Tall Tales and Bragging
When a friend is constantly showing off and telling unbelievable stories, you need the right vocabulary to call out their tall tales.
| He is constantly bragging; all of these are tall tales! | Sürekli böbürleniyor, bunların hepsi palavra! |
Expressing Disbelief (-mışmış)
The standard inferential suffix -mIş is used to report information you heard from someone else. But what if you don't believe a word of it?
By stacking the suffix twice to create -mIşmIş (or its vowel harmony variants like -müşmüş), you add a heavy dose of sarcasm and disbelief. It translates to "supposedly he did..." or "yeah, right."
This form is often paired with the word güya (supposedly) to make your skepticism perfectly clear.
| He claims to have encountered a monster in the forest, yeah right. | Güya ormanda bir canavarla karşılaşmışmış. |
| He supposedly repelled the monster all by himself. | Canavarı tek başına püskürtmüşmüş. |
The "So-called" Hero
To poke fun at someone's inflated title or reputation, use the adjective sözde (so-called). Combine it with the double inferential suffix to completely dismantle their exaggerated claims.
| The so-called knight supposedly attacked the dragon with his sword. | Sözde şövalye kılıcıyla ejderhaya saldırmışmış. |
| Moreover, he claims to have written an epic. | Üstelik bir destan yazmışmış. |
Disbelief in Other Tenses
You can also attach this sarcastic double-suffix to other tenses to mock ongoing or general claims.
For instance, to say "he claims to be doing it right now" (and you roll your eyes at the thought), attach -muş twice to the continuous tense suffix -yor, resulting in -yormuşmuş.
| He claims to be still repelling monsters! | Güya hâlâ canavarları püskürtüyormuşmuş! |