Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

The Reciprocal Pronoun: Birbiri

To say "each other" or "one another" in Turkish, use the reciprocal pronoun birbiri. First, attach a plural possessive suffix to show who is interacting:

Adding Case Endings

Next, add the case ending required by your verb.

For direct objects, add the accusative suffix (e.g., birbirimiz becomes birbirimizi).

Verbs like helping or respecting (saygı duymak) require the dative suffix (-e / -a). Birbirimiz becomes birbirimize, and birbirleri becomes birbirlerine.

For actions done with each other, such as communicating (iletişim kurmak), attach the instrumental suffix (-le / -la).

To say "each other's," add the genitive suffix. This turns birbirimiz into birbirimizin.

Watch how these rules combine. In the next example, birbirimizin provides "each other's," while the ideas themselves take the dative suffix required by saygı duymak:

Bringing It Together

You can combine these forms to describe complex workplace dynamics, like how well colleagues get along (anlaşmak).