Instead of: -mAk yerine
To express doing one action instead of another, Turkish uses the infinitive form of the verb (ending in -mak or -mek) followed by the separate word yerine (in place of / instead of).
Because the infinitive does not change for who is doing the action, you simply leave the verb in its dictionary form. The person doing the action is indicated by the main verb at the end of the sentence.
| As a minimalist, instead of buying a big house, I live in a simple house. | Minimalist biri olarak, büyük bir ev almak yerine sade bir evde yaşıyorum. |
| Instead of throwing our old clothes in the trash, we swap them or donate them. | Eski kıyafetlerimizi çöpe atmak yerine onları takas ederiz veya bağışlarız. |
Contrasting Lifestyles
When talking about minimalism and intentional living, you will often want to contrast different habits, such as material (maddi) versus spiritual (manevi) pursuits.
Notice how the rejected action (the one with -mAk yerine) generally comes earlier in the sentence, setting up a contrast before revealing the actual choice at the end.
| Instead of accumulating material belongings, accumulating spiritual memories is a minimalist goal. | Maddi eşyalar biriktirmek yerine, manevi anılar biriktirmek minimalist bir hedeftir. |
| Instead of settling for only material things, he is searching for spiritual peace. | Sadece maddi şeylerle yetinmek yerine manevi huzuru arıyor. |
Everyday Substitutions
You can use this same structure to talk about replacing everyday habits with more conscious choices, like trading unnecessary consumption for simplicity.
| Conscious people, instead of engaging in unnecessary consumption, settle for few belongings. | Bilinçli insanlar, lüzumsuz tüketim yapmak yerine az eşyayla yetinirler. |
| A conscious person, instead of buying a new book, swaps books with his friends. | Bilinçli bir insan, yeni kitap almak yerine arkadaşlarıyla kitap takas eder. |