Yengem aynanın önünde ruj sürüyor.

Yengem means my sister-in-law in this sentence.

More literally:

• yenge = sister-in-law / a female in-law of this type
• -m = my

A useful cultural note: Turkish family words can be more specific or broader than English ones depending on context. Yenge is often used for a brother’s wife, and sometimes more generally for certain female relatives by marriage. In a basic learning context, my sister-in-law is the safest translation here.

Because Turkish often leaves out the separate word for my when the possessive ending already shows it.

• yenge = sister-in-law
• yengem = my sister-in-law

So:

• Yengem = my sister-in-law
• Benim yengem = also my sister-in-law, but with extra emphasis or contrast

For example, Benim yengem, seninki değil = My sister-in-law, not yours.

Because it is in the genitive form here.

• ayna = mirror
• aynanın = of the mirror / the mirror’s

This happens because Turkish uses a special structure with words like ön (front), arka (back), üst (top), alt (bottom), iç (inside).

So instead of saying literally in front of mirror, Turkish says something more like:

• aynanın önü = the front of the mirror
• aynanın önünde = at/in front of the mirror

Önünde means in front of it or at its front.

It is built from:

• ön = front
• -ü = its
• -nde = in/on/at

So:

• önü = its front
• önünde = at/in its front
• aynanın önünde = in front of the mirror

This is a very common Turkish pattern:

• masanın üstünde = on the table
• evin arkasında = behind the house
• kutunun içinde = in the box

Because with location words like ön, arka, üst, alt, and iç, Turkish normally uses a possessed construction.

So standard Turkish prefers:

• aynanın önünde = in front of the mirror

This literally works like:

• the mirror’s front-at

English uses a preposition phrase, but Turkish often uses a noun relationship instead.

Because ruj here is an indefinite object.

In Turkish:

• an indefinite direct object usually has no accusative ending
• a definite/specific direct object usually takes the accusative

So:

• ruj sürüyor = she is putting on lipstick / applying lipstick
• ruju sürüyor = she is applying the lipstick / a specific lipstick

In this sentence, the focus is on the action, not on a particular lipstick.

Here sürmek means to apply or to smear/spread onto something.

Its core meaning is broad, and in different contexts it can mean things like:

• to drive
• to spread
• to rub on
• to apply

With cosmetics, sürmek is very common:

• ruj sürmek = to put on lipstick
• krem sürmek = to apply cream
• oje sürmek = to apply nail polish

So ruj sürüyor is a natural Turkish way to say she’s putting on lipstick.

Sürüyor is the present continuous form, meaning is applying / is putting on.

It comes from:

• sür- = verb stem
• -üyor = present continuous ending here

So:

• sürüyor = he/she/it is applying

Turkish present continuous usually corresponds to English am/is/are doing.

Examples:

• geliyor = is coming
• bakıyor = is looking
• konuşuyor = is speaking

Because of vowel harmony.

The present continuous suffix is often shown as -iyor, but it changes depending on the previous vowel:

• -ıyor
• -iyor
• -uyor
• -üyor

Since the verb stem sür- has the vowel ü, the matching form is -üyor:

• sürüyor

Other examples:

• bakıyor from bakmak
• geliyor from gelmek
• okuyor from okumak
• görüyor from görmek

Because Turkish is usually a Subject–Object–Verb language, and the verb often comes last.

So this sentence is structured like:

• Yengem = subject
• aynanın önünde = location
• ruj = object
• sürüyor = verb

That said, Turkish word order is flexible. You can move parts around for emphasis, but the neutral order usually keeps the verb at the end.

No. Turkish does not have articles like English a/an and the.

Whether something is understood as definite or indefinite often comes from:

• context
• word order
• case marking

For example:

• ruj sürüyor = putting on lipstick
• ruju sürüyor = putting on the lipstick

So Turkish often expresses these differences without separate words like a or the.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

YEN-gem ayna-NUN uh-NUN-deh ruj suu-RUU-yor

A few notes:

• y is like English y in yes
• c is like English j, but there is no c here
• j in ruj sounds like the s in measure
• ö is like the vowel in German schön or French peu; English doesn’t have an exact match
• ü is also not a normal English vowel; it is like German ü or French u

The final verb sürüyor is often the most challenging part for English speakers because of the ü and ö sounds.