Learn Hardcore Turkish: Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum; sadece su yeter. - I want to drink neither coffee nor tea; just water is enough.

In Turkish, ne … ne de … already brings the negative meaning, so the verb itself often stays affirmative in form, even though the whole sentence is negative in meaning.

Compare:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum.
Literally: I want to drink neither coffee nor tea.
Natural English: I don’t want to drink coffee or tea; I want neither.

The ne … ne de … construction is like a built‑in negative. So:

Ne gülüyor ne ağlıyor. – He is neither laughing nor crying.
(Verb forms are positive, but the meaning is negative.)

So the positivity/negativity is carried by ne … ne de …, not by the -me/-ma negative suffix on the verb.

Is it also possible to say Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istemiyorum instead of istiyorum? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istemiyorum.

Here you have double negativity:

ne … ne de … (neither … nor …)
istemiyorum (I don’t want)

This is grammatically acceptable and still understood as:

I don’t want to drink either coffee or tea.

In practice:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum
Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istemiyorum

both communicate that you want neither coffee nor tea. The version with istemiyorum can feel a bit more explicitly negative/insistent, but in everyday speech people use both.

What is the role of de in ne de çay? Is it necessary?

De here is a linking/even/also particle that appears after the second ne in the pair ne … ne de ….

Pattern:

ne X ne de Y = neither X nor Y

In casual speech and writing you may hear/see:

Ne kahve ne çay içmek istiyorum.

without de. That is also understood and not shocking, but the standard, more natural form is:

Ne kahve ne de çay …

So: de isn’t absolutely required for understanding, but it is strongly preferred in careful/standard Turkish.

Why are kahve and çay not marked with the accusative (no -i, like kahveyi, çayı)?

In Turkish, a direct object takes the accusative suffix (like -i) mainly when it is specific/definite.

Kahve içmek istiyorum.
I want to drink (some) coffee. (non‑specific, any coffee)
Kahveyi içmek istiyorum.
I want to drink the coffee (a particular one we both know about).

In our sentence:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum.

the speaker is talking about coffee and tea in general, not specific cups of coffee or tea, so they stay in bare form.

If you made them specific, you would say:

Ne kahveyi ne de çayı içmek istiyorum.
I don’t want to drink the coffee or the tea.

Why is içmek (to drink) used before istiyorum? Can I say içmeyi istiyorum instead?

Verbs like istemek (to want) commonly take the bare infinitive (-mek/-mak) of another verb:

içmek istiyorum – I want to drink
gitmek istiyorum – I want to go
yemek istiyorum – I want to eat

So:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum.
Literally: I want to drink neither coffee nor tea.

You can say içmeyi istiyorum, but it is:

much less common, and
usually used when you are focusing on the action itself as a “thing” (a bit like saying I want the act of drinking), which sounds odd here.

So for everyday usage, içmek istiyorum is the natural and essentially default structure.

Why is there no ben (I) in the sentence? How do we know the subject?

In Turkish, subject pronouns are often dropped, because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

istiyorum = “I want”
- -yor = continuous aspect
- -um = 1st person singular (I)

So:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum.
already clearly means I don’t want to drink coffee or tea.

If you include ben:

Ben ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum.

this is grammatically fine, but it usually adds emphasis on I (as opposed to someone else).

What exactly does sadece su yeter mean? How is it different from saying sadece su istiyorum?

Sadece su yeter literally means:

Only water is enough.
→ In natural English: Just water is fine / Only water will do.

Nuance:

sadece su yeter
- stresses sufficiency: water alone is enough for me.
- very natural as a follow‑up after refusing other options.
sadece su istiyorum
- literally: I only want water.
- focuses more on your desire/choice rather than sufficiency.

In context:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum; sadece su yeter.
I don’t want to drink coffee or tea; just water is enough.

You could also say:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum; sadece su istiyorum.

which is perfectly correct and common; it just sounds a bit more like a direct statement of preference.

How does the verb yeter work here? Is it the same as yeterli?

Yeter is the 3rd person singular form of the verb yetmek:

yetmek = to be enough, to suffice
yeter = (it) is enough

So:

su yeter = water is enough
sadece su yeter = only water is enough

Yeterli is an adjective meaning sufficient:

su yeterli = the water is sufficient.

In your sentence, you need a verb, not an adjective, so yeter is the correct choice:

sadece su yeter (not sadece su yeterli as a standalone clause).

Could I say Ne kahve ne de çay istiyorum; sadece su istiyorum without içmek? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

Ne kahve ne de çay istiyorum; sadece su istiyorum.

This is grammatically correct and natural. In many contexts, “want coffee/tea” is automatically understood as “want to drink coffee/tea,” so içmek is optional if the context is clear.

Nuance:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum.
Explicitly mentions the drinking action.
Ne kahve ne de çay istiyorum.
Slightly more general: I don’t want coffee or tea (in any sense), but usually still understood as to drink in a food/drink context.

Both are widely used in daily speech.

Can I change the word order, like Ne kahve içmek istiyorum ne de çay?

Yes, Turkish word order is quite flexible, and you can move elements around while keeping the ne … ne de … pairing.

For example:

Ne kahve içmek istiyorum ne de çay.
Ne kahve istiyorum ne de çay.

These are all understandable, but:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum
keeps the two items (kahve, çay) together after ne and ne de, and then the shared verb at the end. This is very clear and standard, especially in writing.

Different word orders can add emphasis, but the basic meaning remains the same.

Is the semicolon ; necessary? Could it just be a comma or two separate sentences?

In Turkish punctuation, you have options:

Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum; sadece su yeter.
Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum, sadece su yeter.
Ne kahve ne de çay içmek istiyorum. Sadece su yeter.

All are acceptable in everyday use.

The semicolon nicely separates two closely related independent clauses.
A comma is common in informal writing.
Two separate sentences are also fine and perhaps clearest.

This is mostly a style/punctuation choice, not a grammar issue.