Bugün çenem ağrıyor, bu yüzden sert şeyler yemek istemiyorum.

Çenem means my jaw.

It is built like this:

• çene = jaw
• -m = my

Because Turkish usually shows possession directly on the noun, çenem ağrıyor literally means my jaw is hurting.

So:

• çene = jaw
• çenem = my jaw
• çenen = your jaw
• çenesi = his/her jaw

This is because Turkish uses a buffer and sound changes to make words easier to pronounce.

For a noun ending in a vowel, the my ending is usually just -m, not a full extra syllable like -im.

So:

• çene
  • -m → çenem

You can think of it as: Turkish avoids awkward vowel sequences when possible.

Similar examples:

• anne → annem = my mother
• araba → arabam = my car
• kafa → kafam = my head

Ağrıyor means is hurting / hurts.

It comes from the verb ağrımak, meaning to ache / to hurt.

Structure:

• ağrı- = ache/hurt
• -yor = present continuous / current ongoing action

So çenem ağrıyor literally means something like my jaw is aching.

In Turkish, -yor is very commonly used for what English often expresses as either:

• is hurting
• hurts
• is aching

Turkish usually does not need a separate verb like English is in this kind of sentence.

The verb ending already carries the tense information. Here, ağrıyor already means is hurting or hurts, so no extra is is needed.

This is very normal in Turkish.

Compare:

• Yorgunum. = I am tired.
• Mutlu. = He/she is happy.
• Çenem ağrıyor. = My jaw hurts / My jaw is hurting.

Yes, bu yüzden is a very common fixed expression meaning:

• therefore
• so
• because of this
• for this reason

Literally:

• bu = this
• yüzden = because of that / for that reason

So in the sentence, bu yüzden connects the two ideas:

• My jaw hurts
• so I don’t want to eat hard things

It is a very natural everyday connector.

Şeyler means things, so sert şeyler means hard things.

Turkish often uses the plural here when speaking generally about multiple kinds of things.

• sert = hard
• şey = thing
• şeyler = things

So sert şeyler yemek = to eat hard things

You could think of it as referring to hard foods in general, not one specific hard item.

Turkish often uses şey / şeyler very naturally in everyday speech where English might prefer a more specific noun.

So sert şeyler yemek literally means to eat hard things, but in context it clearly means hard foods or hard stuff.

This sounds natural and conversational in Turkish.

A more formal or explicit version might use a food-related noun, but sert şeyler is very normal in speech.

Because the sentence means I do not want to eat, not I am not eating.

Structure:

• yemek = to eat / eating
• istemiyorum = I do not want

Together:

• yemek istemiyorum = I don’t want to eat

This is the common Turkish pattern:

• verb infinitive + istemek = to want to do something

Examples:

• gitmek istiyorum = I want to go
• uyumak istemiyorum = I don’t want to sleep
• konuşmak istiyor = he/she wants to speak

Yes, yemek can mean both:

• to eat as an infinitive
• food / meal as a noun

In this sentence, it is the infinitive to eat because it comes before istemiyorum.

So:

• yemek istemiyorum = I don’t want to eat
• yemek güzel = the food is good

Turkish often uses the same form for the infinitive and for the noun food/meal, so context tells you which one it is.

İstemiyorum means I do not want.

It breaks down like this:

• iste- = want
• -mi- = negative marker
• -yor = present continuous / current state
• -um = I

So:

• istiyorum = I want
• istemiyorum = I do not want

This is a very useful pattern to recognize in Turkish verbs.

Good question. With istemek, Turkish usually uses the plain infinitive to express want to do something:

• gitmek istiyorum = I want to go
• yemek istemiyorum = I don’t want to eat

So yemek here is the normal and expected form.

Yemeyi istemiyorum can exist, but it usually sounds more marked or specific, as if emphasizing the act of eating itself. In ordinary speech, yemek istemiyorum is the more natural choice.

Because Turkish normally places the object before the verb.

The basic tendency is:

• subject / time / other information
• object
• verb

So here:

• Bugün = today
• çenem ağrıyor = my jaw hurts
• bu yüzden = so / for this reason
• sert şeyler = hard things
• yemek istemiyorum = I don’t want to eat

This word order is very natural in Turkish.

Bugün means today and sets the time frame.

It tells us that the jaw pain is a current, today-specific situation:

• Bugün çenem ağrıyor = My jaw hurts today

Yes, it could be left out if the time is already clear from context:

• Çenem ağrıyor, bu yüzden sert şeyler yemek istemiyorum.

That would mean My jaw hurts, so I don’t want to eat hard things.

Adding bugün makes it sound more tied to today’s situation.

Yes, it is natural and correct.

A native speaker could also say similar versions, such as:

• Bugün çenem ağrıyor, o yüzden sert şeyler yemek istemiyorum.
• Çenem ağrıyor, bu yüzden sert şeyler yemek istemiyorum.

Here o yüzden is a very common spoken alternative to bu yüzden, both meaning so / because of that / for that reason.

Your original sentence sounds completely normal.