Kahve altı lira.

The coffee costs six lira.

Breakdown of Kahve altı lira.

• kahve: the coffee
• altı: six
• lira: the lira (Turkish currency unit)

Questions & Answers about Kahve altı lira.

Why is there no word for is in Kahve altı lira?

Because Turkish often leaves out the verb to be in simple present-tense noun sentences.

So where English says:

• The coffee is six lira

Turkish can simply say:

• Kahve altı lira

This is a very common pattern. In the present tense, when one noun phrase is being equated with another noun phrase, adjective, or price, Turkish usually uses a zero copula—in other words, no separate word for is appears.

Compare:

• Hava güzel. = The weather is nice.
• Ben öğretmenim. = I am a teacher.
  (Here the personal ending appears because the subject is I.)
• Kahve altı lira. = The coffee is six lira.

So the sentence is completely normal and complete even without a visible verb.

Is Kahve altı lira a full sentence, or is it just a shortened expression?