Öğleden sonra biraz kestirseydim, gece bu kadar geç uyumazdım.

Literally, öğleden sonra means after noon:

• öğle = noon
• -den = from / after
• sonra = later / after

So the whole phrase means in the afternoon or after noon. It is a very common everyday expression.

Examples:

• Öğleden sonra geleceğim. = I’ll come in the afternoon.
• Öğleden sonra biraz yoğundum. = I was a bit busy in the afternoon.

Here, kestirmek means to take a nap, to doze, or to have a short sleep.

That is why it fits better than uyumak, which simply means to sleep.

So:

• uyumak = to sleep
• biraz kestirmek = to nap a little / doze a bit

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a short afternoon nap, not a normal full sleep. That is why kestirmek is a natural choice.

A useful note: kestirmek has other meanings in Turkish too, but in everyday speech it very often means to nap.

Kestirseydim can be broken down like this:

• kestir- = nap / doze
• -se = conditional if
• -ydi = past element
• -m = I

So:

• kestirseydim = if I had napped

This is a standard way to form an unreal past condition in Turkish.

The y is just a linking sound between suffixes, so you get -seydi- rather than a harder-to-pronounce sequence.

Because Turkish often puts the idea of if directly on the verb with the conditional suffix -se / -sa.

So in:

• kestirseydim

the if meaning is already built in.

You could add eğer at the beginning for extra clarity:

• Eğer öğleden sonra biraz kestirseydim, gece bu kadar geç uyumazdım.

But eğer is optional here. Without it, the sentence still clearly means if...

This is a past unreal conditional or contrary-to-fact conditional.

It describes something that did not actually happen in the past, and then gives the imagined result.

So the logic is:

• If I had taken a nap in the afternoon
• I wouldn’t have gone to sleep this late at night

This implies:

• the speaker did not nap in the afternoon
• as a result, they did go to sleep very late

This pattern is very common in Turkish for regrets, imagined alternatives, and missed possibilities.

Uyumazdım is built like this:

• uyu- = sleep
• -maz = negative aorist
• -dı = past
• -m = I

So literally it looks like:

• I would not sleep or
• I didn’t use to sleep

But in this kind of conditional sentence, it naturally means:

• I wouldn’t have gone to sleep

So in context:

• gece bu kadar geç uyumazdım = I wouldn’t have gone to sleep this late at night

This is one of those places where Turkish and English do not match word-for-word. Turkish often uses this aorist + past pattern in the main clause of unreal conditionals.

Bu kadar geç means this late or so late.

Breakdown:

• bu kadar = this much / this degree / so much
• geç = late

So:

• bu kadar geç = so late, this late

Compared with çok geç:

• çok geç = very late
• bu kadar geç = this late / so late

Bu kadar geç often emphasizes the degree more strongly, especially in relation to the situation. It sounds a bit more like as late as this.

Because gece means night, while akşam means evening.

• akşam = evening
• gece = night

Since the sentence talks about going to sleep very late, gece is the better choice. It suggests a late hour at night, not just the evening.

So:

• akşam geç uyumak could sound less natural here
• gece bu kadar geç uyumak fits the idea of staying up until a late point in the night

Because Turkish usually does not need subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person.

Here, both verbs show I:

• kestirseydim = if I had napped
• uyumazdım = I wouldn’t have slept / gone to sleep

The -m ending tells you the subject is I.

You could add ben for emphasis:

• Ben öğleden sonra biraz kestirseydim, gece bu kadar geç uyumazdım.

But normally it is unnecessary.

Yes, Turkish word order is fairly flexible, but the original order is the most natural and neutral.

Original:

• Öğleden sonra biraz kestirseydim, gece bu kadar geç uyumazdım.

This works well because it goes in a clear order:

1. time expression: öğleden sonra
2. amount: biraz
3. conditional verb: kestirseydim
4. result clause

You can move things around for emphasis, but some versions sound more marked or less natural.

For example:

• Gece bu kadar geç uyumazdım, öğleden sonra biraz kestirseydim.

This is understandable, but it sounds more like an afterthought or a stylistic rearrangement.

So yes, word order can change, but the original version is a very natural way to say it.

Yes, in this sentence biraz means a little / a bit, and it modifies the idea of napping.

So:

• biraz kestirmek = to nap a little / for a bit

It suggests a short nap, not a long sleep.

This is very common in Turkish:

• biraz dinlenmek = to rest a little
• biraz uyumak = to sleep a little
• biraz beklemek = to wait a bit

Here, biraz helps reinforce that the speaker means a short afternoon nap.