Masadaki kahve soğuyor.

the table

Breakdown of Masadaki kahve soğuyor.

• soğumak: to get cold
• kahve: the coffee
• -daki: in / the one in

Questions & Answers about Masadaki kahve soğuyor.

What does masadaki mean, and how is it built?

Masadaki is made of three parts:

• masa = table
• -da = in / on / at
• -ki = a suffix that turns that location phrase into something that describes a noun

So:

• masada = on the table / at the table
• masadaki kahve = the coffee that is on the table

A useful way to think about -ki here is: it turns on the table into an adjective-like phrase.

Also, because masa has a back vowel, the locative suffix is -da. With a front vowel, you would often get -deki instead, as in evdeki = the one in the house / the one at home.

Does -da mean on, in, or at?

It can mean all of those, depending on context.

Turkish uses the locative suffix -da / -de / -ta / -te for general location, and English chooses the most natural preposition when translating.

For example:

• masada = on the table / at the table
• evde = at home / in the house
• okulda = at school

So in masadaki kahve, English naturally says the coffee on the table, even though Turkish is not using a separate word exactly equal to English on.

Why is written as one word?