Breakdown of Sıra numarasını duyar duymaz vezneye gittim.
gitmek
to go
vezne
the cashier’s desk
sıra numarası
the queue number
duyar duymaz
as soon as someone hears (it)
Questions & Answers about Sıra numarasını duyar duymaz vezneye gittim.
What does duyar duymaz mean, and how is it formed?
duyar duymaz means as soon as I heard or the moment I heard.
It uses a very common Turkish pattern:
Here the verb is duymak (to hear):
- duyar = he/she hears / aorist form
- duymaz = does not hear / negative aorist form
Put together, duyar duymaz means something like:
- the moment (someone) hears
- as soon as (someone) heard
In this sentence, the subject is understood from the main verb gittim (I went), so the full sense is:
- As soon as I heard my queue number, I went to the cashier.
This pattern is fixed and very common in Turkish:
- gelir gelmez = as soon as he/she comes / as soon as I came, depending on context
- biter bitmez = as soon as it ends
- eve varır varmaz = as soon as he/she arrives home
Why is it sıra numarasını and not sıra numarası?