Negative statements (değil)

To say that someone or something "is not" a certain way, Turkish uses the word değil.

Basic Negation

To form a negative statement with a noun or an adjective, simply place değil immediately after it. For "he/she/it is not," no additional suffixes are needed.

Yes and No

You will often use değil when answering questions with hayır (no).

You can also use it to contrast two opposite states in a single sentence:

Personal Suffixes with "değil"

If you want to say "I am not" or "we are not", the "to be" personal suffix attaches to değil, never to the noun or adjective.

Because değil always has the same vowels, vowel harmony is completely predictable! The personal suffixes will always use their i variants (e.g., -im, -sin, -iz). For example, to say "we are not," you will always use değiliz.

Just like in positive statements, the plural suffix for "they" (onlar) is optional in negative sentences. You can often simply use değil instead of değiller.