Turkish creates tendency adjectives directly from verbs to describe habits and personality traits. By adding a suffix to a verb stem, you describe someone or something that "habitually does" that action.
To form a tendency adjective, add -gan, -gen, -kan, or -ken to the verb stem, depending on consonant mutation and 2-way vowel harmony:
- Consonant Mutation: If the stem ends in a voiceless consonant (ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t), the suffix starts with k (-kan / -ken). Otherwise, it starts with g (-gan / -gen).
- Vowel Harmony: Use a (-gan / -kan) for back vowels (a, ı, o, u) and e (-gen / -ken) for front vowels (e, i, ö, ü).
Voiceless Stems (-kan / -ken)
For stems ending in voiceless consonants, use -kan or -ken. For example, konuş- (to speak) becomes konuşkan (talkative), and üret- (to produce) becomes üretken (productive).
Voiced Stems (-gan / -gen)
For stems ending in vowels or voiced consonants, use -gan or -gen. For instance, çekin- (to hesitate) becomes çekingen (shy), and alın- (to take offense) becomes alıngan (touchy).
Describing Personality and Behavior
These adjectives are incredibly useful for describing social dynamics, moods, and behavioral traits. You will often see them contrasted with one another to highlight personal growth.
They also describe the natural tendencies of animals or even abstract concepts like the weather.