Evidential clefts (görünen o ki)

Evidential Clefts with "ki"

When you want to state a conclusion based on your observations, Turkish uses an evidential structure similar to the English phrases "It seems that..." or "It is understood that...".

This is formed by taking a verb (often passive or reflexive), turning it into a substantivized relative participle with -(y)An, and pairing it with o ki (that which is).

  • görünmek (to appear/be seen) -> görünen o ki (it seems that / the seen thing is that)
  • anlaşılmak (to be understood) -> anlaşılan o ki (it is understood that / apparently)
  • bilinmek (to be known) -> bilinen o ki (it is known that)

The conjunction ki links this introductory deduction to the main sentence that follows it.

It seems that the meeting finished early.
Görünen o ki toplantı erken bitti.
It appears that you are very tired.
Görünen o ki sen çok yorgunsun.
It is understood that they are lying.
Anlaşılan o ki onlar yalan söylüyor.
It is known that he won the award.
Bilinen o ki o ödülü kazandı.

Making Deductions from Body Language

These evidential structures are highly useful when making a deduction (çıkarım) or analyzing (çözümlemek) someone's behavior. You can state your observation in the first clause, and follow it up with your conclusion using görünen o ki or anlaşılan o ki.

I cannot help but analyze his body language; it seems that he is hiding things from me.
Beden dilini çözümlemeden duramıyorum; görünen o ki benden bir şeyler saklıyor.
It is understood that the inconsistencies in the story he told contradict the facts.
Anlaşılan o ki, anlattığı hikâyedeki tutarsızlıklar gerçeklerle çelişiyor.

Spotting Deceptions and Inconsistencies

When a person attempts to mislead (yanıltmak) or fabricate a deception (aldatmaca), their involuntary (istemsiz) reactions often fail to match (örtüşmek) their words. You can use evidential clefts to point out these contradictions.

His words do not match his body language; it is understood that he wants to mislead us.
Sözleri beden diliyle örtüşmüyor; anlaşılan o ki bizi yanıltmak istiyor.
It seems that the man's involuntary reactions do not match what he told.
Görünen o ki, adamın istemsiz tepkileri anlattıklarıyla örtüşmüyor.
His hands are trembling; it seems that he was caught.
Elleri titriyor; görünen o ki yakalandı.