Arkadaşına benden selam söyle.

the friend

Breakdown of Arkadaşına benden selam söyle.

• ben: me
• söylemek: to tell
• selam: hello; greetings

Questions & Answers about Arkadaşına benden selam söyle.

What does arkadaşına mean, and how is it built?

Arkadaşına is built from arkadaş (friend) plus endings.

In this sentence, it most naturally means to your friend. The form can be analyzed as:

• arkadaş = friend
• -ın / -in / -un / -ün = your
• -a / -e = to

So:

• arkadaşın = your friend
• arkadaşına = to your friend

A useful thing to know: arkadaşına can also look the same as to his/her friend in Turkish. Context usually tells you which meaning is intended.

Why is there an extra n in arkadaşına?

That n is a buffer consonant.

When a noun already has a possessive ending and then another ending beginning with a vowel is added, Turkish often inserts -n- to make pronunciation smoother.

So instead of something awkward, Turkish gives you:

• arkadaşın + a → arkadaşına

You will see this linking -n- in many similar forms.

What does benden mean here?