.” follows the default: subject first, describing word (the “is X” part) last.

You generally do not move geniş before the noun like in English:

• ✗ Benim geniş kelime hazinem (this sounds like it’s just a noun phrase, not a complete sentence)
• ✓ Benim kelime hazinem geniş.

If you move geniş, it stops being a predicate and instead becomes a regular adjective modifying a noun phrase.

What exactly is kelime hazinem grammatically? Why is it not kelime hazinesi here?

Kelime hazinesi is a compound noun meaning “vocabulary”:

• kelime = word
• hazinesi = its treasury (hazine + 3rd person poss. -si)

So kelime hazinesi literally: “its treasury of words” → vocabulary (in general).

When you say “my vocabulary”, the possessor changes from an unspecified “its” to “me”, so the possessive suffix changes too:

• kelime hazinesi → kelime hazinem = my vocabulary

Structure of kelime hazinem:

• kelime (word) – first part of the compound, left bare
• hazine-m (treasury-my) – second part carries the possessive suffix

In Turkish noun compounds, only the second noun gets the possessive ending, and that ending agrees with the actual possessor (here, -m = “my”).

Why is it hazinem and not something like hazineim or hazinemim?

The base noun is hazine. For the 1st person singular possessive (“my”), Turkish uses -m (or -ım/-im/-um/-üm depending on vowel harmony).
With nouns ending in a vowel (like hazine), you usually just add -m directly:

• hazine + m → hazinem
• anne + m → annem (my mother)
• baba + m → babam (my father)

So:

• hazineim, hazinemim etc. are incorrect.
• hazinem is the only correct form meaning “my treasure / my treasury”.

Why use geniş to talk about vocabulary? Would büyük or zengin work too?

For vocabulary, native speakers commonly use:

• geniş = broad, wide
  
  • Kelime hazinem geniş. – My vocabulary is broad.

Also natural:

• zengin = rich
  
  • Kelime hazinem zengin. – My vocabulary is rich.

büyük (big, large) is grammatically possible but less idiomatic with “vocabulary”. You might hear it, but geniş and zengin are the usual collocations.

So if you want to sound natural, prefer geniş or zengin with kelime hazinesi / kelime haznem.

Is there any difference between saying Benim kelime hazinem geniş. and Kelime hazinem geniştir.?

Yes, mainly in tone and formality:

• Benim kelime hazinem geniş.

  • Colloquial, neutral statement.
  • Common in everyday speech and informal writing.

• Benim kelime hazinem geniştir.

  • More formal or bookish.
  • The -dir suffix adds a sense of explanation, general truth, or assertive certainty.

Meaning-wise, they’re very close: both say “My vocabulary is broad.”
The version without -dir is what you’ll hear most in normal conversation.

How would this sentence change for “your vocabulary is broad” or “his/her vocabulary is broad”?

You change the possessive suffix on hazine (and optionally the pronoun).

1. Your vocabulary is broad. (singular, informal “you”)

   • Senin kelime hazinen geniş.
   • Or simply: Kelime hazinen geniş.

2. His/Her vocabulary is broad.

   • Onun kelime hazinesi geniş.
   • Or: Kelime hazinesi geniş.

Suffix patterns on hazine:

• hazinem = my vocabulary
• hazinen = your (sg) vocabulary
• hazinesi = his/her/its vocabulary
• hazinemiz = our vocabulary
• hazineniz = your (pl/formal) vocabulary
• hazneleri / hazineleri = their vocabulary (spelling varies in practice)

Are there other common ways to say “My vocabulary is broad” in Turkish?

Yes, a few natural alternatives:

• Kelime hazinem geniş. – without benim, very common.
• Kelime haznem geniş. – same meaning; some speakers prefer hazne here.
• Kelime dağarcığım geniş.
  
  • kelime dağarcığı is another common term for “vocabulary”
  • dağarcık = “store, repertoire”
• Kelime hazinem çok geniş. – My vocabulary is very broad.

All of these are idiomatic; kelime hazinem geniş and kelime dağarcığım geniş are especially frequent.

How do I pronounce Benim kelime hazinem geniş naturally?

Approximate pronunciation (in simple English terms):

• Benim → beh-neem
• kelime → keh-LEE-meh
• hazinem → hah-ZEE-nem
• geniş → geh-NISH (ş = “sh”)

Sentence rhythm (stress often near the end of each word):

• beNİM keLİme haZİnem geNİŞ

Turkish vowels are short and clear; don’t diphthongize them (avoid turning e into “ey” or i into “eei”).