Halamla teyzem akşam için börek hazırlıyor; ben de mandalinaları yıkıyorum.

Turkish makes a family distinction that English usually does not:

• hala = your father’s sister
• teyze = your mother’s sister

So halamla teyzem refers to my paternal aunt and my maternal aunt.

Also note the -m ending on both words:

• halam = my paternal aunt
• teyzem = my maternal aunt

halamla breaks down like this:

• hala = paternal aunt
• -m = my
• -la = with

So literally it is with my paternal aunt.

In this sentence, though, -la/-le is being used in a very common Turkish way to connect two nouns, so halamla teyzem means my paternal aunt and my maternal aunt.

A very common parallel example is:

• annemle babam = my mother and my father

Both are possible.

• halamla teyzem = a very natural, common way to say my aunt and my aunt
• halam ve teyzem = also correct, a bit more explicitly and

When -la/-le links two people, it often works like and, not just literal with.

So in this sentence, halamla teyzem is best understood as:

• my paternal aunt and my maternal aunt

not as

• with my paternal aunt, my maternal aunt

Because in this kind of coordination, Turkish usually attaches -la/-le only once, to the first noun.

So:

• halamla teyzem = my paternal aunt and my maternal aunt

This is normal Turkish structure. You do not usually repeat -la/-le on both nouns in this pattern.

In Turkish, with a third-person plural subject, the plural ending on the verb is often optional, especially in everyday speech.

So both of these are possible:

• Halamla teyzem börek hazırlıyor.
• Halamla teyzem börek hazırlıyorlar.

Both mean the same thing here: My aunts are preparing börek.

The version without -lar on the verb is very common and natural.

için means for.

So:

• akşam = evening
• akşam için = for the evening

In natural English, depending on context, this may be translated as:

• for the evening
• for tonight

Here it shows purpose: they are preparing börek for the evening meal / for later tonight.

Both can be possible in Turkish, but they are slightly different in nuance.

• akşam için = for the evening, emphasizing purpose
• akşama = often by evening / for evening, sometimes more time-targeted

In your sentence, akşam için clearly means they are preparing the börek for that evening.

Börek is a very common Turkish savory pastry.

It is usually made with thin dough and can be filled with things like:

• cheese
• spinach
• minced meat
• potatoes

A learner does not need to translate it exactly every time; often it is best to keep it as börek.

ben = I
de = also / too

So ben de means:

• I too
• me too
• I am also

In this sentence, it connects your action to theirs:

• They are preparing börek; I’m washing the tangerines too.

Because this de is a separate particle meaning also/too.

So it is written separately:

• ben de

This is different from the suffix -de/-da meaning in/on/at, which is attached to the word.

Compare:

• ben de = I too
• evde = at home

That difference in spelling is very important in Turkish.

This particle follows vowel harmony.

• after front vowels, it appears as de
• after back vowels, it appears as da

Since ben has the front vowel e, Turkish uses de:

• ben de

You can compare:

• sen de = you too
• o da = he/she/it too

mandalinaları breaks down as:

• mandalina = tangerine / mandarin
• -lar = plural
• -ı = accusative case

So here it means:

• the tangerines

The accusative is used because this is a definite, specific direct object: not just some tangerines, but the tangerines.

Compare:

• mandalina yıkıyorum = I am washing tangerines / some tangerines
• mandalinaları yıkıyorum = I am washing the tangerines

Yes, in some contexts -ları/-leri can be ambiguous.

For example, it can sometimes mean either:

• plural + accusative
• or a third-person plural possessive form

But in this sentence, the natural reading is clearly:

• mandalina-lar-ı = the tangerines

Context removes the ambiguity.

Yes, Turkish often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject.

For example:

• yıkıyorum already means I am washing

So the sentence could have said just:

• mandalinaları yıkıyorum

But ben is included for emphasis or contrast. It gives the sense of:

• As for me, I’m washing the tangerines too
• They’re doing that, and I’m doing this

So ben de helps create a nice parallel with the first clause.

They are in the Turkish present continuous tense, built with -iyor/-ıyor/-üyor/-uyor.

• hazırlıyor = is preparing / are preparing
• yıkıyorum = I am washing

This tense is commonly used for actions happening now or around the current time.

It can be analyzed like this:

• yıka- = wash
• -ıyor = present continuous marker
• -um = I

So:

• yıkıyorum = I am washing

The exact vowel shapes change because of vowel harmony and sound changes, but that is the basic structure.

The sentence follows normal Turkish word order, where the verb usually comes at the end of each clause.

Clause 1:

• Halamla teyzem akşam için börek hazırlıyor.
• Subject + time/purpose phrase + object + verb

Clause 2:

• Ben de mandalinaları yıkıyorum.
• Subject + also + object + verb

So this is a very typical Turkish sentence pattern.

The semicolon links two closely related clauses:

• My aunts are preparing börek
• I’m washing the tangerines too

It shows these are separate but connected actions, probably happening as parts of the same larger activity.

A comma could also work in some contexts, but the semicolon makes the relationship especially clear.