Küçük yeğenim düştü, ama dizine sadece biraz pamuk koyduk; ciddi bir şey yok.

My little niece fell, but we only put a little cotton on her knee; it’s nothing serious.

Breakdown of Küçük yeğenim düştü, ama dizine sadece biraz pamuk koyduk; ciddi bir şey yok.

• benim: my
• sadece: only
• ama: but
• küçük: little

Questions & Answers about Küçük yeğenim düştü, ama dizine sadece biraz pamuk koyduk; ciddi bir şey yok.

Does yeğenim mean nephew or niece?

It can mean either one. Turkish yeğen is gender-neutral, so it does not tell you whether the person is male or female. The -im ending means my, so yeğenim means my nephew or my niece, depending on context.

What does küçük yeğenim mean exactly? Is küçük about size or age?

Here küçük most naturally means little or young. So küçük yeğenim means my little/young nephew/niece.

In Turkish, adjectives come before the noun, just as they usually do in English:

• küçük yeğenim = my little nephew/niece

Depending on context, küçük can mean either small or young, but with family members it often suggests young.

Why is it düştü?

Düştü is the simple past tense of düşmek (to fall), in the 3rd person singular:

• düşmek = to fall
• düştü = he/she fell

It matches küçük yeğenim, which is a third-person subject.

A quick comparison:

• düştüm = I fell
• düştün = you fell
• düştü = he/she/it fell
• düştük = we fell