İkinci açıklama bana daha olası geliyor.

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• ikinci = second
• açıklama = explanation
• bana = to me
• daha = more
• olası = likely, possible
• geliyor = is coming, but here it means something like seems or feels

So the whole sentence means something like:

• The second explanation seems more likely to me.

A more literal feel would be:

• The second explanation is coming across to me as more likely.

Because Turkish uses the dative case here.

• ben = I
• bana = to me

With gelmek used in this figurative way, the person who gets the impression is often marked with the dative:

• Bana ilginç geliyor. = It seems interesting to me.
• Sana doğru geliyor mu? = Does it seem right to you?

So bana is correct because the sentence is expressing how something seems to me.

Yes, gelmek normally means to come, but in Turkish it is also very commonly used in expressions of impression or appearance.

For example:

• Bana garip geliyor. = It seems strange to me.
• Bu fikir mantıklı geliyor. = This idea seems logical.
• O açıklama bana doğru gelmiyor. = That explanation doesn’t seem right to me.

So in this kind of sentence, gelmek does not mean physical movement. It means something like:

• to seem
• to feel
• to come across as

This is a very natural Turkish pattern.

In Turkish, comparatives are usually formed with daha + adjective.

• olası = likely / possible
• daha olası = more likely

This is the same pattern as:

• büyük = big

• daha büyük = bigger

• iyi = good
• daha iyi = better

So daha olası simply means more likely.

Olası can mean possible or likely, depending on context.

In this sentence, because it is used with daha and compared with another explanation, more likely is the best translation.

Related words:

• olası = possible / likely
• mümkün = possible
• muhtemel = probable / likely

So this sentence could also be expressed in other ways, but olası is perfectly natural here.

Because Turkish often does not use an explicit present-tense to be in the same way English does.

In English, you need:

• The explanation is likely.

In Turkish, the equivalent can simply be:

• Açıklama olası.

No separate word for is is required in the present tense.

In your sentence, the main predicate is actually geliyor, so the sentence is built around seems rather than a simple is statement.

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, but the usual neutral order is:

subject + other elements + verb

Here:

• İkinci açıklama = subject
• bana = to me
• daha olası = more likely
• geliyor = seems

So:

• İkinci açıklama bana daha olası geliyor.

That is a very natural order.

You could move parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Bana ikinci açıklama daha olası geliyor.
• Daha olası geliyor bana ikinci açıklama.
  This is much more marked and would depend on context.

For learners, the original order is the safest and most natural one.

Yes, if the context already makes it clear whose opinion it is.

• İkinci açıklama daha olası geliyor.

This can still mean The second explanation seems more likely, with the speaker’s point of view understood from context.

But adding bana makes the sentence clearly personal:

• to me
• in my opinion

So with bana, the sentence sounds a bit more subjective and explicit.

Formally, geliyor is the present continuous form of gelmek.

• geliyor = is coming

But Turkish present continuous is often used more broadly than English is coming. In many contexts, it works like a general present, especially in expressions of perception, impression, or ongoing state.

So here:

• daha olası geliyor = seems more likely

It does not mean that the explanation is physically coming right now. It is an idiomatic present-time judgment.

Because ikinci directly modifies the noun açıklama:

• ikinci açıklama = the second explanation

This is the normal way to say it.

ikincisi means the second one and usually stands on its own:

• Açıklamalardan ikincisi daha olası geliyor.
  = The second one of the explanations seems more likely.

So:

• ikinci açıklama = second explanation
• ikincisi = the second one

They are related, but they are not used in exactly the same structure.

A few things may stand out to an English speaker:

• İ in İkinci is a dotted i, pronounced like ee in see
• ı in açıklama and olası is the Turkish undotted ı, which has no exact English equivalent; it is a relaxed, central vowel
• ç in açıklama is pronounced like ch
• ş would be sh, though it does not appear in this sentence
• ğ does not appear here, but many learners expect it in similar words

A rough pronunciation guide:

• İkinci ≈ ee-KEEN-jee
• açıklama ≈ ah-chuh-klah-ma
• bana ≈ bah-nah
• daha ≈ dah-hah
• olası ≈ oh-lah-suh
• geliyor ≈ geh-lee-yor

The hardest sound for many English speakers is the ı in açıklama and olası.

A natural negative version is:

• İkinci açıklama bana daha olası gelmiyor.

This means:

• The second explanation doesn’t seem more likely to me.

You can also make the adjective negative in other contexts, but with this pattern, negating geliyor is the most straightforward way:

• geliyor = seems
• gelmiyor = doesn’t seem

Yes. Using bana ... geliyor often sounds softer and more opinion-based than making a strong direct claim.

Compare:

• İkinci açıklama daha olası.
  = The second explanation is more likely.

• İkinci açıklama bana daha olası geliyor.
  = The second explanation seems more likely to me.

The second version is less absolute. It sounds more like:

• that’s how it appears to me
• that’s my impression
• in my view

This is a very useful pattern when you want to sound less blunt.