Çayın yanında biraz kraker istiyorum, ama kardeşim sakız çiğniyor.

Both can relate to with tea, but they are not exactly the same.

• çayın yanında literally means at the side of the tea
• In natural English, that often becomes with the tea or to have alongside the tea
• It is especially common when talking about food served next to something

So Çayın yanında biraz kraker istiyorum suggests:

• I want some crackers with my tea
• or more literally, I want some crackers alongside the tea

By contrast, çayla just means with tea in a more general sense.

Also, çayın is in the genitive form because yanında is part of a structure meaning at the side of X:

• çay = tea
• çayın = of the tea
• yanında = at its side / beside it

So the whole phrase is built like of the tea, at its side.

Yanında usually means:

• beside
• next to
• with
• alongside

In food contexts, it often means served with.

It comes from:

• yan = side
• -ı = possessive element
• -nda = in/on/at

So yanında literally means something like at its side.

Examples:

• Evin yanında = next to the house
• Pilavın yanında yoğurt = yogurt with the rice / yogurt on the side with the rice

After quantity words like biraz (a little / some), Turkish normally uses the noun in the singular form.

So:

• biraz kraker = some crackers
• not biraz krakerler

This is very normal in Turkish:

• biraz su = some water
• biraz ekmek = some bread
• biraz kitap = some books (in certain contexts)

Even when English uses a plural noun, Turkish often keeps the noun unpluralized after a number or quantity word.

Turkish does not have articles like English a and the.

That means Turkish often leaves the noun bare, and the meaning is understood from context.

Here:

• biraz kraker = some crackers
• sakız = gum

The word biraz already gives the idea of some, so no extra article is needed.

Turkish can also show whether something is specific or nonspecific in other ways, especially with the accusative ending. That matters in sentences like this.

İstiyorum comes from the verb istemek, meaning to want.

Breakdown:

• iste- = verb stem
• -iyor = present continuous
• -um = I

So istiyorum literally means I am wanting, but in natural English we simply say I want.

Turkish often uses the present continuous for things happening now or for a current wish:

• Su istiyorum = I want water
• Gitmek istiyorum = I want to go

Yes, but the nuance is different.

• istiyorum = I want / I’m wanting right now
• isterim = I want / I would like / I usually want, depending on context

In this sentence, istiyorum sounds very natural because it expresses a current desire:

• I want some crackers right now

İsterim can sometimes sound more general, more formal, or more like I would like.

So for a simple immediate want, istiyorum is the best choice here.

Because Turkish normally follows Subject–Object–Verb word order, unlike English, which is usually Subject–Verb–Object.

In the first clause:

• Çayın yanında = with the tea
• biraz kraker = some crackers
• istiyorum = I want

So the verb comes last.

In the second clause:

• kardeşim = my sibling
• sakız = gum
• çiğniyor = is chewing

Again, the verb comes at the end.

Turkish word order is flexible, but the default pattern strongly prefers the verb near or at the end.

Kardeşim literally means my sibling.

Turkish kardeş does not show gender, so it can mean:

• my brother
• my sister
• more literally, my sibling

If you need to be specific, Turkish can say:

• erkek kardeşim = my brother
• kız kardeşim = my sister

The -im ending means my:

• kardeş = sibling
• kardeşim = my sibling

Because Turkish often drops subject pronouns when they are already clear.

In this sentence:

• istiyorum already tells you the subject is I
• kardeşim already names the subject in the second clause

So adding pronouns is unnecessary:

• (Ben) istiyorum
• (O) sakız çiğniyor

The pronouns can be added for emphasis, but they are usually omitted in normal speech.

The dictionary form is çiğnemek = to chew.

To make the present continuous:

• remove -mek
• add -iyor

But there is also a vowel change:

• çiğne- → çiğniyor

This is a common pattern in Turkish. Some verb stems with final e or a change before -yor.

So:

• çiğnemek = to chew
• çiğniyor = he/she is chewing

There is no extra personal ending here because third-person singular often has zero ending in this tense.

This is about specific versus nonspecific direct objects.

• sakız çiğniyor = he/she is chewing gum
  
  • general, nonspecific
• sakızı çiğniyor = he/she is chewing the gum
  
  • specific gum, known or already mentioned

In your sentence, the speaker just means that the sibling is chewing gum in general, so the bare noun sakız is correct.

This is a very important Turkish pattern:

• bare object = indefinite / nonspecific
• accusative-marked object = definite / specific

Yes, ama here means but.

It connects the two clauses:

• I want some crackers with the tea
• but my sibling is chewing gum

It is one of the most common ways to say but in Turkish.

Another word you may also see is fakat, which is a bit more formal.

A few letters here are especially important for English speakers:

• ç = ch as in chair

  • çay, çiğniyor

• ş = sh as in shoe

  • kardeşim

• ı = a dotless vowel with no exact English equivalent

  • heard in çayın, yanında
  • it is a back vowel, somewhat like the relaxed vowel in sofa, but not exactly the same

• ğ = soft g

  • in modern Turkish, it usually does not sound like a hard g
  • it often lengthens the vowel before it or creates a slight glide
  • in çiğniyor, it is very soft

So çiğniyor should not be pronounced like chig-nee-yor with a hard g.

Yes, it is natural and grammatically correct.

It sounds like everyday Turkish:

• Çayın yanında biraz kraker istiyorum = I want some crackers with the tea
• ama kardeşim sakız çiğniyor = but my sibling is chewing gum

The contrast with ama is also natural: one person wants a snack, while the other is already chewing gum.

A native speaker might also phrase things slightly differently depending on context, but this version is perfectly normal.